Things I'll Miss About Shenzhen (1)

With two weeks remaining on time in Shenzhen, Jia have places to go and people to see. Last night we took a trip out to Bao'an district to Face Alive to say goodbye to Mr. Tian, the owner. He insisted we make the trip outside the Special Economic Zone one last time. We haven't been there much since moving out of the district. It was an easy decision to make as he's been very generous over the last few years--we've rarely paid for drinks the past few times there.

We invited some friends who've never been there before as well as some older friends whom we haven't seen much lately. Mr. Tian invited us to sit out back where it was much quieter than inside the bar (the music is so loud you have to scream just to have a conversation that might be audible). He greeted us a bottle of Macallan 1985 private reserve--a nice single malt scotch that they don't serve at the bar. Mr. Tian had gone out to buy this just for us. It was a very nice send off.

Fortunately, Mr. Tian travels to the US every now and then to visit relatives. We told him he must let us know next time he's there so we can try to meet him.

Holiday Musings

Quite a bit has gone on around here during the short holiday weekend. First, a warning to all who pass through the Nantou checkpoint between Bao'an district and Nanshan: bring your passport. Our friend A. was not allowed to pass through to the Special Economic Zone using a photocopy. Foreigners and Chinese used to be able to pass through easily even without ID, but it looks like those days are over.

Friday, we celebrated another friend's birthday in Shekou. We went to the Seagull restaurant near Sea World. The food looked good (I ate earlier), but was a little pricey. The beer was cheap though--40 kuai for a pitcher of Tsingtao is a bargain in that area. After a few of those, we met up with some people at The Terrace who had already been drinking there. It was crowded and no tables were available for us. We were harassed to buy drinks after five minutes of entering and dancing.

Given time, we might have purchased drinks (even though they're expensive at The Terrace), but we decided to leave with our money instead. I'm reminded of my last time there--at the end of my first year in China. I was with Jia and the bar was empty. The service was slow even though we sat at the bar. This is just another reason to avoid ever going back to The Terrace.

Yesterday, we headed out to Longgang district to visit the Hakka house/museum. I'll post a photo essay with information later.

Long, Fun Night

We were planning on having a quiet night in, but some Bao'an friends convinced us that it was a bad idea. They dragged Jia and me out to Futian to C Union. It's a great bar--looks like a large basement with booze and music. This is probably the second real bar I've been to in Shenzhen--they had pool, darts, foosball, and lots of beer. Unfortunately, the good beer was about 50 kuai, which meant I was stuck with drinking the cheap Carlsberg. This morning I remembered why I really don't like drinking Carlsberg.

The music at C Union was amazing. We arrived just in time for the first band--a foreigner who was great on guitar. He wasn't the best singer, but he had a great selection of songs--Stones, Hendrix, Zeppelin, and a whole lot more. It reminded me of all the music I forgot to load onto my laptop before I left the US. We were about to leave after that, but the next band started shortly thereafter. It was something I'd never heard before. A Kazakh playing a traditional Xinjiang two-stringed guitar-like instrument. He was accompanied by some bass and drums and it all sounded like a mix of folk, rock, and jazz. We were all in awe of the sound that this guy could get out of two strings. He said he'd probably have CDs in another two or three months, so we took down his number for future reference.

One night in Bao'an....

J. was justing getting over his cold and suggested we head out to the old neighborhood for Wave Pizza (cheaper and a whole lot better than Pizza Hut). We still need to convince them to open a store in Nanshan... or at least deliver to us.

During our late pizza dinner, Jia got a message from Mr. Tian about the 6th anniversary of his bar, which we used to frequent before moving. We decided we'd stop by and at least say hello. It wasn't a far walk from Wave--but it was interesting. We found a small sex toy shop along the way and had a good laugh. Jia also had the best commentary of the night as we passed a "massage" parlor: "Oh, such a fat prostitute."

Before we arrived at New Face (also known as Face Alive), Jia called our friend Xiao. While the conversation was in Chinese, I joked with J. about what was being said on the other end. "I bet Xiao is saying, 'Where are you? We've been waiting for you.'" Sure enough, I was right.

It was fun being back at New Face. Mr. Tian and Xiao were so happy to see us, they treated us to a few drinks. We were surprised by the number of foreigners there--I think I counted six others (usually we were the only ones). We headed out early and quickly found an appropriate cab to take us back to the Special Economic Zone. Great driver for once who actually knew the best roads to take. The ride only cost us 32 kuai. If we can get that kind of ride back every time, it's worthwhile to head out there for cheaper beer at a bar. (Note: the cheaper Bao'an taxi to our home last year usually cost 20 kuai. The SEZ cabs have a much higher rate.)

All That Jazz

Jia and I went for a walk around the neighborhood. We first headed over to a nice area with a lot of empty storefronts--a situation that doesn't seem to make sense as it looks like a high-traffic area. What we found was a nice coffee shop and a little restaurant. We'll go to the coffee shop today since we didn't eat there last night (no dinner food). The restaurant was alright--nothing really special, but it was good for the price. Still, I think if we want Western food we'll continue to go to the Seattle Cafe--the food there was excellent.

We walked past the construction area, near the new Carrefour and mall, and found some great places. There's Amber, another coffee shop/restaurant with a nice selection on the menu, and the Athens Cafe, with a hilarious Chinglish menu ("Various Types" and "American digs up the pomfret" plus many more). The best find though was the Musibase Cafe (another branch of Musibase Bar). This one is a very quiet jazz bar and restaurant. The music was pretty good and it had a relaxing atmosphere. Unfortunately, the prices are the same as the other branch nearby, which aren't all that appealing for frequent visits. Nonetheless, we'll be heading there every so often to enjoy a relaxing night out.