The last few days have been a whirlwind attending the China International Medical Equipment Fair and the International Component Manufacturing & Design Show in Shenzhen, China. On a personal note, I had some amusing experiences because there are ways of doing things here I am not used to. For example, you open your hotel room with a typical card key. Right inside the room is a slot with a sign above it that says, "Insert card for room lights." So I inserted the card briefly, just as you would a room key or an elevator-activator key, then removed the card. The room lights went on for about five minutes and shut off again. I tried this a few times and finally called the front desk. People here in China -- especially service staff -- work hard to cater to your every whim. So suddenly five employees head to my room to show me what was wrong. It turns out, the card must stay in the slot for the light to work. Duh! It's actually a great idea, because I know I am guilty of not always turning off hotel room lights when I leave the room. With the Chinese method, the lights go off automatically each time a patron leaves their room.
A better experience yet was getting a traditional Chinese massage. I went with our tour guide and one of the other journalists on our tour. Like most service establishments, the spa had what seemed like hundreds of employees -- mostly young Chinese women in short tight suits and high heels. Not wanting to be wimps, we opted for the traditional, rather than the soothing massage. From head to foot, my massause methodically pushed and prodded on all the pain points in my back, neck, thighs, and calves. It is said the pain is good for you -- get's rid off all the noxious toxins that have collected in our bodies over time. I felt like screaming STOP, STOP, but managed to bite my lip hard enough not to screech in agony. Afterwards, I actually felt pretty good, but sore all over.
More later on some amazing innovations I saw at the show. Some are only to be introduced to the Asia market for various reasons I will discuss in future blog items and editorial. My plane from Shanghai has just arrived.....