Back in Shanghai

I flew from Beijing to Shanghai Sunday night. It was a rough flight. There was a ton of turbulence on the trip. (Wade, you would have thought we were going to crash!) I don't mind a little turbulence, but a lot makes it impossible to sleep....I was really counting on getting a nap on that trip...oh well!

Also, I was sitting across from two old couples. I've started to learn to identify the country people from the city people. So the old people next to me are definitely from the country...meaning poor, first time on a plane, maybe the first time in Beijing, and the first time going to Shanghai. They can't even work the seat belt! That cracked me up. I showed them how it worked. The one old guy couldn't stand having it on, he kept taking it off. Finally the stewardess started screaming at him! That made him keep it on for a good half hour...then another lecture. This went on the whole trip.

Another tell tale sign was what the couples did when they served an in flight dinner. First of all, the food, gross! Airline food isn't known to be good in the U.S., imagine it in China. It was a little tin container with rice and a pile of slop. They set that down in front of me and I laughed! I've tried a lot of things over here, but this was not going to be one of them.

I look over at the old couple. The old lady and man are sharing one container of the slop. She puts the second one in her bag!!!! UGHHH! I decided to give them mine. I nudged her and handed mine to her. She threw that in the bag too! I had now made a friend for life! They tried to talk to me, I couldn't make out anything but thank you. They were very appreciative though.

When the plane lands we get unloaded on the runway. No gate for us! It's raining outside as we get off the plane. I looked out the window and saw that it was drizzling. Everyone is standing in the aisle waiting to get off the plane, but there is no one moving forward. Finally, the line starts to move, once I get up front I see what the hold up is. Everyone is acting like there is a hurricane going on outside. The flight attendants (All hot by the way, China has the U.S. killed with flight attendants!) are passing out ponchos to get off the plane. Every Chinese person is rolling up pant legs, tucking in shirts, putting on ponchos, taking extra ponchos to wrap their carry on bags with...insane! I just walk past the commotion and head for the door. Everyone looks at me like I'm crazy for attempting to get out of the plane without a poncho. The stewardess tries to give me one again. I shake her off, she looks at me as if to say, "It's your funeral".

I step out the door, walk down the stairs and take 10 steps to the bus.

Everyone else is running for their lives to the bus...it's so funny! You have to see it to believe it!

I got checked into my hotel around 10:00 at night. This time I stayed at a Marriott Courtyard. This was actually going to be another Marriott Renaissance, but due to the economic crunch, they decided to open it as a Courtyard. It's beautiful! The showers have the ceiling mounted rain shower heads! The place is brand new, it's in a more downtown part of Shanghai, it's cheaper than the other Marriott, and better quality overall. Couldn't be happier with the hotel, probably the best one I've stayed at in China.

Monday morning Tina Mu picked me up and we went to our China HQ. Tina is a nice lady she is responsible for the Shanghai area and some surrounding cities. I worked with her all morning and afternoon. Around 4 she asked if I'd like to see some of Shanghai. So we left to go see the Yu Garden. It was great! It was in the same area I have been before, but had no idea it was there. It's near the Bund, so was back in the markets and everything else. Then we went to have a beer in an area I can't remember the name of. It's where the British and French lived when they controlled Shanghai back in the 1930's. There was a nice little area with outdoor bars and cafes. We stopped at a German place and had a drink.

After that, I went back to the hotel and changed to go have dinner with some Rockwell people. We went to an Italian place, it was the best food I've had since I've been here! It was soooo great to eat a piece of bread! Regular tasting bread is a hard thing to come by here! Very good meal and great wine!

When I first arrived in Shanghai, I wasn't that impressed. The second time around has been much better. It doesn't have the culture of Beijing, but it is fun! It helps that it's Spring now. The trees have leaves and the grass is green. When I was here before, everything looked like dirt. So much better this time around.

Although, Taxi rides here are the craziest in all of China! I can say that with certainty now!

I Found Them!

Guess who's back, back again!

