Beijing - Hotel Transfer Disaster

I slept GREAT last night - have every night since we got here actually.  This hotel is amazing and they actually have a book with a selection of pillows to choose from!  I have about 6 I think.  LOVE it! 

So I slept in and got up around 7:30 which is pretty late for me.  Today we all transferred hotels from the Sofitel Wanda to the Grand Mercure Xidan.  How hard can it be to transfer hotels, right?  So I'm thinking this is going to be a cruisy day -- and it was absolutely a total DISASTER of a day! :(

We had two different times for people to check out if they wanted to take the bus we provided to the new hotel: 10am and 12pm.  I went down to the lobby around 9:30 to see if people were checking out and to check on the busses...and NO ONE was there.  By 10:10...we had 5 people (out of about 75 transferring) that had checked out and were headed to the bus.  FIVE.  Great.  So I got those people on the bus, and explained to them that since the traffic was so bad today and since there were only five of them, I really had to just send them on by themselves to the next hotel.  I couldn't risk missing the BIG transfer of people.  So off they went, thinking it would be fine. 

I got a call from the hotel about an hour later saying the first bus had not arrived.  Thankfully, I had the bus driver’s cell phone number.  I called him - and he explained to me (in broken English) that they were closing off roads right and left for the Olympic torch coming through, so they were stuck in traffic.  Good thing I didn’t get on that bus with them! 

They eventually made it about an hour and a half later and checked in okay - I think.  From what I heard it went okay anyways.  Like I said, it was only 5 of them, but Beijing hotels can be a little sketchy!  I ate a quick breakfast and got ready for the big group – and it was BIG.  We probably had 70 HUGE bags to fit on the TWO buses we were supposed to have.  Except somewhere along the way, one of the busses got lost.  So it was just perfect that we had TWO busses at 10am for 5 people ad now only had 1 bus for 65 people and 8,000 bags!!  It was such a mess...and the bus was late getting there anyways because of the traffic and road closures.  So somehow, after sticking a few not-so-thrilled people in CABS, we did manage to get everyone and all the luggage on the bus and to the next hotel.  We made it in less than an hour, so that was really good.  I called the hotel ahead of time to let them know we were all coming, thinking if I gave them a heads up they would be ready for us.  Boy was I wrong. 

They had about 20 of the rooms with 1 bed that needed 2 beds, and probably another 15 that needed 2 beds and only had 1.  It was just a TOTAL disaster!!!  I literally spent over three hours (seriously) standing in the lobby yelling at the staff (the ones who spoke English) as the clients went up to there rooms and then came back down saying they were wrong...it was just terrible.  And to add to it, this place is a DUMP compared to our first hotel.  It is supposedly a 4 star hotel...but I’m telling you, I wouldn't even give it 2!!  The staff is terrible, the bathrooms are gross, the hotel is very old, and my room overlooks a flooded roof-top next door.  It's just so gross...and our very high maintenance clients agree.  I got plenty of phone calls saying they weren't happy with the rooms...and what am I supposed to do about it!?  We’re in freaking CHINA and it’s the OLYMPICS!  We booked this block of rooms well over a year ago, at the hype of the Beijing Olympic hotel room situation -- when everyone said all of the rooms were going to be sold out and blah blah blah.   Well now there are lots of rooms available and for a much cheaper price than what we paid.  Oh well -- I finally sorted it all out and got everyone happy (kind of) and in the proper rooms.  It was SO SO frustrating though. 

I had to go back to the Sofitel this evening to get two of our employee’s bags that got left behind, and that place was an absolute zoo, too.  The Australian president and many of the Australian athletes checked in there today (probably why we couldn't get more rooms and had to check out!).  You couldn't even breathe at that place!!  I'm sure most of the hotels are like that now - the city is just getting crazier and busier with each day.  We have already been warned that most of the city will be shut down tomorrow for the Opening Ceremonies.

So anyways - that was my disaster of a day.  I'm hoping things slow down now - we are having a surprise 50th birthday party for my boss on Saturday night here at this crappy hotel, but other than that, I think I should finally be able to relax a little!  I'm off to see the night life tonight!  I hear the Today Show is here in Beijing...maybe I'll try and find out where they are...

