The Shanghai Event tagged: , , ,

The Shanghai Event

Posted by Henry in Guest Bloggers

10/31/2010 – Part I

(satirically named after the hit NBC tv show which employs a strange inconsistent chronological storytelling format – a narrative technique they call retroversions according to Wikipedia)

4 Days ago . . .

It has been a long time since I was on an international business class flight. Things have certainly changed and you now get to enjoy this cozy little private living pod for your 15 hour flight. There is a 16-inch LCD screen (which is bigger than my laptop), a fold-flat bed, a 6-way adjustable leather headrest, and an optional iPod connector. Luckily I read the user manual or I might have missed the fact that the armrest collapsed into the base of the seat to provide a wider flat surface. Even with these improvements, the entertainment system rebooted while I was in the middle of watching “A-Team”. Windows 98, no surprise there for a loyal Linux/Mac user.

5 Hours ago . . .

My jet lag is finally getting a little better. Woke up at 7 AM on this Sunday morning instead of 5 AM the day before and 3:30 AM the days before that. Am I finally adjusting to the time difference or could it be that I was exhausted from walking around for 8 hours at the World Expo the previous day?

2 Days ago . . .

After work on Friday, I decided I should explore the Shanghai subway system and do some reconnaissance at one of the fake goods markets. The Metro is very impressive. It reminds me of the Hong Kong MTR but that has only 6 lines. In Shanghai, there are 13 not including the magnetic levitation train which takes you to the airport. It is extremely clean and mobile phone service is available everywhere even on the trains lest one have to go through Crackberry withdrawal. The one thing that takes some getting used to is the lack of personal space. In any type of crowded situation, one must be prepared to be pushed, squeezed, bumped, and breathed on. As I headed upstairs to exit the platform, a middle-aged woman elbowed me in the ribs as she chatted away on her HTC droid cell phone meanwhile the old man behind me was jabbing his cane into my hip. I felt like one of the Three Stooges except there were 100 of us trying to squeeze onto the same escalator.

I went to one of the Shanghai fake markets to see what kinds of products they offered. I was amazed when I got off the subway and the lines and lines of stalls hit me as soon as I exited. This was not the same kind of street market that I remember from my old China days. It has evolved now into bright multi-story indoor small shops which sell everything from Diesel shoes, Uggs, Lacoste shirts, and Prada bags to Gucci glasses, Cartier watches, Callaway golf clubs, and Prince tennis racquets. The shopkeepers are quick and smooth now. Their English is good and they will pounce on any lingering glance. As I walked by the golf shop, the young girl could sense my interest, asked me what brand I use and as soon as I said “Ping” she immediately asked G15 or Rapture and gently led me into the shop to show me a catalog. I have yet to decide whether a knock-off metal stick will be able to handle my wicked slice. I was a bit surprised that there was nobody peddling DVD’s. From previous trips, they were ubiquitous but from what I hear with the Expo in town, there has been a major crackdown on certain activities. At one point when I was pressured to look at some watches, I asked them if they knew where I could get DVD’s. The shopkeeper then called over her brother who took me to a secret backroom. He went to an LV bag in the corner and pulled out some black plastic bags. That is where they stashed the movies but their selection was not good and I still need to rediscover my bargaining skills.

15 Hours ago . . .

It was a long week of traveling and adjusting so I was pleasantly surprised to find the World Series was airing on ESPN. Of course it was 7 PM local time (4 AM in San Francisco) so I will have to be sure to avoid reading any news which might contain Sports scores while I am here. Although the Yankees had choked and I am really not interested in who wins, it’s a nice way of feeling connected to back-home. Unfortunately, there is no HD so the picture is so blurry I might as well watch without my glasses on. Although I was hopeful when I found out the apartment had international television, the HBO here is like a timewarp from the 1990’s and they show movies where Bruce Willis still had hair. I also found out the hard way that Hulu and Netflix will not stream here due to legal issues. I should not be surprised but I did think it was strange that Picasa is also blocked. However, being a resourceful, innovative American, I have worked around these issues with eztv.it and Snapfish. I can still keep up with The Event, Glee, Boardwalk Empire, Nikita and all my other guilty pleasures. Per a coworker’s suggestion, I am also looking for Dexter Season 1 and 2 to help pass the time at night but the DVD hunt is still underway.

1 Day ago . . .

On my first Saturday in Shanghai I went to the World Expo. October 30 was the last day for public admittance so I joined 500,000 other people to enjoy the sights. I am not sure why everyone in the office had me worried about finding a ticket. They said it was sold-out and after calling several official ticket agencies I eventually desperately walked into the Westin hotel and asked the Concierge if he could help me. Although I was not a guest of the hotel he was nice and sold me an entrance pass. When I got to the Expo there were hundreds of scalpers outside so it probably would not have been a problem. Still probably better to get it from a 5-star hotel since again they will try to copy almost anything here. The Expo was truly impressive and the architecture of the Pavilions was fun and creative. Getting inside of the Pavilions was another story and I was not about to waste several hours of my life standing in line. Any Brit would be proud that the longest queue for the day was at the UK Pavilion maxing out at 6 hours. I only went into a handful of the not-so-popular ones which had a 15-20 minute wait. I checked out Nepal (since a coworker was spending the next few weeks there), Chile (pretty cool display and they even had something on the rescued miners), Slovenia (or was it Slovakia – anyway nothing too memorable), Cuba (very lame), Venezuela (kind of artsy), and Norway (cool building and fun displays). Luckily, one of my friends had told me to bring my passport so I did not have to wait at the USA Pavilion. Thank goodness because I would have been pissed if I had waited 2 hours to get inside just to watch some videos of Kobe Bryant saying “ni hao” (hello in Chinese). It was very disappointing and from what I hear, USA was one of the 2nd Tier pavilions compared to the much cooler UK, Japan, Russia, Switzerland, Germany, Saudia Arabia, UAE, and Australia ones.

At one point, I needed a break and to my delight stumbled upon a China Porterhouse Brewing Company restaurant outside of the Ireland Pavilion (of course). I ordered a microbrew and a Chinese beef stew lunch box to rest and refuel. I started chatting with the Irish bartender since I had not spoken English all day and he was telling me that everything would be bulldozed in about two weeks. I remember reading that some of the larger concert halls and theaters had future plans but apparently everything else would be demolished. It is amazing how efficient the Chinese are with infrastructure projects. In stark contrast I think about the “blue bridge to nowhere” in Weehawken, NJ across the street from the Ferry Terminal which has been there for about 6 years now but is still missing a staircase to connect it to the sidewalk so it is useless. I suppose the efficiency makes up for a lack of innovation. Just take a look at all the knock-off brand names: Panosonic, Fuma, Nite sneakers, and Birkinstick sandals to name a few. It also helps to have a 1.2 billion strong workforce. Seriously there are so many people here that literally on every other corner there is someone sweeping the streets and picking up garbage. In the office building, at every entrance there is a white-gloved guard who points me to the elevator. We have turnstiles for security and I have been watching him, he gives a welcome gesture to everyone who comes in and needs an elevator. The one thing they could probably use more of are taxis. I do not recall it ever being this hard to hail a cab and again the problem should hopefully subside once the Expo concludes. In the mornings, it can take up to 10 minutes for the lobby to call a cab and on my second day here, they told me to go out on the street as I might have a better shot. Even when I reserve a taxi the night before it might still take 5 minutes. This can be stressful in order to get into the office for early shifts so I really hope the situation improves next week.

Part II of the Shanghai Event can be found here.