Since I got back from a terrible business trip in China, something has changed.
Did not know was I learned lots from this trip so I kinda see it thru, or I just giving it up.
Chinese, I mean people in Mainland China, they were so unrelyable, trustless, even my boss is like one of them.
I have to post my trip here so ppl can understand how terrible it was.
6/9(Tue)
the morning I got "travel pass" from China embassy, my flight to SH is at 2:55pm, the same day. So I went to the embassy, then to office for an hour, back home and heading to JFK airport straight.
6/10(Wed)
arrived in SH at 11pm, was transferred in HK. Stupid flight schedule, check-in hotel at 12:30am. Went to sleep at 2am.
6/11(Thu)
got a morning call from NY at 5:30am. fty came to pick me up at 6am, two hours drive to the fty. An hour dealing with the problem they had, two hours drive back to SH airport at noon. Waiting for the flight to Kuangzhou from 12:30pm to 8:30pm. Sitting in the waiting room for 4 hours and then another 4 hours in the plane, because the weather was not in good condition in Kuangzhou, thunder storm, so all we can do was waiting. Finally flight there at 11pm, went to sleep at 2AM.
6/12(Fri)
Fty pick me and my NY client up at 9AM, two hours drive to the fty, dealing with problems for 3 hours, and on the way to another fty. Three hours drive back to the hotel. Dinner with the fty owner at 5pm, the last meal time was 8:30am, horrible. resting the whole night. The first day no flight for me in three days...
6/13(Sat)
Flight to SH is 8:30am, so was up at 6am. Flight delayed again for an hour, arrived in SH at 12:00pm. Had a rush lunch in the airport then go to fty of 2 hours drive again, where I went there two days ago. Client kept asking all his orders with us and where all that produce? I have to tell him the truth that couple of his orders has not yet find the fty, even the deadline is right on the corner. I can see the client is a bit pissed off, but he did not yell at me or being bad temper, all he did was figuring out what happened and try to know when the delivery date can be made. Back to hotel at 7pm.
me at night: had 雲南菜 with friends at 9:30pm, freaking hungry... got phone calls from boss and trading company whole night during dinner, tried to figure out some good news to tell the client. Can't really into the conversation with friends and exhausted from the work. Somehow, I still went out the night with friends, from rooftop lounge with jacuzzi at Hyatt hotel <very high-end social place>, where we supposed to see "THE VIEW" of Shanghai, but it was too foggy that ended up see nothing but fogs.
To Brown sugar, a dance club with hot girls dancing on the bars while fat, ugly men yelling out loud " oh yeah, shake it girl...." <not my type of hanging place>, to a nice lounge called Red Velvet, <where I can tell it's a good place to hook up with someone, but no intent at all>, somehow we were kicking out after got in just 20 mins, because the bouncer found out we brought a bottle of whiskey in to the lounge... :P , so we heading to another bar called Shelter, where is located underground with all concrete tunnel, really feel like you were hiding there avoding to be boomed in a war. Very cool place, and the music, the crowds all from Europe. I got back to the hotel at 5am...
6/14(Sun)
Thank god we only have one fty to visit and it's in the afternoon. I woke up at 10am with hungover, went to have lunch with my vendor, good food, and back to hotel at 1pm to pick up the client. Went out for two hours drive as well to a fty; on the way there, I was making the lies to the client that my boss and vendor were setting up for me to round the thing we told him yesterday. Such a tough job for me because I hate lying and never like to make lies. It was all bullshit, if ppl are smart enough, they wouldn't believe me in any ways.
me at night: after got back to the hotel at 7pm, I was making the report to NY and talk to my colleague. Did not have energy to go out although I'd love to see my other friends in SH. Went to bed hungry at 11pm.
6/15(Mon)
Up early to get breakfast at 7am, lots of ppl in the restaurant already, I got my favorite egg omelette and toast, the next table was curious about my nationality, interesting. Another vendor came to pick us up at 9:30am, they have a sales manager who can speak English very well, so I kind of relax and let them talk. 3 hours later, we arrived in 浙江省 with an hour lost the track in the country road, got to the fty that I feel I was surrounding by the China mafia, there were 6-7 men all looked weird in that kinda situation and we saw nothing in the production line. Anyway, long story short, After 12 hours, visiting 3 factories from 浙江省 to 江蘇省, arrived hotel at 9:30pm, we could not see anything, anything that for my client's order but the fabric dyeing in the machine, although the delivery date for 40,000 pieces should be 15 days later the time we visited.
me at night: Got a late dinner with the client, the only meal we had together, at 10pm in the hotel. We were talking, drinking, complaining, we had a good time although that day was totally a disaster for us. We got phone calls during the meal, but we kept our colleagues hanging there. We headed back to our room at midnight but I kept working until 5 in the morning.
6/16(Tue)
The client left for NY in the morning, I missed the phone call from boss at 8:30am, he pissed at me that I did not pick up. A messenger came to the hotel to drop me something at fxxking 8:45am nonstop calling and knocking. I told him clearly on the phone to drop it off at the lobby, but he came to my room to knocking it off while I still tired in bed. So Unbelivable....
Waiting for my boss to confirm what's my schedule like for the rest of my three days without the client. After two hours waiting, I am getting anxiety and don't wanna waste my time sitting in the hotel, so I went out, jump on a cab and heading to the tourist sightseeing place. He called that he can't reach any vendor to take me out to see the factory, I told him why don't you let me taking a day off for god sake. He agreed.
So I was like walking around, see the sights, ppl in SH; and later on, a friend that I never met came to meet me up at people square and then we walked to the famous shopping street, the bund... Met my girl friends for dinner and drinks after. Quite enjoyable the time with friends.
<Something for me to say about SHese; they are rude, no courtesy, looked at me like I was a clown or something weird, some ppl even talked to me in English, beggars everywhere and wouldn't leave after u said no to them for 5 minutes>
6/17-19
The rest of the days were not that interesting as the previous days, it's all about me meeting vendors, dealing things between fty and the production, report to my NY office everyday, and so on. Got some nights off for myself and my friends, tired of dining out with vendors. Persuade my boss to let me stay in SH one more day instead of going HK. Good that I made the good decision.
Went to a movie at Spainish theater, dinner and drink with friends, a 90 mins massage for myself <although my phone kept ringing from business>, a great 湖南 dinner, few drinks and a great date.
Finally have a couple of days that I can really enjoy, otherwise, this trip would be the worst days of my life.
