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.