offshore Posted September 4, 2009 Report Share Posted September 4, 2009 For those who aren't aware, yours truly is on an epic journey to the home of reps! Now whilst this expedition pales alongside the travels of Marco Polo, I'm sure it has some similarities. So I arrived in GZ a few hours ago. Hi speed train from HK, absolute luxury. Disembarked at GZ station. 1st mistake! I got off the train! Standing in the customs queue, I get pulled aside, as my "temperature is too high" (BTW its super hot and humid, and I have just lugged a VERY overweight suitcase about 2kms...and I WILL be buying a new trundle version tomorrow)(They must be using laser detectors) So I am sat down- temperature taken -"Too high" "We take swab" Swabs of mouth and nose, after 20 mins "OK you go!" Walk out of station and a guy says "You want taxi" Answer-"Yes" An ancient mini bus appears, no taxi stickers. I had preprinted the hotel name in Chinese for this scenario! He says $200....No way....$100....no way....$50 (at about 6-1 thats sounds about OK) but then he presses me to pay him upfront. No Way! Get out of mini bus! He drives off with my hotel address! So there I am in 35deg heat, trying to talk to cab drivers in Chinese, and tell them- "Liuhau Hotel!!!" Finally find one who says 'other railway' and I know my hotel is near another station, so I take a punt and say yes. 30minutes and $50 later I eventually arrive....safely, (Although that is a matter of conjecture given the total lack of any known traffic rules) Get to my room, open my case, to find my litre bottle of white rum purchased in customs in HK has broken! I won't detail the mess. Suffice to say there are a lot of clothes being sent to laundry. Tidy that mess up and think - OK time for a drink. Open the mini bar, it's empty. Ring room service, but I don't speak Chinese, do I . So ring the front desk and finally thats sorted. Mini bar stocked. Then I ask for a bucket of ice. Now this is a 5 star upmarket pad, but do you reckon I could get anyone to recognise "Ice" Ring the desk again...finally sorted, and I ask the room girl if she can get white rum, as there is none in the mini bar. She looked at me as if I was an alien. Long story short....white rum does not exist in GZ that I can see! Not in the bottle shop, the hotel does NOT have a bar, and the cafe where you get drinks also thinks I am an alien!!! The cig and spirit shop in the arcade has little western stuff, and I wouldn't punt on whatever is in some of those other bottles! So I find 2 cans of Carlsberg beer, now in the fridge, which is struggling to get cool. DON'T CARE.... drank 'em warm! And now the 2 replacements are in a plastic bag out of the rubbish bin, in the sink with all the ice I previously got for my rum! If this is hob nobbing in GZ, I'd hate to see how the natives live, but reckon I will tomorrow when I venture out. Had asked for the optional room with Wi Fi but the connection was too weak. There is a LAN, but couldn't for the life of me configure it. Ring reception! That was an hour ago, no on here yet, but I have perservered and tried a couple of things and Bingo, I am online. Connection is very slow, but liveable, (Just went and got a cold beer from the sink.....heaven is here! ) It is plainly obvious, both from what I have seen, and comments on the train, that every person here is grafting for a buck, anyway they can get it! Was told by 3 different people on the train, not to leave valuables out, as they will disappear. So the safe is getting a workout! Westerners are fair game I reckon. Well, down to the cafe to try some culinary delights..... the mind boggles! Back again....hmmmm interesting menu. Thought I would go native - "When in Rome" sort of thing, so I tried the eel! Now it won't be on my list of "must haves" but it was edible. Had a little wander around viewing the locals at play....just amazing...sights, sounds and smells are all to the fore. Am in need of some calming after a hard day, so I decide on a massage. For around U$30 equivalent I enjoyed a wonderful traditional Chinese massage-1 hour. (and NO, I didn't take up the offer of extras ) I will be off to the watch markets in the morning, so I'll try to give an update tomorrow nite, Day 1 in GZ...Hopefully it gets better. Offshore PS I have just come from the HK watch fair, that is another story which I will try to detail when I return home....an amazing horological smorgasboard! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mingray Posted September 4, 2009 Report Share Posted September 4, 2009 Sounds as though you deserve all the beer you can drink!!...... I have a colleague who travels there alot,'its crazier than a crazy person in crazy land'... are his words to describe the pace people live thir lives at,, if you cant buy it,you can get it made in 48hrs apparently!!im going out there as soon as i can!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
