ITMA Asia Shanghai

Folks - this week am at ITMA (International Textile Manufacturers Association) tradeshow in Shanghai.

Vendors from around the world are here , hoping to sell the next million dollar line of machinery or a $50 gasket from a local shop.   So very brief little update. The show is being held at the Shanghai Exposition Centre on the north east side of Shanghai.

To put things in perspective I took a shot of the hall we are located in - there are 12 of these halls in an arc pattern on the property.

thru the haze you can see the otherside of the complex and the 6 halls on that side , across the centre courtyard

the size of equiopment that has been brought in and installed is awesome

ok time to hit the subway back to the show - bye for now !

First Road Trip - Follow the Huhang Expressway - we are not in Kansas any more

So we travelled about 250km down the Huhang Expressway - Toll Road. towards Shaoxing (see last post for local pics).

Stayed at the Kaiyue Hotel in Shaoxing - quite the hotel ! Techs liked it cause they didn't have to stay in some dive, on the side of the road. The basic price of a single is about 498yuan ($72ca) the double was much more. The room came with robes, slippers, haridryer, alarm clock, etc. For sale in the room were , toothbrush, razor, various creams, potions, condoms (no I didn't try for size lol) fully stocked bar, and snacks - prices were quite high.

  

Shot of the room and bathroom - one thing I have found - the beds are pretty hard here in China - there is little or no padding on anything I have slept on yet.  The best part about this hotel is that they had coffee at breakfast , ok it was bad Coffee Time kinda coffee but it was coffee lol.

And the best aprt was that everything in the room and i mean everything was for sale !!

Second night out (we stayed here for two nights) was in a smaller town, alot cheaper , not as nice but stlil passable, call it Super 8 on the highway version.  the coolest part was the restaurant there, they had live tanks for fish, eel, crab, shrimp and for the discriminating taste; turtle (two types even). The menu was all laid out with pictures of the dishes and bellow it plates with the ingredients , wrapped with celophane tent - wackiness yes.  It was probaly the best place in town.

And what trip is complete without a great pic of a toilet in another country LMAO.

This was in one of the factories we visited, it was clean ??? though trust me , there was no way i was taking a squat,. I dont think i can get that far down and no way was i removing my pants. LOL We hold out for a hotel room or better yet The Shanghai Ranch (home).

ok back in the saddle

Unfortunately my blog got blocked after a few days here in China.

Have found a work around and hopefully can now keep updates coming here regularly.
also have managed to turn on the email updater so will test that out.

So some quick updates and things of note:
Starbucks is just as expensive here as it is in Canada - about $5 something for a Venti Tea Latte or 31rmb (chinese dollars) - thats big money for a regular person here in China.

You can buy lunch for two people at a small restaurant for 20rmb or $3 Canadian, yes diner for two for 3 bucks - and the food is excellent - the place is a dive and the woman running the place is about 4ft tall and I am afraid of her.

Went for my first drive outside of Shanghai yesterday (Tuesday) the city goes forever. once your on the highway its not much different than anywhere else, everyones flying along at 120km/hr.

on the highway spotted this scaffolding being setup - thats bamboo scaffolding - larger buildings use steel poles though you see bamboo being used on smaller buildings.

Hit one of the grocery stores on the way home tonight to pickup some essentials - spotted these boxes selling rice in bulk.

BIG Thnx out to Gianella for her contribution to the Shanghai World Tour 2010. First few days this came in handy and kept me sane while i adjusted. Cant afford to be hitting Starbucks every day here. Juan Valdez would be proud !!  Viva Columbia !!

Was told today that the Big Guy is looking for a woman to come clean the place for myself and Alex. Also the thought is to use her to cook Lunch for everyone in the office from our Kitchen. Chances she woudl cook here and then bike or scooter over with everything.

ok more to come now that i have a connection to the world !!

Good night from Shanghai Ranch

Its Saturday in Sunny Shanghai !

Good morning !!

gotta keep it short no internet where i am, this is courtesy of Rogers using Blackberry Desktop Manager to connect to the internet through the cellphone (by the way Bell Mobility is useless here). Am sure the bill will be exciting.

Got here in one piece.
Had a great meal close to the apartment - the two guys that picked me up (Alex and Rick) took me out.
great food !!!
Then did some shopping at a Walmart equivalent place - recognised alot of things that we see in Canada - more about spotting logos versus whats written on the package.
So managed to find some Quaker Oatmeal - I spotted the logo lol.

Am winging it today as everyone is busy, so will campout, relax, go for a walk.

A few pics of the view from the place am on 2nd floor of a building same as what you see.

will give an update later - hopefully can find a hotspot close by for a real internet connection.

Its morning, its sunny outside

And I am getting to get locked up in an aluminum can for 15 hrs headed to Honk Kong.

OK so do the math on this one - couple thousand clicks over open ocean and two engines ??
one of these on each side of the aircraft. Wondering how far we can glide ?

the relief was finding Crown Royal at the Duty Free - just too bad cant buy - was advised by staff that it could get confiscated either in Hong Kong or Shanghai, when boarding Dragon Air.

Looks like the sun is getting ready to blast Toronto, as I sit waiting for my flight to board.

Will be bunking up with a co-worker in Shanghai, much better than a hotel , and gives me a translator and tour guide close by. But if somebody is washing my back and i didnt invite them in, then am out of there lol.
And yes I checked to see if he has a girlfriend. Not that am phobic , but dont need any international incidences lol.

ok boarding time any minute now !!