BRIC-Head…
Saturday, June 27th, 2009
This is almost certainly the longest I’ve gone between entries. And to be honest, the longer this went on, the closer I got to pulling the plug on this slog; perhaps some of what I write ages well enough, but things pile up and it’s daunting to sit down and attempt to make sense of nearly 3 weeks’ worth of living. Still, I will try to keep this going – but as you’ve already observed, my updates will be irregular and perhaps a bit forced. Let’s see how it goes.
This entry reaches all the way back to Mumbai. I was in my final 4-5 days in India, and was already looking ahead to Shanghai and my new (old) assignment. Trying to wrap things up in India while simultaneously pulling 80-hour workweeks was a struggle…but I made it out alive.
I’ll parse the more interesting/important bits in this update, just to keep it manageable. One thing of note was the continued absurdity of my having to perform ludicrous administrative matters in India just to keep my financial/legal situation in decent shape. Went to HSBC and wired cash to my 2 other bank accounts, both of which were on the verge of minimum balance charges. Not a major catastrophe, but I do hate seeing those charges on my e-statements. Of course, if I were to do the math, I’d probably notice that it makes good sense to keep a balance lower than they specify, and just cough up the charge each month, rather than keep a high balance and get virtually no return on it. We are not always truly rationale beings…
My last few cab rides in Mumbai…I was counting them down. No more emerging from our office building at night, only to grovel before peasant cabbies with filthy old Ambassadors, begging for a ride. Shanghai’s cabs aren’t anything to brag about, but they are recent-model VWs and are generally cleanish.
A few days before I left Mumbai, I went to the American Center to take the Foreign Service Officer Test. I’d heard about this from two friends, and thought it sounded intriguing – a good backup plan, at the very least. I’d been further encouraged by Bruce, the fellow Tuftonian whom Charles and I’d met at our recent reunion in Boston. I’d bought the study guide, read an entire American history textbook, and made sure to keep up to date with The Economist and a few newspapers. I was pretty confident – the sample tests I took weren’t difficult, with just a few tricky questions tossed in.
The test was supposed to start at 7:30 a.m. BTW, great that these things are conducted all round the world, twice a year. I left my flat and looked for a cab. Unfortunately, I hadn’t had time to scout out the location the previous day, as I had hoped, so I was flying blind. The first taxi was clueless, but the second surprised me and took me to the right place, with a few minutes to spare. In fact, I had to wait outside in the heat until the right personnel showed. That person turned out to be Lynn, a staffer at the US Consulate whom I’d met back in December, when I was interviewing for the Mumbai job. Lynn ushered me inside.
The American Center turned out to be a terrific place – with a large library and all the latest publications. Wish I’d known about this place earlier…although I hadn’t had time to do much reading.
Took some time to get the online testing system up and running, I was a bit nervous given that I had a phone call late morning. But we got going, it was just me and an Indian-American woman who had just flown in from JFK. The test was as expected – the section on current affairs/politics/economics was a breeze, I had time to go through it twice and may have gotten all 50 questions right. There was an English grammar/usage section – ditto. Then there was a somewhat tricky biography/self-assessment area which required more careful thought and iteration…finally, a short essay on UN power, which went fine but I probably could have been more analytical there. Got out in under 3 hours and felt pretty good about how I did. Hadn’t taken a test like that since the GMATs back in 1990.
En route to the office, a bit tired but also feeling a good sense of accomplishment and knowledge, I saw a teenager sporting a T-shirt that read: “Don’t drink and drive – smoke and fly.” Nice.
