Wanderlust Heaven!

New friend Jeff, whom I met in a cheapo hostel in Moscow exactly a year ago, was in town for the weekend.  I love these crossing of paths…and it’s nice to get a reminder now and then that I wasn’t hard at work like this a year ago.

We had a huge weekend, prompted by the fact that our mutual birthday (June 29^th) was coming up on Monday.  I think this was the first time I’ve partied with someone who shared my birthday – not that we really needed much of an excuse, we’re both outgoing guys.

Started Saturday night at new brewpub the Boxing Cat, where we had a few amber ales before heading out into the dark Shanghai night, to probe the underbelly of the city.  Then we went to try out a Hunanese resto I’d heard much about, Di Shui Dong.  Hunanese is spicy fare, somewhat like Sichuanese but with some different peppers and dishes.  We had a few killer dishes – my throat closed for about 20 seconds at one point, Jeff giggled and I thought I’d have to resort to deep ujaii yogic breathing, but my airway loosened up before I got to that point.  That dish, I believe, was lawei hezhen (smoked meat peppers), or it might have been the suan dou jiao (beans peppers meat).  Either way, the food was insanely good and I think, as I write this entry on a Sunday afternoon, I’m going to have to return there this evening for another round.  Food porn is a big part of my life…

We hit many more nightspots after that – I Love Shanghai, a cozy little 2^nd floor spot; big bamboo, a loud sports bar; a nameless bar on Hengshan Lu, where Jeff and I played the dice game Bullshit with the bar maidens; and finally the bar strip on Tongren Lu, where we hung out at Manhattan Bar and then went over to some other place where we sat and ate chicken feet with the bargirls and pushed our constitutions to the breaking point.  At one point I looked over at Jeff, who was looking a bit spent, and suggested we call it a night.  He agreed – we went outside and it was already light out.  The mark of a fine evening.

I spent most of Sunday lying about, trying to recover.  Jeff and I had agreed to meet again that night – at midnight our mutual birthday would roll around, and we wanted to do some celebrating.  Monday was looking more difficult, with work commitment and all.

When I was able to get going, I went out for some Chinese food.  Hot as hell outside, Shanghai has some sultry summer temps.  Then retreated to my flat and watched Benjamin Button, a flick I’ve been meaning to watch for months.  Sweeping and Gumpesque stuff – I think the director also worked on Gump, or something like that.  It had more than its share of corny moments, but it worked pretty well – Hollywood still rules for movies like these, I don’t think they can make ‘em like this in Bollywood or Europe.  It was one of those movies you think about for a while after it’s over, and even consider watching again before long.  Not many movies fit that bill.

Met Jeff at Xintiandi (the Faneuil Hall of Shanghai) that night.  Was pretty tired but decided to make a go of it.  We walked around Xintiandi for a bit, then took a cab to Taikang Lu, an intriguing little maze of alleyways with cafes and art galleries.  Had a couple beers in a little pub, then went to a Japanese izakaya, En, where I was able to make use of my Japanese and ordered us up a real feast.  And the price wasn’t bad…good to know you can get solid Japanese food here without breaking the bank.  My sabbatical has really taught me to be frugal, even while back on the payroll my mindset hasn’t changed much.

After dinner, went back to Manhattan Bar on Tongren Lu, Jeff and I were both intrigued by the controlled mayhem within that place the previous night.  Lots of working girls, natch – quite cheeky too, they seemed to enjoy giving us shit.  We returned the favor, and just took it all in.  At midnight we hoisted our glasses and toasted each other – another birthday.  Last year I was in Moscow, and Jeff was somewhere in Russia.  Fun night out.

Stayed there for a couple hours, then I had to get out, it was a school night.  As we left we came upon a gaggle of American girls who were out for the night – somehow they’d ended up on Tongren Lu, decidedly not a place for them.  We told them of some better places to go – fairly amusing.

Monday, my actual birthday, was yet another day punching the clock.  Not too stressful…had a client meeting in the early evening…went for a run at the Jiaotong University track (where can I get a U. Jiatong t-shirt?)…was amused at all the people walking backwards around the track – must be some random Chinese therapy…had a 9 p.m. phone call.  Days are short, my friends – but there are many of them.