WOW! I love Beijing! I could live here. It's a great city! I'm really going to miss it when I leave tomorrow.

So it's been an eventful day already, and it's only 3:30. Woody arranged for an intern at the office to take me around town today. So Ginger (Great name) met me at the hotel at 9:00. We headed off first to the Silk Market, or as I like to call it, Silk City! It was really close to the hotel. We took a taxi there and I worked on my Chinese. Ginger said I'm getting good with words. I just can't do any sentences. The taxi driver loved my attempts. He was excited that I could say things. He started just rambling on in Mandarin, I said, "Duiy" (Correct)

So we get to the silk market...I'm excited to use my finally honed bargaining skills! This is the big dance, the place where it all comes together.

We walk in the front door...it's like you left the minors for the Show. BAM!!!! Everyone attacks you at once! They're waving watches, scarves, coach bags, ties, trinkets and almost anything else you can imagine! It's insane! I must have heard the following 150 times each...no kidding: Hello, English boy, want silk, want bag, come here.

So now you have to negotiate for pricing on everything. That's the fun part! I catch myself negotiating for things I don't even want. I just love the dickering. It's great! The best is using a line I was taught by Sarah D. They always start out by showing you a price on the calculator, then they give you a discount...now here's where you use the saying...and you have to put some soul into it! TI GWEI LA! (That means, That's to much!) I really try to spice it up. I make a disgusted face, act like I've been insulted, and turn to walk away....all before I've even countered! It's great! I'm addicted! I can't get enough!

***I'm not going to say what I bought because they are gifts for when I get back home, from here on out the things I buy are widgets.

So I go to the first booth to look at widgets. She says, "Come into the store."....um, what store, this is maybe half a booth?

So I go "In the store", she starts showing me her stuff. I decide that I want to buy what she has. She shows me the price on the calculator

"TI GWEI LA!" I start to leave, she says, "Hello, OK, better price". Now we're talking turkey! So we go back and forth for a while. I finally get the price I want. (One thing that is hard to remember is how cheap the money is. They might try to up your offer by ten RMB. It's hard to remember that it's only 1.50....maybe?) So some times I am hard balling for no reason....but it's still fun!

The second vendor was my favorite! She spoke really good English! I was looking through her widgets and found some I liked. We started the negotiations...

"TI GWEI LA!" I've got my nose scrunched up, faining disbelief! (Really it's so much fun, did I mention that already?)

She says, "Ok,Ok, better offer" she lowers her price again.

"TI GWEI LA!!!!!" Now I'm walking away from her booth. She comes chasing after me and grabs my hand.

Now she has a whine to her voice, "OK, Come back, we negotiating, I want give good price!" So I walk back over, I'm now cracking up, I think I've got her to her breaking point. She makes another offer. This time I just say no. So she says, "OK, fine your price!"

Now I have her where I want her. I was negotiating for one. Now I ask, "How much for 5?" She shows me a price.

"TI GWEI LA!" So we start another round of negotiating. Now she is really whining.

"You bargain to good, to much discount."

I answer, "America has economic crisis! No more free bees!" She finally give in and gives me what I want....So much fun!

So we did this at the Silk Market and the Pearl Market! Good times!

I also went to the Buddhist temple today. I would have never known it was here, except I saw a cool looking building heading out of Beijing on our way to Tainjin. I had asked Woody what it was, he told me...so I wanted to go! I'm glad I did!

This place was so cool! It was incredible! Even better it wasn't jam packed with tourists, so you could really take your time. It is the oldest Buddhist temple in Northern China. It's relatively new compared to a lot of the other stuff. I think it was build in the 1500's? Maybe older? Not positive, but it was GREAT! Unfortunately you aren't allowed to take pictures in the temples, so you can only take pictures from the outside. Plus, everyone in there is mostly there for worship, so they get a little testy when you snap a pick.

Like any good American, I fained dumb and was able to snap a few pictures inside. But, honestly, I didn't even get any of the really good ones! It's hard to explain! It was well worth the trip! Everything is original and massively huge. One of the Buddha's is at least two stories high, maybe three. He was sweet! I couldn't have taken a picture of him if I wanted. There was no good angle for a picture in this temple! It was impressive though! Amazing actually!