I was working on getting another China entry visa. Usually the Chinese Consulate-General in Mumbai only grants a single-entry, 30-day deal, but I had a special letter from the Chinese Foreign Ministry in Beijing, requesting that be given a 1-year, multiple-entry visa. Cool. The hitch was that I only had a scanned/printed copy and not the original, and the pricks in Mumbai wouldn’t give me the extended visa. I had to settle for yet another single-entry job. Ugh. My passport was getting full fast. But I had to head to Shanghai in a few days for an urgent client workshop and my hands were tried. I’d have to get another, better visa in HKG when I saw a break in the action. Put the Indians and the Chinese together and you get some brutal paper-pushing and belt & braces attorney work…
When I heard the news about my visa, I was in a cab to the office. I put the phone down, in a black mood…a guy came to the cab window and pushed some books at me. I said no and rolled up the window. He came around to the other side and got back in my face. I told him in no uncertain terms to leave me alone. He was a young guy, with bad skin, and a dark look in his eyes. I wasn’t in the mood to be benevolent or understanding, and he was simply unpleasant-looking…and when he played my words back to me (“why don’t you go away?”) I swore at him and flipped him the bird. The cabbie was also, in a limp way, sticking up for me. Of course, I waited till the light was green and we were pulling away. We weren’t exactly accelerating quickly, and for a moment it looked like the guy was going to try to catch up to us and go ballistic on me – I reached for a pen, ready to use that to stab him if he got close. But he backed off and we rolled on. Yet another day in Mumbai.
When I left work that night, I headed to the flat. I was showing it to a British couple who were looking to move. I was hoping they’d take my flat, thereby making it easy for Mr. G., my landlord, to let me off scot-free and suffer no harm from my unexpected transfer. While I was in the cab heading home, I looked out on Chowpatty Beach and the cityscape, and wondered if I would find this more exotic if I were a newbie in Mumbai? By now it mostly looked pretty squalid to me…and when the monsoon came around, it would be a total mess. If I had had a physical get out of jail card, I would have been stroking it at that point.
Showed the flat to the Brits, who liked it. Made plans to bring them back on Thursday night, my final night in town, to have them meet Mr. G. and see if something could be arranged. I really love dealing with all these administrative/home economics matters.
Every morning that final week in Mumbai, I had 6 a.m. calls with Shanghai and San Francisco to design the upcoming client workshop and conduct senior client interviews. Not that straightforward when you only learned about their business the day beforehand…still, it wasn’t that hard and we got what we needed.
Cleared up various other tasks – personnel evaluations, cost analyses, etc. Had a fun call with a former client in Oz, traded gossip with her, which will probably be of use in my new gig in Shanghai. Went to Wordell’s Chemists to stock up on generic meds.
Was scheduled to go see a friend/hubbie of a former client who runs a big data-processing outfit in Asia-Pac. He was staying at the Grand Hyatt up north, in Bandra. I had arranged a car with aircon to take me up there – it was brutally hot, even at night, and with the traffic a non-aircon car would have been awful. But the driver got lost and was 30-40 mins late…it took forever to get to Bandra…and then he didn’t even know where the hotel was, it’s a major landmark but hey, this is India. We finally got there, an hour late. My friend just laughed – he was totally cool. I was pissed off – and a bit envious that whenever he flies in, he stays at the Hyatt and rarely has to stray into the mosh pit that is South Mumbai.
We had a beer in the café, then a brilliant Chinese meal in the China House resto. Nigel was of course paying, and we had lots of good red wine and a variety of dishes. Neither of us were, needless to say, in the mood for heavy Indian food. Great meal and excellent company – I’ll see Nigel and Angie, my former client and good friend, in Singapore in a few weeks. Nice to have friends all over the place, it makes life a rich broth, full of options.
Thursday, the next day, was my last one in the office. Cleared up remaining things, and took a 1-hour course on Microsoft Office 2007, a piece of bloatwere supreme if there ever was one. I swear I’ve gone backward in my Office skills with each “upgrade.” Lovely.
Sat down with a couple of my charges and gave them their evaluations, they agreed with what I had to say. I’d miss them, above all – but we’d keep in touch. There was an office-wide meeting, our usual monthly affair, and there was a good laugh about Viagra sales in villages and how villagers seem to be loathe to talk about condoms, but not about Viagra. Interesting. We joked that one of our senior guys, the project lead, was perhaps the one who was talking about Viagra…nice to head out with a laugh in my throat.
