410 days 40 minutes 300 seconds

Long flight to Mexico and longer on the way back. Flight was notable for a number of things, one good and the rest disappointing. Good - each time I went through the immigration and security checks in LAX and San Francisco, the process was quick, efficient; so much so the time between arriving at gate to getting to next gate was less than 40 minutes. Remarkable. Disappointing - many, many with United airlines. Not allowed a bottle of water on the plane. The video screen is smaller than that of a Blackberry. The stewardess would not lift bags into the overhead becasue of a bad back. A bit fo a challenge for the small chinese ladies. However english gent on hand to save the day. The seats in front reclined to take your space and completely stop you using the storage pockets on the back. To cap it all in Mexico my return flight started at 6.30am. So had to be at the airport at 4.30am. Checked in and was told the lounge did not open till 5am. So found it and thought for 10 minutes I can wait. I waited and waited, more people came to join me. By 6 am we were partying in the corridor as I rushed off for my flight.

Didnt really see much of Mexico city, another, hotel -office - diner - hotel airport trip. People were great as usual.

Back in Shanghai and the removal company came and packed our stuff. 34 cartons, 27 of them filled with tea pots, 4 for the golf clubs, 2 for books, and one for the clothes we might need. Last heard the package was on a boat heading for the pirate capital of the world.

Company graciously moved me into a hotel - lack of bedding etc makes staying in the house challenging. So had a pleasant walk into the office each day. The house check and key handover passed with flying colours.

Received some nice gifts form my colleagues, and even nicer words and so left China on Thursday 22nd December, having lived in China for a wonderful 410 days.

The regular flying has a few benefits - I was upgraded between Dubai and Manchester and so able to try out the shower on the Emirates A380. It was Ok as showers go, the water pressure not too high, but warm enough, and shower as good as some top hotels. The water is on a timer that counts down in front of you, to make sure you dont soap up at the wrong time and run out.

Back to rainy northern england, and then left my coat in the chauffeur car. Fortunately the wonderful people at Professional Chauffeur Services returned it later today.

so Christmas is coming...enjoy and let the goose get fat, not you.

Missing China already

Central African Republic

Whilst we were in Dubai - for two nights we had the President of the Central african Republic in the room two doors down. and his security detail in the corridor. Bit unnerving walking past these armed guards in a morning. On one occasion we were made to wiat as he came out of his room and walked in front of us down the corridor.

Two towers

As I type this my wife is on her way back to the UK, her tour of China ended. Two weeks left for me before we move on to Dubai.

We have been making the most of our time. Visited Wuxi, Taipei and Dubai in the last month, as well as playing around in Shanghai.

Wuxi is a tier 3 city an hour north of Shanghai on the high speed train. Pleasant little place which has yet to be corrupted by western influence. The locals still find westerners intriguing, but are not as brazen as those in the larger cities; photos are taken without asking you first. The usual trick is when they see you, one of the Chinese will turn and walk backwards towards you and they take the picture just in front of you. They get embarrassed or laugh when you notice and pose for them.

We stayed in a Sheraton hotel where the service was excellent. The young staff had big smiles, spoke good English, and responded positively each time. Wuxi is a tourist destination as it has a large lake on one side. Pleasant in the autumn sunshine. Two notable features on our trip.

We went to the “old town” which was 10 minute taxi ride from the hotel. When we arrived at 10.30 in the morning, the place was swamped with locals, all trying to leave. Apparently we had missed the temple worship and street entertainment. Given the hordes of people streaming out, I think arriving after it finished was a lucky break.

Our taxi pulled up and before we could get out, the car was surrounded by people. Two people were pushing and shoving over getting into the front seat.  Others were arguing over the door handle, and others were getting in the other side. This was in the middle of a main road! We paid and left them to it.

We walked against the tide; it was a bit like walking the wrong way down Wembley way after an England game has just finished. Still when we got to the main street it was a bit quieter, and so we could see what this place was. Apparently it used to be a trading centre between 1100 to 1700AD. Then it was abandoned. The local city have decided to preserve it and rebuild it. So some of the bits are being rebuilt. 

Elsewhere we came across this cat, in a park. Why I have no idea however it was fun and the locals were enjoying it as well.

Looking for food we went to a local shopping mall and came across this men’s clothes store. Obviously a year in China and I am starting to have an effect on the culture.

Taipei is 90 minutes from Shanghai, and for UK passport holders no visa requirement. It is worth a trip. There are the normal historical monuments and temples like any country, the third highest building in the world.

It is a relaxed place to visit, Chinese, but with more western influence. Plenty of fast food outlets, so the population has a noticeably higher density of overweight people than China. We also spotted a lot more begging and homeless around.

Whilst visiting Chang Kai Shek’s mausoleum we came across what looked like Taiwan has talent. A large concert stage set up with lights and huge speakers, in front a separate stage and seats for the judges. Around were fixed and mobile cameras filming the action. We found a seat and sat down. After the first act, found it was a talent show for the mentally disabled of Taipei. There must have been 20 or 30 acts on the list and 500 people watching. Amazing and what a stunning idea.

We went up Taipei 101 – it has 101 floors – but you can only go to the 91^st floor and outside on the viewing platform.  The Taiwanese still retain the Chinese sense of humour. This sign was on all the window sills. Didn’t see any cleaners though.

If you go to Taipei go to the night markets. Basically they are small open fronted shops and cafés, with street stalls in between. They come alive after dusk, and everyone goes there. Bit like Camden market but after dark. You can buy everything, some fakes obviously, some top brands, but mostly it is normal stuff at cheaper prices. First night we went to one near the hotel, which was a pleasant stroll. The second night we got the metro to Shilin night market, which had been recommended. It is enormous and attended by thousands and thousands of people. The metro going to it was like leaving Wembley on the tube after a game. You move through at the crowds pace – you can’t barge through – too many people.

