A Wu's new car and first full day in new flat

Well it was a bit strange waking up in yet another bed, but hopefully I become used to this one. I'd slept well, and knew there was no chance of any family coming in. But I felt bad about Lin Hong who had sorted out her dad's place, so I resolved to spend some time there at least.

Around midday I pinged A Wu to go for a bite and he sent me a dingwei so half an hour later I turned up and gave him a call. It was at a BYD dealership and he was apparently having a test drive, so I walked about a bit to soak up some sun until he got back, when we had a chat with woman from the dealership about certain options, and which colour he'd like (a sort of greyish beige I wasn't too keen on). Then he sent me another dingwei and I presumed that was where we were to eat so I set off there and met him 10 minutes later. But it was just another BYD dealership where we were looking at the new model he was soon to buy. For someone deep in debt (according to Tan) he does seem to have quite deep pockets.

A Wu's soon-to-be new car (or at least this model)

Then Xiao Nong called to have something to eat and as I realised I could be waiting a while for A Wu I told him I had other arrangements for eating and that was totally acceptable. Ha, sometimes it works the other way round. So I picked her up and we ended up simply getting pao mian from the shop outside my new place and turning on the water dispenser so it fed boiling water for them. Sometimes the simple things in life are just fine. We had a couple of beers and afterwards I managed another siesta as you do.

In the evening I got some duck legs as you do and we maybe had a couple more beers. Much later Li Kun pinged me to go to KTV but as I knew I had to do my performance tomorrow I said I'd just come for half an hour. So much for that...I was back home at gone 2am and we needed to do a dress-rehearsal at 10am.

New flat sorted

Despite my relatively early night last night I didn't stir in time for breakfast and I think I had pao mian for lunch. But yeah I realised I had sorted out a flat for me for the next four weeks. I really appreciate Lin Hong's dad's apartment but don't feel comfortable there, so Xiao Nong helped me get in contact with someone and I saw this place for 800 kuai for a month so booked it there and then, and I should be able to move in today or tomorrow. It's a bit far away from the centre but still only about 7 minutes on the dian dong che. So now it was a question of sorting out more house stuff that would take the best part of a day.

So bedding, bowls, beer and other stuff not beginning with "b" were bought. But I'd also bought 15 sessions with a personal trainer and I wasn't going to waste them so I'd arranged a session at 3pm. I'm not massively impressed but more importantly it gets me to go to the gym and I'm not alone. Most people there are with mates and it feels slightly weird to be there by oneself.

I grabbed a shower at Jiuma's place as I don't have my stuff at Lin Hong's place, then rode down to the new flat to sign the contract. I was embarrassingly nearly half an hour late, but it didn't seem to be a problem. I hadn't thought about the length of stay but of course they don't do short-term rents so I negotiated a three-month contract, saying I'd extend it if I could, and though I doubt it will be possible I really hope I'm able to come back to take advantage of it.

In the evening Xiao Nong said to come out to KTV so I said ok but she just said she was waiting for Boss Zhou to send her the number of the room and I heard nothing after that. So typical for here...not even a simple "oh...maybe we won't be going" but instead radio silence. But I'm so used to it now I don't really care, and when Li Kun pinged me an hour later to go to the new bar on the 4th floor above the supermarket by the guangchang I had no qualms in accepting, as I was already somewhat in the mood to go out. In the mood to go out, but not to perform on the stage but one evening maybe I will. The thing on my mind though was in two evenings' time I'm due to perform on a proper stage in front of maybe a few hundred people. Anyway, it was a nice evening with not too much caima, and a relatively early night in my new place.

I quite like the LEDs at this new bar on the 4th floor

North-eastern dumplings and raucousness

Well clearly I wasn't up in time for breakfast but Li Kun pinged me at 9.53am to send me the money that had only finally come through well after 48 hours. Well at least it had come through.... At midday I asked if he wanted to eat and he responded by saying we'd go to Liang ge's place to eat North-eastern dumplings. Fair enough. He sent a dingwei and I said I'd be there in 25 minutes and was only 20 minutes late. Li Kun was there with his wife, and before long we were served with delicious starters before the dumplings. Of course Liang ge wouldn't let me pay afterwards but I'll definitely come back to be a paying customer in the future.

Li Kun's wife and Li Kun about to enjoy North-eastern dumplings

We went back to Li Kun's office afterwards to drink tea, but as I'd only had 4-5 hours' sleep I said I'd take a beer and get a nap in a bit. That was fine of course but of course more people turned up over the next hour. It was getting on for 3pm and I asked Li Kun when he had to get back to work but he seemed to say "soon" with a wave of the hand. I'd like his job. But I manly managed my way through two cans of 2.8% beer before excusing myself, and did indeed indulge in a bit of a siesta for a couple of hours.

Enjoying post-prandial tea (or beer in my case) with friends after lunch...does anyone work here?

Then Nong pinged me to eat beef as you do. I was grateful for having a plan again so told her I'd be there in an hour as I had to do boring house stuff like hang out clothes as you do. So I got there a bit later and of course muscle boss was there, as well as a few people I knew and didn't know. Well it was mighty fun until a guitar was thrust into my arms but I didn't thrust it back and managed a few tunes to their satisfaction. Paying for my supper yet again, but very happily again.