And that was it for the office – said my goodbyes, recognizing there was some unfinished business, mostly around my flat and getting the $ back from Mr. G. (and, via the firm, to me). Took a cab home, taking in the Marine Drive views – hadn’t expected to be saying goodbye to this vista so soon. When will I be back? I’ve got such a love/hate relationship with this place…unfortunately, I don’t think it’s moving in the direction of love, but I’ve been surprised by how my feelings change over time, and I suspect I’ll be happy to come back for a short trip after the smoke has cleared. Let’s see how the housing thing comes out.
On that note, I was bringing together the Brits and Mr. G. at the flat, to chat and see if a deal might be struck, or at least started. It was a weird, inconclusive meeting. Mr. G. was surprised that I was leaving the next day, even though I’d told him that in a text and email. Originally I’d have had one more week in Mumbai, but the Shanghai client workshop did that plan in. And Mr. G. was headed off on a 2-week cruise of Europe with his family the next day, so this was really goodbye, at least for now.
Anyway, I won’t belabor the meeting, but the Brits and Mr. G. left it that they’d work through his younger son, Rajiv, who was staying in Mumbai and could handle things. I was hopefully it would pan out…and got the Brits’ email address. But a couple weeks later, in Shanghai, I found that from them that they found another, larger place. Bummer. Now I was somewhat exposed. Hopefully the firm can help get my cash back from Mr. G., and hopefully he’ll do the right thing. We have a good relationship, and I find him a lovely guy, but you just never know when it comes to money.
To add insult to injury, I had the final client call from my last India case that very night, so couldn’t even go out and have a few final laughs with friends. The call went fine, it ended, and I took a cab down to Fort – got a few final rupees from my HSBC account (just to ensure it was working), and then had a few mini-kebabs at Ayub’s. A very odd little 3-month stint in India. Oh well, I did learn a lot in a new area, met some great people, and managed to get to Goa once to see Lisa and Richard. No regrets – and now I’d be moving on to bigger and better things.
Packed my stuff late that night – took me less than an hour to do it all. Not sure how to feel about that…a 41-year-old male who can pretty much pack and carry under his own power nearly all his critical possessions. I think I feel pretty good about it, actually. I can always go out and buy tons of crap when my brain gets mushy and I lose sight f what’s important in the world.
Woke up at 5. Had a call at 6 with Shanghai. My minivan came at 8 and took me to the airport – traffic wasn’t bad. Got there more quickly than anticipated…which wasn’t great, I had a client call scheduled during the ride, she was late and then the phone rang right when I was getting out of the cab, with hundreds of people running around and yelling. Torture. I told her I had to get inside, which I did, then I called her back and we took care of matters. When you put a job like this together with the realities of being/living in India, it’s almost too much to stomach.
I checked in – was again, like the previous trip, heading through Bangkok, where I’d spend the weekend. Line wasn’t long, and I had some time, so caught up on my reading and had a cup of coffee. Then I boarded my flight and was off, once more. Goodbye to India…I’d not be back anytime soon, at least not to live there. No need to look back.
Got into Bangkok, which was fast becoming one of my favorite cities. Going from Mumbai to Bangkok was like going from Spam to a good fillet. Got my bags, got a cab, and headed into town. I’d be staying at VP Tower, where friend Bob stays. Traffic was pretty bad – only suckers travel on Fridays and Sundays – but got there eventually. Checked in and dumped my bags, happy to be rid of them. I was moving yet again, but it didn’t seem too bad this time, probably because I’d left a bunch of books and non-urgent clothing in Shanghai during my previous trip.
Bob and I went out to eat at a streetside place – no need to go to pricey restos in Thailand, the best stuff is on the street. I just love that – fresh fish, cold noodles, salads, cold Singha beer, soups, you name it. We sat there for 90 minutes, eating and chatting. Bob wasn’t getting along with another friend who lives nearby, and we talked about that. Then we went to Saxophone Bar for a couple beers, and finished up, fairly late, at old fave Water Bar. You can have an entire night of carousing just on Soi Rangnaam alone. I love it.
