Travel to the South-East Asia: Hong-Kong and Taiwan
Part 5. Business meetings - Gigabyte
03 February, 2004
Morning. Again I am walking and sleeping, even at breakfast I am sleepy - I hardly get used to switching the time zones, but Andrey - fresh as ever - got down to work at once.
But, as you can see on the photo, to the left of him there is something that helps him start a working morning cheerily-))
Tequila - a good companion in life and at work...Then Andrey holding a glass of whisky goes into Thinking Big.
As to me, I quickly browse all sent to me and send regards and instructions by email and ICQ to all my usual chat-buddies. Today, we are having some small meetings, Andrey is having some sort of personal... eehmm.. intimate date, and most important is "Meeting with Gigabyte".
It is raining outdoors, but we even didn't take our umbrellas. By the way, the umbrellas...
Some lyrical digression.
Folks! Near every substantial shop and by many smaller ones, there is a rack for wet umbrellas where people leave their favorite umbrellas and pick up on the way back. If they happen to leave them, they can safely pick them up in a couple of days... Their umbrellas will be still there, patiently waiting for their owners, and no one will grab them... Very sad...
Why can't we do that way? |
At 14-00, we get at a taxi as usual, dial Melody's mobile phone number, hand the receiver over to the driver and he gives us a lift to the precise place we are after - Gigabyte's office.
At the entrance to Gigabyte's building 
Reception areaThe high-tech style sculpture of Phoenix bird, standing in the hall of Gigabyte's, is there on all boxes for Gigabyte video cards.
Phoenix Our long-standing helpmate May meets us and immediately leads the way to the third floor allotted to the marketing and sales departments...
May Chen, Melody Mo, and I at Gigabyte's office There are all girls over the floor. Glancing over the huge premises and having seen such a great number of charming ladies, the boss stops kissing and hugging all whom he has even seen once, shouts to me:
- " Please find it urgently! I have written it somewhere in your notepad! What is the Chinese for "I love you"?
Hardly refraining myself from laughter, I am burrowing into my notepad half filled with writing - it keeps records of appointments, agreements, notes, plans and much else...
I am looking for it, but won't find... Andrey is also standing and looking at me, waiting. All the others around also stopped and keep looking at me in perplexity unable to understand what happened or what Andrey wants from me.
Ugh! At last I found the boss' favorite expressions and happy Andrey is walking round all the girls saying to each "I love you!"
Everyone is happy and adores him.
Andrey with Taiwanese ladies
(I also squinted my eyes, trying to look like them)
Gigabyte museum 
And again - girls -)) 
Melody's workplace 
A typical workplace of a Taiwanese office girl - some favorite toys -))
One of the few photos taken at Gigabyte office to do with Melody's arrival and Gigabyte produce
Wow, what hospitable and marvelous our hostesses are -)
Andrey and KellyWe are sitting in the negotiations room on the third floor where various employees are brought in for acquaintance and talks with us. Total confidentiality - we were not shown neither test labs nor any other floors.
That is - we are adored and they are glad to us, but.. the order is order, and every time Andrey goes out for a smoke-break, which he did quite often, Melody sends somebody to accompany Andrey to prevent him from taking pictures with his small but powerful journalist's digicam-))
Many interesting meetings, business negotiations... Since there are a lot of girls around, I am all the time served with tea and given various stuff made of rice and something like popcorn flakes. All multicolored, something sweet and melts in the mouth, something salty or spicy, balls, bon-bons, rolls...
Many girls - many varied flavors
Andrey is given a Gigabyte T-shirt. My direct chief immediately takes off his ATI vest in the presence of all, turns naked to the waist making the ladies lower the eyes, grow red and they giggle altogether-)))
Dressed in his new T-shirt wearing Gigabyte label, Andrey is laughing at finding the same three letters ATI on the sleeve - exactly as those on his T-shirt that he has just taken off
Evening. Melody and May prepared a program for us We are heading for SPA. For me and those uninitiated into all these trendy things it is a cascade of swimming-pools, saunas and whatever of aquatic lifestyle.
Raining.. we all are under umbrellas Taxi... and we are heading for mountains. That is too far by the local standards - we are driving for over an hour, it is dark, rainy, the road turns serpentine, we are blinded by the light of the oncoming cars
Here we are. Here in the mountains there are sulfurous springs running (the island is igneous, and there are volcanoes of course), a cascade of swimming-pools with various water temperature. There are methods for treatment and loss of weight, many families come here for a whole day to recreate, have rest and cure.
We had lunch over here as well. At lunch, we continued Russian lessons. Melody is in horror - a mug, a cup, a glass are all about the same thing-))
Andrey and May 
At lunch 
Orchids... they are everywhere around and blooming 
The Chinese New Year celebration is not yet over - the snowman was waiting for us with May Melody and May felt shy (no, it's still a long time to wait when Gigabyte will hold presentations in saunas, as our reckless Russian journalists tried to persuade them-))), so they went to the women's sector of the SPA, and Andrey and I went to the common sector because they told us in advance to take swimming trunks and swimsuit with us-)
We tried whatever we liked - swimming-pools with water temperatures 35, 36, 38, 42... then sharply to 13, then various Charcot's douches and water massagers... all what we wanted - it's really curious!
What spoiled our mood a bit was the never-ceasing cool rain, but rushing from one swimming-pool to another, we didn't pay much attention to it - we were steaming. Two hours passed instantly, we even didn't have time to try all...
I am having coffee after SPA. "My reddish face" 
Misalliance - New Year tree and blooming orchids That's all, coming back to the hotel. The day was grandiose and interesting. Many thanks to Gigabyte, special thanks to Melody and May for all the good they did to us, the care, attention, interesting program...
But.. it's time to leave - tomorrow we are having a very hectic day too.
Everyday work in Taipei!-)))
We are watching a French film in English with Chinese captions over TV - it is a fun.
The plot is thrilling and dynamic - we empathize a lot, and the caring boss is regularly interpreting long parts from dialogs.
But even without it - all is clear!
I am lazily wondering what helps me understand it - "the magic of art" or whisky with tequila?-)
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