May 13, 2006
Where is your hometown ?
Shenme Difang Ren and Ni de laojia zai nali ? are 2 very popular questions in China, basically it means where do you come from, although actual translation could be "which place person?" or "your home town is where?"
For me, this is an awkward question, as I honestly don't know where I would call my hometown, and chatting to a few western friends got me thinking about doing this post, to see if I can work where my hometown actually is:
Born = Small village in NW England called Nelson
6 months > 10 years old = Various towns around Copenhagen, Denmark
10 years > 11 years old = Back to Nelson, England
11 years > 18 years old = London
18 years > 21 years old = Various towns around North East England
21 years > 25 years old = London
25 years > 26 years old = Northern Cyprus
26 years > 31 years old = London
31 years > now = Shanghai and London
add the fact that my parents come from a remote village in Northern Pakistan and you kinda get my meaning I hope.
So my answer usually is London, however many people are not happy with this, and continue to delve deeper, much as I would love to say the Village in Pakistan, I don't actually think that is correct.
What you think ?
Posted by shak at 11:05 PM | Comments (3)
May 4, 2006
Censorship around the World
Just came across an interesting piece from DANWEI regarding the world's 10 most censored countries, for your information China is NOT in the list.
“People in these countries are virtually isolated from the rest of the world by authoritarian rulers who muzzle the media and keep a chokehold on information through restrictive laws, fear, and intimidation,” said CPJ Executive Director Ann Cooper.
Posted by shak at 6:20 PM | Comments (0)
April 28, 2006
10 Things I do NOT miss about China
As a follow up to 10 Things I miss about China, here is my list of 10 things that I do NOT miss about being away.
People Spitting and Picking their Nose in Public
Bad Quality Western Food
Lunatic Taxi Drivers
Dvd, Rolex and Massageee hustlers
Pushing and Shoving for taxis, in shops etc
Chinese Customer Service
Menus (in Chinese only)
the Laowai stare as if I am from another planet
Slow speed of the WWW
Chinese Timekeeping and Punctuality
to be honest it was so much easier doing the list about what I miss and there were many more I could add, whereas the list above had me struggling for a bit.
Posted by shak at 1:45 PM | Comments (5)
April 26, 2006
10 Things I miss about China
It's 7.40am in London and I thought I'd do a post before heading out for the day, so here goes.
10 Things I miss about China:
90 minute massages at Dragon Fly for around £10
Real Chinese Food
Free WiFi in Coffee Shops
Maid to tidy up after me
Security Guards at the entrance to my apartment complex
Happy Smiling Faces
$2 a pack Marlboro Lights
Taxis everywhere (most of the time)
24 hour spas/bathhouses (jacuzzis/Hot tubs etc)
My Chinese Lessons
Maybe tomorrow or the day after I should the same but for the 10 things I DONT miss about China :)
Posted by shak at 7:39 AM | Comments (4)
April 23, 2006
Mission (part1) Complete, Back to London !
So here I am , Sunday evening looking out at the Shanghai Skyline whilst typing this post, I am all packed and I have flight tomorrow (Monday) morning at 11am headed for London.
Now some of you are probably wondering why I am off again and will I come back, and if so, when ?
So here's the lowdown, my stage 1 mission is complete, and my goals were:
1, Being able to speak Basic Conversational Chinese.
2, Get connected with people in the Online Marketing Industry.
3, First container of Goods to have left Shanghai port bound for London.
I am glad to say that in my opinion, I have now reached all these goals and I explain why:
a, I have continued my Mandarin lessons of 2 hours every day come rain or shine, and life is quite comfortable these days when it comes to the basics (getting around, ordering food, negotiating with suppliers, making appointments and general chit chat with local NON English speaking folk), however maybe some of the folk that know me in Shanghai can care to comment on how bad my manadarin is.
b, With the help of a few very connected folks in China and 1 or 2 in Mountain View, I can safely say that I am at max 1 or 2 degrees away from knowing anyone I really need to know when it comes to doing business in the Online/Search/Affiliate industry in China, at the moment this is an area I am not currently concentrating too hard on, however when the time comes I shall be sure to get involved on behalf of compaies back home.
c, I decided that I should take advantage of me being in China and the manufacturing industry here, so on Thursday a 20 foot container left Shanghai full of Exhibition equipment destined for my new UK company which will be up and running by 1st of June (fingers crossed).
So that's why I am going back, and I hope to be in UK for the next 3-4 months building the new business, especially the sales/marketing side of things.
I love living in China and am truly having the time of my life, someone summed it up as being a cross between San Francisco in 1849 and Silicon Valley 10 years ago, so I shall be back around July/August if all goes according to plan.
I hope to continue my Mandarin in London either with a teacher or as a language exchange with a Chinese student living there.
The posting here will be a bit quiet no doubt, however I am currently working on a report which I am looking to publish in the next 2 weeks or so, quite interesting even if I say so myself.
till next time friends, Zai Jian
Posted by shak at 7:00 PM | Comments (2)
April 5, 2006
1 Billion Customers
So for the past 6 months or so I have been living in Shanghai, China's most developed city some would say with a population of between 16 > 20 million people.
Apart from Shanghai, I have visited Beijing, Xiamen, Hangzhou, Suzhou , Nanjing and Wuxi on day trips as such for various meetings.
Now like most people out there I had heard of these 1.3 billion customers in China waiting to buy goods and services over the next 10 > 50 years (dependant on what you read), However the more you read the more you become aware that only a small percenatge life a similar life to what Shanghai or Nanjing has to offer, and that 80 > 85% of the population lives in whats called Rural China.
So when an invite came from Laoban Daniel of ZimZone to come and experience some REAL China instead of the China Light we are living, there was no way I could refuse.
So last Friday, my flatmate and I flew to Hefei, capital of Anhui province, 55 minutes flight or 5 hours by train from Shanghai, the city itself boasts 1.5 million people but including surrounding areas totals about 4 million, this is what's known as a 2nd tier city in China.
Well what an amazing 2 days we had ....