Last but not least!.........I found them! After the Temple and Silk City, we went to lunch. Ginger didn't have any recommendations, so we jumped in a cab from the hotel and were talking as we pulled out. I had Ginger ask the driver if he had a good place around here. He immediately stops the car in front of a restaurant within 100 yards of the hotel...just on a side street.

The building looks weird? It has pictures of Mickey Mouse, some kind of Chinese warrior, and a panda bear....all on the sign. I could maybe see Mickey and the Panda working together...but how does the warrior guy fit in? So I'm starting to think we should move on.

Then I look at the entrance to the restaurant....all the doorman are CHINESE MIDGETS!!!!!!! I quick open the door as Ginger is still talking to the Cabbie, "This will do!" There were at least five...very strange.

I rush over to the midgets! This has to be a first for them! Two of them look up and say, "Whoa!"

I said, "Ni Hao", in a deep voice. Then I just stood there with my arms folded, next to them. It's great! I think they were half afraid I'd eat them, and half excited!

Of course I don't have my camera because I had put it back in the hotel before we went to the market. (It's just impossible to predict what you are going to find here!)

I have no idea what the purpose of the midgets was? But they were sweet...and it was obvious that the restaurant was trying to capture some kind of theme. I have no idea...sometimes you just have to go along...it makes sense to someone.

So I give each of the little fellas a high five. They liked that. Then I held my hand up over my head and said, "High five?"

One guy got it right away, he takes three steps back and races at me and jumps at the last second to try to give me five. (I lowered my hand so that he made it) Then everyone wants a shot! I did this for a few minutes, first midgets I've seen in China...kind of seems like an oxymoron. Then we went inside to eat.

The food was ok, now what I would consider typical Chinese food. I have also instituted a rule. No more fish or seafood. It's disgusting, they have no idea how to cook it. Everything looks like slop and it smells bad. So I tell everyone I'm with, no seafood.


Here are a few pics from today.





Who new Buddha was a Guitar Hero junkie?

One of the Temple Towers

The Olympic Pool. This building was sweet! It's amazing to see at night. The big stadium wasn't as cool, and it doesn't light up real well.

Mao after dark! Love this guy!

Me and a Monk, keepin it real. He doesn't look happy, but he was glad to meet the Panda.

Tienemen Square at night.

This is where the Rockwell office is in Beijing. It's directly across the street from the hotel. You just walk in a tunnel under the street. It pops out the other side.

This is the hotel. The Beijing International. The one that American Presidents stay at is just down the road. It's a tough spot to take pictures though.

Left Tianjin

I left Tianjin this afternoon. I really liked that place. It's big, was fun, and cleaner than I expected...except for the smog.

We completed our sales calls for RAAMP at a P&G plant. I think they went well, hopefully we will see some new business. I think it looks very promising. The neat part about our business is that no one is really doing it in China right now. So there is SOOOO much opportunity, we just have to make the local team understand how it works and why it's important.....sometimes easier said than done.

I did have to sit through one meeting today where a guy didn't speak any English. That was a painfully long meeting....just because you don't know what is going on! But! Woody said it went very well, so that's good!

I'm back in Beijing now. I have a busy day tomorrow, then on the weekend I hope to see: Dali Llama temple, Ming Tombs, Silk City, and Night pics of the Olympic facilities.

Then it's off to Shanghai again!

Here are some pics of Tainjin.

Enterance into the Asian Market
Inside a really cool night club. We stopped here for a drink because Tony wanted to show me. Tony is a RA sales guy. He is on the right. The place is actually really dark when you walk in. The lamps are lit really low with a heavy orange tint. It is REALLY cool.

Outside of the bar

Looking down the Asian Market Street

Still looking further down the streets. There are shops on both sides. They are selling all kinds of stuff. Some of it looks to be fairly legit...some not so much. A lot of the shops were closed because it was after 5. Apparently some of them keep American hours. Most people in China seem to work till 6 or 7 at night.