Nong (in the foreground) and friends for a music-riddled evening

Of course we played caima, and I ping Li Kun to come, which indeed he did 20 minutes later. It got nicely raucous and there was caima and dancing and laughs all round. But I knew my limits and around 12.30am I made my excuses and went home...possibly one of my earlier nights this year so far. At 1am Li Kun pinged me to say he was at another place and to come and join him but this time I was too done in and told him I'd just got home. One of the few decent decisions I've made here.

A bit raucous but very fun

Meal with hosts and KTV

It was weird and nice waking up in a new place. Not as nice and weird as my first morning this year in China but still....

Anyway after lunch Lin Hong pinged me to eat at 5.30pm with the other presenters. They really take this sort of thing seriously, which is totally fair enough. I've been put in a new Weixin group for this year and they were discussing how many lines I'd have to say. I'm guessing after last year they don't want me to have too many! Indeed they had only planned to let me introduce two acts which is fair enough and I said I'd be up for it.

In the end I got to the restaurant fashionably late as usual and the same people from last year were there except for one bloke who wasn't. The young woman is fabulously attractive, and I would wager would pass for one of the objectively most beautiful women in the world. Annoyingly, she is also one of those born leaders. She oozes confidence and I guess it's partly a result of pretty-privilege but she doesn't in any way use it to put others down. I predict she will be the first female premiere of China in the modern era.

A meal with us hosts to discuss the festival in a few days

I didn't care too much for beer, but A Ge ordered four bottles for the two of us. And the food was amazing so I didn't waste it by having any rice. We talked a little about the show on the 18th but didn't go into too many details; I guess it was more an excuse to get together for a nice nosh. Two more beers were ordered, or maybe it was four, but we didn't go to excess.

I had no plans for the evening but that changed when Nong pinged me to go to sing song at Miss You KYV at nearly 10pm. Well of course, why not? I said I'd be half an hour and turned up 45 minutes later after a couple of beers as I knew I'd have a microphone thrust into my hands before I'd have time for two more. And of course it was a fun time...more friends I knew turned up and it turned into another night that I put in the justification bank for coming back again this year. Looking at Weixin messages it looks like I got back at 3am to let her know I was home safely.... Surely I'm too old for this.

Surely I'm too old for this...

New place to live...

Well apparently it's not great that I'm living at Waipo's place as Jiuma and Tan are still in disagreements about the housing situation, so Tan told me to get in contact with Lin Hong about moving into her late father's two-bedroom flat. And a matter of hours later I was there. Hmm...no wifi and only one bar on the phone was not a good sign, but first world problems that can be fixed. Lin Hong already had an army of aunties cleaning out the place, though it had the signs that a hoarder had been living there and they didn't remove all the excess furniture. Still....

The bedroom of the flat I'm supposed to go to

and the ladies cleaning it out

A bit later I arrived at the gym to meet A Xia. We ended up arranging what I think is a very expensive 2980 kuai order of 15 hours of personal trainer time. The selling point was that any I didn't use, Tan could use when she's back in Pingguo, which may be May for Chuan Chuan's wedding. 

Includes 15 private lessons, 1 monthly family card, 1 fitness water cup. One-to-one tracking of diet plan, exclusive training plan, fitness emotion management, exclusive training area.

But I did it mainly because that was the excuse I gave Tan for my last-minute return to Pingguo. Maybe she'll learn now that I do listen to her. So the next thing was to send money to Li Kun so he could fund my Weixin account. But this was an expensive one as I needed money for the near future as well so sent 6000 kuai. At least that what I hoped. Normally it takes a few minutes to arrive but it hadn't arrived by the evening and I had to message the woman at the gym that I'd pay asap, but of course it wasn't an issue.

I met Xiao Nong for a bite to eat later and although wanted an early night that wasn't forthcoming of course.

1000th day in China, arranging a flat, and impromptu drink with Li Kun and Nong

I think today is my 1000th day in China! Some milestone I guess. At least if you count in base 10. It's not so impressive in hexadecimal, though if I reach 1024 days it might be a binary win. Sadly I have a spreadsheet for this sort of stuff, and by the time I'm due to go back I should have spent 1031 days of my life in China, being 2.82 years, or 5.3% of my life here (or 13% since I first came here), above 3.46% for France in 3rd place.

It was another weird day though, falling asleep late at 3.20am and up at 8am. I watched some American football as you do and dozed for 20 minutes till 10am and then 90 minutes later dozed another 20 minutes till midday. That should have been me up for the day but I forced myself to eat a boiled egg and some pao mian and that seemed to do the trick as I then slept nearly 3h30 from 1pm to 4.30pm.

Strange sleep patterns

The weather report said it was 20° but I didn't trust it and indeed I was glad to have my hoodie with me as I went for a walk to the guangchang. I ended up at Lu zong's water shop again drinking tea after I'd bought some xiaolongbao from next door where the normal woman boss is still away from. During this time I pinged Lin Hong to see if it would be ok to stay at her late father's place and of course it would be. We could sort it out tomorrow. More importantly she invited me over for tea in half an hour, so I made my excuses and went home where I barely had time to grab half a beer before being told to hurry up as they were about to eat at the milk shop I'd been to a few times before.