 We had weekend in Shanghai where we hadn’t planned anything. The wind was up so we ended up by the river, and walked along the prom.  There was a lady selling bubbles. I haggled and pleased with my skill bought a tube. Walked to the downwind end of the prom letting bubbles blow across the other people walking along. The kids playing loved it, chasing bubbles. Some of the adults did, I think, as they kept taking my picture.

I am still looking for my image on Chinese websites, Facebook. If any one finds it send me the link.

We had eight days in Dubai, getting my work permit, looking round and trying to work out where and how we were going to live there. A place is very different in appeal between tourist or business visit and having to live there. We went at the end of November, and the day time temperature did get as low as 32C!.

The place is spectacular, bright sunshine, blue skies, stunning modern buildings including the Burj Khalifa. It has a mix of the westerner on summer holiday and the Indian / Pakistan moslem community, and the Emirati Arab owners. At the Palm with Atlantis hotel, the sandy beaches and blue sea attract the bikini / trunk clad westerners. Once toasted they adjourn to the bars and restaurants on the beach front.  These are upmarket from the traditional  English seaside café’s.

At the other end around the creek the old part of Dubai has the souks, which are dominated by the Indian and Pakistan communities, trading and bargaining, with a mix of other Middle Eastern nationalities.

In between you have the malls, where you go if you don’t want the previous two options. These are massive.  Trafford Centre, Bluewater and Metro centre would fit easily within each one in Dubai. In addition each has distinctive features within them. The emirates mall, has a ski slope inside. In addition a  3 storey waterfall . The Dubai mall has an Olympic ice rink, an aquarium you can swim in, as well as the dancing fountains. They all have massive food halls, with massive portions.

The biggest contrast – you have to put you jumper on to go inside – the change from out to air-conditioning is huge and chilling.

Will be an interesting time there – next step to find a place to live.

Tomorrow fly to Mexico on business, then home, then Singapore…Happy Xmas

Time flies when you are having fun

It is now Bonfire night in the UK, the clocks have gone back and so whilst waiting that extra hour for the football to come on thought I would update the blog.

Arrived home safely from India, no Delhi belly this time. Had a couple of fascinating experiences this time. We drove across Mumbai for a meeting and the driver cut through one of the poorer areas of the city. The shanty areas with living spaces made of gathered materials. Common in many pictures of India, however as my colleagues pointed out, many of these homes have a TV, and a fridge!. Even the unused concrete sewer pipe, being used as a home, had a TV aerial.

Before I left I was given something I have never seen or received before. A Happy Diwali card. Diwali is an Indian festival, and national holiday, like Chinese New Year, and Xmas. They also gave  me a box of Cadbury chocolates. They didn't last long.

Geraldine and I visited Hangzhou for the weekend. We managed to get out and walk round the lake. It is a beautiful place. as I said before like Keswick / derwentwater but bigger, and better laid out. It was fascinating watching the Chinese enjoying the weekend. At Chinese weddings the bride and groom have their pictures taken weeks before the wedding. They can spend many days doing it. Consequently everywhere we went there were couples posing for pictures in their wedding dresses. (by the way they tend to hire the whole outfit for just the photos.)

We wandered around the city as well and found a great street market. Masses of people and silk stalls. There was a large fertility Buddha with lots of little children all over him. Many people came to pose to have their picture taken with him.

Further on we walked past a shop selling cloth and silk garments. The material was piled high either side of the aisle. At the end (nearest the street) there was a shop assistant fast asleep - face down - on the garments. The shop was busy too, and hundreds of people walking past.

We travelled on the new high speed train to and from Hangzhou. These work really well, comfortable and depart and leave on time. Today we went to try the Maglev train. My chance to be a train spotter. This apparently is the fastest passenger train in commercial operation. We went from Shanghai to inside the airport terminal building in 6 mins, 431km/h (265mph) and 30km! Fantastic.

They have decelerating glass on this and the high speed trains, which enables you to see outside clearly, without everything seeming like a blur.

Last weekend we went to the Shanghai golf masters which Mcilroy won. One chip worth $1.3m. The difference between first and second place. It was fantastic day, warm, some sunshine and enough people to create an atmosphere but not to create mayhem or a crush. As such we were able to clearly see McIlroy fluff a chip - it went 6 feet!, watch them drive over water. As there were five of us (all expats) I said as we were walking in the entrance we should have a bet on who finds someone they know in the crowd. I won half an hour in, one of the local Chinese guys tapped me on the shoulder, I have played golf with him a few times. been here too long - starting to be recognised - need to move on.

My move to Dubai is being planned, and it seems I will depart on the 22nd December 2011. Sad day. So I have not renewed my golf membership, and we are eating things up out of the freezer. I hope I get to eat my oranges out the tree before I go

Still I aim to be in Dubai in time for the first test match against Pakistan.

Off to watch the football

Sao Paulo, Vienna, Shanghai, Mumbai - 3 capitals in a week

Had a fun time in Brazil. Managed to walk out and see a craft fair and flea market. Pleasant. Got propositioned in the lift of the hotel, much to my colleagues amusement and disappointment that he didnt. We also found that in the area of Sao Paulo we were they have no idea on how to make smoothies. We tried many places and each time they were either milky fruit juices, fruit milk, solid ice creams, or mush. We even went to a frozen yoghurt store, and tried them When they had to find the equipment to make them we knew it was going to be a disappointment. So give it a few more years and I could be going back to set smoothie outlets in Brazil. In Sao Paulo they have a save the rhino campaign - a bit like the elephant one we had in London.

