I was supposed to have joined in a 7.30 am meeting this morning but was told I was not needed at the last minute...I could have snoozed for an extra 30 mins! However I did have to resolve some other issue for one of the later conference sessions which my boss had overlooked. Managed to sort it out in time but later on there were other last minute agenda changes to deal with.
Once again I was the technician controlling slides and audio but in no time, the half day's programme came to an end and the conference was actually over!
Had lunch in the coffee house with my 2 bosses from the UK. I had found out before coming that Friday was my boss' Irene's birthday and I shared this information with them, only for Chris to inform me his birthday was the next day and so we agreed to have a double celebration over dinner!
After a post-event staff debriefing session, headed out shopping with Irene and Dani, who proved to be ruthless bargainers. I saved lots of yuan thanks to them!
I bought some gifts and cheongsams for the 2 bubbas, and some shawls.
When we were done, they offered to bring me to the famous Elephant Trunk Hill. I had seen pictures of it before coming so I was curious to see it in person but didn't think I would get the chance. The cabdriver waited while I paid the 40 yuan admission to enter the site and snap some pictures. I think I barely stayed 5 minutes but managed to bump into a colleague who helped me take some photos of me.
Thereafter it was back to the hotel for a quick change before heading out again for dinner with Irene, Dani and Chris to Taste Made, a local restaurant. I kept snapping pictures of the menu, because there were so many dishes that I couldn't make out. Shall have to google them sometime.
We ordered mainly safe dishes, I tried hairy crabs for the first time. Don't see what the big deal it, give me Mellben's butter crab anyday!
For dessert, Dani had arranged a birthday cake for Irene and Chris, but then a funny thing happened. We found out it wasn't Irene's birthday on Friday! Somehow her HR records reflect 11/12 which we take to mean 11 Dec, but actually her birthday is 12 Nov, because in Manila where she's based, they put the month first! LOL!
Anyway, we managed to arrange a river cruise for later that evening and were joined by our MD Boon Huat and another colleague Alex. Unfortunately the cruise was boring for me because commentary was in Mandarin and there wasn't actually much to see. Just a bunch of bridges and lots of prettily lit trees.
We did encounter some persistent children selling flowers after disembarking, somehow they only targeted the ang mohs, despite me whipping my wallet out willing to buy from this one boy who was tugging Chris' clothes. But he ignored me and even chased Chris across the street! We hopped onto cabs and headed back to the hotel, where we decided to head out again to the night market.
Encountered more flower sellers en-route, this time the men made a run for it. 3 grown men literally running away from a 6 year old boy, who then latched on the Dani's scarf and didn't let go. I must say, these kids are really persistent, in the end we had to pay the kid to get rid of him!
At the night market, I bought some useless gadgets like a binocular, eye loop, and multi-screwdriver set. We snacked on candied apples and later on shared roasted chestnuts, which were unfortunately cold. Walked back to the hotel and called it a night. Time to pack!
Once again I was the technician controlling slides and audio but in no time, the half day's programme came to an end and the conference was actually over!
Had lunch in the coffee house with my 2 bosses from the UK. I had found out before coming that Friday was my boss' Irene's birthday and I shared this information with them, only for Chris to inform me his birthday was the next day and so we agreed to have a double celebration over dinner!
After a post-event staff debriefing session, headed out shopping with Irene and Dani, who proved to be ruthless bargainers. I saved lots of yuan thanks to them!
I bought some gifts and cheongsams for the 2 bubbas, and some shawls.
When we were done, they offered to bring me to the famous Elephant Trunk Hill. I had seen pictures of it before coming so I was curious to see it in person but didn't think I would get the chance. The cabdriver waited while I paid the 40 yuan admission to enter the site and snap some pictures. I think I barely stayed 5 minutes but managed to bump into a colleague who helped me take some photos of me.
Thereafter it was back to the hotel for a quick change before heading out again for dinner with Irene, Dani and Chris to Taste Made, a local restaurant. I kept snapping pictures of the menu, because there were so many dishes that I couldn't make out. Shall have to google them sometime.
We ordered mainly safe dishes, I tried hairy crabs for the first time. Don't see what the big deal it, give me Mellben's butter crab anyday!
For dessert, Dani had arranged a birthday cake for Irene and Chris, but then a funny thing happened. We found out it wasn't Irene's birthday on Friday! Somehow her HR records reflect 11/12 which we take to mean 11 Dec, but actually her birthday is 12 Nov, because in Manila where she's based, they put the month first! LOL!
Anyway, we managed to arrange a river cruise for later that evening and were joined by our MD Boon Huat and another colleague Alex. Unfortunately the cruise was boring for me because commentary was in Mandarin and there wasn't actually much to see. Just a bunch of bridges and lots of prettily lit trees.
We did encounter some persistent children selling flowers after disembarking, somehow they only targeted the ang mohs, despite me whipping my wallet out willing to buy from this one boy who was tugging Chris' clothes. But he ignored me and even chased Chris across the street! We hopped onto cabs and headed back to the hotel, where we decided to head out again to the night market.
Encountered more flower sellers en-route, this time the men made a run for it. 3 grown men literally running away from a 6 year old boy, who then latched on the Dani's scarf and didn't let go. I must say, these kids are really persistent, in the end we had to pay the kid to get rid of him!
At the night market, I bought some useless gadgets like a binocular, eye loop, and multi-screwdriver set. We snacked on candied apples and later on shared roasted chestnuts, which were unfortunately cold. Walked back to the hotel and called it a night. Time to pack!
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