I'll write more tomorrow!

-TK

Great Wall of China

It seems like yesterday was so long ago!  I guess I need to write every night so I can actually remember everything!

We left the hotel around 8:15am on TWO buses for the Badaling section of the Great Wall.  I was the only Jayhawk employee on the trip -- the rest of the guys I workw ith had to go to company meetings all day.  Since I am the one who arranged most of this, I got to go with the clients!  :)  S

o the other bus only had one kind-of-English-speaking tour guide.  The people on my bus were VERY happy they had me - even though I am no tour guide for China it made them feel much more comfortable.  So when we pulled up to the Great Wall, we could immediately see how crazy everything was.  Turns out we were VERY lucky we chose that day.  The following day (today) that section was shut down for the torch to come through and then a cycling race there.  I had no idea...just lucky we got there that day!  There were huge camera crews all over the place filming, and there were big cameras on cables flying by above the roads and the wall...it was just insane the publicity and press that was there on that day! 

Anyways - when we pulled up - both of the buses stopped kind of in the middle of the road.  The other bus (the one I wasn't on) was in front, and the tour guide got off and started yelling at the people on the bus to get off.  So of course they just got off and started trying to cross the street to get to the entrance to the wall.  Meanwhile, the police start running over swarming the bus and yelling at them (in Chinese) to get back on the bus.  Well they didn’t know what they were saying and just kept getting off the bus and crossing the street (dodging traffic) - following the tour guide and almost getting run over.  Meanwhile, I am FREAKING OUT on the bus behind them watching all of this happen!  I was yelling at our bus driver to let me out to find out what in the world was happening, but he wouldn't open the door – especially not after he saw the angry police everywhere!  Everyone got off the bus, crossed the street, and disappeared in to a sea of people...and our bus just kept driving down the road.  PUKE.  I was about to throw up - seriously.  So we pulled in to this parking lot down the hill - both buses - and we all got off my bus and started walking back to the area where the people from the first bus got off. 

It was probably 10 minutes away, and the whole time, I'm thinking I just lost half of my group and I'm going to lose my job. ;)  Well thankfully, they were ALL standing there waiting on me...all confused.  I couldn't believe it!  They said the cops were yelling at them and the tour guide told them to just keep going – apparently he didn't know it was illegal to empty a bus in the middle of the street on the busiest day ever at the Great Wall of China...shocking.  We bought our tickets (disaster…again…) and finally got to walk on the famous Great Wall of China (with very strict instructions to meet back at that spot at a set time)! 

About half of the group went to the right - the easy way that is very crowded, while the other half (and myself) went to the left - the more steep and less crowded section.  It was a very hazy day...not sure if it was pollution or what, but you couldn’t see all that much.  We just kept walking and walking and walking...and finally reached the highest spot we could see.  And when we turned around to see how far we'd came, you could barely even see the bottom or the winding wall that you see in the pictures going on for miles.  It was a little disappointing, but still cool to say I've walked on the Great Wall!  I got a couple good pictures. 

I did get to see quite a few more Olympic athletes that were also at the wall.  There were some massive blonde girls from Sweden...not sure what sport, and the Argentinean men's basketball team was there -- they were all at least 8 feet tall, I swear!

After climbing for about an hour and a half, we ALL (I counted at least 14 times, for real) made it back to the meeting spot safe and went back to the buses and headed for lunch.  We stopped at some little tourist trap shop in the middle of no where and of course they made us go through the factory and look at the gift shop before they would let us eat...SO cheap though.  The food was very traditional Chinese, but most of it was pretty edible.  Some shrimp, some chicken, a little beef and a lot of pork and veggies, some other stuff I’m not quite sure what it was.  Fruit for dessert as usual – the Chinese aren’t real big on ice cream and cake and desserts…unfortunately.  Maybe that’s why they’re skinny and we’re not?? 

