First Day Of Work

I'm way behind on my blogs. One reason is that I've been busy traveling with Aunt Linda and Uncle Doug (new posts coming soon). Another reason is that after a 4 month holiday, I've started my new job.

My first assignment was to go to Haining, China to visit a furniture factory. Haining is an industrial center about 2 hours Southwest of Shanghai, and is also known as the Leather Capital of China.

Knowing that I would be out in the boonies, I was not expecting much other than work, but to my surprise there was a 5 star hotel waiting for me.

And next door was an enormous Mall/ Department Store.

Here's the view from my room.

After 3 days of meetings, I had some time before my flight back to Thailand and went shopping for a present for Nuch. From the outside, this Mall looks fairly ordinary - although several times larger than your average Mall. But once inside, I discovered the entire place is dedicated to nothing but leather. Every inch of the multi-million square feet complex is occupied by shops selling leather products - bags, shoes, belts, wallets, stuffed animals, you name it...

Here's another view from my room. In three days I never did see the sun.

Finally - a quick picture of the factory I visited - it's about 10 times the size of my previous factory in Korat. The factory goes all the way to the end of the road.

All in all a great visit and a great beginning.