The Trip Home

Thursday, July 14, 2011

As the bus pulls away from the Galaxy, the night is lit up by all of the casinos just like the Vegas strip.  In place of a lot neon are LEDs which provide a brighter, more defined glow to the night.  We cross the bridge into Macau proper.  I am amazed at how clean the streets are and excited that so many shops are still open at that hour of the night.  We get to Hotel L’Arc for the aforementioned after party.  The entourage is led up to a huge room with projection screen.  Several people start flipping through the electronic catalog of songs.  The rest of us sit and chat to make the last few moments with the stylists last as long as possible with the fondest of memories.  Champagne is provided to celebrate the end of a successful goodwill tour and toasts abound.  Food and brought in immediately after the drinks, and the songs begin to pour out.

Speeches and grand gestures are peppered throughout the night.  First, announcements and congratulations by the board members and founders.  Business in China is  done almost entirely outside of the office and entirely over cigarettes and alcohol.  Tonight is no exception.  Cigars and cigarettes abound, and the liquor flows freely among the senior members.  Everyone is a bit delirious from fatigue, but the singing and merriment continues.  The next gesture are medals awarded to the contestants and staff.  In their uniform velveteen track suits, the medals look like they have placed in some sort of sport at the Olympics.  Some of the girls play into the look by posing as if they just stuck it after dismounting the uneven bars.  Willis, whose role has been stylist assistant and body guard, begins to serenade Michael, the assistant videographer, with a birthday song.  The gesture is followed by sad goodbyes full of smiles and tears as we bid adieu to the stylists.  They will be spending the night at the hotel and the day touring Macau before they fly back to Guanzhou.

The bewitching hour is upon us, and we say our goodbyes to our hosts.  The bus leaves the twinkling lights of Macau behind as we roll up to the ferry terminal.  This begins our long trip home.  We manage to catch an earlier ferry to Hong Kong, but we have to go through immigration to leave Macau.  Tip: If taking a ferry in Asia, make sure you know what your seat number is and keep you ticket accessible to you.  We handed in our tickets altogether and ended up causing a lot of trouble with all of our luggage.  Eventually, it all works out, and we pass out during the hour long ride between the islands.  In Hong Kong, we end up having to fill out an additional form to enter the country.  Immigration starts asking a lot of questions, and eventually, a couple of the entourage get held back a bit for small issues.  We have plenty of time to get to the airport before the flight to Shanghai, so no one is worrying quite yet.

Nothing is open at the airport when we arrive,  None of the counters are staffed, and it is little more than a couple of hours before our flight.  We are a weary bunch of travelers already with two bouts with immigration already under our belts, and it’s not even 6AM, yet.  A few minutes after 6AM, the counter staff begins to trickle in.  I’m lucky to be in the beginning of the line and make my way through security and immigration with a few others.  Boarding time is 7:25AM.  There’s no telling if everyone is going to remember to look up from all of the great shopping in the Hong Kong airport.  We actually start boarding early.  Now, we start worrying that the rest of the group won’t make it in time.

After the last few stragglers make it through the cabin door, I shut my eyes.  When I open them, we’re just about to land in Shanghai.  Little did we know what the Chinese bureaucracy had in store for us as we deplaned.  I had asked the counter staff back in Hong Kong if we had to worry about going through immigration and picking up our luggage for customs in Shanghai to switch planes.  She was confident that we wouldn’t need to.  To my dismay, she was half wrong.  While we didn’t need to pick up the luggage, we had to go through another security screening (buh-bye nearly full bottle of water I just bought in Hong Kong) and immigration into China as well as immigration out of China.  Instead of letting us through the most direct route into security, we are made to circumnavigate the arrival hall to arrive at the start.  Immigration has but two employees and several planefuls of passengers waiting to make their connections.  Luckily, because of a gate change, our boarding is delayed a few minutes, and the girls run off to shop for gifts again.  The rest of the travel is uneventful, and I am thankful for that.  We will say our last goodbyes at the baggage carousel at JFK.  I have made some new friends and learned a great deal about the pageant world in China.

Stay tuned to see how the finals go in August.  Want to learn more or volunteer at the pageant, checkout the website at http://misschinesepageant.com.

Farewell, Macau, You Were Fabulous!

