Mood:  a-ok

Due to fatigue and illness, this recounting of Elisabeth Asian Experience is now officially a week late. After 10 days on the go, with around 30 hours of flying in total, with relatively little sleep, I arrived back into the UK absolutely exhausted. I have been averaging 10 hours sleep per night for the last week, which is partly jet-lag, partly being sick. But this has not been without some benefits…here are the highlights of the trip:

April 20th: After a full day at work, I arrived home where Stephen has a delicious curry waiting for me. Luckily I packed the night before, as we had only ? hour to eat and say good bye. When the driver arrived outside the building, I was in panic mode, and almost didn’t say goodbye, and well, ok, the truth is, I was crying the whole time (as well as the days beforehand in anticipation), so Stephen got a tear-soaked peck, and a wave from inside the car. The driver pointed to the box of tissues behind my head, and I dabbed my eyes all the way to the airport. Please keep in mind that this is the longest period of time that Stephen and I have ever been apart (prior to being together of course). That doesn’t mean I’m a wimp right? I’m a romatic….

April 21st-After a non-eventful flight…no I did not have to use the barf bag!...we landed in HONG KONG. After the regular customs/baggage, we traveled via train & taxi to finally arrive at our the Miramar Hotel on Nathan Road, in the heart of the city. Due to the time change, it was already evening, and we were meeting our agent for dinner. So a quick hello to the room (and the waiting King size bed), a shower and change of clothes, and back out for dinner. I was pretty shaky with the chopsticks at first. And just like the French will speak English to people who don’t speak French up to their standards, so do the wait staff place forks, knifes & spoons on my plate as I sloppily try to pick up food with the 2 sticks. It’s worth mentioning now that I persisted and eventually became comfortable enough with the chop sticks to not even think about using them by the end of the trip. Our agent made a big show with this first meal, and ordered shark’s fin soup (the delicacy of all delicacies and tres $$$), and plate after plate of vegetables and fish & rice, each with their own delicious sauce. Invariably there is a large fresh fish (chosen from the tanks at the front of the restaurant) that has been cooked and served up with vegetables, often still cooking in juices from an open flame underneath the fish. Fish fondue in other words. Except you don’t dip. So no, it’s not a fondue at all. Dessert is always fresh fruit and toothpicks. The toothpicks are not edible, but instead are very useful in picking out the fish from in-between your teeth. Actually now that I think about it, I don’t believe I ever saw any apples in China/HK. Hmmm….

April 22nd. A good night’s sleep later, and we wake early for a hotel breakfast before visiting 3 different supplier’s offices. Our first appointment forgot to pick us up from the hotel, so Jonas gave them a call, and our day got underway a little bit late. After 2 appointments we went back to the hotel for lunch, and then rushed off to meet 2 Russians at the Hong Kong bank. I stood in the background for a while, and blissfully tuned out. For dinner the Russians took Jonas out, and I was left to my own devices. I looked around the shops by the hotel, being rather restricted by my footwear: ankle boots with 2” heels. They were my only shoes & more to the point, only appropriate shoes for the trip. I ate at the hotel solo, and then retired for a good nights sleep.

April 23rd: I awoke at 6am feeling refreshed and did a 20 min, swim at the hotel pool. I met Jonas for breakfast, but he was a bit late, due to being hung-over from the Russians who took him to a Latin club until 2am. But this day was devoted to meeting only with our Hong Kong agent, who we had already had dinner with the 1st night. Actually I should say something about this guy, his name is Michael and has been working with Jonas for 10 years. He doesn’t actually have a factory, and so he is specialized in sourcing and shipping the goods, which in turn saves us time and bother. Michael has an assistant, Gary who is a kind of understudy. The two of them stayed with us throughout our trip to China and in Hong Kong, translating where needed. Oh and Gary always carried my luggage! Following the meeting Jonas took us to Lee Baron, his usual tailor. I was measured and ordered 1 pair of navy trousers + 2 blue button shirts. For dinner we took Michael, Gary & their staff to a restaurant on the 28th floor of the Marco Polo building. The picture below shows you the view. At 8pm each night there is a laser show from the tops of the tallest skyscrapers. Kind of weird actually. Oh, and the food at this restaurant was by far my favorite of the whole trip: lots and lots of garlic!! After drinking a bottle of white wine at dinner, I went back to the hotel and claimed 1 complementary glass of white wine at the bar. Just drank and left. I have no shame :)

April 24th: Jonas arranged to take this Sunday off. We took the ferry across to Hong Kong Island and caught a bus that took us away to the other part of the island where there were beaches, and trees, and most of all Stanley Market.

