Josh Travels to China II Volume 5

April 30, 2007

Ni Hao from Beijing, China… AGAIN! I was barely able to get out of bed this morning from all the walking yesterday. This was the first morning I slept past 5:45am since I have been in China. Paul and I were supposed to meet at the hotels gym this morning before breakfast, but neither of us made it down there. I feel guilty. Hopefully tomorrow morning I will be able to get down there before we meet for breakfast.

We had another day of tours today. I was really excited for today’s tour. The Ming Tombs and the Great Wall were the stops on today’s agenda. Below you will see what we saw on our tour today. Click on the link to learn a little about each spot. It will take you to a China Travel Guide website that gives a small summary and pictures of each location.

First stop was Ming Tombs:
http://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/beijing/ming_tomb.htm

Second stop was the Great Wall @ Badaling
http://www.travelchinaguide.com/china_great_wall/scene/beijing/badaling.htm

The Ming Tombs were very interesting, but I was the most excited about the Great Wall. If you tell someone I went and saw the Temple of Heaven while in China, they would say, “Really, that’s cool! What is it?” But if you tell someone you went and saw the Great Wall of China, people know what it is. It was one of the coolest things I have ever seen in my life.

We walked some of the wall for quite a while. Trust me, its no walk in the park. Parts of the wall were really steep, and hard to walk up. Bill and I ventured up this one part that we literally had to crawl up the steps on our hands and knees because it was so steep. You know the saying, what goes up, must come down. The walk down was just as hard going up. If you fall going down, there is a good chance you are going to tumble and roll for quite a while. That would not be a happy ending. The wall was so steep, while walking down, your toes feel like they are going to burst through the front of your shoes. Through all the sweat and pain cause by walking the wall, it was definitely worth it. In the end, it was an opportunity of a lifetime that 99.9% of Americans will never get to experience. I can really see why the Great Wall is one of the 7 Man Made Wonders of The World. It is truly amazing.

When we got back from our tour in the late afternoon, we decided to go to the mall under our hotel. I found a store that sold DVD’s that I wanted to buy. You know me, I can never pass up a good deal. The had some fairly recent titles that have just come out. I bought 7 different DVD’s. I was so excited. I got back to the room to try them out, and guess what, none of them work. DANG!!! Well, hold on, let me rephrase that. They work, but they come up as wrong region. Wrong region means they are only formatted to play in DVD players and computers formatted for China. I put my brain to work (I know… I know… I didn’t hurt myself), and was trying to think of a way to make these work. Then I came up with a brilliant idea. Ready for this?..... I am just going to buy a cheap, small DVD player out here in China so my DVD’s will work when I get home. TADA! That way, I don’t have to worry about the DVD’s being the wrong region. Brilliant idea right? The region setting on the DVD player will match the DVD’s I buy in China. I’ll let you know if it works. DVD players are so small these days, I should be able to find one that will fit in the backpack for the trip home.

Well, we are headed to Chengdu tomorrow morning. I will give you an update soon.

Josh Travels to China II Volume 4

April 29, 2007

Ni Hao from Beijing, China! We arrived in Beijing last night (Sat.). This city is really cool. Downtown is so clean. They even have an Outback Steakhouse across the street from the hotel. How awesome is that? I can tell you… its pretty dang awesome. We have eaten there twice already.

We decided to come here for three days to get a little R&R in for all the hard work at the show and visiting factories all last week. Becky and Paul have been gone a total of two weeks now. They were in Japan the week before Ashley and I arrived. So, the stop in Beijing is going to be enjoyable by all.

Beijing is a world famous historical and cultural city. There are so many things to do here and historical spots see. We decided to take a couple of tours to get the real deal behind Beijing. We had a little private tour today put on by the hotel. It was awesome. Our tour guide David was great. He grew up here and knows everything there is to know about Beijing.

Below you will see what we saw on our tour today. Click on the link to learn a little about each spot. It will take you to a China Travel Guide website that gives a small summary and pictures of each location.

First stop was Tiananmen Square:
http://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/beijing/tianan.htm

Second stop was the Forbidden City:
http://www.travelchinaguide.com/cityguides/beijing/forbidden.htm

Third stop was the Llama Temple:
http://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/beijing/yonghe.htm

Forth stop was the Temple of Heaven:
http://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/beijing/heaven/

All the stops today were awesome. It was tons of walking though. With all the stops, it had to be 5+ miles of walking around looking at things and taking pictures. All the walking wore us all out by the end of the tour. My favorite stop today would be the Forbidden City. There were a lot of cool things to see, and a lot of history to learn. There was so much to learn, I don’t even know where to begin. That’s why I supplied you with the links.

