Mosquito Heaven

Let me start by saying that I had to spend 3 days in China last week for a factory visit. And it was rainy... very rainy. So, needless to say with hot, humid weather, you get... mosquitos. And since all the rooms at my hotel opened to the outside, every room comes standard with a bug zapper light thingy. But, mine was broken. So, every morning I awoke to a few more mosquito bites on my arms, legs, head, etc. One night, I think I actually squished one with my head in my sleep, because there was blood on my pillow and none to speak of on my body... wierd.

But to be honest, the mosquitos were just the tip of the iceberg. So, about a week after I got to HK, my laptop broke. Hard drive... ick. I havent had one since. While I was at the factory, they arranged for me to have a computer I could use at night. So, after the first day at the factory, sick of meetings that were not turning out my way, I had to go back to the hotel to do some work. I turn on the computer to find... it has a Chinese Operating System!! The whole friggin computer was in Chinese. So, I tried and tried to get the computer to work, with no resolve. Finally, frustrated, I called the assistant manager and had her come up and make the internet work for me. When she got it working, I hoped the drama was over because I was already in pre-breakdown mode. Nope... so, I open my email and it wont let me send anything. Mind you, I have a ton of emails I need to answer, all which are pretty urgent. So, breakdown commence... I called my bf and cried to him a while, poor guy. Then I resolved to make the damned computer work if it was the last thing I did. Eventually, I got it to work ok, and figured out what some chinese symbols were in the process. Let me just say I am glad not to be in China anymore... until I have to go again next week, that is. =P

Holy Chinese Drivers Batman!

Ok, so yesterday I took my first trip up to mainland China to see one of our factories. Seems like a pretty normal day. Lets start with having to fill out paperwork 1) To leave Hong Kong; 2) To enter China; 3) To leave China and you guessed it, 4) To enter Hong Kong. These people love to kill them some tree. Also, they are all rather fond of large silver shiny buildings. Part of the reason its so hard to find your way around is because you look up, see a shiny silver building and walk toward it, thinking its a different silver, shiny building, and get lost. Anyways, back to the China trip.
So, it was a 45 minute ride from the train station we came into to the factory. It actually was much nicer than I had anticipated. Problem with the mainland is not as many people speak english. So, the vendor takes us out to lunch, my first mainland China meal, and was it ever a doozy...
We went into the restaurant for lunch... bad sign #1) There are tanks full of fish, crabs, lobsters, and yes, a shark, from which you can choose your meal. I opted out of this portion of the experience. Secondly, the servers do not speak any english, so that makes things a little more difficult. So, one of the people went through and picked what we were having for dim sum. I said that I needed them to get some veggies for me. So, first thing that was put on the table was some weird crunchy fish parts... pass. Then, they put out some duck and some shrimp. I decided to be a sport and try some duck... so, I put the piece in my mouth, and low and behold... crunch... bone. It took every ounce of my being to not throw up in my mouth. So, I proceeded to spit out said bone, and swallow remainder of cold duck ickiness with a swig of hot tea. Now the shrimp, you would think... "hey, thats not so bad". Your right, IF IT DOESNT HAVE EYES AND TENTACLES!! So, after staring down the shrimp for a few minutes, I passed there too. After the duck debackle, I had pretty much decided no more meat for that meal. So, I had rice and some veggies and called it a day.
After we finished up there for the day around 6ish, we had the driver take us back to the train station. My experience was less bearable than the one I had taken earlier that day. The drivers are crazy!!! people drive on the wrong side of the road (and not like britain wrong side, like woah there is a car driving right at me wrong side). They dont obey any laws like stop lights or people crossing the street, its kind of like frogger, I think they get points if they nail someone. Then we got to this place where like 9 lanes merge into like... two. They think that using your horn will prevent people from hitting you, like it creates a large force field around you that will protect you from all of the maniacs! At one point we were being sandwiched by large trucks on both sides, and what does the driver do? he beeps and keeps going!! We are all going to die, unless... of course... he beeps!! Heart attack anyone?
So, after I was done with my panic attack, I began to take a closer look at their cars. Some are normal, BMW, Mercedes, VW... but they have weird names... like the Nissan Bluebird, and the Honda Airwave... odd. Then there are the weirdo cars... they have small people, so yes, there are some rather small cars to go with them. Funny thing is, they just take our stuff, and shrink it. Example, there are many many people who drive these miniature versions of the Mystery Machine. They are shorter (in both length and height), and are so funny looking! I will take a picture of one sometime soon. They also have small little moving truck-like things. Its like a moving van, thats as tall as a car! So weird!
After we got back through all the customs mumbo jumbo and took the train back to HK, I did the most American things I could do to ... went to my room, layed around, ordered pizza and a chocolate milkshake and watched American Idol... aaah

The longest day ever

So, imagine you were just on a plane for 20 hours... sounds fun, right. Well, it actually wasnt that bad. The seats in business class were like small recliners, and there were movies on demand. So, I cant complain too much. The confusing part came when I got off the plane thinking it was dinner time, when in fact, it was breakfast time. For those who arent aware, Hong Kong is a 12 hour time difference from the US. So the change from AM to PM was really throwing me off. I went to my collegues' hotel first to eat breakfast. It was pretty normal... westernized and all. Then I went over to my hotel, where my room was not yet ready. After walking around in 80 degree, 80% humidity for a while, I'd pretty much had it. But, alas, it was only NOON!! Then, we killed the day until dinner with walking and browsing and showering. By the end of dinner around 7ish, I was ready to collapse on the floor from tiredness... Seriously. We took a walk around the pier on the way to the train station, and I think my legs began to atrophy. I was getting spazms from the fatigue. So, finally at 8ish, I had all I could take... and I went to sleep. Sweet relief. Welcome to the future.