We land at Hefei international airport, and the 1st thing that strikes me is that we are the ONLY plane in the airport, 3 minutes laster and we are being driven away to our Motel for the nite, which had been booked in the wrong place so we end up in eHomInn instead of the Home Inn chain we had requested (welcome to China)
A quick dinner in a local restaurant and then on to experience some nightlife in Hefei, 1st thing that strikes me is the price, everything seems 1/2 price of what we pay in Shanghai, 2nd thing that strikes me is the VERY VERY few foreigners here, in fact out of the 3 clubs we went to, I see 1 other Laowai. quite interesting that the best club in town is called "Beauiful Club", huge place with lots of signs and corporate identity all featuring a Typo (welcome to China, why fix it if its working), 3rd thing that strikes me is the friendliness of these people compared to Shanghai (we love Prada, Gucci, LVMH and Starbucks).
The night draws to a close with us having a burger at Novotel at 4am, the only place to get a decent burger or decent anything I think at 4am in Hefei.
Next morning we are collected at 8am for a trip to the countryside, and a 2 hour drive later we start seeing what the 85% people live like
and how they spend their spare time
Now we spent the best part of a day out here, and I must say it was an experience unlike any other, and so so different from the China which I am living in, as are most (not all foreigners) and even more surprising is the fact that a lot of City people I have spoken to younger than 30 have never been to such places, and looked at me in shock when I said I was going for a weekend break.
The people were so genuine, and even though there may not be any income coming in directly, the 1 family breadwinner working in the city is supporting anything from 2 to 10 people or more in some cases, but everyone believes in the cause "Today is better than Yesterday, and Tomorrow will be even better", by the way most people out here were 0 > 15 years old or over 50, not many youngsters or working age people, as they are the 1s chasing THEIR dream in the cities.
All in all a very interesting experience, and 1 that I'd recommend to anyone coming to China, obviously having local guides made all the difference, and allowed me to briefly see what real China is like.
The funny thing is that I was told this was the suburbs and REAL China was a few hours drive west ?
Hope you enjoyed the post, and apologies for the lack of posting lately, been a busy studying Chinese and drinking Vanilla Lattes in Starbucks.
(disclaimer: this post is intended for the folks back home, not for the 1 guy who has lived in China for a few years and wants to nit pick the tiniest detail of my post, if you dont like it, go teach another English class instead for $1,50)
Posted by shak at 4:01 PM | Comments (4)
March 30, 2006
Red , Amber or Green
Considering I have been here nearly 6 months, you would think I would have worked out how to cross the road.
For the life of me, every day is a challenge crossing the road, so I am hoping someone out there can possibly give an explanation of
RED
AMBER
GREEN
Seems to me the rule here is a bit strange, especially when it comes to Green, now you'd imagine, it' nice and safe to cross right ?
NO, it ain't, as I find there is always either a Taxi Driver or an Electric Cycle (silent death) trying to aim exactly for my beloved life, and if that wasn't bad enough, there is also a guy with a piano or 9 million cardboard boxes on his trolley trying his luck in achieving the goal at the same time.
For those of you living here, I am sure you know exactly what I mean, and for those who haven't been, the only advice I can give is "when you see a green light, maybe you can cross, maybe you can not"
end of rant ...
Posted by shak at 12:37 PM | Comments (1)
March 28, 2006
Return of the 100 RMB
About 3 weeks ago, 3 friends of mine (all self made guys) arrived in Shanghai for a long weekend of partying, debauchery and basically to see how I was getting along.
Now these 3 guys are pretty smart and I have known 2 of them for about 10 years and done many a deal with them.
On their first day after pick up at Airport and settling them into their hotel, I ask them to meet me in Downtown Puxi at 7pm for dinner and advise them to take a Taxi and that the fare should be about 32 rmb from their hotel.
At 7.30pm they finally arrive and settle down, and when I ask how was the Taxi ride, they comment very nice and the fare was 35 RMB, BUT, as I had only give them 100 RMB notes, and the Driver had NO change, they decided to give him the whole 100 RMB.
In other words, on their first day in China, they got Shanghai'd :)
So basically I have spent the last 20 days or so, reclaiming this 65 RMB from taxi drivers around town, whenever my fare has been say 11 or 12 RMB, by making up excuses like I have NO change or only have 10 RMB master etc etc, and finally this morning I hit it big by getting the last 4 RMB back in 1 hit.
I can now safely get on with my life knowing that I have now reclaimed what was rightfully mine from day 1.
Moral of the story ? Who Knows (just thought you might want to read about it)
Posted by shak at 8:58 AM | Comments (4)
March 27, 2006
The best Blog in China
I know I have said it before, but I will say it again.
TalkTalkChina is by far the best blog in China that tells it as it is, as far as I am concerned.
Go Take a look
(btw guys, next time in Shanghai, please allow me to treat you to a drink)
Posted by shak at 12:41 PM | Comments (0)
March 21, 2006
Ask Matsume
Now this is something I have to share.
My lovely hairdresser Miss Matsume has started her very own "Ask Matsume" column on one of Shanghai's most famous expat/entertainment websites, it's kinda an agony aunt thing on the web, and a great read if you ask me.
Go take a look, not for the faint hearted!
Posted by shak at 6:11 AM | Comments (0)
February 9, 2006
Men on the Ground
As the title of this blog says ... "Life as a man on the ground"
So I been thinking of maybe opening the blog up so it kinda becomes "mEn on the ground, or even mEn and woMen on the ground"
Basically I'd let some of my crazy friends share their experiences with the masses, and trust me when I say they are a lot more adventurous than me.
Here's a few hints:
Mr G - an Italiano in Shanghai who seems to always have a crisis land on his lap on the 23rd hour whenever a big deal is taking place, He's a real funny guy.
Mr Luke - This guy parties 8 nights out of 7 and still manages to make it to his daily chinese lesson before me, and then goes home to do his homework, at any given moment between the hours of 8pm > 4am I kinda know exactly which club he is in, great guy with some crazy friends and amazing stories to tell, such as they time the "borrowed" a Taxi in Shanghai ;)
so what ya guys reckon, worth heading down this road by opening it up for a bit more content and information to flow out of China ???
ur comments appreciated
Posted by shak at 7:57 PM | Comments (5)
January 23, 2006
Only in China - 36 Hours of Chaos
So there I am Sunday morning at 8.30am asleep in my bed in Shanghai ...