valerian Posted September 4, 2009 Report Share Posted September 4, 2009 That sounds like a lot of fun. Travel in Asia is exhausting but very very adventurous. I envy you! Looking forward to reading more of your trip. Kind regards Val. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gioarmani Posted September 4, 2009 Report Share Posted September 4, 2009 Nice read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeff g Posted September 4, 2009 Report Share Posted September 4, 2009 Looking forward to the daily's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeJay Posted September 4, 2009 Report Share Posted September 4, 2009 Oh man, I hope Day Two picks up If not, keep drinking Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest techlogik Posted September 5, 2009 Report Share Posted September 5, 2009 More brave than I.....nice stuff...keep it coming! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MasterOfPuppets Posted September 5, 2009 Report Share Posted September 5, 2009 man that sounds like alot of fun! and dude, u should've atleast gotten a happy ending with that massage hope ur second day goes better Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KB Posted September 5, 2009 Report Share Posted September 5, 2009 For your next massage I would advise to take the extras, best stress relief there is. Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddy333 Posted September 5, 2009 Report Share Posted September 5, 2009 Waiting for part 2, which I hope will go smoother than part 1. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suishwash Posted September 5, 2009 Report Share Posted September 5, 2009 wow! having your tempature taken in chinese custom and then can't get a decent drink ... you sure know how to write a thriller nice reading, looking forward to the sequel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fotoman Posted September 5, 2009 Report Share Posted September 5, 2009 sweet enjoy man, i hope to do it one day Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dadog13 Posted September 5, 2009 Report Share Posted September 5, 2009 I stayed at the Liuhua Hotel while I was in GZ..I was pretty happy with the service at the hotel. The humidity and high temperatures is something I couldn't support, every 2hrs I was back at the hotel for a shower and change of clothes... I wish you a nice stay & looking forward to your update Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
offshore Posted September 5, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 5, 2009 Day 2. Woke to pouring rain, so packed an umbrella, which I regretted later. Off to the markets, and it is absolutely mind boggling. Without a guide and someone who knows what is going on you would be very lost. There are thousand of stalls, and literally tens of thousands of Chinese, all trying to scam a buck out of watches. Specialist stalls for cases, bands, bracelets, display stands, hands, travelling cases,dials and of course tools. Also have seen many movements and various options, and some movement parts. (I got some 7750 stems, and ETA quartz circuits today) If you spent 1 month here, you would see about 10% I reckon. Everyone you speak to, or deal with is only finally after the best $ they can glean, which of course makes one very wary. I am looking basically at the tools and parts side of the business, So it is mind boggling to see (for instance) stall after stall just dealing in crystals (or dials) one guy even just sold springbars! And there are tools to burn, both gen and copy, Bergeon, Horotec and their cloned brothers. I had an offer put to me on a large quantity of batteries, which I believe is either a mistake, or a scam attempt. The battery biz is pretty competitive, and I am doing pretty well on price, so I raised my eyebrows more than a little bit when I was quoted a figure which was 25% of my current price. Think I may go with “If it’s to good to believe” on that one, as it requires significant $$ up front with 50,000 batteries to be shipped by sea in the future. However I did see some real deals on some watches in passing, A very good Tudor running a Miyota low beat at around U$50, and a DD MOP Rx for similar. I am meeting a couple of dealers tomorrow, collecting some watches, and hopefully going to a couple of factories. So maybe some better watch insight then. The prices I saw today basically were not a lot below our better board prices. For instance I was shown an ETA (gen) Omega, and the hagglin tarted at U$600. As I “walked away” it was U$330 ! Had a funny experience coming back from the markets, which are only a stones throw away. My taxi driver took me on a "cooks tour" and wanted 10X what the fare should have been. I was arguing in the cab with him, and the hotel staff came and pulled me from the taxi, and sent him away…. with nothing! I kept insisting I would pay the RMB 15 to 20 the fare was worth, however they ran him off. Looks like cabs are a real problem, as whenever you arrive at,or leave the hotel, you are handed a slip with the taxi number on it, so you can report it.