Got tons of Facebook birthday greetings, which I found annoying and overwhelming.  I always thought I was cheating by putting friends’ birthday in my Treo…but looking back, at least I made the effort.  Facebook really is cheating, and it brings it to another level – every minor acquaintance is sending you a generic happy birthday email/note.  Torture.  I’m getting sick of Facebook, across the board.  Please email me mano-a-mano from now on…I despise having to log onto Facebook to have the most basic email exchange.

Got a YouTube notification that there was a comment posted to my ancient video on Midget vs. Monster Boxing in Manila.  Turns out that the normal-sized fellow in one of the videos I posted saw the video on YouTube, somehow (how??) and dropped me a short note.  Small world – I think it blew both of our minds.

Got an email from MostTraveledPeople.com, where you can post your travels and get rated on it.  The most difficult/obscure place I’ve been is the Comoros – and that very day I saw the story of the plane crash there, on Yemenia airline.  Not one I’m hoping to fly anytime this lifetime.

On Tuesday I had a dinner appointment with Alison, a friend of a friend of a friend.  Really.  I’m trying to keep the blog shorter these days so will not get into the details…suffice it to say that it was raining out and it was hell getting a cab.  I must get a scooter before long.  Anyway, met Alison at Da Papa Pizza, which was a terrific little place.  Alison was a lot of fun and we traded stories about Asia and the States, she’s from St. Louis (but is Chinese-American and speaks Mandarin).

Seems nearly everyone I meet here has an English name they use with us foreigners.  I should start using my Chinese name, just to confuse them.

On Wednesday I had a rare open night, and decided to check out some of the local watering holes.  The one nearest me, Cloud 9, was first up.  About 9 seconds after I walked in I could tell it was a gay bar – the gaydar popped right up.  All guys…not unusual in Asia, but waitstaff was all male, many customers were wearing singlets and looked fashionable (I think), you know the signs.  Not what I was expecting.  And to top it all off, most of my clothes were in the washer so I was wearing a white tank-top, sort of like the other guys in there.  I’m sure the barman thought I was gay – he talked to me nonstop, I finally finished my beer and faked a phone call (thanks, Treo).  Gay bars in China – that’s when you know the place has entered the real world.

Walking around to check out some other spots that night, I stepped off a curb when the light was green (for me) and nearly got nailed by a scooter.  I swear the bike riders here (pushbike and motor) are mad – the lights don’t matter for them.  That would be an awful way to go, I need to keep my wits about me on these streets.

Got an email – I passed the Foreign Service Office Test.  Granted, this was just the first stage, now I need to fill out some “Personal Narratives,” essays I suppose.  Those are due in a couple weeks.  I felt pretty good about this – not that the test was that difficult, but I was wondering about some of the psychological/self-assessment questions, and I didn’t feel like I truly aced the essay either.  They don’t give you the detailed breakdown of your results, you need to send in a faxed request for those.  Stupid.  That’s why the government is as slow as it is.  How much of the stimulus package has been spent thus far?  Not enough, that’s for sure.

Thursday afternoon we had our monthly office meeting, my first one here.  Then we had an office dinner at Cantina Agave, a hotspot near the office that features, you guessed it, Tex-Mex food.  Not easy to find that stuff around here, I was looking forward to it.  Great fun, decent food…and lots of margaritas.  We broke the team into two and had a boat race, with my team winning easily.  Good to know some things never change…

We then moved over to a karaoke place where we sang awfully till midnight or so.  I took a cab home, assisted by a junior consultant, and slept soundly.  Fun night, we don’t do that nearly enough.

Next morning I felt awful.  And I had to pack because I was heading to Hong Kong for the wedding of a colleague – and after that, to Singapore for a client meeting.  Managed to drag myself out of bed, pack, and head to the office.  Had a couple calls, then learned that my Singapore meeting was cancelled, which necessitated a flurry of plane ticket changes.  Got that done, then headed to Pudong Airport to fly to Hong Kong.

