Mahjong Solitaire - (上, shàng; and 海, hǎi)

Up, On or Above the Sea. This is what Shanghai literally translates too. A more poetic name for Shanghai switches the order of the two characters, Hàishàng (海上). Leaving behind its strong history in politics and growth during the Song Dynasty, Shanghai is the largest city in the People's Republic of China and serves as the business port of China. So it is basically the Mumbai of China. It is also more commonly known as Paris of the East and the Queen of the Orient. It is also at the mouth of the Yangtze River delta and it stands divided by the Huangpu River as 2 places - Pudong and Puxi.

Which brings us also to the highlight that China's International Airport at Shanghai is called PUDONG. I was so complacent as the climate only 7 degrees when we landed ground and what a coincidence - the first hoarding i saw outside in the dark was HITACHI :).. He he, this brand is most familiar to our generation as it holds a good position in the electronics market as well. But the true face of the presumed climate was exposed the moment we stepped outside the building to board the Audi coach which awaited the arrival of our 6 member team. I was smoking haze and it was stupendously cold - not because of the degree centigrade, but bcuz of the chill breeze which wud freeze u alive if not properly protected with 3 to 4 layers of clothing.

It was not a drastic change as Delhi is equally cold except for the rain with strong wind. I was all prepared for the 5 day journey in similar lines - had my monkey cap ;) jerkins & pullovers. The Audi drove us for an hour into the city to reach the Nanjing Road East where our EAA - GSC Conference was being hosted in the Le Royal Meridien hotel. I should admit, it was by far one of the most impressive contemporary landmarks i have come across. It featured great panoramic views and located in the heart of Shanghai which made it convenient to roam around Nanjing pedestrian street and 10 minutes walk to THE BUND - shopping area by the river.

Now to the rooms, phewwww.. Exotic is the only word which should be used to describe the rooms in there. For those of you who know prashanth (Our year Placement Coordinator), he was my twin sharing roommate. Room 2211 was sparkling, glowing, glossy and upscale. Solla varthai illai. Everything about tat place was cozy. Apram yena, odi poi bed la kuthuki aaramichathu thaan nyabagam iruku. The next thing in my conscience was waking up to the alarm ring from the lobby stating its time for breakfast. Ha ha, ithu allava vazhkai.. Ithu mathiri royal service nobody wud have got even when they were a mummy's lil baby. Hmmm.. apdiyee poi bath tub la ukaantha naan 40 mins kaluchu oru awesome body massage aana feeling oda veliya vanthen. Yena oru vazhkai ada maanida.!Then a day of awesome discussion about the East Asia and Global Service Centre colloboration and operational challenges. Forget about all that, come to the breakfast. Buffet spreadout to the extense of a hallway. All varieties of food.. continental, asian, chinese, western, suburban, fruits, deserts, seafood, pastries, baked, fried, grilled, boiled, steamed.. ella vithamana cuisines.. ellathulayum oru kai vachu pathutu resumed back to the objective of the conference :) - the meeting. Lunch was also equally well organized. Then after a quiet good start we had the evening hours planned for a Crash course to China living.

1. Kung Fu training
2. Calligraphy writing
3. How to make Dumplings
4. Seasons and Food - the healthy way of living.

In the night, the 6 of us from GSC assembled together to prepare ourselves on hand to be able to align ourselves for the presentation our Area IS Director - David Downs was going to present to us the next day. Late nite we crashed. The next day a similar routine and towards the end of the day we were split into 2 teams - 1 Global ERP and Customer Service & Delite. I belonged to the 1st team. We did the brainstorming and after that session I was asked to assist the 2nd team in making their presentation with all the beautification, animation and movie making. 14 of us, ellarukum information modules split panni kuduthutu i was sitting with a colleague who assisted me to construct the actual ppt from the modules produced by the other guys. All 14 of us got together in 1 room and it was great fun and team spirit to see such enthusiasm.

Next day was the actual presentation. I had actually transitioned to the other team for presenting the slides as well. It went really well and I had been given the opportunity to the opening slides and concluding ones. Delighted David was. Hope we stuck the right chord. Then the rest of the day after the PPT was cool, Karaoke night.. dance floor.. dinner with the team and back to the hotel. One of the 6 guys in us is getting married in December. So we threw him a bachelor party.

The next day midday a full body massage was arranged in the Spa closeby. Athuku apram yenala oru bone kooda move panna mudiyala - apdi oru thookam ilukuthu. Room poi super ah oru thookam potutu we assembled back in the evening and went for a discussion which was triggered post presentation the previous day. Atha mudichutu we all went for a proper traditional road side Vegetable Fried Rice dinner 2 streets away from the hotel. Super aana oru finding athu. All the 6 of us had an awesome dinner for the most economical of costs - 4 RMB per big bowl of fried rice. Amazinggg!

The ultimated day was left only for shopping and we went to the copy marked in Xing Wang Emporium. Gokka Makka shopping, bargaining and suthufying. It was awesome. Antha oru shopping experience pathi separate oru post eh eluthalam ;). U must the quality of stuff u get there and u can bargain like crazy. No problem of language as all the negotiations was done via the calculator ;). Company kudutha ella Forex money um athula sutti thalliyaachu :).. Back we were, 10 pm China time in the airport for boarding AI - 349 back home. A befitting climax was that the dinner in Air india was splendid and it made me drool that I requested for another hot pack and had twice the amount of listed dinner menu :)