restrospective on Bei Dai He

So, I noticed that I ranted about Dalian, and forgot to mention the customer service highlight of our eventful, karaoke-fence-hopping-and-beach-dance-party-filled trip to Bei Dai He. The hotel staff tried to make us wash our own linens.

This, apparently, because residual makeup on pillow cases is not considered general wear and tear for a group of half-foreigners who are vacationing near the beach off-season for a way-too-reasonable price. They really wanted us to have to forgo our 800 kuai deposit (which is especially ridiculous on two 300 kuai/night rooms) because of a couple of smudges of mascara on the pillow cases. Instead, I volunteered to take an entire three minutes to hand wash one of the offending linens to demonstrate how very simple it is to remove the stain. I had to restrain myself from then throwing the newly-cleaned pillow case in the face of the hotel manager. Fortunately, my Chinese colleagues who were with us on the trip threw some rather colorful words in his face instead.

Good stuff. Being a foreigner in China is always an adventure.

"yesterday"

Hey, remember that time when...NO. No, I'd rather not. I am now starting a list titled "ridiculous things I do that can't actually be blamed on China."

Unfortunately, when I said "unforgettable" I'm pretty sure I meant it.