9am >>> Wake Up
9.30am >>> Take Taxi to airport, Taxi driver decides he is Schumacher's chinese cousin and drives like a lunatic (considering every taxi driver drives like a lunatic which I now accept as normal, this was really was a lunatic)
10.05am >>> arrive at Airport
12 noon >>> Plane finally takes off, so we are already running late by an hour.
2.30pm >>> arrive in Shenzhen airport in Southern China
2.40pm >>> I go to buy a ferry ticket for my journey to Hong Kong, they don't accept credit cards and I am short of cash, so I go to 3 ATMs in Airport and 2 branches, NO CASH left.
3pm >>> AAARRRGGGHHHHHH,,,
3.10pm >>> After using all my Boyish Charm and some, plus a nice gift for the lovely female police officer who has decided that she will gladly listen to my broken Chinese finally resolves ina direct order to ticket clerk to issue me a ticket whilst accepting 4 different currencies from me.
5pm >>> I arrive in Hong Kong, and proceed to my Hotel, only to find out that they have booked me in the wrong Novotel and I need to be on the other side of the Island.
6pm >>> meeting starts and carries on till 11.45pm
Midnite >>> I call 2 of my friends in Hong Kong just to say HI, and both of them seem to be in places with lost of people and loud music and they persuade me to go down hang out with them.
12.30am >>> I am in a club called DROP with some crazy people including 2 mexican tax (evasion) lawyers, some Californian guy who is double ended toothpaste (different flavours for morning and nite) and various other crazy people.
4am >>> decide to leave and find a great kebab place where the staff speak Punjabi, same as I do.
5am >>> finally get to sleep.
7am >>> wake up
9am >>> leave Hotel for a meeting, but NO taxis, aaaargghhhh
9.30am >>> finally make meetings after walking for 20 minutes.
12.45 pm >>> Depart Hong Kong via speedboat from China.
1.50pm >>> arrive in Shenzhen port and am convinced I am carrying a fake passport as 3 Chinese immigration guys decide that the picture on the passport is NOT me ?
2.10pm >>> They finally decide to let me enter the Country, strange as I only left China 24 hours ago and my passport in covered in Chinese entry/exit stamps.
6pm >>> finally board flight which is 2 hours late
8pm >>> arrive in Shanghai
9pm >>> arrive home and dying for a cup of tea, to realise there is NO milk in the apartment.
I dont know whether I should laugh or cry, as the above was very mentally draining but very exciting at the same time, and ultimately one has to experience this stuff to survive in this country.
I must say the usa of my broken mandaring and light hearted humour got me back or I have NO idea where I would have been right now.
Oh well, back to the UK in 2 days :)
Posted by shak at 9:51 PM | Comments (0)
January 19, 2006
Soup or Hand Wash ?
A few months ago when I first arrived in China, I was taken to lunch by a senior guy at eBay China as we had some mutual friends back in the USA and Hong Kong.
Anyway, we meet and the guy takes me to this real nice Chinese Noodle Place in the same Plaza as their China HQ next to People's Square in a compalex called Raffles City.
The restaurant looks very nice and comfortable and I order "Spicy Sichaun Chicken" and he orders "Stir fry Something" ...
The meal arrives and it looks delicious and we dig in, about 5 minutes later the waitress (xiaojie) brings a bowl of warm/hot liquid with some lemon shreddings to me, this is quite common in China when you are eating food where your hands need a good wash afterwards, especially when easting prawns/shrimps etc.
So I finish my meal and wash my hands and say my goodbye etc etc.
Fast Forward >>>> to last weekend.
My flatmate Johan and I are just done having a workout in the Gym and I suggest we should go have lunch at the same place as the food was pretty good and it's not too far away from our gym, so off we go in a taxi and arrive at destination.
I choose same dish again "Spicy Sichuan Chicken" and he does the same on my recommendation, food subsequently arrives just like last time and then 5 minutes later the Bowl for the Hand Wash arrives.
Johan then asks for a spoon, and the Xiaojie brings 2 spoons, 1 for him and 1 for me, at this stage I am wondering I am missing something here.
He then proceeds to Drink the Handwash from the bowl with the Spoon whilst I am looking on in Shock, he notices this and says "What's so funny", I reply "You are drinking Hand Wash, not Soup" :)
Now Johan jas been here for a couple of years and is a bit of China expert and frankly speaking, if it wasn't for him advising and guiding me on the correct path here, I would have escaped a long time ago.
So to settle the matter and an excuse as always to practice my Chinese, I call the waitress over and ask "Excuse me, what is this", at which stage she looks at Johan and I and replies ... "SOUP"
So there you have it, I sat infront of a senior guy at eBay and washed my ahnds in a bowl of Soup without him twitching an eyelid, and on our many subsequent meetings he never mentioned anything.
"Mr, Noles, how could you ?"
anyway it's 8.30am and I am off back to Bed, as Germany's leading SEO decided to wake me up at 6.45am via cellphone to ask the distance between Shanghai > Hong Kong via air! (am still working out how I am gonna get him back for this)
Posted by shak at 6:16 AM | Comments (4)
December 26, 2005
SMS in China
So here's something that's really puzzling when it comes to SMS (short message service) in China that completely baffles me.
a, 95% of the time when someone from abroad sends me a message it does NOT arrive, this also applies to foreign network phones roaming in China, exceptions have been Singapore and India, however my replies never reached these people.
b, Quite often you can send a message and delivery report arrives 15 seconds later informing you that the message was delivered, when in fact it never arrived on the other persons phone, I have tested this on a number of ocassions and can confirm this.
As you can imagine this can be very frustrating, especially in a country where SMS is so widely used, I must send 20-30 messages per day.
