Thoughts

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1 year on

So, I've been in Shanghai for just about a year now and the place never ceases to amaze me.

I love being able to go out at anytime of the day or night to get something to eat or go for a drink. I love the people, well most of them anyway, I love the fact I can speak Chinese to people without them staring at me, jaws at their feet, because someone who isn't Chinese can speak Chinese (this was aregular occourance during my 2 years living in Hong Kong) and most of all I love the general lifestyle.

Of course there are some attitudes that stink (much more than the sewers) in Shanghai.

It is after all supposed to be an international and cosmopolitan city, yet you still get people staring and pointing with the inevitable "lao wai, lao wai" being screamed at you. This seems to be a Chinese only occourance. When Chinses people are in the UK or France, or any other country for that matter, people do not point and scream "Zhong guo re, Zhong guo ren" or "lao wai" for instance.

On a recent trip to France, I saw a group of mainland Chinese tourists (they were definatly mainland, squatting, spitting/hawking, little man bags under their arms, what are in those bags anyway?) queing, or pushing and shoving, it depends or your cultural view, for the Eiffel Tower.

I decided to try a little experiment, so I stood and stared at them, started to point and cried "Lao wai, lao wai, zhe li you hen duo wai guo ren!" Roughly translated, "look at all the foreigners here."

The Chinese seemed confused and obviously thought this was rude. Well I say to them, yes it was, and welcome to the world of the average non-Chinese in China.

On a completly different note, I went to a so called Spanish party at La Vebena on Saturday night in Pudong.

It was advertised to start at 9pm. My friend put our names on the guest list in order to get the discount entry rate of RMB110 instead of RMB150.

This included 2 sangrias and a buffet. Sounds good?? Bollocks is the only word I can think of.

When we arrived we paid to get in, were given our drinks tickets and went in.

Got to the bar to order our free drink and were informed that the party did not start until 10pm so no free drinks or food until then.

Naturally I was pissed off (RMB60 for a pint of Budweiser beofre 10pm, it's not an issue of money it's the fact of being mislead). People were already queing for the buffet at 9:15pm, so for RMB110 you had the pleasure of fighting for food, and 2 very small glasses of sangria.

We asked for our money back so we could leave, but the lovely little, if not very effeminate Spanish man who so quickly took our money and gave us our tickets, without telling us we couldn't have food or drink until 10pm, said no!

My main rant here is against customer service, or the lack of it in China.

I told the guy that the adverts in print and on the web said 9pm, not 10. It is up to the organisers to provide accurate and non misleading information to people. If this was Europe I could have taken these rank amatuers to court for wrongful description of services and it would've cost them far more than the return of my entry fee.

The most annoying thing was the other gentleman who then proceeded to eventually, after much stamping of his feet and generally acting like a little bitch, give us our money back.

He proceeded to tell me that wanting my money back because they were still setting the food up and I could not get my free drink until 10pm was, "A weak excuse". Well Mr Fancy Pants, it is not a week excuse, your advertisements were totally misleading, illegal in many countries, and the event you set up was completly amateurish. People queing for a buffet that starts at 10pm from 9pm and having to buy drinks vouchers from the bar, only to have to go to another place to colect your drinks. I don't like to pay for the privilege of queing up twice.

Customer service my friend is the most basic tnant of the hospitality business.

Eventually we got our money back and went to Studio 78 on Tongren Lu, a most underated establishment. RMB150 open bar (at that for once meant all house drinks and a full pint of beer, unlike many places in Shanghai), with very good music. People should definalty try this place out, especially the hour of free drinks for men on a Wednesday evening (you have to become a member like me!).

And one final thing.

How exactly do the police work here?? Waiting for a friend last night on the junction of Zun yi Lu and Zi yun Lu in Gubei, I saw 2 police cars and counted 10 police officers suddenly appear to arrest 2 peasent women carrying small children for begging on the street. This may not seem strange (apart from needing 10 men to do, but I suppose jobs do need to be provided), but what left me amazed, was the fact that while these fine upstanding keepers of all things legal were valiantly detaining these two, obviously underfed ladies, no less than 3 hawkers were selling counterfeit wallets and bags and around 50 people jay walked to stand and stare at the arrest all in infront of the police. Sorry but I thought that both of these illegal acts were recently part of much publicised and successful crack downs??

More tomorrow, well if there's anything of interest to report.

Chinese Signs 4

Chinese Signs 3

Chinese Signs 2

Chinese Signs 1

It's been a long time

Well, it seems I am back, where have I been I hear you ask?? No where I reply!!

As you may see from previous entries I came to China to study for a while and for a long time I could not access blogspot, well it seems to be working now.

I am now working in a Dutch company in Shanghai as the Sourcing & Export Manager, ooh what a fancy title!!

Well what's been happening?? This year has been crazy, one sister got married in January and one is getting married next week!! My 20 year old brother is going to have a kid with a girl who can be discribe as no less than a thinner Vicky Pollard, but then each to his own as I say.

I've been on about 100 flights in and around China for work over the last 8 months and 95% have been delayed (note to anyone planning to travel around China anytime soon!)

I plan to stay in Shanghai for at least another year and after that, who knows.

I am currently sunburnt after being poolside all day yesterday, poor me.

Anyhoo that's all for now.

Laters.

Censorship!!!

Well I have had my blog up and running for a few months now. I started it so friends and family could read about my forthcoming adventures in China. All my friends around the world can access it, apart from the ones in China, no problem methinks.

But here's the rub....... the local governments in China don't allow access to blogger.com, so I'm not sure if I'm even going to be able to continue writing about my exploits (or lack thereof) unless I can find a blog site that the Chinese government allow access to (I am pretty lazy, so we'll see).