I bought a few jin of wo gan (沃柑) to take to Lin Hong's meal

It was a typically friendly meal and I did a video call with Tan to see her big sisters from Bangxu before we started to eat and I made the most of some chicken and duck breasts to the delight of the ladies. I was the only one on the beer as two and then three blokes worked on the baijiu. The meal maybe lasted 90 minutes and I helped clean up before popping to Guanmart to top up on beers for home, when I decided I should pop out to see Zhang Hua around 10pm. But his bbq place was closed for some reason (on a Sunday night) so I decided to pop to Li Kun's where of course he was there with the little man and Ma Yong. I pinged Nong whom I'd not yet seen this year and she wasn't busy so popped round and we had a nice chat after I bought some jing jiu as she doesn't really do beer, and I joined her in a glass of it.

Lovely meal again with Lin Hong...

My first four beers had 谢谢品尝 written on them (thanks for tasting, i.e. you lose)

The fifth told me I had won but to redeem it 12 days ago...I didn't moan!

Nong, Li Kun, Huang Song (I now know his name), and music teacher (I've forgotten his)

Some music mixer that cost 10000 second hand

Li Kun had some new second hand mixing station that Ma Yong had recently bought for 10000 kuai (30k new) and I had no idea how it worked. But we listened to music they had created recently and it seemed fairly professional. But by 2am I was flaking as were all of us so we said our goodbyes and I was glad to have instigated a bit of a social evening, even though Li Kun had ordered the raw fish we devoured.

I'd had thoughts of watching the Eagles-Packers game at 5.30am but had also been in contact with A Xia, who is now a gym addict, and arranged to meet her tomorrow at 3pm to arrange a personal trainer for the next 4 weeks as this was my main excuse to come to China this time. I fell asleep soon after 3am.

Walk followed by great evening with Lu zong

I woke up at 8.30am to find some messages from home I needed to attend to. Well over seven hours' sleep was more than usual so I was quite happy and considered myself beyond jetlag and up for the day. Until I woke up at midday, and then again at 12.45pm. Oh well, according to my app I'd had over 11 hours' sleep so I must have needed it.

I had lunch of the three leftover xiaolongbao, a pack of nuts from the aeroplane, and the last yoghurt to go with my supplements. I thought about doing some exercise but I found the 95% full can of beer I'd somehow managed to open and take a swig of last night, and decided it would be wrong to let it go flat. And then another found itself open but I didn't go silly...it would have been a waste of the day, so decided a long walk would be the best way of catching up on exercise that otherwise wouldn't happen.

I walked up Deng Xiaoping hill and was physically shaking by the time I got to the top. It was apparently 16° but had felt half that when I left the house. By the top of the hill it felt like the 20s and shortly after I removed my coat. It was actually lovely to be outside in this weather rather than the 2° I'd left in London, and after an hour, while on the phone to Awl, I heard someone shout that I'd come back, and it was coming from Lu zong's water shop.

He was very happy to see me and we had a hug and I was invited to drink tea, which I happily did. We spent the next 30 minutes chatting and he invited me to his bar in Jiangbin Lu and as I had nothing on I happily accepted again. He asked me to invite Huang Lei, but he said he had a celebration to attend and would see the situation later, at least that's a literal translation. I also asked Zhang Hua, but fair enough he'd probably be busy in his bbq place, so I said we'd go and eat there another day.

Lu zong on the right and a couple of mates with whom I drank tea in the water shop as you do

Next it was to Guanmart to pick up the usual beer and yoghurt, and some dried squid and boiled eggs as I'd not been invited to eat tea and would need something before the bbq we'd no doubt have in three hours. So a pack of squid and one boiled egg later I was full enough, but started to feel tired again. Should I have a coffee and risk being up all night, or should I have a beer to try to get into the mood for a couple of hours' time. Well I did the latter, then felt a bit guilty and more tired, so after a couple of sips of my second beer I stopped and made the coffee from the small jar I'd bought last month and the small jar of Coffee-mate I'd bought last summer.

When I got home it was 6.97km so I went out again in my slippers to walk enough to get to 7km

I don't know if it did the trick but I didn't sleep but did finish the second beer after the coffee. Then I realised I'd better put out the clothes I'd just washed. But then Tan decided to call and we chatted about where I should stay. I shouldn't really be here at Waipo's house due to her falling out with Jiuma, and I'd had no response re staying a month at a hotel for 800 kuai for a month. So Tan said I should get in contact with Lin Hong and go to stay at her dad's place which was empty, so I said I'd call her later, though I'm not in a massive rush as I don't think anyone will be here for a while.

According to the weather report it was 4° but it didn't feel much different from earlier. It meant the clothes wouldn't dry for a long while although it's supposed to be 20° tomorrow so who knows? I grabbed my first shower in 33 hours and at 9.05pm pinged Lu zong to let him know I was on my way. I've spent a decent amount of time at his bar so brought my second and last bottle of duty-free, being Sicilian lemon gin, plus a bottle of tonic water bought from my local Co-op, and he was genuinely appreciative of it and thanked me very much. I'd invited Huang Lei but he was at a wedding celebration and may come later, Zhang Hua but he was working, and Li Kun, who said he'd be along later.