While checking in, one of the China Eastern Airlines clerks was asking if a “Michael” had checked in.  I raised my hand and said I was Michael, figuring there was some message from the office or something like that…she giggled a bit nervously, came over, and showed me the full name on a sheet of paper – Michael Head.  I said that wasn’t me, and she seemed relieved.  Turns out that this fellow was diagnosed with HIV, and that he was either being deported from China, or not allowed in – I wasn’t sure.  Anyway, a bit eerie.  I felt weird for a half hour after that.

Flew to Hong Kong.  Had a few drinks in Wanchai with a colleague that night.  Gossiped about the firm, I seem to really enjoy the banter and am thinking I’m probably a consulting lifer – there is something oddly comforting about being part of an organization for so long.  Maybe I’m just lazy.  Yeah, that’s probably it.

Saturday morning, went to St. Margaret’s Church for the wedding ceremony.  Saw former colleagues Sam and Josephine there.  Nice, short Catholic ceremony, only 30 minutes.  Then I went to take care of a few errands, which took most of the day – emails and work-related stuff consumed the rest.  Managed to snooze for a bit, then get up and exercise, and finally walk around Wanchai for a while before retiring early.

Sunday was a brilliant day.  Met former colleague/friend John at the Grand Hyatt, we had planned a hike over Dragon’s Back, followed by an epicurean afternoon at the Black Sheep in Shek O.  Longtime slog readers will recognize those places from past entries.  Haven’t done this in probably 3 years, it was about time.  John recently got a job with a pharma company and we might do some work for him.  We chatted about the firm, about life, and finally, when we got to the Black Sheep, we drained a couple bottles of red and had some excellent continental cuisine.  It was pouring when we got there, we just made it.  Must have sat at the café for 4 hours – perfect way to spend the day.  Then returned to the city proper and got ready for the wedding banquet – Cantonese weddings have the banquet on Sunday night.

I was already pretty tipsy, so tried to take it easy at the dinner.  Lots of colleagues there, past and present.  Very nice affair – my colleague Thomas and his bride Denise make a nice couple.  Enjoyed the panoply of Cantonese delicacies – I’m not losing any weight these days.

Not enough sleep that night, and Monday morning was looking ugly.  Had to file my monthly expenses – which were considerable, and I didn’t want to miss the deadline.  Had a couple important phone calls about new projects that we’re able to sell.  Then had to race to the train station to get to the airport, to fly back to Shanghai.  Managed to pull it all off by 10:30 a.m., with a hangover.  Not something I want to try every Monday morning, for sure.

At the airport I noticed a flight, Cathay Pacific #685, to Mumbai.  I walked by that gate and silently thanked the gods that I wasn’t flying there.  I often hate leaving HKG, it’s such a pleasureable place – but at least I was returning to Shanghai and not going somewhere grim.

Worked pretty late that night – which was a good thing.  It was the 14^th anniversary of my mom’s death.  Tried to get in touch with my sister but we couldn’t connect.  I thought for a while about my mom and how cool she was…can’t believe it’s been so many years.

Tuesday was pretty busy, had lengthy client meetings and spent nearly the entire day at their offices.  Brother-in-law Dave called when I was getting to my flat that night – they’d just had a week on Cape Cod.  I’m not sure I’ll have a chance to get a real summer holiday this year – need to see how the projects line up.  Was invited to go on a boat for a week off the Turkish coast, and would love to do that – but it’s probably not going to happen.  Oh well.

Did lots of homey things that night.  Did laundry…took out the trash…washed dishes.  Our maid is on holiday all July so things were backing up.  I hate this sort of stuff and haven’t had to do much of it in years.  In Asia labor’s cheap and you really don’t need to bother.

Was supposed to go out with a colleague that night, but was way too tired.  I think I’m feeling my age, it’s increasingly difficult to summon up the energy to go out most nights.  Seemed a lot easier when I was living in Tokyo.

Next day, we got a request for proposal from out of the blue, from a company whom we serve in Europe.  I took that one, called the client, and started writing the proposal.  I’d like to sell a few cases pronto and solidify my position/standing – so I’m happy to take on stuff like this.

Thursday morning, I was interviewed by a reporter from Global Entrepreneur Magazine in Beijing.  The topic was how healthcare is shifting from the hospital to the home, with new technologies and devices leading the way.  Went pretty well – I’ve started getting knowledgeable about this topic and the timing was excellent.  We want to do more of this sort of thing, and write some articles as well – the issue is that these activities don’t bring in near-term revenues, so we always push them aside to write proposals and deliver projects.  Hopefully we can strike the right balance from now on.