So a word of warning, do NOT rely on SMS as a sure fire method of sending a message, well worth following up with a phone call, or asking for RSVP to be 100% sure.
And finally does anyone happen to know whether my China Unicom (prepay) sim card can be upgraded to be able to roam internationally, or alternatively upgraded to a contract (post pay) whilst keeping my existing number ?
Posted by shak at 2:48 PM | Comments (9)
December 23, 2005
Merry XmaX
Since today is probably the last day at work for all you lazy folk back home in UK and also in the USA, I thought better send you seasons greetings and wish you a Merry XmaX
The reason I spelt it with a X at the end was after seeing 1 of Shanghai's top Shopping Centres with a huge sign outside saying this, and since I have no idea what's happening back home, I assume it's been changed to XmaX.
Posted by shak at 2:55 PM | Comments (6)
December 19, 2005
Survival guide to staying warm in Shanghai
So after 2-3 weeks of hell here freezing my XXX off in Shanghai, I think I have finally got to a stage where things are kinda under control, although this being China, menas that a big surprise awaits no doubt!
so here goes in terms of keeping warm in Shanghai:
Fleece Vest or Jacket is a must
Regular trips to Coffee Bean for hot drinks, as they offer free WiFi and are a lot warmer than Starbucks in my opinion, less people means less opening and closing of doors.
Heated Electric Blanket
Duck or Goose Feather duvet is an essential piece of your bedding.
Electric Heaters and Warm air from Air Con unit is fine if CONTINOUSLY on, as there is NO insulation and lots of gaps in windows for draught
However the heating leads to severe dryness of the air, and to counteract that you need a Humidifier to spray some moisture in the air on a continous basis.
So now you know why I havent blogged since last week as I have been busy soling my heating issue in the apartment, only problem now is the fact that I dont like stepping out anymore ;)
Posted by shak at 3:09 PM | Comments (1)
December 12, 2005
new Maid and new Chinese Teacher
All change round here since returning from the UK last week, new maid seems to be rocking at the moment, even making Fresh Orange juice for us and delivering the Dry Cleaning on her day off over the weekend.
I also have a new Chinese teacher with whom I start lessons today, I actually came across her whilst she was giving a lesson to a student in STARBUCKS, and I watched from afar for about 10 minutes and was suitably impressed. although I am a bit worried as she showed my Business card to some of her other students who seem to know me from Clubs and Bars in Shanghai, surely I don't go out that much, do I ?
So if you see me and a Chinese lady in her late 20s in various Coffee Shops around Shanghai, do NOT come up to say HI, as it'll cost ya big $$$s
the saga continues ...
Posted by shak at 7:53 AM | Comments (4)
December 9, 2005
Shanghai in the eyes of Silicon Beat
When I frst came to China, Silicon Beat the VC blog out of Silicon Valley very kindly did a piece on my mission to China, ever since then I have been inviting Matt out to come sample Shanghai for himself, however his trip coincided with my trip back to London.
That aside he has written up on what he experienced here, and I am glad he managed to party with some of my buddies here at Bar Rouge, apparently Mimi was there aswell and Matt has a picture to prove it somewhere.
Before I left from the U.S., two friends had recommended I look up Mark, a passionate and plugged-in young man of 35. However, despite emails back and forth, we'd missed each other -- he is a busy guy.
Then here I was, being introduced to him at 3am in a bar with next to some Ukrainian and Brazilian models. This wouldn't have happened in Silicon Valley -- namely because there's no such thing as a hip bar that jams until 5am -- or at least one that I know of, or which VCs frequent. And alas, no Ukrainain or Brazilian models.
Shanghai Scene
The China Wars
Play in Silicon Valley vs Shanghai
Posted by shak at 2:17 PM | Comments (0)
December 8, 2005
Welcome back to China
Flight landed on time and everything was super smooth, so whilst looking for my driver amongst the crowds surrounding the exit, I was amused by a driver holding a sign which read:
"Please pick up this passenger from the Airport"
I can only assume that an email or message arrived in English and they printed off whatever it said first and handed that as the name sign for the driver to take with him!
====
Arrived home safely to be greeted by the new AYI (maid) who seems to have initiative, common sense and is hard working, unlike the previous one who was sacked in my absense, this 1 even refused to take my clothes for dry cleaning 100 yards away as in her opinion they charge "White man prices" and instead will take home with her to her local place and pay local money, we shall see I suppose.
====
It's absolutely FREEEEZING here, so after getting settled in, I decided to go buy an additional Oil filled radiator as Gas Central Heating does not exist, shop across the road obliged and sold me a lovely unit for about $30, however upon bringing it home, unpacking and assembling wheels etc, as soon as it was due to work it decides to EXPLODE, so now the hallway stinks of Oil and I am out of pocket by $30, until I hopefully get it replaced in the AM.
Welcome to The People's Republic of China
Posted by shak at 6:25 PM | Comments (1)
December 5, 2005
Cost of living in China
Seems like a lot of people in the UK suffer from what I call "China Syndrome" (= assuming everything in China is $1), so to hopefully share some info, I thought maybe I should do a breakdown of what it costs ME to live in Shanghai per month.
Rent and Bills = £300
Taxis = £100
Communication costs = £100 (mobile, web, landline)
Chinese Lessons = £200
Food = £300 (Lunch and Dinner)
Sub Total = £1,000 ($1,730 or 14,000RMB)
The above does NOT include any entertainment costs, and these can be a lot of money, a $500 saturday night is quite possible and happens once or twice a month, the above also does NOT include travelling within China when applicable, flights to most Chinese cities are around £100 return, and a day's Car hire with driver to go visit factories etc would be around £75.
The above as I am sure you can work out is in GBP Sterling, so to get a U$ figure, simply multiply by 1.73 and to get the Chinese rate simply multiply by 14
So there ya have it, a bit too much information on my spending habits in China, but hey, I am sure it will all be worth it in the long run ;)
Posted by shak at 2:38 AM | Comments (9)
November 22, 2005
65% discount with my broken Mandarin !
A few weeks ago I started buying International Calling cards for my calls to UK, very handy when Skype or Gtalk does NOT work here in China.
