One of those is a trip to China. Now I have been to China before, twice actually, and Ed even got the chance to go with me the 2nd time. This third trip was a different kind of adventure; we were visiting 2 factories a day on most days and the ones we weren't in a factory we were in a car or airplane going to the next factory.
So I officially started my new job on Feb 14, a lovely valentines present, and 10 days later was flying to Shanghai. Thanks to my wonderful parents Ed was not solo parenting for the duration of the trip.
Now the beauty of flying that far is international business class; for a mom like me having someone wait on you while you sit mostly still for 14-15 hours in Delta's updgraded jet didn't sound so bad. This always sounds better in reality than it really is and it was. About 8 hours into the flight when I had eaten and drank all I wanted, watched all the movies I wanted and even slept all my body wanted we still had 6 hours to go. My co-worker had been kind enough to share an Ambien with me before we boarded so I decided to give that a shot but you are supposed to take these things when you have 8-10 hours to devote to sleep...oops! The next thing I remember after that is the flight attendant waking me up to land and I had no clue I was even on an airplane. I felt like a baby elephant as I followed my co-workers off the plane, through customs, into a hotel van and through Shanghai for the next hour. Then of course at 3am local time I was awake with a day of 2 supplier visits ahead.
Day one(I promise not to go day by day so hang with me) was a road trip to the city of Suzhou which is about an hour and 1/2 car ride from Shanghai. Now the thing about China is no one really drives themselves and no one really knows how to drive except the hired drivers, but that doesn't stop people from driving. So there is little order to lane speeds, lane changes or merging on the highways. To quote a co-worker's driver from a prior trip to India, "Maybe it is more relaxing if you don't watch". That was the truth.
Unfortunately before we even made it to our destination there was stopped traffic and I could tell the mood in the car changed. I asked my local co-worker Murphy what was going on and he told me don't look, someone's dead. It was true, there had been a moped accident at an highway offramp and there was a young lady not moving next to her moped with her face covered. It was a sober start to the day.
On the ligher side of things the first non-hotel bathroom I went to had the luxury of a fuzzy toilet seat cover, pictured here for your enjoyment. Don't even begin to ask youself how often it was washed, we probably don't want to know.
And another new custom to me was the traditional picture with the customer, we did this at every factory we visited.
Another perk of the international trip is staying in 5 star hotels. After spending all day smushed in a car, jam packed in traffic or an airplane it is needed to stay sane.
Our hotel in Shanghai was Le Royal Méridien Shanghai, I had a fabulous yet smoggy view of Peoples Square.
Now speaking of smog; I took sunglasses on this trip and they were NEVER used despite a continual sunny forecast. The smog honestly never cleared in Shanghai, after 4 days there we were desperate for blue sky.
I was very lucky to be traveling with a really fun group of people and oddly enough a friend of mine from Virginia circa 2000-2005 was in Shanghai at the same time; funny though I didn't get a picture with him.
I've spent a lot of time in my career with men, it has been fun to have a few ladies to travel with the past few years. On Saturday I got to enjoy some shopping and a pedicure Chinese style with a female co-worker(not pictured here).
After 4 days in Shanghai we spent the next 4 going to a different city each day which meant a different hotel each night and packing, unpacking, and re-packing a very large suitcase each day.
Next stop was Xiamen which is the coastal vacation capital of China; I got to wear my sunglasses here thanks to the ocean breeze; it blows the smog away(to the US West coast). Lots of my local co-workers had honeymooned here. It is right across the bay from Taiwan. Hotel of the day was the Millenium Harborview(a little disappointing).
Next stop was ShenZhen which is further south from Xiamen and the first mainland city in China when crossing into the country from Hong Kong. I learend from our Chinese hosts that the "local bargain shopping" is in Hong Kong because shopping in China for Louis Vitton bags had gotten too expensive. The further south and the further coastal you get in China the more industrial things are. That also means there is the need for more power...and more pollution thanks to the very abundant natural resource of coal in China. I'll post more later about my thoughts on coal fired power plants....lets just say it isn't a favorable perception.
Now this hotel was SWEEEET. It is a Kempinski Hotel which apparently some people know about; I didn't but would love to go back to one. They had some great blown glass artwork in the lobby and the rooms were very nicely appointed.
Everywhere you go in China the skyline is filled with cranes; you actually get numb to it after a while. Here is a view from the Kempinski at the "progress' in Shenzhen.
So apparently I don't remember much about Guangzhou because I can't find many pictures. I was really really ready to be home. Here's a final group photo and some downtown Guangzhou scenery.
The world is small folks but China is not. There are a ton of smart, hardworking people there. If America wants to compete we need to stay unique and ahead.
Well my 6:15 flight is about to arrive to board @ 8:41 pm. Excited to head back to ATL and start packing up!!
Added your blog to my google reader. can't wait to get the updates!
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