Friday, I had planned to take the day/weekend off and fly to Manila.  I headed to the airport, and while en route noticed on my Treo that it was the Naadam Festival in Mongolia.  Tourists come in for this and it’s a big deal, for Mongolia that is.

The proposal was staring me in the face, so I studied a ton of materials on the flight and continued working on the document.  I didn’t want to spend all my time in the Philippines writing it – I was heading there for one client meeting, and then to see Christine in Dumaguete.

Got into Manila, checked into my hotel in Makati City, and then went out for a beer.  Didn’t stay out that late, I had to get up early the next day to do a bit of work, then fly to Dumaguete.

Did my work on Friday morning, read the paper, and then saw friend Bart, who works for the Asian Development Bank.  He has a new job focused on social development, and that meshes nicely with the work I was doing in Mumbai.  I wanted to see him and update him on that work, and figure out what we might team up on.  Good meeting – I think ADB and Monitor have some common interests and we’ll definitely follow up soon to identify some specific areas to work on.

Bart was about to head to Cape Town for 2 weeks.  I was damn jealous and told him all the things he should see/do there – well beyond his guidebook and other sources.  I need to get down there soon, it’s been around 7 years.

Went to the airport.  Flight was delayed due to bad weather…I sat there for 2+ hours, waiting.  Then they cancelled the flight.  Yikes.  There was only 1 flight per day, and I soon learned that I wouldn’t be able to get on the Saturday flight – thereby completely screwing my Dumaguete trip.  Ugh.  I went and got a refund and called Christine, who sounded pretty unhappy.  As was I – I’d come to see her, and now that wouldn’t happen.  I don’t mind spending a weekend in Manila, there’s plenty to do…but my expectations had been set on other places.

Went to get a cab back to the city.  Started raining hard – oh no.  Cabs became sparse – and it was a Friday, when normal traffic in Manila is brutal.  Finally got a cab, it took 2 hours to get back to my hotel.  Normally it takes 30-40 minutes.  And I had to do a call with a colleague on my proposal, the phone line wasn’t great and it was annoying.  But I got what I needed, and eventually we got to the hotel, where I checked back in.

I did some emails, etc. for a couple hours, then lay down to take a nap for 90 minutes.  Set the alarm, and fully expected to get up and perhaps go out to play that night.  But I didn’t get up till 8 a.m., 12 hours later.  Oh well, I really needed the sleep.  The previous day had been so taxing, and I was generally run down from work.  Once or twice a year I have a night like this – probably should do it more often.

Saturday morning, had breakfast, then worked on the proposal for nearly 5 hours.  Broke the back of it and sent it off to a few colleagues for their input.  Went out for some quasi-Japanese food for lunch, then went to get a massage, I’d earned it.  I felt infinitely better afterwards.  Went back to the hotel (Dan Fogelberg and Styx were playing on the cab radio – I love this country), and had a call with a senior colleague to prep him for a meeting.  I’d pretty much worked all weekend, despite having tried to block it off for a short holiday.  So it goes.

Went out to Casa Armas for Spanish food.  Old friends Jun and Mavic were off that night, but Chris the barman was there.  Had some wonderful tapas and rioja, while it poured outside.  Super-rainy month, July is in Manila.  Casa Armas is such an old-time place, I love hanging out in there.  I consumed a hell of a lot of garlic – was burping it out rest of the night.

Went out for a few beers around town after that.  Things were pretty dead – the rain played a role, but I’m also sure the global downturn was a factor.  I’ve never seen Manila nightlife so subdued.  Bummer.  I didn’t stay up that late, had to get up fairly early on Sunday to fly back to Shanghai.  Not quite the weekend I expected, but I made lemonade from lemons and both finished the proposal and had some fun in Manila.  Not a terrible weekend.

I’m now back in Shanghai.  All caught up on the slog, so I’ll end here.  Stay dry and have a good week.  Over and out.

This entry was posted on Sunday, July 12th, 2009 at 5:15 am and is filed under Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.