Had a Saturday 8 a.m. call, so went straight to bed. Slept very well – the room was dark and cool, and I was fried from a brutal final week in Mumbai. But I was feeling free and keyed up about my next step on the path to ultimate salvation…Shanghai. Not sure that sounds right, but let’s keep that penciled in for now.
Did the call, which went fine, and then did a couple things I’d meant to do during my previous Bangkok excursions. Went to the Chao Phraya River, and took a boat over to the Millenium Hilton, which has a new Cheese Room with all sorts of offerings. It’s unfortunately only open at night, and for Sunday brunch (I’d miss that, had to fly at 11 a.m. Sunday to Shanghai), but the main dining room, Flow, still offered a cheese platter and I had that along with a nice glass of white. The views out over the river were spectacular…the variety of ways you can spend a day in Bangkok is breathtaking, really.
At one point a waiter came over and introduced himself. He was Jack, the Cheese Butler – he told me about the Sunday brunch and other details, and seemed to be pretty knowledgeabout. They have one of my very favorite cheeses, Reblochon, so I will be back before long for dinner or brunch.
As I finished up and prepared to head out, I wondered when I’d hear back about my Foreign Service Test. It can take 4-6 weeks for them to get back to you, but given that it was a computer-driven test and 90% of it was objective (the essay surely requires a human grader), it shouldn’t take all that long. I imagine applications have gone way up for government jobs, though, so it may take a while. No hurry, I’m just curious how I did.
Headed towards Sukhumvit, to a massage place I’d heard about from a friend. Found it on Soi Thonglor and got a relaxing oil massage. The tensions of India were being forced out of my body…
One of the best days I’ve had in months. Headed back to VP Tower, went for a run with Bob, then headed out to meet another friend for dinner. He wanted to go to Soi Cowboy, of course, so we went there and amused ourselves for a while. At one bar, Tilac, I sat and watched while a guy who closely resembled Dick Cheney put his fat paws all over a cute young waitress. Ugh.
Went to bed quite late. Got up around 8, packed, and headed to the airport to fly to Shang. Felt a bit rough but was also happy I’d been able to relax a bit in Bangkok. I need to spend more time in that city before long.
Landed in Shang. Again, the space-age swine flu checkers boarded and tested us for 20 minutes. Emerged and dealt with the various lines and formalities. Found my driver and headed into the city. Colleague George texted, saying that he’d just landed. I replied and said I’d meet him at our flat, we share a 2-bedroom in Puxi.
Had dinner that night with the team…very good Shanghainese food. We were joined by colleague Carl from the L.A. office. We looked to be in good shape for the workshop, so we weren’t too anxious – still, we were looking at a very busy week.
Got back to the flat, George and I sat around the dining room table tapping out emails till nearly midnight. Two grown men, sitting around in shorts and t-shirts, emailing. Probably not a great recruiting poster for the firm…
The Lakers won the NBA Championship – ugh. The very next day, according to my creaky Treo 680, was the 1-year anniversary of the 2008 Game 6, when the Celts spanked the Lakers as I watched on Chinese cable TV in Ulaan Bataar. So sweet, and now so long ago…
The client workshop was, as promised, “fast-paced.” And this was the first time I’d used this particular methodology…I was well-accustomed to running workshops and facilitating groups, and that skill served me well. We got through the sessions pretty much on time, with high quality output, and the client was pleased. After the two days, everyone was exhausted, and we all went out for dinner at South Beauty, a Sichuanese place that has a few outlets around town. The beer tasted very good and there must have been 25 platters of food on the table – a veritable feast. I should have been born in the times of Beowulf – after a hard day’s work, I have an intense urge to drink and eat.
One thing I really like about Shanghai is that it has tons of bars and convenience stores. Makes the neighborhood lively, and it’s not a nightmare to find what you need. Another thing I like, somewhat related to the prior point: Shanghai is a majestic city from on high – skyscrapers of all colors and shapes – but on the street, it has a classic, old-time, friendly feel to it. Great city for walking around and letting yourself get lost. I do it all the time. This city is a bit like NYC, Paris, and St. Petersburg in its mix of glory and modesty.
