Vicarious Suzhou Pubcrawl

Newcomer Suzhou Native (yeah… it’s complicated) Jim Zhou has a pretty good rundown of some of Suzhou’s finer refreshment stands in his most recent post. In a form I’ve not followed in years now, Jim throws himself into the bar scene and we get to watch the results.

I was talking to Maggie last night about dancing and how we never go out and dance. I used to love to cut tile and shake my fat ass (in true white boy form – which in China can be considered a compliment), but I guess the life of a taken man does not jive well with a mass of sweaty young things.

The obvious solution would be to get Maggie on the floor, and she hesitantly has, but with all the stoicism of someone who feels the room is watching her do something she’s very uncomfortable doing.

Meh, dance music is lame, and there’s no place in town I know that has a good live funk band – Leroy Emmanuel, where are you?

For anyone that’s looking for a bar to go to in Suzhou – though Jim’s only two weeks back in the city he seems to get around – check out his blog: Artificially Sweetened.

Note: It’s a Blogger/Blogspot blog, so if you’re in China and have not applied the How To Access Blogspot Blogs Fix, please do so.

5 Responses

  1. I went to ‘Mural’ in Shanghai last Saturday and with no cover, (granted RMB20 Carlsburgs were the cheapest brews at the place) there was a live salsa band from Argentina and more dancing than you could throw a stick at. (Not that you’d want to with all the pretty ladies…unless your speaking figuratively of course). You would of loved it.

    On another note: I got your comment on my blog, but being so new to this whole net-nanny battle thing, I haven’t really figured out how to access it here. If I remember correctly, there’s instructions over at Lost Laowai? I’ll go check it out.
    (And yeah, the plane was totally hijacked. I however, with my awesome vocal abilities, joined the pop band and convinced them to tour China again. So, back in Shanghai it is.)

  2. Ryan,

    Funny thing is, my situation is the opposite. I just am tired of the whole going out thing – well, only partly I suppose just feel too poor to do so. It’s the out of work girlfriend that keeps pushing us to go out and me coming back with ‘we’re too poor to do that’.

    Heh… can we switch personalities? Then everyone would be happy.

  3. I’m sorry, but Jim Zhou’s post reads a lot like a bad writer trying to sound edgy. “Also, Chinese people dance to steal wallets. Fucking chinks, not that I’m not one myself, but I come out of Inglewood and we got respect, you know.”? Just because he’s Asian doesn’t give him license to perpetuate derogatory speech. No amount of slang or trying to imitate Bret East Ellis or Jay McInerny is going to cover up bad writing.

  4. @Jason: Hopefully you found those instructions. They work like a charm. If you didn’t – the post is: How To Spot A Blogspot Blog

    @Jeremy: I go in phases. I’ve been so caught up in developing a path out of teaching lately that I’ve not had much time for a social life. However, all work and no play makes Ryan a grumpy laowai. So… I’ve made a bit more of an effort to get out (as cheaply as possible).

    @A reader: Fair enough, but why post your comment anonymously? And the great thing about blogs – we don’t need licenses to perpetuate anything, we can just do it. 🙂

  5. I’m very amused at the anonymous jab at my hyperbole and I’ll continue to be as ridiculous as possible in my blog. “Perpetuate derogatory speech”? Made my day 🙂 I’m glad I shocked and awed someone into being an internet tough guy.

    Thanks Ryan for the plug, I know it’s very, very late, but better late than never.

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