May 05, 2009
Monday Night
Authored by John
I wanted to split up the night of May 4th and yesterday's excursion to the Forbidden City. So on Monday, JM and I were planning to go to a nice dinner and just relax after our long day. Other people were planning different things, so we thought we would take a back seat and just go with the flow... UNTIL we found out that at midnight, it would be Katie's birthday (a girl in our group). Well, I'm a sucker for birthdays and want everyone to have the best time on their birthday because it only comes once a year! So that sets the stage for the rest of the night.
First, reservations were made at the downstairs cafe for about 20 people. Not many people were eating there, but it was extremely nice. Food is eaten in a very different way in China. There is one Menu, and one person is expected to order for the whole table. Plus, tea is served as the drink in the beginning of the meal and so ordering drinks early seems odd to them. And because of all the customs, people get their food at different times, drinks come sporadically, and people often get confused. But the food was excellent, we had all different chicken, ribs, vegetables, crab, rice, fruit, and shared it as a table (of 8). Then we went up to our room and started to get ready to go to the bar.
No one wanted to have the pregame in their room (including JM), but I volunteered our humble abode. So in about 15 minutes, our room was pretty packed. But we had the great idea of getting the birthday girl a cake. They have an amazing cake display in the lobby of the hotel, and me, JM, and 2 other guys from the trip split the cake 4 ways. Needless to say, she was very happy and so surprised by the gesture and continued her happy streak all through the night.
Katie and her B-day Cake (says Happy Birthday in Chinese)
We left for the bar, named Lush, at around 10 or so... It was only about 5 minutes from our hotel but was in the second floor of a LIBRARY! haha - Literally, we walked out of the bar and into the library. It was super weird. We got a few drinks, and JM and I both took our first Absinthe shot. And let me tell you, they are O-V-E-R-R-A-T-E-D! Unless you like black licorice, (which, why did no one tell me it tasted like that!?) it is absolutely terrible. JM said it was because they didn't add water ...when in Rome I guess...
The night ended pretty funny. We bought Katie a few drinks and were encouraging her to take them rapidly... by chanting her name, and phrases such as "down that beer" or "chug that drink." Needless to say, she was acting a bit funny by the end of the night. But the best part about this whole night was how confused the Chinese got at our American antics. They are just a more quiet race, and each one in our bar was talking just loud enough for the people in their group to hear. Then we come bombarding in with these ridiculous chants and requesting Lil Wayne songs... But we had a good time and everyone got home safe... probably around 1 am.
Posted by jfavorit at May 5, 2009 05:57 PM