On this trip our days were so jam packed that no one ever got enough sleep and I had to take notes to remember everything I have done (unfortunately, I stopped taking notes 4 days in). Beijing was nice but cold and kind of a quiet city, with the exception of never ending traffic, and after 4 days I was ready to move on. The group met in the lobby at 5 AM to catch a 3 hour flight south to Shenzhen. We flew Shenzhen Airlines which provided us with attractive flight attendants in stereotypical sexy stewardess garb. We were also treated to a charming breakfast of soggy hash browns, pickled vegetables, some sort of brown egg in air tight packaging and a mint upon disembarkation. At the end of our flight we enjoyed an interpretive dance performance, a la Napolean Dynamite, about the kindness of Shenzhen Airlines.
The main purpose of visiting Shenzhen was to go to Huawei a global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider. Apparently they allow very few tours so being granted access was a special opportunity. It was interesting to see the products they make and the beautiful building, however the tour was quick and not overly informative.After the visit we had about 2 hours to go out and procure lunch on our own. After struggling a bit around a random shopping center, my group decided on a restaurant based on the menus pictures. We were ushered upstairs (which was a trend the whole trip) and seated in typical fashion around a rounds table with a lazy susan. The dishes were wrapped in plastic and we were given pots of hot water and tea simultaneously. Apparently we were supposed to wash our dishes in the warm water, FAIL. Struggles ensued as our waitress did not speak English and our Mandarin on the whole is wretched, nonetheless we managed to order, get cold beer, and have some pretty good dishes (though I am pretty sure one of them was cat). We left in a hurry to meet our deadline and were horrified and entertained by taking a peak into the kitchen and the litter box outside of our dining room. Oh, I didn't mention the cats running in and out...real life, fresh food? The high point though was the vanilla soft serve cone from KFC, it was honestly heaven sent.
We boarded the bus once again to go further south to Dongguan where we stayed in the Hotel Sofitel, Dongguan Royal Lagoon...it was more heavenly than the ice cream! It is an incredible resort complete with incredibly plush rooms, beautiful pools, restaurants, clubs and a water park. We didn't want to leave the hotel!
Thanks MBA program for putting me up in a 5-star!
The cat restaurant!
Alex and I at a dinner hosted by Bernhardt
The main purpose of visiting Shenzhen was to go to Huawei a global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider. Apparently they allow very few tours so being granted access was a special opportunity. It was interesting to see the products they make and the beautiful building, however the tour was quick and not overly informative.After the visit we had about 2 hours to go out and procure lunch on our own. After struggling a bit around a random shopping center, my group decided on a restaurant based on the menus pictures. We were ushered upstairs (which was a trend the whole trip) and seated in typical fashion around a rounds table with a lazy susan. The dishes were wrapped in plastic and we were given pots of hot water and tea simultaneously. Apparently we were supposed to wash our dishes in the warm water, FAIL. Struggles ensued as our waitress did not speak English and our Mandarin on the whole is wretched, nonetheless we managed to order, get cold beer, and have some pretty good dishes (though I am pretty sure one of them was cat). We left in a hurry to meet our deadline and were horrified and entertained by taking a peak into the kitchen and the litter box outside of our dining room. Oh, I didn't mention the cats running in and out...real life, fresh food? The high point though was the vanilla soft serve cone from KFC, it was honestly heaven sent.
We boarded the bus once again to go further south to Dongguan where we stayed in the Hotel Sofitel, Dongguan Royal Lagoon...it was more heavenly than the ice cream! It is an incredible resort complete with incredibly plush rooms, beautiful pools, restaurants, clubs and a water park. We didn't want to leave the hotel!
Thanks MBA program for putting me up in a 5-star!
Lobby at Huawei
So what does cat taste like?
ReplyDeleteChicken...Cliche? But really, chicken but with an extreme amount of cartilage.
ReplyDelete