VIEW FROM STAR FERRY:



We had a good walk around, and I bought a handbag that is covered in fake fur, but multi-coloured like a punk rocker’s hair. Hard to describe. And I bought a hand-woven in Thailand silk scarf. We ate ice cream on some rocks looking out to South China Sea (Pacific).



Then we caught another bus to the “Peak”. In case you may not have realized, but there are many steep, almost volcanic-like mountains everywhere in Hong Kong, and so the Peak is like a Mount Royal x 20. Here is a picture.

That evening we tried a Thai restaurant where Jonas plied me with shots & beer. Then we went back to the hotel where he made us go through all the items we needed to cover with both makers in China. My composure and focus was formidable, I must tell you.

April 25th: We flew out to China. I almost puked, but was ok. We passed customs & found our driver. Things seemed normal at first on the roads…there was a divided highway, traffic flowed smoothly. Then within 10 min. I learned how chaotic driving could be. Kamikaze cyclists, piles of rocks in the road, cars driving towards on-coming traffic to make turns, and then the paving stopped suddenly, and we were out in the country on a dirt road (but riddled with enormous pot-holes & piles of rocks…see pictures)

which was lined with huts, shacks, storage areas for bundles of sticks, rice fields, food drying on the dirt, animal skins being stretched, and numerous tiny factories, with maybe one machine spewing a nasty coloured vapour. There were countless busses that must have been built in the 1950s, and never been serviced. The black smoke emitted from the bus, was lethal. Fighting nauseousness, shock, and pollution, we made it to the factory in one piece. It must be said that I was very quiet on that journey. It is not easy to see 3rd world conditions for the first time. Especially when you’re in a nice car honking at people to get out of the way. The factory was clean, family run & pretty small. We were given beer & china tea…the leaves still in the cup. As we looked around the showroom a communist official watched us from behind the glass, just to make sure we were really here for business. After a good meeting we drove for another 1 ? to our hotel, which was exceptionally nice. We had a good dinner & then made use of the entertainment facility where the four of us (Jonas, Michael, Gary and myself) rented a private karaoke room, and sang for 2-3 hours. It was much fun, and I must do it again…highly recommended! Not much sleep this night!

April 26-27th. A 3 hour car ride---on paved roads I should add---to Yiwu, where we spent the next 2 days with another manufacturer.

My stamina severely taxed by this point, I contract a cold somewhere between Yiwu & Hong Kong. A few words about Mainland China: dirty, under permanent construction, but absolutely gorgeous were it to be cleaned up. There are way too many people (Yiwu is a small village of 750,000 people), and the food is an acquired taste…fresh is not the first word that comes to mind…So after a long trip back, Jonas and I ordered strictly western food at the hotel and early to bed.

April 28th: Hong Kong Fair day: Every year at the end of April/Beg. May, there are 2 major international trade shows in/around Hong Kong: the Canton Fair & the Hong Kong fair. These are both massive in scale and time consuming, as to properly source a potential supplier. First you must exchange business cards, chat, sit down and trade information, then get to know their products, and give them specifications for a product they must send a quotation for, etc….with 7 halls, each containing hundreds of companies, it is a task that can take many days. I was sick, tired, and my feet were killing me at this point (remember the 2” heels?), so I was barely conscious. After the fair we went to the tailor to have a final fitting, and then off to dinner with some of Jonas’s other business contacts. Again, another fancy restaurant overlooking the harbour, and very nice food. Afterwards I went shopping for new shoes, 2 pairs of pants, 3 shirts, which cost the equivalent of less than 100 pounds. I crashed into bed.

April 29th: the final day had only 1 meeting in store. After the meeting we collected our tailored clothes, and I was released to wander up Nathan road where I found a street market to practice my new bargaining skills. I bought a few souvenirs for Stephen & some postcards, which I still have not posted. We had dinner one last time with Michael & Gary, and said our goodbyes.

Back in the UK, I couldn’t breathe in enough of the fresh, clean air, and couldn’t believe how green and lush it is. They got a lot of rain while I was gone…big surprise.

Today is Saturday, a week later, and Stephen is working a 24 hour + shift. I went into London today, to Camden market & the British Museum. I sauntered down to Covent Garden (actually I got lost, and asked 3 people for directions), where there was a man standing on a stick in a speedo drawing in a mighty crowd. I didn’t last too long in the city today because my back is acting up (yes I’m only 23, and I can’t bend over without pain). I believe it is caused by cycling to work yesterday for the first time since leaving for China. But all in all, it’s very good to be back…esp. back with Stephen.