Long flight back to Dubai, no first class upgrade this time, but still was OK, I had space and slept a lot of it. Arrived Dubai and checked into a hotel for a night near the airport. £100. Huge room or should I say suite it had four rooms (see below)

Following morning flew to Vienna, Flight was empty so got talking to my personal stewards. Had a meeting didnt see much but enough to think worth a trip back

Last picture is the opera house. Caught the plane back the following afternoon, again very quiet and the same crew to look after me. So I now have my own personal air crew. Maid  and Driver in shanghai, air crew in Dubai. Back to Shanghai for the week end, leaving Monday for Mumbai.

Mumbai trip was pretty uneventful until I got here.

Flight was delayed an hour (due 12.35 am)- landed Mumbai an hour late, only to sit on the tarmac for an hour to the delight of the guy sat next to me - who didn’t want to sit in the airport for four hours for a connection. Going through the airport we got sent the wrong way by a man with army fatigues and large gun. Eventually got to immigration which was empty except for the sleeping officers at the desks. So they were woken up. Being near the front I got sent to a desk at one end, which was marked, diplomats and special immigration. The guy looked at my passport and sent me back saying I wasnt a diplomat. So I wandered back to be sent back, and forth, back and forth, before the guy relented and stamped my passport. Through immigration the luggage belts are either side of immigration and you are directed to which side by a screen. The screen showed left so we went left, only to be stopped by a lady, who wouldnt let us through as our flight was not shown on her screen, It wouldn't be two hours late. Eventually she was persuaded to look at the other monitor.

Then get to the hotel, first the elevator stopped working and they couldn’t get the doors on the other two to open as it was stopped on the ground floor. So every time you pressed the call button the doors opened. Six hotel staff spent five minutes working this out, before I was taken up the stairs.

Finally got to my room on the fourth floor - no iron and ironing board - someone had nicked it, after they assured me there downstairs there would be one! So I rang guest services and argued for a few minutes that there wasnt one. Had I checked all teh cupbaords etc. So he concedes and sends someone - to check. No ironing board with him. He sees the empty hook for the board and the little holder for the iron, empty, and then wanders around the room checking. Eventually this ironing board was declared missing and he went and brought me one.

So get to bed at 3.30am - air con whirring - switched it off, temp in the room gets to 30C. Bit hot under a tog15 duvet.

Booked a wakeup call for 5.30 for a conference call, they ring me at 5.45, and 5.55. To which I jump out rush to join the call only to find it had been cancelled.

John Cleese eat your heart out. The day got better but only after I set off from the hotel for a 5 minute walk to the office. However because of security threat they have closed this route and so I had to go the other way. Back past the hotel onto the main street to the office in 36C smog.

Still always good to meet the people in the office.

September and more travels

In the last post I left you hanging on a thread as I left Shanghai to fly with my daughter to London. She was returning home, me for a series of meetings. Amazing coincidence in that same week London was set ablaze with a third world style uprising. For most in the UK this seasonal occurrence at times of recession is a destructive letting off of steam, and contained in certain parts of the country. However the worldwide TV, and the sensationalist approach broadcast around the world that the whole capital was undersiege. I had a number of concerned enquiries, whether I needed burn treatments, or ear plugs from the sirens. Fortunately I never left Heathrow airport, merely completing my meetings in the airport hotel and catching a flight back to Shanghai.

At long last time with my wife. After 20 years of Children now we had time with just the two of us to explore the new world we live in. So first chance we packed up and left for Hong Kong for the weekend. Luckily we were looked after by a colleague and his family for the whole weekend, and we were shown the sites. We did the fishing villages, the peak at sunset, the shopping malls, the horse and lion mountains, and temple street at night. The following day we did the cable car to the buddha, up the buddha, watched the shaolin monk demonstrations and eventually came home. Brilliant and well recommended for a weekend. Only down side - had rented a nice room in a waterfront hotel as a treat, and we never got to experience it other than to crash into bed.(pictures below)

The company then announced that my Shanghai adventure will shortly become a Dubai adventure. Which is a shame in a number of ways but an opportunity in others. Still plenty of time to go and experience the place until the move.

My son arrived in early september for a two week holiday.  We played golf one afternoon and he proved an attraction to the caddies. In his inimitable way though he managed to calmly rebuff their designs, and concentrate on his golf, especially firing the ball into the water. Good having him here.

So we made use of him and spent two weekends exploring more of China. First weekend we disappeared off to Beijing. We stayed down town and went and did the big events. Climbed the Great wall, got him a T shirt saying so, and joined in many many photographs of local tourists, especially young girls. The wall is impressive, long, and wide and formidable. However you only need to see it once. The section we visited was at the top of a hill, so we had to climb over 1000 steps to get there. Which was fine. After we had walked along about a mile of wall, we came across a toboggan run to get down. So we queued up to race down. It was impressive the scale and length, unfortunateley the lady in front of us, was not as keen as us to fly down and so she used the brake extensively to crawl down the hill. The huge snake of frustrated tobogganers was quite impressive by the end.

We had dinner in a famous Peking Duck restaurant, again arranged by some of my wonderful colleagues who live in Beijing. The ducks we had came with individual birth certificates!

The Sunday we walked and walked and walked. We braved the masses in the forbidden city, through tianamen square and onto the temple of heaven before trudging back to the hotel, in time to go to the airport. En route we crossed over a main road using a footbridge. On both sides of the bridge was a collection of letters and symbols. The first was E=mc2, the second a more complicated differential equation - apparently defining the boundaries of shapes. Can you imagine the council in Birmigham or London paying for and putting such things on a footbridge.

