I'll keep this blog relatively short and sweet as the jet lag is hitting me full force and my body doesn't know what day or time it is. Local time is 2:20pm on Tuesday 27 Jun, my computer says it is 1:20am on the same day which is the time it is at home.
My adventure started on Sunday, with an early morning departure to Vancouver.
I had a 4 hrs layover there which turned into 5 hrs as the incoming airplane was late arriving. Arriving in Vancouver at 7:30am on a Sunday meant having to kill time in the airport before restaurants or the AC lounge was open. I did some walking up and down the airport and then found a quiet area where I could get some work done.
Shortly before noon we started boarding the aircraft (B787) for the 11 hrs flight to Shanghai:
The flight was routine. I tried to get some sleep but this came in relatively short bursts - first one for about an hour with noise cancelling headphones on. The second was more of a rest than a sleep without headphones where I could overhear one flight attendant talking about her education in interior design. The last sleep was almost 2 hrs and (of course) near the time when we would arrive in Shanghai. I'm not sure if it was because I was listening to an audio book (quietly) which provided enough background "white noise" or if it was because my body thought it was time to sleep since it was 12am back home as opposed to 1pm in Shanghai...
Once in Shanghai, I met up with Linda whom I had met on my previous trip to China. She bought me a coffee and we were on our way to the hotel in a city 2 hrs away.
Instead of Linda driving, she hired a driver who picked us up at the airport and drove us (very efficiently) to Nantong. I was quite comfortable in the back of the Passassatt:
Once in Nantong, we got checked into our hotel.
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| The views from my hotel room |
Boy did I sleep. I woke up a few times throughout the night but finally got up at 5am (4pm home time). I got some work done, took a few calls and ran a mile at the gym, all before 6:30.
Then, it was time for another cold shower (I wish I could get some hot water), some more work and then breakfast at 8 with Linda.
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| Lost in Translation |
At 9, we made our way to the customer's facility to see what state the airplane was in. The aircraft was in quite good shape so I started my inspections. I will need to finish tomorrow as we need power on the airplane and they need to make a few changes which I pointed out.
We ate lunch at the cafeteria in the "plant". People were definitely curious who I was. The food was good (rice, fried chicken, sweet and sour pork, green beans, yogurt and juice - there also was some tofu which I tried but did not care for - it was very bland). Then, Linda and I got a taxi back to our hotel which is about 20 mins away.
Back at the hotel, Linda checked with the staff to see if someone was able to look into my "hot water" issue. They said that someone would come and show me how to use the bathroom (I laughed) and bring me an iron and ironing board.
By the time I got to my room on the 21st floor, the house keeping staff was following me with the iron and board and was ready to show me how to "use the bathroom" (real translation - how to get hot water). Apparently the trick is to run the hot water from the sink and the shower for several minutes (perhaps more than 5). My running the shower alone for 5 mins was not quite enough. Nor was running the sink for 2 mins (alone) enough. I will try this again tomorrow morning (or maybe tonight).
After ironing my pants and getting some work done, I am now ready to finish this blog and have a nap. Linda is taking me out for dinner tonight for some local "spicy" dishes. Depending on the time, we might do some exploring, something I didn't do much the last time I was here.
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