The cards come in 100rmb credits, and offer quite good value for money. I recently heard from a local that even though it's a 100rmb card, most locals only pay a 3rd of that.
So yesterday I wandered down the shop and asked for 2 X 100rmb International cards, which were handed to me with a demand for 200rmb.
to this I replied:
Wo bu shi laowai ren, Wo shi zhong guo ren!
At this statement the guy and girl behind the counter fell about laughing and decided I could have the said cards for 35rmb each insted of 100rmb as originally quoted.
This may seem a trvial thing, but made me look at my language learning from a different angle, and I am sure someone will be along to translate the statement above.
Posted by shak at 10:23 PM | Comments (6)
November 21, 2005
Socks in Bed !
It's bloody freezing here, not that I am not used to it having lived in the UK for most of my life, but there are 2 major differences:
NO Central Heating
Bad Insulation in Buildings
So the only option is warm/hot air from the aircon unit, which can not be good for the health, judging by the state of my throat this morning, or maybe time to buy some electric heaters.
In the meantime, looks like Socks in Bed (very classy indeed).
Posted by shak at 10:09 AM | Comments (1)
November 17, 2005
Cars in China
Ever since I was a little boy, I have been very passionate about cars, and luckily I have managed to own or drive some lovely machines in my time. So coming to China was quite a shock when the only Car I get to sit in over the last few months is a VW Santana which kinda looks like a 1980s Audi gone wrong and is the most uncomfortable car to 1) sit in and 2) try and get in or out of ...
So yesterday morning at 7.30am on my way to Adtech Shanghai, I managed to hail 1 of the few VW Passat taxis around (probably a 1.9 diesel), however sitting in this car I honestly felt like a king or lord of the manor, it could have been a Rolls Royce, Bentley or a Mercedes S600 for all I cared.
Absolutely amazing how the mind gets adjusted and climatised to something so quickly, and how just a little change can make all the difference.
Posted by shak at 6:18 AM | Comments (2)
November 14, 2005
The Chinese Dream
The Foreigners want to learn Chinese, whilst the Chinese want to learn English.
The Foreigners want to get Chinese boyfriends/girlfriends, whilst the Chinese want to have Western boyfriends/girlfreinds.
The Foreigners want to sample local cuisine, whils the Chinese want to go to McDonalds or Pizza Hut.
The $1 a day rural labourer wants to go London or New York, whilst the Foreigner wants to go to the rural workers village to experience real China.
The Foreigner wants to go dancing in a Chinese disco/club/ktv, whilst the Chinese want to go to where they play Mylo, Moby and Michael Jackson.
The Foreigner wants the local tailor made shirt or suit with no label or brand, the Chinese want the most expensive one with the biggest LOGO showing POLO, NIKE, Puma, Lacoste etc etc.
...
All I want is a Mars Bar
Posted by shak at 9:52 AM | Comments (3)
November 3, 2005
Diet Coke sir or Coke Light ?
Just so you know, it's just NOT me who thinks some of the stuff here is just plain crazy
She is the Dopey Crew Member, you know the one who takes orders a lot slower than everybody else, and looks like she chows down on far too many leftover cheeseburgers after work so she is pretty chunky.
(make sure you read the comments to get a clearer perspective)
Posted by shak at 9:55 PM
November 2, 2005
An Interesting few days
Last Friday I decided to head into Rural China and go visit some factories with some friends of mine, a very interesting experience indeed, and I shall do a post when they send me the pictures over.
That aside, I have been laid up with a very bad case of the FLU for the last few days, and nearly got on a plane to London to go recover in homely surroundings, but then decided I should stop being a little girl and act like a man.
However imagine how you'd feel if you finally make it to the Hospital where the clinic is, only to find that there are 100s of people waiting to use the lift, so I thought, screw it, I'll walk the 15 floors to the clinic, and when I arrive there 10 minutes later, I am told that I am in the wrong building (aaarrrggghhh).
Staying at home has revealed some interesting things, Our AYI (maid) obviously uses this place as her own little penthouse, as today I saw her come out of the bathroom with her hair wet, so am assuming she uses it to bathe every day, just aswell we are moving or I would have words in my broken Chinese, but a far more suitable punishment is being unemployed in my book, talk about taking the XXXX . I'd say My flatmate and I are the most laidback guys around and never demand anything of her that we would not do ourself, and this is how you get rewarded. mistaking kindness for weakness ...
Ranting Over, now i know what people mean when they say "I am having a China Day"
Posted by shak at 8:30 AM
October 26, 2005
Learning Mandarin part II (update)
My new mandarin teacher is good and we are making progress, even though I have cut lessons to 90 minutes a day rather than 2 hours, I found that my learning / concentration spam is out of the window by then.
With this new found knowledge I knew there would be hurdles to overcome, such as:
a, My maid now thinks I speak fluent chinese, because she sees me having lessons every morning.
b, Me asking for a cup of Tea with Milk resulted in 1 cup of tea, AND 1 cup of milk, teach me to run before I can walk I suppose.
Personally I am very happy with the progress being made, and I must say, even knowing a few basic words such as I, Want, Buy, No, Milk, Bread etc can make all the difference.
I'll give you another report in a few weeks methinks, keep reading.
Posted by shak at 9:38 AM | Comments (0)
October 20, 2005
Shanghai Living Photo exhibition
I had the pleasure of attending Shanghai Art Gallery today to look at an amazing collection of pictures by Hu Yang.
A very educational and moving experience indeed, Hu Yang basically documented the lives of Shanghai residents, interviewing and photographing 500 families in their homes. From poor migrant workers to expats to billionaires, nearly all of Shanghai is represented.
Sun Bingchang (Shanghainese, Retired Worker)
I didn’t have anything to do after my retirement, and therefore, I started this home hotel business and provide a place to stay for those people who come from other provinces and don’t have much money. I help the children in depressed areas with the money I earn. I miss the national leaders of the previous generation.
Some of the pictures are very moving and made me think about a lot more than my own reasons for being in China.