The following weekend we got the train and went to Nanjing. This was the high speed train which was very smooth, comfortable and bang on time. Nanjing is a former capital of China. (nan jing means southern capital, bei jing northern capital). It has a tremendous city wall  - the Chinese are good at building walls, the Great wall, is obvious, but the walls in Xian and Nanjing are suitably impressive. In Nanjing we rode on a bus on top of the wall!. On top!. None of this squeezing past like in York. (see picture). Most impressively we went to the Nanjing massacre museum. In 1937 during theJapanese invasion of China, they captured Nanjing and then proceeded to massacre over 300,000 innocent people in a period of 10 days. The museum is a must if you get the chance and you will need 4 hours. Bizarrely during the siege and subsequent days a group of Europeans were trapped in Nanjing. In thecolonial type way they tried to create a safe and secure area for civilians. In part it worked but only in part. The bizzarre point is that the leader was chairman of the China branch of the German Nazi party, and is shown protecting civilians with a bright red swastika flag. He is a real hero in Nanjing.

In the afternoon we wandered around and  came across a square full of elderly Chinese people. Groups of ladies sat on chairs chatting. Gangs of men gathered around, card tables, mahjong, and chinese checkers. the most noise came from groups who were gathered round small petri type dishes which contained crickets. These crickets were fighting. Many of the men had little pots in which their crickets were kept. Through the square was a market. There are many markets in Chinese cities. This was one was fascinating as it was a traditional chinese (male) pastimes market. There huge tanks full of goldfish. There were stalls with crickets to buy, and of course food to feed the crickets and the fish. There were bonzai stalls, and there were the caged singing bird stalls, either with both, just cages or just birds. And there were hundreds of people gathered around shouting and chatting. We were either ignored or stared at, which is usually a sign that foreigners dont often go there. How other people spend their time.
The second day we went to the Ming tombs, and wandered on the side of the purple mountain. The Ming tombs from the first Ming emperor set the standard of how the tombs for all the following emperors should be constructed.

Now I am in Brazil - having a week in Sao Paolo on business. Nice place and a booming place. Driving outside the city the countryside is very European in look and feel. There are some very poor places however, and the country has some way to go to match the wealth of Europe. People of course are wonderful, some very very tall, some stunningly beautiful and thats just the women. And there are football pitches....

Brazil is a long way from Shanghai - 31 hours travelling time and 23 hours in aeroplanes.

So my wife decided to take a holiday elsewheere and is spending two weeks in Thailand.

For me I have to see Vienna on the way home to Shanghai, then the following week in Mumbai. Hard life.

Hectic Three weeks

Well it’s been a few weeks since I sat down to compose something. Well with Typhoon Muifa sweeping past shanghai I have a wet and windy Sunday afternoon to deal with (just like late October in the UK. Not sure the hype and local consternation was warranted. I learnt one thing the weather forecasters here are as good as they are in the UK, Michael Fish included.)

Three weeks ago my wife and daughter arrived. My wife permanently, and my daughter for a holiday. The latter has been expensive; she is now worrying how to fit it all into her suitcase on the way back. The need for constant entertainment has forced some activity and in three weeks we have done more than I did in the previous nine months, and the golf has been reduced.

My wife and daughter have visited all the markets and malls in Shanghai and are now self-confessed experts at haggling with the traders, though the amount of money it has cost me either was expensive practice or the traders made them feel they are experts to keep them going back. You can decide. They are also experts at which loos are Chinese traditional and which are more western in design.

I have also forgotten how much food an 18 year old human eats and how frequently they need feeding. I had trained myself out of the snacks between meals that are so plentiful in the west. Now I am on 6 meals a day and I have to send my new Chinese tailor made clothes back for adjustment.

Still it is fun having her around and she has driven us onto new adventures. The temperature meant she wore shorts and sleeveless tops, and with blond hair has been the subject of many head turning stares as well as demands for pictures with the local population. At first she thought it funny but by the third day a little tiresome.

We went to Shanghai Wildlife Park which is a mix of a zoo and game park. You walk the spacious zoo, or hire a buggy, and ride on a coach through the game park. There were also animal shows which were fascinating though not sure they would have been permitted in the west. After the six tigers had performed their leaps through hoops, the audience could have their picture taken in the cage alongside one of the tigers. There are five pandas there in a well-designed area. The pandas are unconcerned over the presence of humans and sit nonchalantly eating bamboo just over an arm’s length away. If they wanted the panda could easily swish the humans with his bamboo canes. Only the small monkeys and orang utangs were behind glass walls, which is just as well as one of the small monkeys started to throw nuts and stones at me. Guess I got my Chinese phrasing wrong again.

We had a day at the forest park on Chongming Island, a short drive from Shanghai, through a tunnel and over a bridge into the mouth of the yellow river and Huang pu estuary. This was pleasant with temperatures in the high 30Cs. We hired bikes and my daughter and I rode a tandem. Surprisingly it was easier and less funny than we thought it was going to be. As it was a week day in the summer it was very quiet, so we glided around the avenues of trees peacefully for the best part of a day. Our driver took us the scenic route back, which began to show my family the China outside of Shanghai. The man up to his neck in the river mending his nets. The elderly people sat on chairs beside the road, passing the time of day. The small village markets. The run down housing… typically what you expect in an emerging country.

We have been to see the Shanghai Circus World acrobat performers. This is a must if you ever come here. In an auditorium of about 2500 people the troupe perform some gasping stunts. There is the usual flips and leaps through leaps with people going different directions over and under each other. This is followed by flips off a see saw as people jump on the other end, including four up. The rolling pipe and balance board (x4) act, on a rocking boat, flicking bowls cups and spoons onto his head. The leader then juggled with the huge clay pots, balancing them on his head etc. Most of us would struggle to lift them. The two best acts were the couple who tied themselves to a spinning silk cloth and performed an acrobatic dance whilst flying around the arena. The finale involved motorcycles whizzing around the inside of a cage, eight of them at once, loop the loop etc. Stunning.

