the meeting
Speed
Soundless
Aquaplaning
Over liquid, mercurial gold
into the western sun
over the Pearl River estuary
Haojing
The mirror sea
Relaxing into this magical jet foil ride to Macau
With a drink
Collecting myself
after the nerve raking experience at the airport
with Hong Kong customs
then over the turn stiles at the ferry wharf
with a large architectural model
for the Guangzhou meeting
The model, on wheels
Had to be unpacked, unscrewing the side and top panels
Every bloody time
One does not leave home without a Phillip’s head screwdriver
Make a mental note?
I was emotionally and physically drained
The gin and tonic melting me into the seat
As I readied myself
For the custom clearances into Macau
Head rolling out of a snooze
By the silent sinking of the Jetfoil into the outer harbour ferry wharf
Shuffling to the luggage collection
I recognised Wee
Who was there to meet me
I almost felt like kissing the client
As he took control
With minimum hassle
Bundling the model and me
into two cars, then directly to the hotel
after agreeing to meet in the lobby later
I settled in
Then
taking a walk into the streets of Macau
A European townscape
Beautiful buildings in the settling dusk
Through laneways of restaurants
Cages stacked outside
With live cranes, owls, snakes, turtles
Each advertising the speciality of the restaurant
Most probably endangered species?
Looking dinner in the eye collapsed my appetite
As I slowed to a crawl walking past
Meandering further up to the Monte Fort and the ruins of St.Paul’s
Overlooking the straits and Macau
I was completely captivated
Warm
irradiated at the edge of the earth
in the glow of the escaping sun
A European trading enclave since the 16th century
Hence the European feel
But run
by the dynamism of the Cantonese
Fascinating contrasts
The sheer beauty of Macau and the estuary
Disarming me
Shaken by the reality of the time
I hot footed it back to the Hotel
For the next immersion
It came with a trip to the Portuguese Macanese section for dinner
Macanese was a dialect of Macau, a Portuguese creole
With its own cuisine
The group of us worked our way through the banquet
of Macanese chilli shrimps, African chicken and the traditional Salt Cod
Wee
had also invited his first wife along with his colleague’s
To meet the white devil
His wife, was a noble, women of character
a doctor
They went through university together
Obviously
he had married well
Wee was a very wealthy man
I had also met his second, younger wife in Hong Kong before
A very beautiful, character women
Who was in control
Totally
As the Courvoisier flowed
At US$400 a bottle
Wee
outlined the lay of the land in Macau
The Portuguese being fundamentally corrupt
The Cantonese
manipulating the development scenarios for their own collective gain
It was just expected
Normal!
Even down to the fact that any payments to the government officials
At all levels
As it was multi-tiered
Being listed in the tax returns?
In a recent 20 storey development that I had designed
Wee, gained another 5 storeys
outside the planning controls
By paying handsomely down the line
Complaining it was an expensive business
As he ordered yet another bottle of Courvoisier
Not exhibiting any signs of pain
Drinking Courvoisier cognac from beer glasses
Was outside my league
Wee
Who was well underway
as I just sipped
declining to scull the cognac
Wee
Sprang up from the table
waddled around to me
Flapping his folded arms like wings
crying
Chicken
Kentucky fried chicken
Chicken
To everyone’s amusement
Except mine
His wife smiling
Embarrassed
I sculled the cognac
There was no sipping here
So eventually back to the hotel
We went up to the night club above the lobby
A huge room with a central dance floor
circled by booth seating
Having received the first drink
A long Peron, more water than alcohol
My formula for surviving the night
I then noticed
Off to the left of the stage
a window
Looking into a tiered room
With young women standing on each tier
Holding numbers
I was advised
That Wee
As part of the evening entertainment
has hired me an escort
For the entire evening?
I was reluctantly marshalled over
Into the room
Embarrassed giggles from the girls
Me
Mortified
Totally out of my comfort zone
Pointing
I picked number 22
A petite, beautiful young lady
One of the few who spoke English
I escorted her to the table
Champagne of course
the evening unfolded
evolving into more drinking
then dancing
Until about three in the morning
Later
walking from the night club
I politely explained
compounding my awkwardness
by complimenting her on her English, her beauty
but I had a major trip tomorrow
sooooo
I would not require any further services for this evening!
Politely bowing
I joined the others who all went down to the pool and spa area
for a massage before going to bed
the group chastised me
having no understanding of why?
Was I gay?
How could I possibly turn down the generosity of my host?
My attempts to navigate the cultural morass was obviously taking a dent
After the massage
we all meet in the lounge off the spa
Each reclining on individual lounges in white hooded dressing robes
Being served freshly squizzed orange juice
A switch seemed to click
I could almost hear it!
As for the first time in the entire evening
The conversation went directly to the business at hand
I had meet some of Wee’s colleague’s before
So was familiar with the peaking order
This was where all the business was done
As the plan of attack was mapped out
Serious stuff!