Tomorrow we visit the Great Wall of China and the Ming Tombs. I think out of all the stops, I am the most excited about the Great Wall. I can’t wait to see it. Then we are off to Chengdu to meet up with Scott and the Xiamen/Thailand staff. I will send another update real soon. Hope you enjoyed it!

Josh’s Chinese Lesson of the Day:
Bu Yao (boo yah) – No Need

Bu Yao worked well for all the people that walk up to you and try to sell you stuff you don’t want!

Josh Travels to China II Volume 3

April 28, 2007

One last update before going to Beijing!

I woke up early this morning at around 5:45 and couldn’t get back to sleep. So, I checked my emails and found out my mom is signing me up for the St. George Marathon. I am kind of excited, but then again thinking what have I got myself in to… AGAIN! So, I had a little Rocky Balboa moment and decided to go down to the hotels health club to run. This would be my second time running this trip in the little gym. It is actually quite nice. Has everything that the Gold’s Gym back home has, just on a smaller scale. So, I jumped on one of the treadmills and started my usual 30min run. On a side note, the treadmills are a little smaller here. The rotating belt in narrower than the ones in the USA. It’s like being a gymnast and running on a balance beam. I have to focus a lot more to run straight so I don’t be one of the dorky people that fall off treadmills. I have seen it happen, not a pretty site. Funny, but I would hate for that to happen to me. I don’t know if I could stand the humiliation in front of all the people.

While I was running, I noticed a man get on the treadmill next to me. I looked at him and thought, “WOW, that shirt looks familiar!!” He was wearing a SLC Marathon shirt. Same one I had from when I was supposed to run the SLC Marathon last June, but couldn’t because I got sick (Sore subject with me, so we are moving on). I stopped my treadmill, shut off the iPod (I was listening to Metallica if you were wondering), and asked him if he was from Salt Lake. He said he was and was here to visit the show. We got to talking and he works at a company called OC Tanner. They make corporate gifts. I am guessing these are such things as anniversary watches, plaques, and other types of gifts an employer would give to their employees for long term loyalty or a job well done. It’s always nice to meet someone from the states while half way around the world, let alone someone from SLC. So that was cool. In case you were wondering, I did finish my run.

We have been staying at the China Hotel throughout our whole stay in Guangzhou.

Now on to Beijing. I will update you from there!

Josh Travels to China II Volume 2

April 27, 2007

We just finished our third and final day of the fair. We walked the show for a combined 30 plus hours over the last three days. We are very happy with the progress we have made throughout the last three days. Becky said this is the most productive China trip she has had out of her 12 career visits so far. We ordered mostly home décor stuff that will fill our store, website, and Home Party catalogs. We ordered a lot of rod iron home décor, Christmas goods, spring/Easter decorations, and plenty in between.

We visited a few factory show rooms during the last few days. Visiting the showrooms is a lot more productive. It’s quite, we get more attention from the factory rep’s, and it is a lot easier to concentrate on trends and our needs. Walking the fair can sometimes be overwhelming because there is so much to see. I could go without seeing another home décor item for about six months. I have definitely seen my fair share over the last three days.

After our day at the fair was over today, we decided to go to a street called Beijing Lu. This is where all the street vendors and main shopping is in downtown Guangzhou. We took the subway again to get there. There are normal shopping stores, but then there are the street vendors. I like shopping at the street vendors.

By the way, if anyone wants a watch, purse, computer, or suit.... I know where you can get one! While at Beijing Lu, we honestly had 50 people come up to us with little papers they pulled out of their pocket with pictures of watches, purses, etc. This is my second time to China now. I should be considered a local.

Josh’s Chinese Lesson of the Day:

Ni Hao (Knee How) - Hello
Ni Hoa Ma (Knee How Ma) – How are you?
Wei (Way) – Hi
Tai Gui (Tie Gway) – Too Expensive
Mei Nv (May New) – Beautiful Girl


We leave tomorrow morning for Beijing. I will keep you updated!

