Back in the PRC

I’m back in Mainland China again! Wow, I’d sort of forgotten how to speak Chinese. The taxi man on the way from the airport had me well confused! Well, I’ve got back into the swing of things. Feels weird to be back in the apartment here after a great trip to Taiwan and Korea.

Went for beer last night. My mate decided we’d check out the bar at the Kempinski Hotel, which is a German owned 5-star job. Beer was expensive but it was good craic. They had a live band playing English music and all the Chinese were getting up and dancing amongst the rich German suit-clad business folk!

We hit the usual Irish bar and then tried another bar. Was full of Chinese guys trying to look cool. A band then appeared and different people got up and sang songs. Best Karaoke job I ever heard!

One dude sang Blowing in The Wind, so I reckoned I’d try my luck! Did the old Country Roads number accompanied by the dude on his electronic keyboard with tacky drum beats! And the crowd cried out for more but I don’t know many songs that the Chinese know. I just belted out Live Forever by Oasis instead! And then I did the old Chinese party piece, which they all knew! I had a great laugh. They had a decent setup with a good mic, semi-acoustic guitar hitched up to the sound system and they even had lights. Never did that before!

I will be prob heading off again next week. Have to get in touch with a guy who I planned to travel with. He’s in Harbin for the weekend. So, in the meantime I guess I can chill out!