2008/03/13
China here we come!
ANTICIPATION, it is said, is half the fun, and when I got an unexpected phone call on Monday asking if I’d like to join a group of motoring journalists going to China, I jumped at it.
Of course it first needed confirmation from my bosses ... both of them – the editor at work and the one at home.
Both said it was fine.
But there wasn’t much time to get cracking. That was Monday. We’ll be leaving on Saturday and be back home next Thursday. All sorts of matters needed to be settled; most important getting a visa from the consulate in Cape Town which required forms to fill in and my passport to be rushed there.
I’ll be a guest of McCarthy Vehicle Imports and in China, Chery Automobile Manufacturers. You’ve guessed. McCarthy will be bringing in Chery cars, another brand to join the flood of Chinese imports.
However, this one is different in that most of the others are trucks, bakkies and SUVs (that’s a sporty 4x4 wagon if you didn’t know it). Chery will be one of the first Chinese sedans.
That, of course, is the reason for the trip, and we’ll be visiting factories and maybe even get behind the wheel of a few models on a test track – I doubt they’ll let us loose on crowded city or even country roads.
I’m excited about spending a few days in China, being in the world’s most populated and vibrant country where economic growth is like an express train running at full speed – controlled but fairly screaming ahead.
I expect to be shocked by air pollution which is apparently among the worst in the world. I expect it to be very cold. Going from hot and humid East London to a freezing China which is just coming out of winter, is going to be a big wake-up call.
Whether or not we’ll be taken to and shown any of the famous Chinese landmarks is something I cannot answer right now, but I’d love to see one or any of the Terracotta Warriors, Yangtze River, Great Wall, Forbidden City or Tiananmen Square.
Sadly, I don’t think so. This is a business, not a tourist trip. Nanjing and Shanghai are the only stopovers.
No doubt, however, we’ll be somewhat more skilled at manipulating chopsticks by the time we get home. Yummy! I love Chinese chow, but everyone who’s been there says it’s very different from the fare we’re dished up here.
Mind you the Chinese eat some things we don’t, I hear, so we’ll need to watch what’s on the plate. And who knows, we may even have a night out on the town with a bit of Oriental entertainment. No, don’t get me wrong. I’m a married man! I was thinking of cabaret, dancing, gymnastics, acrobatics and that sort of thing that they’re so good at.
My head’s in a whirl. Can’t wait. And there’ll be stories to tell as well, so watch this space.
Chiel: 043 702 2242 or chiel@dispatch.co.za
Tailpiece
CLASSIC definitions:
Committee: Individuals who can do nothing individually and sit to decide that nothing can be done together.
Atom bomb: An invention to end all inventions.
Philosopher: A fool who torments himself during life, to be spoken of when dead.
Diplomat: A person who tells you to go to hell in such a way that you actually look forward to the trip.
Opportunist: A person who starts taking a bath if he accidentally falls into a river.
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