I got to the bar at 9.20pm and Lu zong was there with a woman who I think works there. I immediately had two pig eyeballs thrust in my bowl which I wasn't massively happy with but I'd had a light tea and was hungry. I much preferred the duck foot that was passed my way later. He was on the white stuff but poured me a beer and it was like old time. As time passed more people turned up, meaning more ganbeis. Presently Huang Lei turned up, the worse for wear, but it was cool as he decided to drink beer rather than bai jiu. Some young bloke turned up and we made him sit with us for a couple of beers before we went to his table and ended up drinking four beers with that lot. That's just how it is here.

I know where Lu zong's bar is now thanks to this graphic that is beamed onto the pavement outside...I'm not drunk...i...i can drink

The other part-owner of the bar in the foreground, Lu zong on the right then anti-clockwise Li Kun, Huang Lei, and another mate

We proceeded to eat snails and pig foot before cooking pig innards which I didn't massively appreciate. Li Kun turned up and an hour later Huang Lei declared he was going home, which I was grateful for because earlier he asked if he could crash at my place but I knew Tan wouldn't be happy about that. Apparently he'd been up at 5am to do a lot of driving for the wedding, before indulging in rather a lot of booze, so I was grateful he'd turned up in the first place.

A better quality pic from the other part--owner's phone...well mine is over 7 years old now so I'm due a new one

A bit later Lu zong declared he'd had enough too and made a move home. Li Kun and and the rest of us stayed maybe an hour longer during which we played caima of course, before we finished the beer and decided to leave at getting on for 1.30am. That was perfect timing as City were to play Salford at 1.45am, so I just had enough juice to get the dian dong che back home and put it on charge as now with the cold it's not getting much more than 20km per charge. I'm considering getting new batteries for about 500 kuai but I could probably get a new dian dong che for 3000...though would I get the chance to use it?

Anyway I was home and found a good stream and it was a relatively predictable victory over a team three leagues' lower, and I only had three beers during the whole match, although I was dropping off halfway through the second half. All-in-all another great day in Pingguo.

Sleep, Incense, Huang Lei, Wu ge's birthday, Li Kun bar...

Although I awoke at 11am I managed another 30 minutes' shuteye in the comfortable hotel bed, before it dawned on me I was really back in Pingguo! After a shower I checked out 15 minutes late, not that they care a jot. Actually, the Trip app did say I had late checkout but I never actually checked how late that would be. I walked home and lunch was yesterday's leftovers with supplements and yoghurt I'd left in the fridge a couple of weeks ago. I thought at first they may be out of date but recalled that the 4th December must be the date of creation (not in the holy sense) rather than the best-before date, and took a chance.

Soon after I'd eaten, Chuan Chuan pinged me to ask if I'd come back to Pingguo, by which she meant someone had told her I'd come back and of course she knew. But the reason she messaged me was nice and unexpected; she asked me to burn some incense for Waipo. This I did of course, and bowed three times even though there was no-one there to witness. I also sent a picture to show that I'd understood and done it. I asked if she'd be coming to Pingguo and she said probably for New Year so I told her we'd go for a drink as I won't be able to make it for her wedding in early May.

Burning incense for Waipo and her husband

Huang Lei pinged me to eat at the "2nd floor" where we'd eaten a couple of times in the past, most recently 3 weeks ago for his wife's birthday. I didn't ask the occasion but said I should be able to make it. Then I may have had a beer or two as somehow, I lay down and managed to doze for 90 minutes so I must have needed it.

I got up soon after 6pm and realised I wouldn't have time to shower before going to meet Huang Lei so just got my stuff together. Of course he called me to ask where I was so I told him 2 minutes and found the place but couldn't find any shop selling fruit but instead happened upon Huang Lei himself who presumably had come downstairs to find me. So I went up empty-handed but it was cool...some other bloke turned up also empty-handed and in fact I don't think anyone brought any fruit. It was just blokes, and we were arranged in groups around the table in terms of what we were drinking. Huang Lei, A Ning, and a couple of other blokes were on the 53% baijiu, two or three blokes were on the 22% baijiu, and then another bloke and me were on the 3% beers. Fair enough, it meant pouring your neighbour's (or neighbours') drink more practical.

About to eat a hearty huoguo at the 2nd floor

It was a fine meal and everything except some fish was raw as there was a huoguo in the middle of the table, as is quite usual for the winter. And to be fair it was pretty cold and I kept my coat on for the first hour or so. Then, around 9.30pm Wu ge called me to go to A Hoc's place where I was last night so I said I'd be there shortly. Shortly being nearly an hour later when he called again. But it's quite normal here...already three other blokes had turned up during the meal, and one had already left. So I made my excuses and drove over to A Hoc's fried chicken place again.

Wu ge's and another bloke's birthday meal

Traditional Guangxi drinking song?

Well I recognised A Hoc and Wu ge but not the others. It transpired it was Wu ge's and some other bloke's birthday, so after a bite to eat a cake arrived and they had the tradition of smearing some of the cream onto the birthday boys' foreheads. The token woman had clearly had a few, and broke into a song which was probably a traditional Guangxi drinking song rather than a birthday song. Ma Yong had messaged me to ask where I was but I'd not got back to him. He said he was at Li Kun's drinking "tea" so a bit later I made my excuses again and went over there.