Most people managed to choke down enough to get them full, and we all looked around the gift shop a little more to keep the tour guides happy, but no one bought much of anything.  Then it was off to the Ming Tombs.  TOTALLY overrated in my book.  It was such a waste of time...but then again, I'm not really in to history or anything like that at all.  We basically walked through some underground temple where there were some tombs and bones...and that's about all I got out of it. :)  BORING. 

We headed back for the hotel and arrived around 4:30pm.  All I wanted to do was take a nap - I was just exhausted from walking all day - but I barely had time to shower and get back down to the lobby to organize the next bus to dinner.  EVERYONE got on two more busses and we went to this really cool outdoor area around a lake for dinner – I can say it but I have NO idea how to spell it, so I won’t even try.  There are just lots of little restaurants outside around this beautiful lake and the weather was perfect. 

We reserved the whole roof top area of a bar and had traditional Chinese barbeque.  Let me tell you, I am SO SICK of "traditional Chinese" food.  Just SICK!  They actually had little barbequed DOVES (the bird) on skewers!!  The corn on the cob was absolutely NOT edible, as was much of the rest of the food.  No one really complained much, but I know they were all thinking the same thing! I literally took a couple tiny bites of most everything they had and just spit it right back out!  The guys did manage to drag me down to the bar and do a tequila shot with them to loosen me up...and my whole throat and stomach burned for at least an hour after that!!  No food and tequila is a BAD combination - especially for someone who drinks as little as I do! 

We walked through a little hutong area (an old traditional Chinese residential area) to get back to the bus, and there were bikes EVERYwhere.  Most people in Beijing jut have bikes, not cars.  So one of our old, rich, and very reserved clients was walking along and a bike came out of no where and hit the little bell on the bike RIGHT behind him.  It scared him and he tried to jump out of the way but ended up jumping right in to the path of the bike.  Oh it was just great - he was so embarrassed and shocked and just didn't know what to do.  The lady on the bike was so pissed and was just standing there glaring at him...and obviously had no idea what he was saying as he apologized right and left. :) 

Good times in China.  ;)

We got back on the bus to head back to the hotel around 10pm.  So THAT is why I was just too tired to write last night...

More to come tomorrow. :)

-TK

Beijing - Orphanage Visit

This morning we (as in all the clients over here for the conference) left the hotel on two buses at 8am  to visit a local orphanage called Shepard's Field.  It was about an hour bus trip just outside of Beijing, but it wasn't bad at all.  This orphanage isn't one of those terrible government run orphanages - it is fully funded by donations and houses special needs children.  (www.chinaorphans.org - check out the website)  It was so hard to see all those beautiful little babies that have no one.  Like I said, it was a pretty nice place, and it is run by an American Christian family, so all the staff was wonderful, but it was still hard to see.  Surprisingly, a lot of the children there were little boys.  Most of the orphans in China are girls, but these were special needs little boys.  Anyways,  we all got a tour of the place and then got to play with the toddlers, then the babies. 

I got pretty attached to one of the little boys...as soon as I squatted down to say hi to him, he grinned really big and ran over to me with his arms out.  It was so cute...I picked him up and was with him most of the time we were there :)   A different little guy REALLY liked my watch - haha - of course I had to let him wear it!!  It was pretty hard to leave the babies, too.  Three of them are getting adopted this week, so that was great to hear! :)

On the way home from the orphanage, we got stuck in a traffic jam, and then got stopped at a police check point.  It literally took probably half an hour, and we were already running late because no one wanted to leave the orphanage. 

We made it back to the hotel, switched people on the buses (TOTAL CHAOS) and one group left again to visit one of the companies we are invested in.  I, however, got to take some of the females (trophy wives who didn't want to visit the company) shopping!  And of course we went to the biggest knock-off shopping market in Beijing, the Silk Market.  I absolutely LOVE that place!   I spent quite a bit of time there last year when I was here.  I bought a couple of hand-bags, some watches (of course) and some Ray Ban Sunglasses...I'm sure I'll be making another trip back. 