Last weekend we ventured further afield to Xian to see the Terracotta army and what middle china is about. It is not as well developed and not as finished as Shanghai. It is a beautiful place, with local charm and very hospitable. The Terracotta visit is a tourist trap. There were hundreds of coaches of Chinese tourists there. It is a walk through and very noisy. However it is unlike the west – it is not a rip off. Entrance is GBP 11 each, and we had a drink, ice creams in side for GBP 6 (total for three.) It is well worth a visit, when you realise how long ago it was created and how massive it is. We went for a walk into Xian from the hotel, through the bustling streets and shopping areas (my wife and daughter were with me!) Walking along chatting mind our own way, I was nearly garroted as I walked straight into a thick power cable suspended across the path. Again a problem of being tall in mainland China. We walked back through a Muslim street market, which was a buzz of young people, stalls, food outlets, smells and lights. It went on for ages and is well worth a look. Xian has three large mosques and was the start of the Silk Road and a former capital city of China. So it is natural having links to Muslim areas west of China. We also vsisted the Dayang Pagoda (Big wild Goose Pagoda), a Buddhist temple outside the huge (intact) walls of Xian. Surrounded by parks, fountains and traditional Chinese housing. This was fascinating, from the top of the pagoda you can see all the roads fan out from the Pagoda. Being Saturday many parents brought their children to play in the park, though they were bemused by the sight of three foreigners blowing and chasing bubbles around. The taxis were very cheap, GBP 1 for about 25 minutes driving across town. We left early as the typhoon warnings threatened to close down the flights.

In Shanghai we spent a brilliant but very hot day wandering around the financial district and up the Financial Centre. For once the sky was clear and the view from the 100^th floor spectacular across Shanghai. We sat in the small café on the 94^th floor on a sofa in the window drinking tea and eating cake, watching the world go by. There are many worse places to be and spend a quiet half an hour.

Getting older now – had another birthday recently. So I had a little party with some friends and their children. I had to have children – that’s what birthdays are for. So we had magic, pass the parcel, candles and cake. We had balloons too, and my little friends had never seen the trick of rubbing them on your head and “sticking” them to the ceiling. Hours of fun.

Finally a watch out. To help communicate with my driver and taxi drivers I have a web link on my blackberry to a site called Smart Shanghai.com. This allows you to search for various places, and when you find it, it displays the address in Chinese in big font to show to the driver. My wife and daughter wanted to go to a fake market. So I looked it up and showed the driver – he looked puzzled. So after dropping me off at work, he looked again but drove off. Apparently he drove round a bit and eventually dropped them off, after pointing at a few shops. I had miss typed the address and so he dropped them 40 minute walk from where they wanted to be. Given it has been in the 30C for the last three weeks then you can imagine the reception I got when I arrived home. The driver thought it funny as well when I explained the following day.

Well the sun has come out now storm has passed, or the breeze has dropped in English.

Hong Kong

Sunday flew with Dragon air to Hong Kong for four days of meetings with my emerging market colleagues. Interesting place. For once had an afternoon to wander around and see a little bit. So I wandered around the toy market - not sure why the concierge directed an old man like me there - but was a good way to pass a couple of hours in 32 degree heat and a suit on! Well it was an English colony.

Fortunately I got a call from two of my South African colleagues who had just arrived. On meeting them in the hotel lobby bumped into the manager of our Hong Kong office who had his car with him. So  he took us up the Peak. (see picture) spectacular.

Amazing place, just the bridges and tunnels that have been built to create the city. Then the construction, land reclamation as well as the contrast between modern western (financial) city and the traditional Chinese nature, without the regulation.

On the way back lucked in again. At the airport they asked me if I would take the earlier flight. Silly question. The original later flight was delayed for 90 minutes - mechanical issues. Also I was sat in a window seat and so gazed out over the Chinese coastline. Amazing how much coast is being filled in with land reclamation. Islands are becoming part of the coast line, inlets disappearing. Massive scale.

Life about to change...

Raining in Royal Ascot week

Royal Ascot in the rainy season.

Couple of notable events this week. The rains have arrived in Shanghai. Coming from the UK we are used to the damp, the waiting for it to either stop raining or to start. The last few weekends have been damp on the golf course, however with the warm temperatures rain wear is not needed. Today awoke to light rain, teed off and the thunder came down and about two inches of rain. When I arrived home noticed a small puddle of water on the side in the kitchen. Puzzled wiped it up and went for my nap before lunch (tee time was 6.12am). At lunch noticed a damp patch on the ceiling in the corner of the kitchen – emailed the site agents.

Sat watching the TV heard a splash splash, water coming in through a light in the kitchen. Bucket under the light – call the site office. Five minutes later gushing sounds near the kitchen. Frantic call to site office, workman arrives just after my Zhongwen teacher. Sometimes timing is everything

He removed a light, gush of water, the air con vent, more water falls to floor. The stone floor is now as wet as outside. Upstairs to one of the spare bedrooms. Water all over the floor. Looks at the door to the balcony – water above the sill!. The drain on the balcony was blocked. Balcony is about 6ft wide and 20ft long. There was about 5in of water on it. In bare feet we unblocked the drain with a massive sucking sound and the water drained away. Quickly we unblocked the drains on the three other balconies.

Leak stopped, and floors now mopped and dried. Would have been fun trying to understand each other without my Zhongwen teacher. Have to wait for ceiling to dry before lights can be reinstalled and a couple of the wholes to be patched up.