(to what result I guess would be a mute point!) Tried to arrange some more money for purchases, however the hotel doesn’t have a facility to dispense $$, so I had to get in yet another cab, and go to another hotel with an ATM machine! I seriously don’t think you would find this in any 5 star hotel, anywhere else in the world. Also there is a huge problem with counterfeit money here. Any note over RMB50 (about $10) is scanned, and checked by 3 different people, who all sign a docket for management. Even the traders on the street check every note they get.(And I’ll bet pass off anything remotely suspect, very quickly. Sort of fitting really, in the home of reps! It was distressing to see people sleeping on the streets, and to be confronted by beggars. Truly still a 3rd world country, no matter what we are shown and told. There are some very wealthy as well, I chuckled as a guy in a DB9 fought his way through the market area, amongst old beaten wrecks, trolley carts and the ever present taxis. The traffic is horrendous, and I am amazed that there seem to be so few actual accidents. I initially thought that a panel beater here would be very wealthy, but for all the push and shove, very few actual altercations. Every cab driver I have been with certainly aspires to the F1 circuit (or is that circus?.. as that is what travelling in this city is like.) My luggage grows by the minute, and I think I will need to send some home seperately by mail, as weight will be huge before I finish. And I bought a decent trundle case today to stop the body exertion and subsequent high temperature! So I am off out to dinner tonite, with a guy who is a potential new dealer @ RWG. See what we do for our members! And there will be a sharing of the bill, so there are no inducements for a dealers spot! More to come later. Offshore Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chronoluvvv Posted September 5, 2009 Report Share Posted September 5, 2009 wow this is getting to be real interesting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikki6 Posted September 5, 2009 Report Share Posted September 5, 2009 Getting to be a bit more than interesting I'd say!! Sounds wicked cool fun!! Nothing like wrangling with the locals for a giggle!! Hope you enjoy dinner OF and Ilook forward to hearing the next installment! Sixx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MasterOfPuppets Posted September 5, 2009 Report Share Posted September 5, 2009 im really enjoying this, cant wait for the next episode! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxman Posted September 5, 2009 Report Share Posted September 5, 2009 Thanks Offshore for the story so far. I cant wait to here about the rest of your trip In the land of rising reps Mike (ps) I hope the girl who gave you the massage didn't rub you the wrong way or If you like "she rub you long time" Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jkay Posted September 5, 2009 Report Share Posted September 5, 2009 Good luck and have a lot of fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trailboss Posted September 5, 2009 Report Share Posted September 5, 2009 Glad you're still alive Crazy place, China. /me waits patiantly to see what comes home . . . Col. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wheaton26 Posted September 5, 2009 Report Share Posted September 5, 2009 this is a fun read and i look forward to more! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
offshore Posted September 5, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 5, 2009 /me waits patiantly to see what comes home . . . Col. Oh, I'm sure there's some goodies in there for you mate... I did get that set of dies we needed! Also found a guy with a replacement die for that 29.5 for the Bergeon clone set (which doesn't work) Cost $6 and I'm sure it will be worth the effort. I'll see if I can find something that ticks in the next day or so I am still slowly working through your "wish list" O/S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P4GTR Posted September 5, 2009 Report Share Posted September 5, 2009 GZ stories are my favorite. Can hardly wait for the next chapter. This isn't your first trip right? I remember you posting something to this effect before. Pics at all going to happen? Ninja some spy pics of the factory! Be safe, good luck finding that which you seek. PS- grab me a cheap hand puller while your there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asf Posted September 6, 2009 Report Share Posted September 6, 2009 oooh I cant wait for day 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
offshore Posted September 6, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 6, 2009 Day 3 dawns! Just back from the buffet breakfast, so some quick observations are in order. Breakfast seems to be a big meal in the day. An amazing array of choices, (today almost 30 options in hot colanders) although probably 80% would never appear on a Western menu, and you are a little loath to try a lot of them! However eggs , scrambled or omlette, (cooked while you wait), boiled, poached in a tray, all featured. Precooked bacon (tough old pig), many varieties of bread/toast, (French, Honey- never seen this before, a quarter of a loaf about 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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