Surprisingly, I actually saw a lot of Olympic athletes there this afternoon.  The entire US Men's Water Polo team was there, and let me tell you, they were HOT!  They were all dressed the same and completely stuck out - a bunch of tall, muscular, blonde-headed guys amongst the tiny Asians.  I talked to a couple of them and they tried to convince me to come watch one of there matches, but I doubt I will.  The French soccer coaches were there, all trying to negotiate on an iPod...I told them to just start walking away and the price would drop, which they did, and I was right.  They thought it was pretty funny.  I also saw some Italian Olympians, but I didn't talk to them, so I'm not sure what sport they were competing in. 

One of the investors who is attending our conference flew in on Monday from Singapore, and he had the entire US Swim team on his flight.  Michael Phelps and a few others were in first class with him, the rest of the US team was in business class, and the entire Canadian swim team was in COACH...haha... pretty funny.  They had been training down in Singapore, and once they saw the sky and pollution in Beijing, most of them immediately put on there little face masks and groaned. The air here has been pretty bad.  It was nice the first day we got here (Sunday) but was terrible yesterday.  It is a little better today, but I would be upset, too, if I was an Olympic athlete and had to compete in this crap!  It literally hurts my throat to just walk around outside in it for half an hour!

After the shopping experience at the Silk Market (and let me tell you, it IS an experience!) I came back to the hotel and worked for a little bit – got a lot of organizing and my regular work to catch up on.  We had a big dinner for all the guests this evening in the ball room here at the hotel.  It was supposed to start a 7pm, and at 7:10, I think there were like 10 people there (supposed to be 100).  So it didn't quite go as planned - everyone was REALLY late and I was freaking out - but it all worked out and turned out good.  I thought the food was terrible - I literally couldn't even pronounce half of it (again), but all of the other rich people here like that kind of stuff, so whatever.  I picked around at it a little bit and just ate the dessert! :)

So it's off to bed now.  I am so tired - I just go go go all day and never sit down!  I always have my day planned out in my head and think I'm going to have plenty of time for everything, but every day is hectic and there's never enough time for anything!!  The joys of organizing a conference in foreign country…   

I’m off to the Great Wall tomorrow... :)

-TK

Beijing Olympic Gardens

Well day two was good...

I slept great last night...I really don't think I moved once all night!  These fancy beds/pillows in fancy hotels are amazing! 

Woke up around 7am and went straight to the computer to check my emails.  The first three were from clients coming to the conference my company is hosting here in Beijing...saying they either missed there flights or the flights were cancelled!  Not what I wanted to hear first thing in the morning!  Once that was all taken care of (I am kind of the liaison between our clients and the hotel for this big event), I went for some breakfast at the hotel.  The food here is pretty good.  They have most of the normal American stuff (cereal, toast, yogurt, bacon, etc) plus all the crazy Chinese stuff that I can't even pronounce.  Steered clear of it for this morning. 

I went to the Bank of China across the street today to try and exchange my US dollars for the Chinese Yuan.  I walked in, and of course, everyone just kind of looked at me and didn't speak.  So I saw a little machine that read "exchange" so I pushed the button.  It spit out a piece of paper with a number on it, so I just sat down and waited, hoping that the teller would speak English.  About 10 minutes later, I saw my number flash above one of the tellers (it was announced as well, but in Chinese).  So I went up and told her I wanted to exchange my US dollars (I showed her my huge wad of cash) for Chinese money.  She said "You have passport?" in her broken Chinese/English.  And of course I didn't have it with me.  I shook my head no, and she said, "You no exchange money no passport!" and shooed me away.  Haha…  SO...back to the hotel, get the passport, go back, get another number, and wait again.  This time it is a guy, who really looks just confused when I tell him what I want to do with my $2,500 in $100 US dollar bills I have.  He said, "Exchange US for Chinese??"  I said yes in my best Chinese and nodded my head up and down with a smile.  He typed a number in to his calculator and showed it to me and said "exchange".  It was pretty close to what I thought the rate should be so I said sure.  He took my cash and my passport and I was just praying he was going to give it back with the right amount of money.  Quite some time later (like at least 5 minutes of me freaking out), he finally came back with a HUGE stack of bills.  Roughly 16,500 Yuan – in 100 bills.   So as if I wasn't enough of a target before being tall and light-haired, now I literally have a huge (I mean HUGE) stack of cash in my hand as I walk across the street to the hotel.  Thankfully there are security guards on every single street crossing due to the Olympics, so I was fine. :)

Nothing else too exciting today.  We visited the Beijing Olympic Gardens, which were pretty cool.

