Clubbing in Shenzhen

On Saturday we trekked across the border for another night in Shenzhen. After a visit to the tailor to have some clothes made, we checked into our hotel, got dolled up, and headed out to the True Colours Club (of which there are several in Shenzhen). The first club we went to had some decent live music:

Our usual strategy is to sit at the bar, order a drink, and wait for guys to invite us over to their table, and the strategy didn't fail us this time. After a drink and some cho dai di, we were approached by Dragon, who was sitting near the stage with a group of guys, and who told us that he'd like us to come drink with them and that they were sitting with the "grandfather of Chinese bass players." Sure - why not? Ohhh... I'll tell you why not.

There was a bottle of Jack Daniels on the table, and they immediately began pouring us drinks. Now, if you've never been drinking with Chinese guys, here's how it goes - they fill your glass, then say "cheers!" or "yam boi!" and you're expected to drink. And this happens approximately every 2 minutes. Anytime you make eye contact with someone - CHEERS! So there's a lot of drinking involved.

Eventually they decided we weren't drinking enough Jack, so they bought several beers for the table. So there we were, with Dragon, Sword, and Melody (poor Melody! How is he best friends with guys named Dragon and Sword?), drinking beer and Jack, and I suddenly felt someone staring at me. That's when I realized that Sword was really "Starey." Seriously - he was staring at me. Just... staring. He was pouring me drinks, yelling in my ear repeatedly "Lei sek msek teng guang dong wah???" (Do you understand Cantonese?), to which I repeatedly replied "siu siu" (a bit). And... he keeps staring. Here's a photo taken during the only five seconds he was able to tear his eyes off the side of my face:

Someone offers me a cigarette (standard etiquette at bars in China) but before I can decline, he declines for me, saying "I do not love you if you do this." Wait... what? He's getting a bit weird, still about two inches from my face, still just staring, so I excuse myself to go to the bathroom and he follows me. I emerge from the ladies' room and he's there, hands spread in a pleading expression. Time to bail.

So we say goodbye to the guys and the Grandfather of Chinese Bass Players and head to the other True Colours Club, where there's some sort of dance-off going on (this is all the video I could get before security shut me down):

And this club has its own share of... um... characters. Primarily, Dancey. A short, stocky, blonde, mustached New Zealander who bears an incredible resemblance (both in appearance and attitude) to a golden retriever welcoming its owner home after a long workday. He was dancing. And dancing. And dancing and dancing and dancing. And he had an incredible talent for always navigating through the crowd to make sure he stayed in your eyesight. He was immensely taken with Ah-Sin, but she was ignoring him as best she could, and he was after anyone who was willing to look him in the eye. I look up from my beer and he's dancing directly in front of me. I turn around and see flailing arms in my peripheral vision. I close my eyes and have visions of him... he was absolutely irepressible. He was also the happiest person I've ever seen in my life.

So, unable to shake Dancey and still shaken from Starey, we head back to our hotel around 3 a.m. Just another evening in the mainland.