But Li Kun wasn't there. Rather, he sent a dingwei to show that he was at a bar at the football stadium. So Ma Yong and I drove over there at midnight. I suddenly realised I was flaking and didn't even manage to stay a whole hour, and somehow managed to get home and was asleep not long after 1.15am for a change.

Final destination of the night...

Dog and Mouse

Tan had said it wasn't really appropriate for me to stay in Waipo's house as she (Tan) has recently fallen out with Jiuma about paying the bills. I don't understand the details but last night I came back here without thinking about it as it was so late. So when I woke up to a phone call from a friend I found I'd had nearly 5 hours' sleep which wasn't too bad for a first night. Now I remembered about the house and decided to book a hotel for a night to give me time to sort out lodgings for the next month. I had had a conversation with a friend of Zhang Hua's in the summer who said she could sort out some sort of hotel room where it's not serviced and you only pay 800 kuai a month but I have my suspicions.

Luckily, before 9am they had a room for me and oh those beds are so much more comfortable than the normal ones in Chinese houses. I considered trying to get some more sleep but ended up getting a shower and feeling very refreshed, so I did some exercise till lunchtime and felt much the better for it. I ended up getting some xiaolongbao and nuomi rice things which were better than expected as I'd not had breakfast. I took them back to the hotel and unguiltily washed them down with a beer or two. I managed to do a bit more exercise before realising I'd better get some kip even though I'd not been invited out anywhere this evening, probably because I've so far only let a handful of people know I've come back (though word will get around).

It took till 4pm to get to sleep according to my watch and app, and I was woken at 8pm to Huang Lei calling me. I missed his call but texted him I'd get back, and he replied with a picture of the dog meat he was eating together with A Hoc and mates. Indeed A Hoc had also sent me a message to come over. It took me over an hour to get things sorted but eventually I turned up to the place I'd been on my last night two weeks ago. I wasn't quite sure where it was though, so video-called Huang Lei who was on his bike with his younger son who he was taking back to shower. Damn, I'd missed him, but maybe he'd come back. Anyway, pointed me to the place I thought I remembered but there were just two blokes sitting there I didn't recognise, but then A Hoc jumped out of the kitchen area and bade me sit down with them.

Best dog meat I've tried

I keep promising myself this will be the last time I eat dog, but I'd not had any tea and was really hungry, and it was the only thing on the table other than greens. But A Hoc had cooked it perfectly and there wasn't loads of tough skin and broken bones as per usual. As the others had had their fill and gorged on the lovely stuff and commented it was the best dog I'd ever eaten. I was the only beer drinker of course and they got out a crate of non-chilled Snowflake bottles for me, and I'd barely got through one bottle when A Hoc challenged me to caima for the first time this year.

Dog and Mouse - it almost sounds like the name of a pub

A bit later Wu ge called me to invite himself over. He must have seen one of the films A Hoc had shared of me playing caima, and he knew A Hoc as he'd been at that meal with him on my last night last year a couple of weeks ago. So when he asked if he could come over I said that A Hoc said "no!", which the blokes found funnier than it really was. Of course he could come over, and indeed not 10 minutes later he was sitting with us, already a tad for the worse, but it was good to be with another friend.

After a bit, A Hoc disappeared to the kitchen again to make another dish, and a bit later came back with a mouse dish. I really tried to understand if he really meant rat, but he was convincing while describing it as only being 2-3 inches long, so he was probably right. So I guess that's another animal ticked off, not that I'm keeping a spreadsheet for this. And yes, I managed to pick up a tiny paw but didn't really want to put it in my mouth. A Hoc asked if I could manage a crate of 12 beers and I said quite honestly maybe in the past but not now. I'd got through 5 of them by now and was bloated, so I made my excuses and left a bit later.

I wasn't sure the dian dong che would make it back as I'd planned to charge it up while I was charging up myself in the hotel but never got round to it. On the way home I passed by Li Kun's office and saw the light was on. He was there with the small man, so I stopped for a couple of beers as you do. Li Kun was working on a piece of music using FL studio, but I knew he wanted to use the pro version of Suno. Last week, from the UK, I'd sent him the APK of Mullvad, which he'd installed and got working as all his other VPNs no longer worked. He was so happy when he successfully connected, and I was glad they allowed 5 devices as I saw he'd also installed it on his desktop so that's 4/5 used up. He'd managed to register a Google account and use that to log in to Suno. Last week he had to use my UK number to send an SMS but now he'd managed to create a Google account and was able to get the SMS sent to his Chinese number, which was lucky as I didn't want to have to keep swapping SIMs every time he wanted to log in. But in order to upgrade to pro he'd need to pay $10 a month which is fair enough but they didn't accept his Chinese bank cards. Of course I offered but I didn't have my cards on me so we said 改天 (another day) as you do. I'm more than happy to pay $10 a month for this, given the amount of time I spend here.

We then sat down to a few more beers and a chat and I finally left before 1.30am as the UK lads were starting a Zoom call. I just managed to get home and plug in the dian dong che before grabbing a change of socks from the house and walking to the hotel while chatting with them. Although it was nearly 2am we ended up chatting till about 4am when I crashed out.