We had a welcome cocktail party this evening in the bar at the hotel.  We had about 50 of the clients show up for drinks and crazy appetizers that I didn't touch.  The other roughly 50 clients have either not arrived yet or were too jet lagged to make it down for the event.  I introduced myself to every single person there since I'm kind of the one running this little conference, so it was a night full of me smiling and being nice and professional and answering questions and blah blah blah...while everyone else was just getting drunk!  

It's a little after 10pm here now, so I'm going to bed!  I have a full day tomorrow.  Visiting an orphanage at 8am, and a big company we are invested in in the afternoon, and then a big dinner tomorrow night.

That's all for now!

-TK

Off to Beijing, China...

**DISCLAIMER:  I have been too busy and had my hands too full to get my camera out much yet.  So no pictures, but I will take plenty, I promise!**

Hello all!

As promised, here is the first (probably of many) email update on where I am and what I'm up to... 

I left Reno on Friday evening for Los Angeles...but not before sitting on the plane on the runway for almost an hour!  It was a tiny plane - just two seats on each side of the aisle, and of course I was stuck next to a 500 pound sweaty guy...it was perfect.  ;)  And as if that wasn't bad enough, the take-off was so scary ... some of the worst turbulents I've ever felt.  I swear we dropped at least 10 feet one time! 

It was an easy flight after that, and quick...we finally made it to LAX around 10:30 pm.  Oh yeah - and we're traveling with a four year old and two five year olds (my boss' kids)... 

So we were told we had to transfer terminals once we got off the plane and got our luggage.  Luggage for MOVING to China (aka it's A LOT).  They told us to find the blue "A" bus that will take us to Tom Bradley International Terminal.  Well we found the bus stop after walking around pulling tons of luggage (and REAL tired kids, it's almost 11pm remember) for about 15 minutes.  My impatient boss decided he didn't want to wait any longer because we didn't immediately see a bus coming, and that we would just walk to the right terminal.  So off we go again...luggage and kids for a "quick" walk.  Well, 45 minutes and two wrong terminals later, we made it to the Air China check in.  And NO LINE!  I couldn't believe it.  The China Air security guard let us all get in the 1^st class check line with my boss (even though the rest of us weren't first class). 

We walked to our gate, and decided to try and find some food.  Well it's almost midnight at this point, and the only two places still open are Burger King and Starbucks.  I got some BK for everybody, and they literally closed the doors and locked down right behind me.  We ate and shopped at the little gift shop for awhile, and decided to try and make some beds for the kids at our gate.  No one could sleep, except for Molly, the four year old, who I was flying with.  So when it was time to board the plane, I got to carry a very heavy and completely dead to the world child on to the plane.  I literally thought my arms were going to break and I was going to drop her!!  (SERIOUSLY.)  Thankfully we had a couple open seats next to us, so I just laid down flat on my back and put her on top of me.  We both got some pretty good sleep (her a little more so than me - but at least she wasn't screaming the whole time).  The flight was about 13 hours and she probably slept for 10 or 11 of them – laying on top of me - sweating.  Man was I lucky!  ;) 

When we landed in Beijing (5:15am local time), a lady was holding a sign with our names on it as SOON as we got off.  It was great - big international airports can really be a pain to figure out sometimes - especially with kids - so the first class treatment was great! :)  Since it was so early in the morning, there wasn't a line at the airport at all...it was almost scary how quiet it was!  We hardly waited at customs at all, and it wasn't long before our bags came.  We checked in 11 bags in Reno, and of course only 10 actually made it all the way to Beijing.  Oh well -- that's still pretty good I guess!  The lost bag should be here tomorrow morning. 