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Today, I have a choice of following the girl around to their various photo and video shoots.  There is even a rumor that Stacy Wang will be bungee jumping for the cameras . . . and to relieve stress, but even that doesn’t entice me away from enjoying some personal time on my last day in Macau.  A gambling mecca of the East, Macau provides a Vegas-style glamour to East Asia housing only one of three Venetian hotel casinos in the world, a Wynn, and dozens of luxury hotel casinos.  Riding up and down the elevators all day, I realize that the Galaxy provides families, couples, and individuals an all inclusive getaway with several pools, a health club, dozens of restaurants to choose from a mall, bakeries, pharmacies, and even a food court for those who want a quick, international bite.

Breakfast at the Terrace Restaurant is an international buffet.  I stuff myself silly on congee, scrambled eggs, hashbrowns, and tiny pastries.  Some of the girls have already finished breakfast before I even get a chance to start.  The morning is scheduled for shooting photos and video around the complex.  I take the opportunity to send postcards on my very last full day of the trip because it has been about the only chance to do so.  Sitting in the elevator lobby on the 23^rd floor of Hotel Okura, my backdrop is the Galaxy Hotel and the big wave pool.  I sun a bit as I write my postcards.  This is the one hotel where free wireless is available anywhere, so I take advantage of it and Skype® in the elevator lobby while I write.  Finished with chatting and writing, I make my way down to the lobby to mail the finished products.  After a little back and forth about how to pay for the stamps, I spot Jasmine (Contestant #14) sitting down in the lobby.  The rest of the entourage can’t be far behind, and it is nearly lunchtime, so I go see what’s up.

Chatting with Kim, Peter, and Michael, they have already done a lot of shooting.  They just have a couple more places before lunch, so I follow them around.  Luckily, I’m useful extra security since they are shooting in wide open spaces with very persistent people trying to photograph them without the girls’  permission.  The fountain in one of the lobbies has a dancing fountain, and the show is starting as we roll up to it.  The girls’ reactions to the light and water show are captured on video.  They pose for pictures in front of a stylized peacock feather backdrop, and the entire entourage move into the casino.  There’s a stage show depicting China just before World War II.  A prosperous time with international influence, the actors and actresses provide a spectacular show of dancing to a constantly changing background.  Here, the girls are asked to react a little more flamboyantly than usual for the cameras to make it a good show.

With only a few minutes for lunch, we are herded into Park Liu Chow, an extremely well known brand name in Chiuzhou cuisine.  Duck and dim sum dishes appear in quick succession.  Discussion of the afternoon events revolve around skywalking and bungee jumping.  Kim challenges Stacy to the bungee jump, and for her, it is less of a challenge and more stress relief.  Logistics of filming the jump are discussed over a lovely orange and jasmine scented dessert soup.  A quick call out to the troops have the girls meeting in the lobby of our hotel at 3pm after rehearsal at 2:30pm for this evening’s events.  As exciting as the afternoon’s events sound, I choose to sty behind and experience the Galaxy.

The complex is huge and confusing for a lot of people.  In my wandering, I happen across several people from the trip who are lost.  Luckily, I inherited my father’s sense of direction, so I am able to at least get everyone back to our specific hotel lobby.  From there, they should be able to find the others.  On the East Promenade where Hotel Okura I located, there are only luxury stores like Van Cleef & Arpel – not my normal price range.  A quick look at the directory, the more affordable shops are on the West Promenade on the other side of the casino which takes up the middle third of the complex.  I admired the Tastes of Asia food court, but I’m still pretty full from lunch.  I do indulge in a crispy caramel ice cream sandwich during my walk.  Macau is known for its Portuguese custard tarts, and I thought I had lost my chance to savor one by not going with the girls this afternoon, but luckily, there are two famous bakeries in mall.  I shop for gifts for the family and stop at Mannings pharmacy to pick up a few of my favorite toiletries from Taiwan.  I feel so selfish for indulging today, but I figured it’s my last free afternoon, so I might as well take advantage.  With half a dozen fresh out of the oven Portuguese custard tarts in my bag, I get back to the hotel to get ready for the evenings festivities.

Tonight, the girls are doing pretty much the same as last night, having a turn on the catwalk in their cocktail dresses and impressing the crowd.  Those of us who are no important to the production are asked to go ahead and get ready and bring our bags down to the lobby so that we can all attend the after party.  I’m going to miss my five star hotel room and being able to actually watch music videos on television.  I pack my little bag and head down to the lobby ahead of everyone.  A lot of hugging and group photos are taken as start filling the bus.  Stay tuned for the final installment including the after party and a most adventurous route to get home.

Hello, Macau, We Have Arrived!

