Dalian’s Marvellous Public Transport

It always intrigued me why the public transport in Dalian started so early (i.e. around 5am). Well, now I know. There are 2 reasons. One is to allow old people to get to Xinghai Square to go for their morning walk and the other is to bring people like me (who have been out in JD’s until the wee hours) home from the 24 hour McDonald’s! I must try that again next time I am in JD’s. Saves some money on a taxi fare and also gives me a chance to practise speaking Chinese with the old people!

The Wolfhounds Take A Bite In Shanghai!

So, the Dalian Wolfhounds set off on their adventure to Shanghai last weekend for the Asian Gaelic Games! It was the first time a team from Dalian had entered the event. The lads had put in a lot of hard work on the training pitches in Olympic Square for the past few months and were raring to go! Besides the athletes, there were some cheerleaders and entertainers (I prefer to be associated with the latter group as I don’t know how good I’d look in one of those short skirts!) along for the trip as well!

Overall, it was a fantastic weekend, one of the best (and booziest) I’ve had in a long time! Something about getting over 100 Paddies together with a load of drink always ends up in being a great laugh!

We started as we meant to go on and had a couple on the plane! The draw took place in the amazing setting of the Lujiazui Exhibition Centre, an old-style 1-storey Chinese building in the midst of mammoth shimmering tower blocks. And of course, there was free beer. Dalian got landed in the same group as Japan B, Shanghai Tigers (an Aussie Rules team that entered the Gaelic tournament) and Taiwan B. We entered the B competition. I didn’t have any idea what to expect from Dalian or any of the other opponents. I am sure the boys had a better idea! The lads took it handy on the booze the Friday night and all were up early for our first match against Japan B, which was scheduled for 9:40am. Mikey got the lads warmed up and psyched for the game. It was in the low twenties with patchy cloud. Not bad conditions for a football match. The boys did well, winning the match without huge trouble. Here is Philip’s reaction to the game:



We made our way over to the main pitch and relaxed in the tent in preparation for our second match against Taiwan B. I think confidence was boosted by the first win! But still nothing could be taken for granted. That said, the lads pulled off another win and all that was left today was the match against the Aussies. There were a few nerves about the Aussie team, as they would definitely be physical, however from watching their other games; the lads reckoned we could beat them. And that we did! Here are the reactions of Levi (an Aussie and Aussie Rules player himself) and Captain Fantastic Mikey to the game:








The lads were all happy with the way the day went, so it was time to get stuck into a few beers!

Rumours were going around of free Jameson whiskey over near the bar area. So, a few of us waited there, ready to pounce at 4pm! The rumours were true and I think the Jamie definitely got the party started. Kelvin was so happy he decided to hug the bottle. It took 2 security guys to pull him away from it!

That evening, a BBQ dinner was held in the marquee. Nice food and plenty of beer flowing, although we didn’t really need it after the whiskey and beer from earlier! They had entertainment in the way of the excellent guitarist and singer from the Blarney Stone bar. As usual, I thought it would be a great idea to go up and sing a tune myself! So, up I went…..followed by the whole Dalian contingent. We got the place rocking with Country Roads, and then the crowd wanted an encore so we did The Fields of Athenry! The crowd loved it!

Ended up in some bar near the hotel. Evening was a bit blurry and the lads said that after I went to bed and they tried to talk to me, I insisted on speaking Chinese to them! That must indicate something about my Chinese ability!

The next day was the knockout phase! The lads were actually in very good shape. I thought there would be a lot of sore heads but the lads were in great form. The first match went off no problem. Won it comfortably. Next match against Beijing was in the bag as well! Only one more match left: the final against Shanghai B!

The whole event was very well run. It was a huge event: they flew a ref in from Ireland and even had the commentating legend Micheál O Muircheartaigh to do the commentary! I couldn’t resist getting a pic with the man. I live listening to his commentary!

The lads psyched themselves up for the final. I think it was a great achievement to reach the final, proof of the hard work and dedication of the lads. The match was tight enough, but we managed 2 goals and were in the lead right to the end, when the Shanghai team pulled back 2 goals from the brink! Then followed a period of extra time. Our lads played well, but in the end we lost by a point or two (can’t remember exactly). The lads were naturally deflated after the game. They put their hearts and souls into it all, to be denied cruelly in the very very end. Here’s a pic of the 2 teams after the game

In an effort to distract from the disappointment, we tucked into some beers I had earlier procured from the nearby Carrefour! Itt was then back to the hotel to get ready for the big gala dinner in the posh city Regent Hotel! We had some craic in our hotel, cracking open a bottle of Jamie and getting a little sing-song going! We even got a tune out of Urango and also Mikey!

The dinner was great. Pay in and then all you can drink. Micheal gave a great speech, the man sure had the gift! The band was amazing, doing deadly covers of U2 and Bob Marley to name a few. People were going crazy to it all! The night ended up in The Blarney Stone for more singing and merriment. I even got up and sang again (no surprise there). I think the band did well to mute the mic on my guitar, since I think I got all the chords wrong, not like any of the crowd would have noticed! They were lovin’ it!

Got back at around 5:30am and ended up getting up after 7am to go into Shanghai with Philip to look around. Some state I was in! We all took the same plane back to Dalian! I didn’t have a beer on the plane!

Despite not winning the final, I think the lads can be proud. The team had only been going since around June. There were doubters at the start but the die-hards remained and because of that, the dream of going to Shanghai was realised. I think the man who deserves most recognition was Mikey Farrelly, coach and captain fantastic! The man put his everything into the team. Really knew how to get the lads going and is a great leader, and a fantastic guy! Respect to the man from Kells! And roll on the All China games!

Asia GAA Championships

Had a fantastic weekend at the Asia GAA championships last weekend. I will write a post soon. In the meantime, check out videos at:

http://youtube.com/profile_videos?user=greatblogofchina

and pictures at:

http://flickr.com/photos/derekindalian/sets/72157594332681900/