This is another entrance to the Asian Market, really cool place to walk around.

Quick Funny Story

The other night Woody (The guy I'm working with right now) took me to a famous dumpling place in Tianjin. So we sit down, Woody asks what I want. I tell him to just order.

So we start getting the food. The dumplings were alright, I've had better...I didn't tell him that because he said it's really famous in China. Although, he said the name of the place translates to, "A dog wouldn't eat that"....um.....ok.

So as the food comes out we're eating and enjoying some conversation. Then a little bowl comes out with a cover on it. I ask Woody what it is?

Woody says, "Ah, VERY special dish, best food served."

I remove the cover and there is this dark substance giggling in the bowl. "What is this Woody?"

"Is pork."

I look at it again...nothing in the bowl even comes close to resembling something that looks like pork. Woody already has almost all of his in his mouth...I poke at it with the chopsticks...it moves with each touch.

I ask Woody what kind of pork it is..."It come from pig."

"Thank you Woody, that clears everything up"

I pick up the large square of substance, and realize, it's actually cut directly from a pig's back! There is a giant layer of skin, then a giant layer of fat, and then a tiny piece of meat connected to it. SO GROSS!

I tell Woody, "This pork is going to have to fly before I eat it." Woody laughs.

So I set it aside for a minute and concentrate on the other food. Then it hits me...if this is such a good thing, Woody has to want mine!

"Woody, do you want mine?" I'm picking it up with the chopsticks and waving it back and forth like a pendulum....Woody is following it with his eyes.

"It sure looks tasty Woody...you know you want it?"

Woody shakes me off a couple times; I keep up the pressure.

"Look at it Woody, just dripping with fatty flavor...you know you want this...the pig knows you want this...he wants you to enjoy him..."

Finally Woody breaks down and grabs it from me! He ate the whole thing in two bites! UGGGHHHH!!!! I was laughing the whole time.

It reminded me of the radish eating contest between Zoom and Straz that I orchestrated at Val's Halloween party.

At that point I wish I had more giant chunks of pig's back to tempt Woody with.

Catch Up Time!

Hello!

It's been a while since I got to actually write a blog. It's been a whirlwind since I left Dalian. I flew into Beijing last Friday night.

Beijing is definitely the place you want to visit in China. It's just amazing! There is so much to see! Everywhere you go you see new and exciting things!

I think my favorite thing in Beijing was The Forbidden City! It's so cool! Everything in there is just fun to look at. Having an English speaking guide is definitely worth the money. You understand so much more of what is going on.

The Great Wall was a lot of fun too! The drive out to the country side was fun. You round a certain bend and then you start seeing pieces of the wall. I've wanted to go to the Great Wall since I was 6 or 7 years old, so it was like a dream come true! It's very steep where we went. I thought we were going to have it easy because we took a cable car. Well, that just gets you to a certain point, then the real climbing starts. Still it was unbelievable to be standing there.

Another thing, the barbarians that the Chinese were trying to keep out must have been crazy S.O.B.'s. The mountain side where we were is extremely steep and rough. I can't believe that people came that way enough to even build a wall.

Tienanmen Square was also an experience. It's just neat to stand there. The giant picture of Chairman Mao is GREAT! I'm a sucker for any Chairman Mao souvenirs. I can't help myself! It's hard to say no!

Once the weekend was over, I went to meetings on Monday at our Beijing office. It's a really nice office in a large building directly across the street from our hotel. After lunch Woody and I headed to Tainjin. It's a large city east of Beijing. I think 9 or 10 million people in it? We came here to make sales calls on Proctor & Gamble.

It's a fun town. Woody took me to a market here. I can't remember the name of it, but it had a lot of traditional Chinese buildings with shops built into them. It was fun just walking around looking at the different things.

Today we went to P&G and met with several of the key people at the plant. I made a couple presentations and we discussed RAAMP in China. I think it went well, we have some more meetings scheduled with other team leaders tomorrow.