Back in Pingguo yet yet again

I've been blessed with relatively smooth flights over the last 20 months or so going to and from China, but bloody hell those last 40 minutes or so going through the clouds o'er the mountains west of Beijing were pretty hairy and droppy, even causing some screams from a couple of people. I held tightly to the left armrest, knowing the protocol that the middle seat has priority over both their armrests, and did my best to sink into my seat. It was very uncomfortable but probably only lasted 30 seconds. But it then started again but I dealt with it better than the time I was arriving in Bangkok in a storm when I grabbed the knee of the woman who was sitting to my left.

The last few minutes were ok

But the last 15 minutes were ok and we arrived more-or-less on time, meaning I had 2 hours to make my connection. I wasn't too worried as I figured they'd put me on the later flight to Nanning as I took a month ago, but wanted to be in Pingguo around 11pm so as to catch up with Li Kun, who is one of the few people I've told I was coming back so soon.

At least I knew what to expect...the luggage (baggage) should go straight through, and I'd made the excellent decision of taking a spare entry document with me back home on the last visit, and I'd filled it in during the flight, so didn't have to waste 10 minutes after landing. They used to give you these in the flights themselves and I remember spending the best part of an hour filling them in for me and the kids, mainly because I insisted on writing our address in Chinese. But it meant that once I'd scanned my passport I instantly got a receipt as I'd already done my fingerprints, and I waltzed pass the foreigners filling in their entry forms, only to be stopped by security before immigration. The bloke said in broken English that I needed to fill in an entry form. I pulled out my passport and showed him it was already done and felt very smug.

It was only a 5 minute or so queue for immigration and the lady who did me commented on my Chinese name, and I confirmed how to say it, and then for the first time ever in such a place she said I spoke very good Mandarin! Of course I said "nali" which is a way of playing down compliments, but after doing fingerprints to confirm they were the same as they had on record, and a facial scan for the same thing, I was officially in China again!

But of course that meant doing security again. I keep forgetting when they do proper security. I think last time it must have been between the domestic and international flight that they didn't do it. So it meant dumping the three cans of tonic I'd appropriated from the Heathrow T4 lounge and was hoping to appreciate in Pingguo with friends, and then annoyingly my laptop bag didn't pass security. Why? Apparently because it had the laptop charger inside, which they never tell you to take out. I didn't need this with so little time to get my flight, but I took it out and they re-scanned it and it failed again. Jeez...I waited my turn and said this was the second time but this time after a quick glance at the screen they seemed happy to let it go.

By now it was 4.25pm and the flight was due to leave at 5.25pm and knowing China they'd be boarding pretty soon. So I made a beeline for the China Southern lounge with was annoyingly at the other side of the terminal from my flight. But I was determined to get something out of it. The poor woman took an age with the Amex platinum card but Priority Pass wasn't an option it seemed. Eventually she managed to input my name and it accepted, and I saw a selection of drinks, only one of which was beer, and warm to boot. So I asked the attendant if they had cold drinks and she led me to a fridge where she pointed out the beer. May I have two? Of course, so I found a seat and chugged on while putting the other in my bag. The flight still said "go to gate" rather than "boarding", so I braved another two, chugging and saving respectively, before the inevitable "boarding" came up.

Quick beer while transferring

By the time I got to the gate under 10 minutes later it was of course "final call" but at least there was still a queue. But I reckoned it would be too risky going for a wee now. Once on the plane I found despite being in row 34, it was actually the fourth row after the two business class rows, and there were no toilets in the front. So I had to walk all the way to the back which took a couple of minutes with all the people still putting up their hand luggage. What a relief though! I was grateful they served beer with the meal, and I only made one more toilet trip in the whole of the 3h10m flight, even though I enjoyed one of the beers I took from the lounge.

Flying still amazes me

Despite some turbulence it could have been a lot worse, and we arrived within 2 minutes of schedule. I called the driver and he said he was on his way. Luckily this time my hold luggage was one of the first out so by 9.30 I was back on my way to Pingguo. Not before picking up some other bloke though. I had my second lounge-takeaway on the journey as I knew Li Kun and friends would be drinking already, and before 11.30pm I was at his office and it was like I'd never been away.

Back at Li Kun's studio!

And to be fair it had been all of 17 days, as Ma Yong had calculated. Possibly the shortest gap between trips to the motherland. We drank and chatted till gone 2am when I was really flagging, and as last time, Li Kun got me a didi che back home where it was all I could do to dump my suitcases, open a beer, and promptly fall asleep, happy I was back home.

Another lastish-minute decision to go back for what really will be the last time in a long time

Whoops I did it again. Another last-minute decision as this time it would surely be the last time for who knows who long? The kids want to go to other countries and assuming I'm working I won't likely have the opportunity to come again. That's pretty logical but I knew it wouldn't fly in Tan's mind and despite having actually booked the tickets 3 days ago on the 4th I still hadn't told her as I feared the consequences.