There’s a decent place called “Sofa Bar” across from my flat. It’s just a little café, nothing special, but one nice feature is that there aren’t the usual “talking girls” found in most Chinese bars that nag you for drinks. Those bars can be fun, but not when you’re just looking for a pint and some quiet.
George headed back to SF, where he lives and spends most of his time, on Friday. Now I’d be on my own, and would have to get back to the flat using my rudimentary Putonghua. Worked fine, the streetnames in question aren’t hard to pronounce – or perhaps the cabbies are especially forgiving. I think I’ll be fine.
Went out to Malone’s Irish Bar that night. Had a sandwich, a few beers, and listened to the – wait for it – Filipino cover band. At least I felt like I was back in the real world. I was happy as a clam.
Had to work on Saturday, we were doing a proposal and it needed a push. I had awoken with a bad headache, and it turned out to be a fever. I went out for some Chinese food, then sat down at my laptop and worked for a few hours. Probably should have slept and tried to break the fever, but duty called. Finished my slides and did a bit of reading.
Had dinner at Johnny’s Café, near my flat. There are countless places near my flat, and I’d seen this one and wanted to try it. It was alright, an average place. Had a burger and a beer, then moved on. Eventually found myself on Maoming Nanlu, a former bar strip which, in true Chinese form, they’d totally uprooted and moved over to Tongren Lu. Imagine the Boston municipal government moving all the bars on Boylston Street to Ipswich Street in the South End. Impressive, the Chinese. But I missed the old Maoming stretch – it was appropriately sleazy, and the beer was cheap. The new Tongren strip is glitzy and pricey. Not progress, to me.
Saw a sign reading “Happy Farther’s Day.” Went over to Hengshan Lu and Dongpin Lu, another concentration of nightspots. Trying to reclaim the memory of past trips here, when I had gotten to know the city reasonably well. Lots of changes, though, so need to reeducate myself.
Didn’t stay out too late, still felt crappy. Slept late on Sunday and felt much better as a result. Had some coffee – I’m becoming domesticated, the flat has a coffee maker and George brings Peets coffee from SF, so it’s all here. I relaxed, read, and celebrated Farther’s Day, which was also the summer solstice.
Went running that night, for the first time in a good week. George had told me about a track at nearby Jiaotong University, which I managed to find after some looking around. The track was quite good, rubbery material and clean – but no lights at night, so it’s a bit treacherous. On this particular night the moon was nearly full, so that sufficed. Hard run, need to get back in shape.
Had heard about a new pub, the Boxing Cat, so took a cab there and checked it out. Sat next to an American, turned out his ex-wife was an acquaintance of mine, together they ran Archie’s Deli in Hong Kong, and also a taco joint next door and the Flying Pan, a 24-hour breakfast nook. Very small world. They got divorced, now he lives in Shang and runs a few places here. Good guy to know.
Took a cab over to Tongren Lu to check out the clubs there. Christine from the RP called me, and primarily wanted to know who I was with. Jealous Filipina. I told her I was with an old taxi driver – she had to laugh.
Checked out a few places on Tongren, then went home, was still a bit tired. I don’t need to see every place within the first week of getting here, I suppose.
On Monday the Internet was down for a while. Plus, my stomach hurt…and one of the consultants had banged his forehead and had a cut there which resembled an Indian tikka (forehead dot). So I felt very much like I was already back in India, and started to get a bit nervous. Eventually the web came back on, I forgot about my stomach, and the consultant disappeared into a meeting. Whew.
Met an old client/longtime friend at Malone’s that night for drinks/dinner. Hadn’t seen him in 4 or so years – great catching up with him. Traded lots of old stories about our times working together in Sydney. Seems like a lifetime ago.
On Tuesday, flew to Hong Kong, to get my extended China visa. At Pudong Airport, noticed that the signs lumped Taiwan, HKG and Macau together, and indicated these were domestic flights. Interesting – the Taiwanese (some, at least) probably aren’t too happy about that.
