One night in Shanghai

My last night in Shanghai was fantastic. It was Sarah's going away party. Have I mentioned Sarah? Shane and Kate put me in touch with her and she TOTALLY took care of me.

So we all meet up at 8:30 pm for the first party of the evening. I had come from a mani-pedi. Now manicures and pedicures here are a bit different than in the US and I was a bit disappointed. No moisture or massaging involved. Only cuticle trimming and polish. I felt a bit scammed, but she did a very good job and I had had that foot massage 2 days prior, so I really shouldn't complain.

Anyway, we're at this Japanese restaurant where we get unlimited sake, beer and food. I got placed next to some really cool people from Hong Kong, Australia and NYC. Such is the X-pat culture. Anyway, we gorge ourselves on sushi, sashimi, some yummy green salad, cook-it-yourself scallops, beef and mushrooms. We close down the joint... They were very excited to see us leave at 11:30 or so. And I have to mention, this orgy of food and drink cost of $20 USD a person.

We headed off to go rollerskating. I thought that Sarah had been kidding, but no. I was in the cab with my seat-mates and, since we girls were sock-free, got some of the terrible anklets that the older, fashion-sense-free, Chinese women wear. June and I double bagged our feet, just to keep the cooties from the skates off our feet.

But we only had to pay the entrance fee and then we were in the all you can skate and drink bonanza. Just like I remember from when I was 10... Skating endlessly in a circle. Thankfully the DJ didn't say, "Ok now, couples skate" and I think YMCA had played by the time we got there. But it all came back - how to go backwards and turn and do little circles. Much fun.

About 2 AM we had had enough and so went dancing. The DJ wasn't the best, but I'm spoiled. I've got a couple mixes on my iPod (thank you Greg!) that make me happy - happy house music. But it was fun just the same. I got hit on by some attractive Nigerian guy. I just wanted to sit down and I think he though I was interested in making some money... so I had to walk away and dance some more. Odd.

But I got back to the hotel by about 4 am. I would have set my alarm clock for 6 AM (I had a car coming to pick me up at 7:30 AM and I still need to pack), but there was no alarm clock in my room. I've had to keep my iPod by my bed so that I know what time it is when I wake up. But very fearful about not getting woken up in time to get ready, I set both cell phones (I've finally got a charger for the original T-mobile phone and then my dopod is running smoothly) and called down for a wake-up call.

2 hours later I'm up... and still feeling the alcohol in my system. Drunken packing. I had to be very methodical and check everything twice. Also, I needed to grab a box of lube out of the bathroom. Now, that may sound odd, but this swank hotel caters to foreign tourists. And the room has a mini-bar and at "health-bar" - or that is what it said on the room bill... and in this "health-bar" are: condoms, female genital wipes, male "love everlasting" stuff (didn't open, so I'm unsure if it is a pill or cream), lube (with instructions saying, "rub in cunt time after time with the forepart of thruster for about 1-2 minutes) and the irresistible vibrating cock-ring/condom combination.

But the car picks me up. I'm in a Mercedes and my Chinese driver doesn't speak a word of English. I should note that in China, they like these white seat covers. I'd think they are washable, but in some cabs, it doesn't appear like that happens too often. So I'm in the Mercedes on a white seat cover, mildly intoxicated and exhausted. I'm trying to sleep, but the driver has an affinity for sappy 80's love songs. I was kept awake by Stevie Wonder telling me that he "just called to say I love you". All a bit surreal.

The flight to Beijing was uneventful. Got to Dave and Marisa's swank pad. So good to see one of my oldest friends. Since Marisa is in Hong Kong with business, he and I zipped around the neighborhood on his DARLING scooter. The thing has a silver, metal eagle head on the front with green gem eyes that light-up when the bike is running.

We enjoyed Belgum beer, DVD shopping and then the most amazing Chinese food I've ever had. Thankfully he likes Chinese food, so I'm going to be eating local cuisine for a few days. It really is getting silly. 10 days in China and I've had 3 Chinese meals. But oh - last night! We had Peking Duck, which was my least favorite and I loved it. Then dried, fried green beans (think there was some pork in there), MaBoTofu, or however that is spelled, Cucumber (super yummy with some light sauce) and some picked veggies. And beer - but American here. We had had the Belgium beer at a cute little bar that served fries and pizzas too.

I got him to watch Harold and Kumar go to White Castle because I was in the mood for silly movies after talking about them with Sonya. And crashed early last night... Nothing like travel and no sleep to take the wind out of a girl.

So, today is Sunday and I'm up (too early) and trying to read my guide books so I'll know what to see here. Am thinking of getting out of China Wednesday or Thursday. It is a bit difficult to deal with things here. I'm hearing good thinks about Vietnam, Laos and Thailand. Also, I'm hearing how easy it is to get down there for a weekend... which would be fun. Now I've got to find out how to make that happen.

My Junk sunburn is now peeling, so instead of being tender, I'm itching like I have lice. So I'll have to remember the sunscreen if I end up no a beach in Bali.