Was invited to a party at the Moller villa in the centre of shanghai to watch the ascot gold cup. The event was hosted by the Shanghai race club, (http://www.theshanghairaceclub.com/) I was invited because I was British and my friend wanted to understand more about what was going on. The building was the home of Eric Moller, which is now a hotel. It has typical English country house feature inside and some blue and pink patterns on the outside. http://www.mollervilla.com/en/five-1.asp

The event was made to sound like a high society event and there would be a lot of people there. There was more space than people. After having spoken to most of the attendees, eaten our afternoon tea sandwiches (at 8.30pm) and cakes, we were left with a couple of hours to kill. The organiser had invented a board game which was being demonstrated, so we went to play. The instructors explained the game in Chinese. It was a card game, where you bet on finding out which number card was taken out at the start of the game. Despite the Chinese instruction still managed to win. As I had won and thought I could manage to win when I played again asked the price of the game. 25,000RMB for a box, four metal playing tokens, a few cards with numbers on them, and some poker chips! Don’t have to sell many of those to make a living, but you need to know enough people who need to spend that money on such a game.

The highlight of the evening arrived – the hat competition – it is royal ascot. David Kwok presented the prize to the best hat worn by a lady. Fortunately my friend won a night at the Mandarin hotel in Hong Kong. She was an easy winner.

The race – oh we didn’t see that – the internet feed was only good enough to show the occasional still photo, so we saw the last horse entering the stalls, the back straight at a distance and the winner in the paddock.

Don’t think I will go back very quickly. Bizarre and not my sort of crowd. Fortunately I had good company and it beats writing reports.

Korea this week

Life continues to be a blast. Sat here in Incheon airport waiting my delayed flight back to Shanghai. Spent three days in Seoul which is a very relaxing place and the home of some of the politest people I have met. One issue with Korea - you need a special local Sim card to make your phone work. Though given the e-mails I have recievd from people trying to call me - it has its blessings.

Today took part in team building which was on a mountain side golf course an hour out from Seoul. http://www.blueone.com/.

Last weekend in China saw the Dragon boat holiday. This is an ancient holiday based around a poet and his actions involving drowning in a river. They have special rice wrapped in bamboo to celebrate. I had a lunch in my house. 24 people from the office were invited, 20 turned up, only one of whom was male. Everyone had great fun.

There were two children besides me and so I was able to feel comfortable. Each person brought one dish and the whole food was shared. A lot was taken home as well. A few points to note that continue to show differences in our repsective cultures.

1) - I have polished stone floors except for the bedrooms (polished wooden floors). When the Chinese arrive at some ones house they leave their shoes in the doorway. Which is fine if you are male and wear socks. However the ladies hadnt expected these floors. So I had to lend out a number of pairs of sports, golf, walking socks. Which was even more amusing when you realise that their feet are size 3,4,5 compared to my 10's. For some my walking socks nearly went to their waists.
2) - what they expected to do - after cooking lunch, the guests split into 3 groups, me and the children playing hide and seek, a group chatting and watching DVDs, and a group playing were wolves (more below.) The DVD people chose the Green Mile (because they like Tom Hanks) and sat through it - tissues in hand. Well most of them. Three of them curled up and went to sleep on the floor, sofa, and the other 5 or so just sat around them as if it was normal.
3) - werewolves is a very common game (apparently) in China. It consists of a pack of cards, where there are two werewolves a witch, a policeman and normal people. From what I could determine it involves asking questions to determine who is what and each round selecting people to be killed. The aim is to kill the werewolves and witch. The game involves a part where you close your eyes and the witch and werewolves (separately) are allowed to open theirs. The remarkable thing was they played for 4 hours (13 of them) and not once did they cheat, open their eyes when they shouldnt. they didnt pick on people. they had a lot of laughs. In the UK 30 minutes and then someone would have started peeping.
4) - they were interested in my music and DVD collection and a number of discs have been borrowed, including one Capital Gold compliation CD - because it had a Barry White track on it. I was most bemused by the girl who immediatley wanted to borrow my Travelling Wilburys CD. No accounting for good taste.

They went home about 6, which left me some washing up and cleaning up. My AYI has complained there is too much to do in 4 hours a week. I think she wants more money. So I now do the washing, and washing up before she comes.

Flight called

bye

Blog again

A few months have passed since I sat down to write another part of the blog.

Apologies to those who are avid readers, but not a lot happened in between, in part as I was not in China for some of the time, and the rest just head down grinding out what they paid me to do.

Brief overview

April – went home to see my family, which was too short a trip and too long in coming. Saw my daughter perform at Sadlers Wells which was a real treat. Saw Scunthorpe lose and were effectively relegated. Saw some of the people at the Bridge cricket team.

Arrived back in China before the Wedding. It is then you realise how important the Royal family are to the UK profile. The Chinese people I spoke with, in the office, at the golf club, and elsewhere were fascinated by it. The ladies talked about the dress and how beautiful the princess was. They were glued to it. It was also prime time here, straight after work. Then I had further conversations with my American colleagues who were also transfixed by the whole event, getting up in the early hours to watch it. In the UK indifference, thanks for the extra day holiday.

Had a week in Dubai, and on arriving at the airport you realise how relaxing the environment is there, even though I was working. With many of my colleagues from a number of the disaffected countries it was refreshing to hear and see their positivity. Their view is that the turmoil will resolve and that life will be better afterwards. Traumatic now but temporary.

Minor in the scheme of things but Emirates now fly the double-decker Airbus planes from Dubai to Shanghai. I can now fly from Manchester to Shanghai via Dubai on these super planes. The hub in Dubai is becoming a real centre for traffic connecting Europe and the East, and some parts of the US.

The golf course has seen fantastic transformation, the green has returned and the spring blossom followed by the purple azaleas make wandering round looking for your ball at the weekend a pleasant experience. Just need to try and keep it more on the fairway.