We hopped on a bus (a private bus - for all of us and our luggage) and headed for the city - no traffic (since it was so early) so it only took 25 minutes (usually takes at least 45).  It was just crazy to see how much this city has changed since last October.  It just isn’t the same Beijing at all!  The skies are blue, no traffic, less pollution, and green trees and flowers everywhere!  I really had my doubts about how "cleaned up" this city was going to be, but it really does look great!

Our hotel is amazing, of course.  Sofitel Wanda Beijing in the Central Business District.  Big fountains and pretty lights…fancy elevators and beautiful flowers.  One whole wall in the bedroom is glass and looks through to the bathroom.  And in the bathroom you just push a button and it tints the glass so no one can see in...It’s pretty cool!  And the shower has two settings.  One says hand shower or something like that, which is just like a regular shower, and the other one is rain shower...and the water just pours out of the ceiling like it's raining!!  It's great... :)

So I've been at the hotel most of the day.  Went to visit my boss' apartment which is just a couple of blocks away, and figured out what kinds of things everyone is going to need to live here.  And then...we went to WAL-MART to get stuff!  I've never been to a Wal-Mart in a foreign country, and let me tell you, it was quite an experience!  Think of Costco or some other crazy big store...at its busiest time, and then add 1,000 Asians and smelly raw meat everywhere!  Oh it was just insane!  And if you thought stuff was cheap at Wal-Mart in the U.S. - you'd die if you saw how cheap it was here!  We pretty much half-furnished a three bedroom apartment for $250.  I love this place!!

I just wandered out for a walk since the sun is going down and it's cooling off, and got a massage!  One hour full body massage for like $20, which is a total rip-off over here, but it was a nice place and I just didn't feel like bargaining tonight.  I'm so tired.  It's 8pm over here and I've been up since 2:30am.  I ordered room service (love this job!) and as soon as I'm done eating, I'm going to get some SLEEP!

Hope everyone is well back home!  Miss you guys and I'll write again tomorrow...

-TK

Shanghai --> Hong Kong --> Vietnam

Shanghai was fun, but it was such a short trip!  I went out and walked around the city a little, had to see the Bund along the water, and then went to a little shopping/historial area that one of the guys in my meeting recomended.  I did some shopping (of course) and had a guy write my name in Chinese art/caligraphy or something like that.  I had the famous dumplings that everyone told me about - nothing to write home about in my opinion! ;)  Here are some pics from my free time in Shanghai...

My only not-that-smart decision of this day was to start talking to a guy who wanted to "help me shop."  He kept following me and asking me what I was looking for, and I didn't really know what I was looking for!  He asked about purses and jewelry - both of which I had PLENTY of from Hong Kong and Beijing.  Then he mentioned a coat.  Hmmm...well maybe I coud use a new jacket or coat!?  So off we went, me being a little skeptical, but not enough to act upon!  He took me to a couple shops - places where he knew people who worked there I guess - and I didn't see anything I really liked or wanted to pay that much for.  So finally, he took me one last place, where he just assured me I would find what I was looking for at the best price.  (Well why didn't you take me there first!?)  So anyways, I'm following him along these streets, turned down an ally, then another, then he knocked twice on a door, waited for someone to crack it open and said something to him in Chinese, he said something back.  We waited.  They came back a few seconds later and let us in to a darkish room with nothing in it.  WHAT IS GOING ON HERE!?  Then a door opens on the side, a really short door that we almost had to duck through, and we went in to a lit room with NICE coats and jackets hanging on the walls, and just a few people in there.  Is this like the top secret shopping area!?  Or the REAL ones that are stolen or what!?  No idea, but yes, I found one I liked and got a pretty good deal on it I think.  I had to buy something for fear they weren't going to let me out if I didn't - haha!  So anyways, once I bought it, the guy walked me back to the main street and helped me find a taxi to take me back to my hotel.  Another good shopping day! :)

I went to my meeting - which wasn't anything exciting.  It was more of a due dilligence kind of thing - my boss just wanted to know they actually had an office and were really running a business, which I can confirm they were. (See picture below.)

So after my meeting, it was back to Hong Kong and then time for the good stuff:  9 days in Southeast Asia alone!! :)