Xixi was cool about it when she got back from school, partly as she knew I'd be able to bring her back a load of fake Taobao stuff. But Tan was still at the gym and I needed to leave for the airport. I thought I'd just send a message but as "luck" would have it as I got to the end of our road there she was on the way back from the gym. Of course she asked what I was doing and I reminded her of a conversation we had had earlier that day. She literally encouraged me to have a personal trainer and said I should do so in Pingguo as she had. Well I didn't tell her I'd booked the tickets 3 days ago but did say I'd taken her advice and would get a personal trainer in Pingguo. She didn't take too kindly to this but I said I had a train to catch and would be back in about 4 weeks.

It was probably actually better that way as at least I got to tell her face-to-face. Then it was up to the Lizzie line to get the same flight I'd taken barely a month ago to Beijing Daxing, except this time I'd somehow ordered the ongoing flight to Nanning for 2 hours after we were due to arrive, giving me precious little time to do immigration, let alone lounge.

But after 30 minutes queueing for baggage drop-off (30 minutes more than a month ago) and 20 minutes in security where I was one of the few to pass all my bags, it was off to pick up duty-free for Li Kun and whoever else, then to the Plaza Premium lounge where they let you pour your own drinks. I rather like T4. I had a bit more time this time so enjoyed a meal with my drinks and remembered I'd better arrange a lift from the airport, so I sent a message to the bloke who drove me to Nanning a couple of weeks ago. To my surprise he got back to me at 8.30pm, even though it was 4.30am his time. I confirmed my flight would arrive tomorrow (Wednesday) at 9pm, and he got back to me to say that meant this evening. I said no, tomorrow, before realising it was today for him so acknowledged my mistake and we had a laugh about it. So for the first time I'd arranged travel to Pingguo by myself (outside of taking trains).

Cheers

I grabbed a last drink and left at the "final boarding" call as per usual. Of course I was one of the last on board but no-one checked the weight of my carry-on luggage and there was enough space above for it. No spare seats to lie down on though so it was a cocktail of melatonin and Phenergan (that I'd bought for the first time in over a year a few minutes prior to boarding), and soon after the meal I was dozing over Ocean's 13 which was very boring and really just an excuse for good-looking men to show off. Not that I was jealous...

Back home again for drinks with neighbours

I really hoped that the Alprazolam would knock me out and indeed it did after the meal and a tiny white wine, but annoyingly I woke up with 5 hours to go. On most other trips that would be a result but based on the last 5 years I was a bit disappointed it wasn't 2 hours to go. However I downed a couple more and managed another couple of hours' sleep till it really was under 2 hours to go.

I'd literally only had two drinks so far in 8 hours, so felt a bit justified on having my second carry-on during the last hour, even though it wasn't as turbulent as it could have been. Indeed, over the last few years I think I'm starting to manage it a lot better...just sink into your seat rather than tense up...sometimes easier said than done.

I think I prefer watching where we are to most films China Southern offer

The landing was fine, as are 99.99% of landings, and we were technically an hour early, and within 30 minutes I'd gone past passport control. But it took nearly an hour for my luggage to appear...first world problems but I'd arranged to meet some neighbours at 7.30pm. Thankfully one such neighbour suggested picking me up at Woolwich at 7.30pm and I took him up on that.

It was a good idea that was well appreciated. I only stopped off at home to see the family and give Tan and Xixi their clothes that they really did appreciate. Jeez if only it was this easy to get another pass to go back to Pingguo...would it actually be possible?

Anyway it was back to the pub with four neighbours and a great evening despite jetlag. I'm not sad anymore to come back. It's just like waking up after a lucid dream. In fact I still remember 3 weeks ago waking up in the hotel and thinking I was in the UK, and when it finally dawned on me I was in Pingguo I was so happy. Here it won't be so bad when I realise I'm in London as at least I have my family here...and it's bloody nearly Christmas and I still haven't bought any presents...that will be for tomorrow with Venky as usual.

Great last day in Pingguo and much later to Nanning than expected

Well at least I had no reason to get up early as my train wasn't till 6pm. But a combination of factors happened. Nong had been in her hometown and was coming back early afternoon and wanted to meet up and I thought "why not?". But in the end she had issues getting someone to look after her kids so by the time we met up I had pretty much given up any chance of getting my train. But this is Pingguo...I'll be able to sort something out. Anyway we met up for a bit of a nosh, then she had to go to sort out her kids so I pinged A Wu and ended up eating and drinking with him for a bit until I realised I really needed to sort out getting to Nanning within the next couple of hours.

Last meal with A Wu and mates

So it was off to Li Kun's again, but after a couple of cups of tea he'd found someone willing to pick me up at 3.30am for only 260 kuai. And I actually spoke to the driver to confirm which entrance. Well that would be cheaper and more convenient than a hotel in Nanning, but I still had to negotiate the next four hours. I left Li Kun and mates to hugs at some time gone midnight as I knew they had lives in the morning, and I only had a flight at 8.20am.

Try as I might I couldn't get any kip, more for fear of missing the cab than anything else. I'd already packed and left 70% of my clothes so finally when 3.20am rolled round I gave the bloke a call and thankfully he answered, saying he'd be 15 minutes. To be fair Li Kun had said he'd take me there if it screwed up but I didn't want to be doing that especially as he has to work at 8am.