He Minghua (Shanghainese, Retired Worker)
Life is ok except the housing. Our son is 25 years old but lives with us in this house of 16sq.m. How could he find a girldfriend and get married? We are both blind and have no expectations for our life. The house is in disrepair and we suffer from rainsorms, which always flood the furniture and friedge. We are both retired and our son doesn't have a stable job. The bak refused to provide us a loan for an apartment because of our low income.
Chen Longzhen (Shanghainese, Retired Worker)
I go sellling small articles at 6 o'clock every morning, trying to earn some money for late years, and come back at 10:30 to cook lunch. We feel helpless for our son. I always like to speak honestly, so the most we want is a larger apartment. Blind people can't live long because we can't see and have complaints inside.
================================================================
LI You (Shanghainese, Corporate Staff)
I work in a foreign company and have a lot of pressure. The only thing I want to do after work is to have a bath for two hours and then watch a DVD. Besides, I'm an amateur writer on the Internet.
If you are in Shanghai you should try and visit the event, otherwise there is a full online gallery which I highly recommend viewing.
Picture Collection
Shanghai Art Gallery website
Posted by shak at 11:43 PM | Comments (2)
October 17, 2005
Learning Mandarin part II
My 2 week crash course long finished, in fact I only attended 5 out of the 10 days I think due to other things going on at that time.
My Mandarin is now what's known amongst the Laowai as "Taxi Mandarin"
I am your man should you need to get to a bar, left, right, straight ahead, crossroads or need the Taxi to STOP, I can do all of the above in a good accent which I am very proud of.
Anyway, that aside, Today I start my 1 on 1 lessons with my new private tutor named "Iris", Iris comes highly recommended by Matsume, my Canadian born Japanese hairdresser (btw guys and girls, if in Shanghai and in need of a fine haircut by a lovely girl, Matsume is what it's all about, she can be found at the Hair Salon on the 4th floor in the Hilton).
So starting today I am going to have 1 Two Hour lesson a day, every day for the next 5 days, and then we will decide whether our Teacher/Pupil relationship is set to blossom.
Lucklily Iris is a mature teacher so should have lots of experience and patience to put up with me, and as a bonus she can come to my apartment to teach so I dont have to sit in a traffic jam before lessons.
I shall keep you informed...
Posted by shak at 8:13 AM | Comments (2)
October 16, 2005
A day out at the Shanghai F1 Grand Prix
I'll start off by saying that attending my 1st ever Grand Prix was absolutely amazing, whether you are into Cars or not, it's a unique experience, and for me experiencing it in China was all the more exciting.
I managed to get some tickets and we headed off on 1 of the 000s of buses provided to get us to the track about 90 minutes from Shanghai city centre, shame the bus driver didn't know where we were going so he decided to stop on a 3 lane highway and ask the driver behind (don't worry, this is China, this kinda stuff happens all the time).
Anyway we got there in time and had a few hours of pure fun, the sound is amazing and seeing the cars so close really lets you get a feel for how quick they actually are.
The track was very close to a sell out (80% - 85% capacity I think)
Some snippets and basic facts about a Chinese grand prix:
Lots of folk selling goods galore outside (F1 hats, flags, T-shirts etc), all very cheaply, so I let you work that on out yourself :)
Inside official stands were selling similar items for 10 times the price, but here obviously IP laws were being observed and the correct parties get their share.
FOSTERS Australian beer had a big presence.
Chinese are quite passionate about F1 it seems and surprise surprise Ferrari and Schumacher are their favourites.
Even with strict security, the Rolex boys were out in full force, as can be seen in the pic below, and NO, I am NOT the guy offering the "Lolex, Too Much Cheap, Too Much Good"
Overall it was a top day out, even if it took nearly 3 hours to get back to Shanghai in the most chaotic traffic jam I have seen so far in China.
Posted by shak at 10:37 PM
October 14, 2005
Shanghai F1 this weekend
So I managed to blag/beg/bribe some tickets for the Grand Prix in Shanghai this weekend, the city is full of foreigners and bar staff are walking around wearing F1 colours.
Every club and bar has some form of F1 party on Saturday and Sunday, and VIP areas in most classy places have been booked solid for weeks.
However if you are in Shanghai over the weekend, do make contact and say HI, failing that Bar Rouge, 18 The Bund. on Saturday night will be the place to experience Shanghai nightlife in style if you have never been to China before.
Posted by shak at 1:48 PM
It's The Peoples Car
99% of Taxi's in Shanghai are VW Santana sedan/saloon cars. This probably stems from the fact that Volkswagen were the first Car company to do a big JV with the state.
However here's something that may surprise you, as it does me.
Most Taxi drivers when asked which company VW comes from, say CHINA, one even went as far trying to be clever and say VW is the Peoples Car referring to the Peoples Republic.
New generation Chinese and the semi wealthy are NOT buying the VW, as they want to buy foreign cars from Germany such as Audi, BMW and Mercedes.
Just thought it's funny how things have shaped up for VW here as NO marketer in my opinion would have predicted this kinda consumer behaviour?
Posted by shak at 1:03 PM
October 11, 2005
Bloody Foreigners
Sitting outside a coffee shop having a cup of tea last night at 7pm, I heard the sound of smashing glass, after about 30 seconds we managed to see a man smashing bottles on the floor quite deliberately.
The Coffee shop manager went over and asked him what on earth was going on, to which he replied in Chinese
"Bloody Foreigners"
"Every night they stand in this corner outside of my Shop and either urinate against the wall or are sick outside the door, I have had enough, so am gonna smash glass bottles every night so the front of my shop is covered in Glass to stop them doing damage, and if they insist, well then they can go to the hospital to get sticthes for the cuts on their feet"
Part of me thinks "Crazy", whilst part of me does give the man credit and thinking "outside the box", a very rare thing in China.
Posted by shak at 3:21 AM
October 10, 2005
Back in Shanghai
I is back after 2 weeks in London.
No longer living in a cushy 5* serviced apartment, but sharing an apartment with a friend, try and get a bit more chinese culture in my blood.
