Lost in Guangzhou!

This is me- in Guangzhou, China. Smiling like I had all the energy in the world when I hadn’t slept in days!  

Guangzhou, China

In 2012, I embarked on one of the longest flights of my life, to China to start a business as a trader. This wasn’t my choice but in Nigeria, you must learn to diversify to survive.

So I hopped on a 6-hour flight to Dubai- spent 3 hours layover at Emirates Airport then took the 8-hour flight to Shanghai. I rarely sleep on flights and ended up binge-watching series and listening to music.

We arrived in Shanghai, and I experienced one of the weirdest immigration checks ever. The lady looked at my passport, looked at me, and back at my passport. I’m wondering what she's looking for. Hmm. She calls her boss who looks at me and my passport, they mutter some words in mandarin and he proceeds to stamp my document for access.

Phew! What was that all about? Did I look different? Possibly! I doubt there are any Africans who look the same as their Photo ID! Hello ladies, bring on the wigs! 

The next 3 hours were spent on the road to Yiwu, Zhejiang. I was tired and hungry, and I had to “go”. How I slept through that ride in that condition without wetting myself is nothing short of a miracle! 

We arrived at our hotel at 2 am and it took another 30 minutes to settle in our rooms. Yes, our rooms. I travelled with a group of 4 other women who had done this countless times. This was “normal “for them. 

I was paired with another young lady. We were the same age, she already had a shop, and this was her second time. Unlike me, she had had enough of the corporate world and decided she wanted to own her time and her space.

We both hit the beds as though we had nowhere to go the next day. Alas! We got just four hours! 

For breakfast, we had the standard meal at  KFC.The only fast-food restaurant that made anything we were familiar with! First stop - the largest wholesale market in the World- Yiwu Wholesale International market. What was my impression? 

Photo Credit :jingsourcing

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