Mainland China - TangXia, DongGuan, GuangDong

The Ferry ride to Shekou, Shenzhen is a quick and smooth fifty minutes. We pass through customs on the other side. Welcome to the Mainland. Shenzhen has to wait. Our destination is TangXia, DongGuan in the Province of GuangDong, two hours North. RGP and I post up outside the Ferry terminal and wait for our ride. Free WiFi, so it’s not all that bad. Unfortunately our driver got into a fender bender on the way over and has to wait for a new vehicle. Two.five hours later he arrives and we’re on route. RGP knocks out. I opt to stay awake and take in the sights of Mainland China. Driving is insane. There appears to be no lanes with traffic crisscrossing all over the place. (Quick flash-forward, the next day I catch a solo motorcycle rider driving down the up ramp. Shit is ill, son!)
DongGuan is a dust-riddled, industrial town with close to 700 00 inhabitants, most of them factory workers. We check into the Metropolitan Yiking Hotel and head downstairs for some feed, our party now consisting of Mr. Frederich and the lead Mechanical Engineer of the factory. Tepanyaki to the max, our seafood meal consists of an enormous ice carved sashimi boat, fresh prawns, crab, steak, and more. The head chef is behind the grill and she is a dime, a double for a lead in a Chinese movie. Wow. Sensational. The chow down is over the top other than the copious amounts of salt, MSG other spices, and pound plus of salted butter she heaps on. I must say a man is tripping in China due to all the MSG, some crazy dreams going down every other night. The crab is what strikes me the most about the meal. One minute it’s alive and the next approved and on the grill cut up in pieces. Involuntary muscle movements and down the hatch in less than five minutes. Following the meal, RGP walks me over the to the Chinese restaurant on site. There is close to fifty tanks full of goodies waiting to be enjoyed, from lobsters to prawns, to sharks and some fish I have never even heard of. Remember the episode of The Simpsons when Homer opts for everything on the menu including the fish that can kill you if cut one inch wrong? This is it! On the way back to the elevator an enormous door swings open and I glance inside to see twenty women lined up to greet whoever walks though, behind them a select few in full on kimono like garb. Welcome to the KTV experience Gman and his pops told me about, but not tonight. We head to our rooms and pass out. The accommodations are five stars to the max, a serious room for under 500 RMB per night. Be forewarned, the beds are hard. I guess this is what it feels like to sleep on a train like Boxcar Willie…
Tuesday am we eat breakfast and drive to the factory for a tour. There are over 900 employees on the line, 99 percent female, three floors of jobs, endless workstations and numerous sections. No sitting around smoking or joking, its all focus and work seven days a week, 8 am – 10 pm. One-year contracts include boarding in an on-site dormitory and meals, average age is twenty-three. Word is that’s what they want, work and more work. The pay? Plant Supervisor/Foreman Mr. Han says it’s secret. Shhhh… Mr. Han? Could he be related to GetJanet? I snap a photo and email it to her. She gets a kick but says no relation. He joins RGP, Frederich and I for dinner in the private room at the Korean BBQ spot across the street from the Yiking. Korean, he has lived in China for the past twelve years drinking Chinese Whiskey and working seven days a week until midnight keeping tabs on the operation, he looks fifty plus but is only thirty-five. Following dinner we sit in the lobby and enjoy some drinks. RGP heads to the washroom and spots a lobby shop. For sale inside is a tight collection of Louis shoes, rollers, Prada jackets, etc, and at about fifty dollars per unit the price is right. RGP says to hold off until we reach the pirate mecca AKA Shanghai. Frederich runs inside all excited. The talent is coming. Wah? No KTV tonight, he wants to sleep. Mama San marches out two, another Mama San two more, and Mama San three another two. Indecisive and wanting to view the entire roster we hem and haw. Mr. Han is having none of it. He ends the selection process and we’re off to our rooms. I swear Winny is related to half the country. Wake up in the morning and I’m in LOVE. If only The Barber could see me now…