Landed in HKG. Checked into the Luk Kwok Hotel, a renovated place near the office. Great value for the $, only HK$810/night. Certainly a step down from the Grand Hyatt, but these are much diminished times. Went out for a slice of pepperoni pizza before I had a call…then went out around Wanchai afterward, saw some friends and had a few beers. Wanchai is hard to beat when you’re looking to blow off some steam. Friend Jeff, whom I met in a Moscow hostel almost exactly a year ago, is in HKG right now and pretty much said the same thing – HKG is trouble. He and I will meet in Shanghai in a few days, that should be good fun.
Went to our office on Wednesday morning, after ensuring that my passport was in good hands. We recently downsized offices, that was a bummer, but it makes sense in this economy, and given the relative decline in HKG’s importance vis-à-vis the mainland.
Had a few phone calls, then went out for lunch and a few errands. Bought a new VOIP headset, not the rigid type, it’s earbuds and a wire/mic. Very compact and the sound quality is probably even better than my old setup. Got a pants buttom sewed back on by my old buddy “David Tailor.” Had lunch at Carnegie’s, they still remember me there (but menu items have changed, damn it). And went to HSBC and opened a Chinese Yuan/RMB trading account – that currency is on its way up, ladies and gents, and I want a piece of the action.
Had drinks with Jess and Nicole, former colleagues, that night at Delaney’s. Had a late night work call, so behaved myself. Next day, went to the office, picked up my passport and new visa, and then flew back to Shang. Mission accomplished, my new visa is good for 6 months. Till Christmas Eve, that is.
An acquaintance (also a consultant) in Mumbai emailed me, and said that she met a friend of a friend who brought up a certain “Michael Slone of Slone Consulting.” This fellow, who I’m not sure I ever met, said that he knew me and that he could put her in touch with me. Really odd. Am I becoming a global brand, or just a throwaway line??
Last night met up with Rory and Anne, two Brits whom I met at a Hash Run in Ulaan Bataar last June, just before I got on the Trans-Siberian Railway to Moscow. We met at the Hongmei Lu bar street area, a good place to go after work. Rory and Anne moved to Shanghai right after we met, and we’ve stayed in touch. They’re about to head to their holiday home in Bulgaria for the summer, but we managed to get together for a few drinks/laughs and I was happy about that. They’re quite cool and we’ll hang out a lot (at the Hash Run here, etc.) when they’re back in September. They’ve lived in over 100 places and put me badly to shame in terms of global ubiquity and footprint.
Rory mentioned that he knows a scooter dealer, and can get us a deal. If you buy a 50cc electric scooter, apparently, you don’t need any special paperwork, and you can just bring in your battery every night and charge it in your flat. And the scooter is US$1,000 or thereabouts, not bad at all. Would be good to have more control over my daily travels…
Checked out a local pub, the Green Dragon, after seeing Rory and Anne. Typical Chinese place – loads of bargirls, bugging you for drinks. I had a couple pints, bought one of the least ugly girls a drink, then left. Friday nights can be hard, I was tired from the workweek.
Today’s the first real day off I’ve had in some time – well, since that Saturday in Bangkok. Went over to YuYuan Gardens, had some of the dumplings from the Nanxing Famous Steamed Bun House (longtime readers will recall that name). Then went over to Taikang Lu, an area of shops and cafes that’s set back from the road. First time there, really liked it.
Friend Jeff is in town now and we’ll meet up tonight. I’ve got lots of ideas and we’ll figure out how to spend the evening. Should be fun, he’s a cool fellow – writes for a newspaper in Halifax, but loves traveling and Asia and wants to flee North America for greener pastures. Maybe I can convince him to come over here…he’s been traveling round China for the past month and seems to like it. Let’s see.
I’m done with this posting – 3 weeks’ of memories weren’t as hard to jot down as I imagined/feared. So I will keep up with the slog, never fear. I would like to hit this every week or two, though, so that will continue to be the plan. Stay tuned, gentle readers. Over and out.
mbsloney