Josh Travels China II Volume 1

April 26, 2007

The flight from SLC to LAX was pretty easy going. It only had about 30 people on it. My ears were really giving me some trouble on the flight from the pressure. I never have trouble with my ears on planes. It seriously felt like my right ear drum wanted to explode. I was willing to let it do so if the pain would just go away. Of course this all happens before I switch planes at LAX for my 16 hour flight half way around the world. I was thinking this could really be a terrible trip if this doesn’t go away.

The majority of the pain went away when we touched down at LAX. My ears were still hadn’t popped even after getting off the plane. After getting into the terminal, Ashley and I walked up to the flight board to see which gate we need to go to for our connecting flight. We were headed to Taipei, Taiwan from LAX. For our flight, the board read TBT. We looked at each other and wondered why the board said our gate was “To Be Determined.” We had three hours till our flight departed, so we decided to get some food. Yes, I know… TBT is not the acronym for “To Be Determined”…. But more about that later.

We sat down at a Mexican Restaurant in the terminal. We finished eating, and the board still said TBT. Since the flight left in about two hours, we thought they would have decided the gate by then. We sat around probably another 15 minutes before we came to the conclusion that TBT didn’t mean “To Be Determined.” In fact, it meant Tom Bradley Terminal. We were in the totally wrong building waiting for the gate to be posted.

We finally made it on the plane. It was a pretty smooth ride. Our plane was late landing into Taipei. We had to walk straight off of the plane and right on to our connecting plane to Hong Kong.

The flight from Taipei to Hong Kong was just under two hours. We took the train from the Hong Kong Airport to meet up with Scott, Becky, and Paul. We arrived at the hotel around 11:30am. Ashley and I were jet lagged pretty badly this time. So, we rested while the rest finished up some meetings. We met up for dinner at Dan Ryan’s Chicago Grill. It seems to be a tradition while in Hong Kong.

The next morning, we left for Shenzhen. Shenzhen is in China, just outside the Hong Kong Border. We visited a couple candle factories and their showrooms. The showrooms are always impressive. However, I love to see how the factories operate. I've heard stories about factories in China, but have never been able to see it for myself. So, now I had my chance.

I was amazed on how many people work in the factory. People are everywhere. Almost everything is done by hand one piece at a time. It was amazing to see the factory operate. Everyone had their own job.

After our factory visits, we headed to Guangzhou by car. When we left Shenzhen to head to Guangzhou, it started to rain. This wasn’t the normal type of rain. I am talking serious “buckets at a time” type of rain. This took the “when it rains it pours” saying to a whole new level.

So, our trip from Shenzhen to Guangzhou was supposed to be an hour by car, but it was four instead. After the journey, we finally arrived in Guangzhou. Guangzhou is where the huge China Export Fair is located. At this fair, you see anything and everything you can possibly think of to buy. I am not kidding. They have everything you could possibly imagine. This fair is located in huge expo halls in many different locations around the city. We use the METRO (subway) to get around the city to see the different halls.

We have walked the show the last two days and have one more day to go. There will be more to come I am sure!

New Trailer

It was another exciting day at For Every Body. We made soy based candles as usual, attended meetings, sent emails, and worked on our computers. But, something happened that was out of the ordinary. Josh, our International Project Manager, bought a new trailer. It is pretty cool if you're into that sort of thing.

It is big enough to carry four wheelers and six people. He picked it up before work today from a little town called Roy, Utah. He woke up at 5:30 a.m. to pick it up, and then drove it to work. Anita and I had a tour earlier today.

The trailer is white with black and red writing. It is pretty "pimp" as Josh would say!

Employee Spotlight #1

Name: Josh
Title: Director of Project Management
What he likes best about his job: the people he works with. Every day is different and has something new.
Born: Salt Lake City
Education: California State University, Chico- bachelor's in marketing and management
Places lived: Utah, California, and Oregon
Favorite candle: Minus Wicks, fresh peach scent
Favorite place to shop: Pac Sun
Last good movie: Pursuit of Happiness
Likes to watch or read: KSL updates / current events
Favorite pig out food: Ben & Jerry's half baked ice cream
Favorite music or artist: country
Person he admires: parents because they taught him everything he knows
Three words that describe him: coolest guy ever
Spare time: snowboard, wakeboard, ride dirt bikes at the dunes
If I've learned something in life, it is: Proper planning prevents poor performance (the 5 P's of business)