The cost being $1000 US per month for a real nice 2 bedroom apartment in a secure complex complete with a Maid who comes in every day. guess who will be getting lessons on Ironing ...
Keep tuned, I'll start blogging daily I hope.
Posted by shak at 8:35 PM
October 5, 2005
It's all in the NAME ...
So here's something I never fully understand until I went to China.
Chinese people choosing Western Names
Westerners choosing Chinese Names
It never ever crossed my mind until about a year ago that all the Chinese people named David, Bill, Lucy etc actually had Chinese names, but had chosen a Western name when arriving from the East or when being given a western name by their parents even though they ALL have Chinese names.
So here's some names which should make you think, a list of Western names chosen by Chinese people in Shanghai that I or a contact has come across:
Agent (works in real estate)
Pizza (liked Pizza)
Evian (was moving to France to study)
River
Ocean
Orange
Daisy
Lily
Flower
Handsome
Hangsome
Beauty
and the list goes on, I'll leave comments open as I am sure there are many that can be shared.
and on to point # 2,
to have a Chinese Business card or to get residence permit in China, 1 needs a Chinese name, so the challenge is what to Choose, I see 2 options:
a, ask some chinese friends to come up with a name for me.
b, use something such as Mandarin Tools
some interesting names coming up, go on, go take a look.
but try and and not come up with the Chinese equivelant of Agent :)
Posted by shak at 9:50 PM | Comments (3)
October 1, 2005
National Holiday Week
Just as well I decided to get out of Shanghai for the holiday season as upto 80 million people are due to pass through the city over the next week or so.
ABOUT 83.48 million people will visit Shanghai during the week-long National Day holiday, Youth Daily reported Tuesday, citing the Shanghai transport authority. The busiest day will be the National Day, October 1, when about 13.42 million people will hit the city's streets.
Posted by shak at 9:29 AM
September 24, 2005
Socialising in Shanghai
Every morning I get a copy of the excellent "Shanghai Daily" newspaper in English, it's a great read and keeps me informed of what's kinda taking place out there.
Last couple of days there have been 2 great articles which caught my eye ...
They are written by Michelle Qiao and Michelle Zhang.
We "decent girls" have received decent education, got decent jobs with decent pay, and we speak decent English, just like the guys. In school, we were urged to surpass them in every respect, and we often did.
is a snippet from an article called "Where have all the good men gone"
"In a crowded city like Shanghai, people are physically close to one another but they feel emotionally isolated," says Wang. "Behind the facade of their busy lives is deep depression. These young people grew up in traditional Chinese lifestyle where they had their parents, other family members and classmates around them. But in today's new lifestyle they have to find new ways in which to help one another fulfill their emotional needs."
is a snippet from an article called "Hello strangers"
It's very interesting reading and sharing this kind of news and information, as in my opinion, many people in the west have NO idea that a city like Shanghai or a country like China has many of the same issues as their counterparts in the west.
I may call on a favour in next few weeks and try to meet the authors of the above 2 articles for coffee, as they are touching on a topic which has a lot of interest worldwide, not just China. Let's just hope that they dont A) spill a drink on me to escape , and B} think I have infectious disease ;)
Posted by shak at 12:58 PM
September 18, 2005
Gatecrashing the MONT BLANC launch party in China
Couldn't let the 3rd Saturday of my stay here be boring, especially after the night out with Mimi and last week's Swedish Crayfish Party.
So this Saturday night, we did it in style, by Gatecrashing the Mont Blanc / Greta Garbo launch party in Shanghai.
The party was held in an Amazing Russian building and was a full out VIP show, so I don't think they were expecting Me and my 3 buddies from Shanghai to stroll down the red carpet at 10.30pm.
But hey in China, you don't know who is a celebrity who has made it, and who isn't and is faking it, for all they know "I could be some dot com entrepreneur from London.
The event must have cost 000,000s of $s as it was something out of this world, but I suppose when launching a luxury brand in China, cost isn't your biggest concern, I was surprised that most guests had no clue about Mont Blanc's pen range and just regrded them as another Luxury brand as such LV, GUCCI, Prada etc etc.
I will try and update with a link to an article, as there were reporters everywhere so surely 1 of the mainstream magazines will pick it up.
And I did try and ask the magic "Google or Baidu" question, but got a funny look and was sharpishly dragged on to the dance floor by some female who said her name was something like "Ng Ng" and that she came from Beijing.
We did leave before 12 as we had previous plans @ Bar Rouge and then on to MINT and finally Dragon Club
Not a bad Saturday nite in Shanghai if I do say so myself. and I hope you guys and girls back home appreciate all the hard work that goes into planning and executing all of this.
My thanks to Derryck Menere for the picture, he was actually a photographere there and I happen to bump into him in a Coffee Shop yesterday morning, weird or what.
Posted by shak at 10:25 AM | Comments (2)
September 12, 2005
Assume Nothing II
As a follow up to part 1
Which bit on the Laundry sheet in bright RED that said "Please PRESS/IRON trousers flat with NO centre crease did they not understand"
Give me strength ...
Posted by shak at 8:12 PM
September 11, 2005
Swedish Crayfish Party in Shanghai
My Saturday night this week consisted of an invite to a Crayfish Party organised by the Swedish Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai.
All I can say is that the Crayfish is actually an excuse for the Swedes to get totally hammered drinking Absolut vodka, wearing mad hats and singing folk songs really loudly, it was even funnier seeing some of the Chinese guests in attendance doing the same.
My Scandinavian buddies would be so proud of me, and for those who didn't know, I actually spent 10 years of my life in Copenhagen, Denmark from 1975 > 1985 and won paperboy of the year at the age of 9.
Posted by shak at 1:51 PM
September 10, 2005
Jigga this & Jigga that
Just like the Smurfs, this breed of laowai has been somehow trained that “jigga” is a cure all for speaking Chinese. We've all heard this guy in a bar, “Ni hao. Wo jigga yow jigga peajoo uh uh jigga jigga lee-ang guh.” The waitress will usually stand there with a dumb look on her face and, fair enough, she's trying to be polite and not laugh hysterically at what this guy just said.