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

The morning is hectic with organizing luggage and two more stops in Zhongshan before we head off to Macau.  We have a stop at the Cultural Arts Research Center – I guess that’s why William was asking if any of the contestants knew Chinese calligraphy earlier in the week.  The Center is celebrating cultural heritage with a Chinese calligraphy exhibit.  I’m amazed with the old and middle Chinese calligraphy.  I have learned basic traditional Chinese calligraphy, and now, I am intrigued to learn early and middle Chinese calligraphy now as well.  Some of the girls can read traditional Chinese, but they don’t necessarily understand what each of the poems or sayings mean.  Sometimes they have specific meanings, and sometimes it can be up for interpretation.  The ceremony is a bit long winded, and the girls are getting a bit fatigued sitting up straight with their ankles crossed.  They finally get called up for pictures and are, unsurprisingly, the center of attention.

As we leave the space, our drivers have lined up the cars for a quick picture to advertise the cars.  They have the girls match up with their numbered cars and drivers.  Having beautiful girls posing with hot imports is a long standing tradition in the automobile advertising world.  Today is no exception.  As we head off to the last stop in Zhongshan, the traffic gets worse, and it is hard to maneuver the caravan.  We weave in and out of the heavy morning traffic trying to keep up with the rest, but the drivers in China will take any centimeter’s worth of space to wedge into traffic.  It is a bit frustrating as an onlooker to see how inconsiderate drivers are in China, more so than most countries I’ve visited.  That same mentality seems to spill over into general society as well.  For a culture based on saving face, familial honor, and so many rules of comportment, women are still considered either property or second class citizens, and men seem to be allowed to say and do whatever they want with little to no repercussion.

As we roll up to the elementary school, specially chosen children are lined up waiting for the entourage.  The children are all in their uniforms and are holding red plastic flowers.  As the girls file in, the children start welcoming them with a unified voice.  The principal has a few opening remarks, and then, we are led into the school for a little tour.  We see a wall of colorful hand prints which the children make their first year at the school.  Then, the hand prints are framed and hung on the walls until the children graduate after 6^th grade when the hand prints are planned to be presented to the children as gifts and souvenirs of the school.  There are approximately 1,300 children who attend this specific Zhongshan City public school.  That is nearly three times my high school’s graduating class.  Another wall has a photo mural of every child who has attended the school, and it seems like there is plenty of room to add photos.  We get to the gym, and a large group of children greet the girls with cheers and clapping.  The children have prepared a game where you transfer hearts over straws held only by mouth, no hands, ma’!  The more hearts, the more chances the girls will have to get puzzle pieces which turn out to be the map of China.  It is riotous fun, and everyone is having a ball.  Once the hearts are passed and the map is put together, the contestants happily take pictures with the children and their families and hand out gift bags to the children.  The bags were so cute, I was tempted to snatch one, but there was just enough for every child to have just one.

We have one last meal the Zhongshan International Hotel.  At lunch, there is a big round of applause and gratitude to Ken, our host and part owner of the hotel.  We rush through the meal to get everything on the bus to Macau.  The bus ride is short, and we arrive at the China Customs and Immigration stop.  Everyone and everything off the bus while we hand in our departure cards and have our pictures taken.  Back on the bus with the luggage, and after a very short five minute ride on a bridge, we get to Macau Customs and Immigration and have to take everyone and everything off the bus again to have it go through immigration again.  I have the stamps on my passport to prove it. 

We get to the Galaxy – it’s not just a hotel, but an entire complex with several hotels.  We pull up to Hotel Okura, and the girls are rushed off to rehearsal since we arrived late.  Dinner will be poolside at the rooftop deck pool, and the girls have a bathing suit and evening gown strut on the catwalk.

The evening is nothing but rush, rush, rush with hair, makeup, and costume changes. 

At one point, the girls are asked to pick the most charming gentlemen out of the crowd and bring them on stage.  When asked why they picked the gentlemen (and one lady), Ivy Hu replies that he reminds her of her father, so that’s why she chose him.  The MC heard her wrong and asked if he were her father, and such a loud outcry of laughter came from the crowd.  When Danni Wang replied, she said because he was the closest cute guy near her.  Stacy Wang managed to pick the the cousin of George H. W. Bush out of the crowd.  What a surprise!  When Ke Ke replied, she mentioned that she really loved his hairstyle – I guess sexy, bald men really do have a following in Asia.  The evening was over as quickly as it had started.  Now, off to sleep in my five star, US$622.81 (5000 Macau patacas) a night hotel room.  Oh, and is it luxurious!  Tomorrow, photos all over the island and the hotel and a farewell party.  Me?  I’m going to roam around this complex.