I promise more later, but I have some work to get done...and need some sleep! Here's some more pics from the trip.


MY MAN! Chairman Mao!

They got rid of the old school rickshaws, so now they have them attached to bikes....still a bad day for this guy! He enjoyed it though.

Old building located in the second ring of Beijing.

Great Wall, smog is free.

Sweet looking building in the old part of town.

Original piece of the old city wall. There are several pieces of it throughout the second ring.

More Great Wall

Hey Now!

How do you get to one of the Seven Wonders and find a guy wearing, "I Love Kobe" on a T-shirt....simply SPECIAL!!!! Don't hate your wife Kobe, the Middle Kingdom loves you!

Beijing Hooters!

Took a cable car to the top of the Great Wall, didn't realize that this is the highest point to climb to! DOOH! It was a challenge climbing up! This is a 1/4 way to the highest point!...yes I made it.

Sweet pick. I climbed to this point. It took forever. This is where Chairman Mao reached and said you would be a real man if you reached this point.....

This is standing in one of the towers. Really cool.

Panda sees family!

Hello everyone! I made it safe to Beijing! WOW! What a great place! If you come to China, you can't miss Beijing. It's so much better than anywhere else in China.

This is going to be a short blog. Here are some pictures. I'll describe more once I'm done site seeing this weekend. I ate Peking Duck at the restaurant that Bush and Nixon went to. It's AWESOME!!!! I'm going to the original sometime this weekend or next weekend.

I went to the Zoo, Forbidden City, and Tienanmen Square. I'm going to the Great Wall tomorrow.

I'd say my favorite thing is The Forbidden City, so far. It's unbelievable...especially with a tour guide. Tienanmen Square is cool...actually with the sweet hat it was a lot of fun too..

These pictures are in reverse. I took over 180 pics today. So here's a few...AMAZING!


Me and random Chinese people in Tienanmen Square. I was like a rock star there! Serious! I bet I posed for 25 different pictures. Kind of tiring but hilarious! I bought the Chinese Military hat for 20 RMB...about 3 dollars. It took me 20 minutes to get her down there. She started the bidding at 150RMB...or about 21 dollars. Every time I took a picture, I wore it! The hat is great!

Tienanmen Square, a monument to soldiers who fought in wars.

Woody! He works for Rockwell, he was my tour guide! Great guy! I made him put the hat on.

This is right after I bought the hat. That's the big picture of Chairman Mao behind me. It's across the street! It's awesome!

Cool little creek thing we passed on the way to get the car.

Palace Garden in the Forbidden City

Are you the gate keeper? ZOUL!!! This Lion protects the Emperor...there are two of them

Leaving the Forbidden City. The last Emperor hung himself in the building at the top of the hill.

Throne of the Emperor.

This is a hand carved, stone slab of dragons. We got a English speaking tour guide. That was huge! Made it much more enjoyable.

Another place the Emperor chills.

The first building inside the gate.

Woody and I inside the entrance to the Forbidden City

Shot from the entrance.

Another Zoul keeper. This one is on the outside.

Outside the front Entrance.

Giant Tiger statue in the Zoo. The thing is huge!!!

Sweet looking White Tiger with stripes.

Entrance to a city park near the Forbidden City. We had lunch in the park. There is one restaurant in the park. It serves food that the Emperor ate in one of the dynasty's. Funny side note. The hotel in Dalian I stayed at made a point of showing this place on their info-mercial channel. I was asking Woody about it Friday night...he had no idea what I was talking about, then he brings me to it on Saturday. Hilarious! Good food. I tried Camel here. Had no idea it was until Woody told me. Not bad.

Sweet Monkey

Woody and me in front of the Panda direction sign.

That's what I'm talking about!

Woody's daughter and I. There is a Panda in the background. I'm holding a stuffed Panda that I bought for my niece Addison! I bought it at the Beijing Zoo gift shop. I call it Addi Bear. I bought one for Woody's daughter too!