Classic post on talktalkchina.com
Posted by shak at 3:40 PM
September 7, 2005
What am "I" doing here in China ? (part II)
As a follow up to Part 1. Matt Marshall from SiliconBeat has done a piece on me and Chinawhite based on our meeting last month in San Jose.
http://www.siliconbeat.com/entries/2005/09/05/china_white.html
It reveals certain things which have never previously been publicly disclosed ;)
such as:
1, I have a credit card
2, I should wear Sweaters, as I keep losing my shirt.
also a bit more information to the article:
My 1st Internet venture was a domain name registrar in the UK in 2000.
SMSboy has an internet gravestone for you to visit, and also my interview on CNN.
Posted by shak at 1:52 PM | Comments (0)
Detention time ?
I missed chinese school today :(
Kinda got all a bit messy last night, as a UK based SEO/SEM was in town with his Air Hostess Girlfriend and wanted to sample some Shanghai nightlife, and sample it they/we did
And this morning I managed to have a chat with Mahesh Murthy of Pinstorm, Now here's a company to watch in the global SEO/SEM space based in Asia. Mahesh was in town for Top 100 Private Companies in Asia
I'm off to lunch now and also go take a picture of something very interesting, am hoping I can get the picture without getting beaten up, I'll keep you posted.
So I hope My Chinese teacher decides not to give me detention tomorrow
Posted by shak at 11:42 AM
September 4, 2005
A night out with Zhang Mi aka MIMI
Who is Mimi you may be wondering?
Well, the closest comparison I would make is that she is the Madonna of China, a Pop Star, Model, Actress, and Super A list celebrity.
So there I am sitting in my apartment when I get a call from my good friend Johann of IdeaFactory that we have a night out planned with Mimi and one of her friends.
Must say it was an amazing experience, just imagine that you spend from 8pm > 6am with someone like Madonna, Jennifer Lopez or Angelina Jolie.
The evening consisted of dinner, followed by a crawl of Shanghai's finest clubs and ended up at the famous Dragon Club where the sun had risen by the time we left.
Kinda weird when you walk into a place and people stop and freeze, and you can see them going "is that HER". I even had a few people come ask me if I was Mimi's bodyguard :)
I had a very interesting conversation with the lady on topics ranging from Life in China, Being a Star, the TSUNAMI, her Charity work, her New Book, Desire to go to the USA and learn English and also her wish to meet a nice foreign boyfriend.
She very kindly taught me some Chinese during the course of the night, which consisted of stuff like "You are very beautiful" and "Can I treat you ladies to a drink" in Chinese.
So all in all an amazing first Saturday night in Shanghai.
And to keep the post on topic, I did ask her whether she used Baidu or Google, but I was met with a blank look on her face, so I assume she doesn't use either.
Posted by shak at 3:54 PM | Comments (0)
September 3, 2005
the Middle Class of China
An Interesting study on the middle class of China.
The study group's definition of "middle class" was a person with a monthly income of 5000 Yuan, or about 617 US dollars; with a bachelor degree or above; and who works as a civil servant, company manager, technician or private business owner.
Zhang Wanli said that when the middle class population grows to 30% in China, which is an ideal ratio, they could become a driving force for social modernization, stability, strong social values and high levels of consumption.
btw, you see the ACCOONA logo and search box there ;)
Posted by shak at 4:10 PM
Punjabi Restaurant, Shanghai
A round of applause for Mark Suchy of Colliers in Shanghai who introduced me to a FINE Indian restaurant last night.
Mark's lived here for a quite bit and kinda knows the happening restaurants, bars, clubs, people etc along with speaking Mandarin fluently.
Punjabi Restaurant
102 Xiangyang Rd / Nanchang Rd
Shanghai
6472 5464
I quite fancy myself as a bit of a connoisseur when it comes to Pakistani / North Indian cuisine, and I must say the food here was very authentic indeed, this was further confirmed by the number of Indian and Pakistanis at the restaurant.
We opted for the buffet and I have no complaints as such, well no real complaints, a few minor ones, but hey, what ya expect "Good Indian Food in China without any problems"
Sure beats my last visit to an Indian Restaurant in Shanghai "The Indian Kitchen" which I would rate as one of the worst meals of my life.
Smart Shanghai Review
City Weekend Review
(feel free to send me recommendations if you have any, and if you are looking at any form of property investment in China, Mark be your man)
Posted by shak at 9:10 AM
September 2, 2005
Let's kill the Cyclist
So there I am in a Taxi on my way to a Poker game in Downtown Shanghai when I realise that the driver is a Psycho hell bent on trying to kill any cyclist on the road (and there are many in China)
The nutter would go out of his way to get real close and then try and ram into them or frighten the daylights out of the poor souls going about their business.
Oh well, Welocme to China I suppose.
Posted by shak at 5:43 PM
Starbucks Shanghai
This picture is especially for my Latte loving world famous AdSense guru and buddy Jenstar
It was pouring down with rain, hence there is no one sitting outside, usually it's packed solid in and out.
The vibe inside is very similar to any Starbucks anywhere in the world, although a few things do stand out:
1, Most people drink COLD drinks, rather than HOT coffee.
2, Price of a coffee is $2 > $3
3, Most people seem a bit over dressed for a coffee shop, although I get the impression that it's kinda cool to be seen Starbucking in China.
So Jen, lots of Lattes here for ya ;)
Posted by shak at 5:36 PM
September 1, 2005
Assume Nothing
When in China, a good bet is never to assume anything!
So remember:
do NOT assume that they will press/iron your Jeans flat, rather than put a great big crease in the middle.
do NOT assume that a request for a "Cold bottle of Evian" would mean just that, rather than a warm bottle with some Ice.
do NOT assume that the Taxi Driver on your return jouney from a club to your hotel at 2am will be AWAKE, he may actually be a bit tired and decide to get some shut eye at the traffic lights.
So there ya have it...
Assume Nothing, because when you assume, you make an ASS out of U and ME.
Posted by shak at 4:26 PM