This weekend went to Hangzhou, a beautiful city an hour by train from Shanghai. When I say an hour, it is an hour at 348km/h (for those in UK/US - > 200mph) Left on time, no one in my seat, arrived on time, smooth ride. This isn’t the high speed train either! Hangzhou is supposed to be the richest per capita city in China which given the massive construction work going on is difficult to see. They are building a metro so it looks like the Big Dig in Boston a few years back. Mind you there were many of the top brand shops Armani, Zara, Cerutti, and car dealerships such as Bentley, Lamborghini. Stayed at the Hyatt Regency West Lake. Great hotel, with great service.  We had dinner in the luxury Chinese restaurant there and some of the food was fantastic. We were told the restaurant was one of the top 15 in China. They provided us with three house specialities. The first was a pork and mushroom dish, in the shape of an Aztec pyramid. It came with small (pitta bread like) chestnut bread. You open the bread (like pitta) and then peel off the pork from the pyramid, drop into the bread, add some mushrooms, and close. Eat like a bacon roll. Exquisite. One of the best bacon butties ever. The second dish was a crispy chicken which had a distinct flavour but not that remarkable. The third special dish was a beef dish, with local spices. This was also mouth-watering – salivating here again just writing about it. The small pieces were tender beef, succulent that after enjoying the full flavour (almost melting in your mouth) there was a little kick from the spices. Fantastic. We finished the meal with a fruit salad. The fruit of which there were three types of melon, grapes, lychee, mango, pawpaw, was just perfect, not hard but not over ripe soft, exactly in between. Definitely one for the list if you visit there.

Hangzhou is an old town, modernised and is around a huge lake. For those in the UK, basically Keswick but all the way round Derwentwater. From the foreshore you look across the lake and see hills. There are boat trips etc, as you would expect. (see pictures)

On the Saturday evening we traipsed halfway round the lake to see a theatre show, on the lake. The performers walked on water. Brilliant, and not just the lights. The theatre was a small part of the lake which was connected by a small inlet. So the mini lake was surrounded by trees and the foreshore and stands for the audience. The trees were illuminated individually by different colour lights as a back drop and the colours changed with the mood of the performances. The story was a Chinese traditional theatre love story. Where a local girl is courted by a regal male. He wins her affection but then has to go off to war and is killed in battle. The two hearts transform into white cranes and they meet in a distant world. In real world his spirit pursues her until something happens and they get to meet. Something like that. Still haven’t grasped all the subtleties of Chinese theatre yet. The actors and performers were all ON the water, the whole thing was illuminated by bright spotlights. Scenery and props were changed with the boats. The stage lifted out of the water at times. Music was on loud speakers. Only an hour but riveting. About 5000 people watched.

Zhongwen lessons progressing, and sometimes it is more frustrating as I know more words but get the sentences wrong and bring about more confusion than if I just stuck to shouting English to make people understand.

Starting to understand Chinese football. In the Asian Champions League the Chinese teams are very weak and lethargic. In the local Chinese premier league they run round furiously and kick lumps out of each other. Bit like League two on steroids. One of the local players broke both his radius and ulna whilst playing this weekend. On the TV they showed the fall, and then his treatment! Followed him into the treatment room in the stadium. There after the X-ray two medics one at either end of his forearm, pulled the bones back into alignment. The player was sweating a bit. They attached a brace and sent him off to hospital in a taxi. On arrival at the hospital he was taken through the crowds in the hospital waiting room, to theatre. He looked comfortable on the operating table as they put him to sleep. The following day they showed his X-rays and the plates that had been fitted. He looked surprised in his hospital bed.  Fascinating to me just to work out which product it was, however can you imagine Vidic, Cahill, or Dawson allowing the arm to be pulled into place without anaesthetic and on TV.

Well time to stop writing again. Hopefully the work will lessen and I can enjoy more experiences to share with you all.

Zai Jian

Indian adventure over

First venture to India over. In the end I was not called on to resurrect the England bowling attack, though I wonder of Mr Dilshan would have coped with the prodigious  away swing. Mr Rashid now knows what it feels like to travel the world for a day in the office!

It seems my enjoyment of the cricket world cup is totally over, as the channels I had on my TV now have disappeared completely from the list, much to the bemusement of the leasing office. Fortunately they disappeared before the demise of England.

Didn't see much of Mumbai. Airport to hotel, to office (a few times) and then to Airport. Noticeable how much easier it was in India where English is spoken easily. I was fortunate to be travelling with an Indian colleague when we arrived. We took a nostalgic taxi from the airport to the hotel. Nostalgic in that the car was a Suzuki Wagon R, a pale blue and grey, not purple. In the boot (that huge cavernous space) was the drivers belongings, so our carry on bags had to be strapped on the roof, and i had to help the driver do it as he couldn't reach to put the bags up there. So we set off. After 100 yards we had to stop as there was a horrible grating sound at the back. The driver got out and walked round kicking the tyres, and checking the car. He opened the back door and told my colleague to sit in the front. No more grating sound. My colleague is about 5ft 9in, and 10st!

The most noticeable thing about the hotel (Marriott) was the security to get into the compound, and then each day to get in through the front door. Sniffer dogs, metal detector scanners and pat down search!

At airport on departure I was taken to the terminal door, where there was a huge queue, as there was at every terminal door. So set off to the back queue (still outside the terminal) and came across a gentleman with a board with the name of the airline I was flying on it. So he took me to the front of the queue, past the army guard who was checking details, passports, and to a young lady inside the terminal who checked my passport, and then showed me to the check-in desk. Can you see that happening in the UK or US?