Having two hours sleep
It was into Wee’s Mercedes in the morning
for the trip into China
To Guangzhou
His car was cleared to enter China
And we drove through the rural country side
Every inch cultivated
No rubbish
The dirt, textured by broom strokes
People stopping
Heads rotating
Following our passage
I felt like the man who fell to earth
Wee
obviously still recovering from the excesses of the night
talked
openly
with a slow
melancholy tone
about the difficulty of having two wife’s
In Chinese society
His first wife had to approve of the second wife
A difficult step number one
Then
Each wife had to be treated the equally
One wife has two children
So
you have to work doggedly for two children with the second wife
this being achieved rapidly with the second wife
then
on the family holidays
you have to spend the same amount of money
and take each family to similar, prestigious locations
this trickled down to cars, clothes, the children’s schools
everything
all so Wee
would be perceived as an honourable man in the community
it costs me a fortune
he lamented
turning towards Guangzhou
Wee’s tone picked up
As he flowed into the standard background briefing for foreigner’s
Guangzhou
The old Canton
had just been turned into China’s first development zone
the communist version of Hong Kong
it was tightly controlled
and we would be meeting the chairman of the development committee for the city
Guangzhou
To attract investment
Had built new hotels and convention centres to establish the city in the western world
It had a trade fair recently
To reinforce the cities expanding international profile
Just in case
They rounded up 27,000 criminals in the city just before the Trade Fair
The police all know who they were!
They don’t need evidence
They cleared the streets
Presenting the right face of China to the world
We stayed at the Ritz Carlton
A brand, new hotel, very western
Obviously more prestigious
Than the White Swan Hotel by the river
being the older, established, more Chinese hotel
Wee
had a suite in the hotel
With a separate sitting room
where we all congregated
one hour before the meeting
the model in the middle
drawings on the table
us on one side
with chairs arranged on the opposing side
for the committee
a waiter standing faultlessly still by the servery
responding to the thrown requests for tea
no alcohol
so we waited!
being late was customary apparently
a colleague
waited patiently in the lobby for an hour
before greeting the delegation as they arrived
then escorted them to the suite
the suite door opened
six elderly men and one women
all in grey
Mao jackets
Shuffled into the room
One still wearing slippers with socks
The jackets were buttoned up
With the top button being undone
Revealing the standard white under shirt
The chairman
Unshaven
With a grey stubble
The obvious man of authority
We all stood
As we were sequentially introduced
Each bowing in turn
The chairman
Sitting first
In the larger chair directly opposite Wee
Tea with biscuits were served
In silence
The discussions
Kick started immediately
with no further pleasantries
I briefed the meeting on the overall development proposals
Stepping through the design
Slowing the cadence of my speech
To track the interpreter
Questions asked!
The meeting descended into verbal sparring
An oscillating dialogue
As if I was not there
The chairman
Controlling the flow
With deliberately slow pauses, sipping the tea
cupping both hands
eyes lowered
reading himself for the next point in the debate
No one was bothering to translate for me
The deal was being done
The conversation slowed
The chairman stood
Raising the entire room
We watched
as they shuffled out the door
Through a forest of bows
Drinks
Were immediately served for the debriefing
I was bought up to speed
The deal involved the city giving the land and all service connections for nothing
On the understanding
That the entire property would be constructed and managed at the cost of the developer
The sticking point being
How many years the developer could take all the income, before the entire development became the property of the People of China
Really smart!
The haggling point was between 15 to 25 years, eventually landing on 20 years
I was then advised
Almost as an after thought
that they would be busy this evening with officials
Staying longer
To finalise and formalise the deal
Wee’s
second wife
will have dinner with me this evening
Then take me back to Hong Kong tomorrow on the train for my flight
Early and waiting
She levitated across the lobby
In a skin tight, silk chum sung
The flash of the leg strobing her entrance
Eyes fully dialated
I was not the only one to notice
She was stunning!
She led me into the restaurant
Confidently addressing the maître
Gliding us to a table
The food and drinks ordered
Trivial conversation evolved
Filling the spaces
As a creeping
clammy awareness
walked slowly over me
I was the only Caucasian in the restaurant
And with a beautiful Chinese woman!
The centrifugal nature of the stares
The muffled conversations
Became increasingly obvious
To the point of being unsettling
Her diverted, with flitting eyes
Above the radiant smile
Feeling the ether
Would you rather we dined in your room?
Taken aback
No, no it was fine!
But I did not know who it was fine for?
Me or her
Each way
Her reputation could suffer
The meal in the fish bowl
draggled on
Until
walking out to the lifts
I politely, excused myself
Trying not to seem ungracious
Desperately manoeuvring to avoid yet another dent
in my cultural education that was coming right at me
Escaping to my room
a scotch
fortifying myself
for some unknown reason?
into feeling better
more comfortable
about being in a train with her tomorrow
for the entire day!
As we both returned to Hong Kong