Here’s an interesting factoid: there is only one time zone in China. One. That’s it. So dawn arrives somewhere around 8:30-9:00am in Chengdu and around 6:30am or so in Shanghai and Beijing. Now before you think it’s a bad thing, think again! No 3-hour time difference from LA to New York! No waking up early to talk to the folks in the East. No waiting for the lazy slugs on the west coast to get up and go to work!

Walking into the InterContinental Hotel in Chengdu was amazing. They have recreated an old Chinese Village in the lobby. It has a glass roof too.

They are in the midst of a “soft opening” meaning the building isn’t quite ready and the staff are being trained, for the official March opening. Internet service went from the speed of dial up to ??? Ordering a glass of wine required the patience of a saint! Ok - glass of wine that was NOT Chinese. They did have tequila though! More on the hotel later….

Dinner was eventful. Went to a traditional Sichuan style restaurant, since I hadn’t had a Chinese meal during the first part of the trip … these men walk up and start giving us massages at the table prior to ordering dinner. Also tried to stick some metallic prong in my ear to do some fine tuning, but I said NO thanks. Ended up with a back/shoulder/neck massage for about $8.00 before dinner…not bad at all except for the whole ear thing. EWWW! Where have those implements been? Unfortunately, two other friends at the table had been seated before us had submitted to the ear thing before they knew what was happening. Their warnings were heeded!

Went to the Sky Bar after. Seems every city has a Sky Bar these days! How does one describe this place? No views do to heavy drapes over all the windows. Kind of a redone disco with carpet…one of our friends ordered a martini and got a Martini & Rossi instead. It really was not her evening – first an un-asked for ear cleaning and then an icky drink!

Monday morning a group of us went off to the Panda Breeding Center. Loved it. So super cool! And it was outside with snow flurries. COLD.

Came back through the city - reminds me a lot of some of the medium sized cities in central Mexico, only the signs are in Chinese.

More hotel trauma – when Jo (she’s the one next to me in the above pic) plugged in the blow dryer, it blew out the electrical circuit for the room! Oops! New Hotel! Went back up to the room before going to the pandas and the lights were working. So far, so good.

According to the hotel guide and the elevators, the second floor is the fitness center, but you cannot stop at that floor! I even got up early on Monday morning to work out only to discover this fact. Oh well. I TRIED. REALLY.

For the friends receiving this who were at the last CEFCO in Shanghai - The conference itself was great - and so was the food - just like they promised!!! Not too much scary stuff - some sautéed snails, sea cucumbers and intestines, but overall the spare parts & bits and duck heads were happily absent. Chinese people do not feel a meal is complete without the spare bits and parts. The question the Westerners had is what they do with the other stuff we normally eat???

The last night of the conference the new CEM’s(Certified in Exhibition Management candidates) were honored. Yay for my students!!!! There were 80 in the graduating class, but only 10 were there to receive the honor in person. It was so cool and they were so proud (OK - I was just as proud and excited too). Much drinking and toasting was done. Some of them brought their bosses over to meet me. Actually I had quite a few students attending the conference…some who were the bosses! They were really complimentary which made me feel great (duh!).

InfoSalons, Jo’s company, rented out a traditional Tibetan Bar in town for a big end of event annual party. Upon arriving, everyone was given a super long scarf made of white silk called a Kata. They also had western food - “>Pizza Hut delivers – even in Chengdu! Combine it with Aussie red wine and a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc and life is good. Entertainment was pretty neat as well.

Best comment overheard on the trip – not related to the conference, but overheard nonetheless - “They couldn’t organize a pissing contest in a brewery!” LOL!

We left Chengdu on Wednesday afternoon - no problems getting to the airport and the flight was empty. Even a normal cab ride! Still trying to figure out how the guy behind me (who was SHORT) managed to put his knees into my back throughout the flight. We took off early and landed early. We think these pilots left a window open to smoke as it was FREEZING on the plane. I have a heavy black coat that only gets used for seriously cold weather. It made quite the helpful blanket but I was still cold. The other folks we were traveling with were blue lipped as well.

Our luggage was waiting when we got to the carousel. YAY! No taxi line. It was 37 degrees, but felt colder…Jo and I piled into the cab to drive the 45 minutes to the Renaissance Shanghai Yuyuan Hotel different Renaissance hotel in the middle of the city. The cab driver couldn’t close his window and had NO HEAT. NONE. We froze. And of course he was not a race car driver (the ONE TIME we’re praying for one)…very slow…very very slow…and careful…and we were freezing!!! I must learn how to say “heat” before returning to China in the winter again! Finally arrived at the hotel about an hour later! Was so thankful my toes hadn’t frozen off completely.

Hotel was gorgeous and the staff were trained!!! They just opened (officially) in October. Had a fab dinner at the hotel (no way we were going out again into the arctic zone). It was awesome. And the view!!! OH MY GOD!!! One of the best views ever! It was so clear the bellboy asked if he could check it out since it was so clear. My night pics didn’t come out too well. Darn! Here’s a day one. Usually you can’t see to the old city (the Chinese-style buildings) much less the skyscrapers!

6:30am came again WAY TO QUICKLY. However, we persevered…. room service cappuccinos and croissants were very helpful! Gu picked us up and off we went to pick up our new custom-made cashmere outfits at the South Bund Fabric Market. Actually since we were there before it opened, used the employees entrance. The gal was there, our outfits were done and can you say rockin’???

Came back out to the car and it was snowing! Hasn’t happened in Shanghai in years. Not a lot of snow, but snow flakes for sure. Said farewell to Jo who was off to Dubai – and was on my own again!

Dropped off the dress at the hotel and awhile later and began walking to the subway station. It began to snow in earnest about 10 minutes into the walk, without the umbrella that was up in my hotel room. Thought about hailing a taxi but decided it would be pretty darn embarrassing if it were only 2 more blocks – kept going for another 10 or 15 minutes. Found the station and made it back to the counterfeit market to pick up my other dress. After a few alterations, took my leave. And a taxi back to the hotel from the subway station.

Thought that would be the end of my adventures but NO! On the way to the airport in a heated cab, we drove by an accident. The driver stopped and picked up two of the people and their luggage. One of the people was slightly bleeding too. Key word: slightly. Kept waiting for the driver to get off the highway and drop them off somewhere…turns out they were going to the airport too – something I was not aware of since my understanding of Chinese would be between little and zilch.

Once it was time to board, they sent us outside to get on buses to go to the plane. Since I was in first class, was directed to a nice cushy bus – not a “plebian bus” where you stand up, hold onto some straps and hope for the best. Waiting for the rest of our cabin mates with the bus door open – in the freezing cold, smelling airplane and diesel fuel – made the plebe bus look pretty darn good. And WARM.

Best part of the journey home: Lay Flat seats. And home!