The wonders of modern pharmaceuticals managed to keep the "Delhi belly" under control for the journey home. Still took a few days to fully recover.

Another holiday coming up here, Qing Ming festival, or Tomb sweeping festival. Many Chinese do exactly that, tending to the graves of their ancestors, lighting candles, adding flowers etc. To get the two days (Monday and Tuesday) we have to work Saturday!

Saw an unusual site today on the way to the local shop - a group of kids playing football on a patch of grass. Girls and boys of mixed sizes and I guess ages. I have seen many basketball hoops no one playing them, but not seen sight of football goals, and spaces for kids. They even had jumpers for goal posts. I resisted the temptation to go and join in, as normal would have gotten shown up.

Am looking at attending a football match in the next few weeks - Shanghai Shenhua - who play in the Chinese Premier League and are in the Asian Champions League at the moment. My colleagues are very sceptical given recent scandals over corruption in the game. They did offer to find out the result before hand to save me the expense and effort. They do not understand the madness that afflicts a football fan. Anyway the best seats are 200RMB. The time of kick off seems strange at 4.30 in the afternoon, on a work day. You would think they would wait for the fans to get there, but if you already know the result...

Had a consulting firm in this week, and as usual they brought more people with them than we can accommodate in a meeting room. However what was notable the three native Chinese consultants all spoke with classical (Oxbridge) accents. The expats all had dialects that were challenging to follow! The Australian was perhaps the easiest, the Canadian next though the french twang caught me out a few times. The three Irish lads were the hardest so we switched to Zhongwen. At lunch conversation shifted rapidly to cricket, rugby and football. Unfortunately we haven't played Ireland at football for a while. You can guess which three teams these guys follow, Man Utd, Liverpool and Celtic! At least the Liverpool and Celtic supporters acknowledged the existence of Scunthorpe, only because of the star player we have supplied these two clubs.

Looking forward to my trip home at the end of April, if only to see the relegation of the mighty Iron.

En route India

Well after two bowling disasters, messrs Miller, Flower Strauss and co finally saw the light and have asked me to join them to avert further embarrassment and an early exit from the world cup.Not sure who is being left out but needs must. 10 overs of slow fast in/ away swing (depending which way you stand) should be enough to see England through.

Not a bad dream for a 53 year old en route from shanghai to mumbai for a week.

Laobans birthday last week, which was well received in the office. Went to dinner on Saturday with him and the restuarnt baked him a cake, took his picture and presented a copy in a card which all the staff had signed. Nice touch.

Gala Dinner

Found out today the Chinese Government spent $565bn on internal security in 2010. This includes police, and traffic control as well as internet security. For the Chinese Government conference they have put 739000 officials on the street to control traffic, marshall crowds etc. in Beijing this week. That number is 3x the population of the city of Hull. Still there are 4000 government officials in attendance at the conference.

Why is this relevant – only that the office Annual Gala dinner was held this week. Apparently most businesses get all the employees together at the end of the Chinese year, and have a celebratory dinner. So many of our distant colleagues travelled into Shanghai for the evening. There were a number of performance awards with prizes first and then the dinner. 7pm to midnight. Normal Chinese banquet – big round tables with lazy susan in the middle, and ten to 12 courses.

The excitement for the vent had been building for a couple of weeks, not around the free food and wine, or the go home gift, nor the performance awards, but for the entertainment. If you go to a sportsman’s dinner in the UK you will be entertained by some celebrity, and then a raucous comedian would round off the evening. Some company events in the west see variety singers, or copy bands. I had asked around about what happened at these events and been told they vary, but could include a lot of drinking (and the ill effects), karaoke, dancing and other performances. The latter was what the office had been getting excited about. People had been rehearsing for weeks their acts.

The evening entertainment consisted of the 23 different performances from different combinations of staff and included songs, dancing, comedy, drama and TV shows. We had a mixed group male and female dancing to lady gaga, a duet doing a Chinese equivalent to Romeo and Juliet, a drag version of a TV dating game, Spanish flamenco dancing, Chinese version of Steptoe and son, and much more in between. Some of which I understood, others I didn’t.

The remarkable thing was that people who are quiet in the office, and wouldn’t say boo to a goose, were transformed on stage, in front of 250 of their colleagues. So 23 acts and I would estimate that close on 180 of the 250 performed at some stage of the evening.

Which brings me to the censorship. Obviously the department I am part of were expected to take part. Well our Chinese assistant expected us to take part. As we are all expats of the retiring shy type, we were not so keen to participate. However we agreed and she organised that we would go on to “I’m too sexy for my shirt” by Right said Fred, dressed as a collection of Village people, with three people dressed as a cow, tiger and bear, oh and carrying a huge stuffed Garfield. This was Ok, when we saw the pop video that we were supposed to go on stage to. Very very distracting. You will have to download it to see. However at the last minute HR felt it was a bit over the top for the Chinese audience, and so they substituted the cartoon version, that failed to play. So they projected us on the big screen instead. Fortunately it was only two and half minutes and we didn’t have to sing. Exit stage left. The feedback was very positive which goes to show I am a long way from understanding the Chinese people. Next the video of the evening to be shown on the reception monitor.

The following day the company arranged a tour for the out of town employees. I tagged along for the sightseeing. Sunny day so when we ascended the pearl tower and the financial centre the views were pretty impressive. The Financial centre observation deck is 100 floors up, with a semi-transparent walk way!. The pearl tower – not so tall has an outside observation walkway, with a glass floor. The group I was with didn’t like the fact I jumped up and down a couple of time on the glass. From the financial centre I could see a football game being played. It was a poor game as the 20 players all seemed to be congregated around the ball as it moved round the pitch.

Enough for now as the second half of the cricket is about to start – Canada need 199 to beat Kenya.