The driver turned up at 3.40, and chastised me for leaving so early for an 8.20 flight. I tried to argue, then thought better of it and had a swig of something I'd poured a bit earlier. He drove calmly, almost too calmly for a local, but we made it to the motorway for a good hour until he turned off at a service station. It was an electric car so I worried that he might need to charge for half an hour, but no, something much more Chinese, he just wanted a rest, and within a minute he was snoring deeply as I was chatting to Andge and Awl on zoom.

My driver snoring deeply

So much for having a go at me for leaving so early, but he woke up after 15 minutes and indeed half an hour later stopped again to do the same thing. Well at least we got there safely at 5.30 and I gave him 300 kuai which he seemed really appreciative of. I just hope he doesn't end up driving into a ditch.

Despite it being an international trip, this was considered quite rightly a domestic journey to Beijing so the bloody desks weren't even open yet. But thankfully the landside lounge I've been using for over 10 years let me in with my hold luggage, and half an hour later I was able to check in with no worries. Without scales aid, I'd managed to make it 22.5kg and they didn't seem to care about my hand luggage which could have been so much heavier. So back to the lounge I used their own security only to be stopped for my clippers. I bloody don't know why I didn't put them in the hold luggage like I did on the way over but yeah they had a pair of scissors that were a bit too long in the blade. Hey-ho, I didn't argue, and was met with a smile, which doesn't normally happen from Chinese air security.

The lounge was the one I'd used before so I got some breakfast and although could have justified a drink as it wasn't even midnight in the UK I didn't. But I did appropriate some full-sugar lemonade and poured one should it be a scary flight. As it was, it was quite turbulent for the first half but I was so tired I didn't care. I may have had some of the self-poured drink in the second half as I was worried about it being confiscated while transferring in Beijing.

Much better than nothing

But despite only having just over 2 hours to transfer, immigration was a quick piece of piss. It seemed like the bloke took one look at all the Chinese stamps in my passport and had no reason to question further...and why would you? I was leaving the country. By now it was well gone 12pm so I made beeline to the PayLounge I'd been to before and grabbed a beer, simply as I wanted a chance to sleep on the next flight (I don't know how I hadn't on the way over as I'd been up now for 24 hours). I asked about wine and said last time it was available, but the chef pointed me to a sign at the reception saying I could get a bottle for USD20. Sod that (unless I had no other option). I checked Amex and it appeared there was a China Southern lounge available to Platinum holders, so I thought I'd better check it out and justify the yearly expense, so left PayLounge saying I wanted to buy something and might come back in a bit.

Well I did by some Esse for the lads, it's a bit of a cliché now but appreciated after a couple of drinks. And after a few minutes I did find the China Southern lounge after a few false starts (locked doors with no pointers to where to go). But after a couple of minutes of them scanning and re-scanning my card it was cool and a much better experience than the PayLounge. Although having said that they could have had some tonic to accompany the gin.

Gin and soda water and Esse...sorted

As I had a good hour to spend I took full advantage and spoke to Awl who for some reason was up at 5am buy hey...we've all been there. I was knackered and now a little pissed, but had the time to reflect on the last three weeks, and je ne regrette rien, as Venky would say. It's been quite full-on, but I wouldn't want anything less.

I was of course one the last to board the flight, after having bought two bottles of sugar-free orangeade for my carry-ons, and had to leave my big carry-on suitcase halfway up the plane before getting my back row (but aisle seat), something I couldn't care less about at the time.

Big meal and music with Haiwei and friends

Despite being a little buzzy from so much music last night I did get to sleep within minutes of getting home at 8am and without anything else to help. My only commitment was to eat tea with Haiwei and his son but when I did get up I managed a couple of boiled eggs to keep me going. By now I should be getting really sad about leaving but it's getting on for my 30th time here so I can have some hope of coming back. I'd already booked a 6.04pm train to Nanning for tomorrow though and expected to stay in a hotel, but wanted to keep my options open.

So of course at before 6pm I got a dingwei from Haiwei and a call to come over a bit early. Well I needed a shower and was bloody well going to take one and a few phone calls later I put the dian dong che on charge in case I'd need it later and anyway it was only a 3 minute walk away. His younger son was waiting for me outside (for how long I don't want to know) and led me up six floors to the top of the building where there were at least 20 people of all generations around two tables. i immediately felt embarrassed at being a bit late, but was bade to sit down next to Haiwei of course. I recognised the artist from January who'd made me a nice wall frieze, and showed the picture of it adorning our living room in London. But as they'd started eating there was little time for pleasantriness before the ganbeiing started, and it was very much in earnest.

I wasn't expecting so many people

To this day I still don't know the purpose of this evening but it was very pleasant, and an old bloke presently sat down and played some tradition music on a Chinese violin. Then people started singing to join in, before dancing also broke out. Unfortunately so did a "normal" guitar, which was thrust into my arms, not for the first time this month. It was excruciatingly out of tune and I couldn't hear my app to get a proper low E very well...but hey...it was relatively tuned in a couple of minutes and when the din died down I found it was pretty much in tune. So yeah, for the last time this year I did 有没有人告诉你, and a couple of S&G ones, so I'd effectively sung for my supper again. I'm going to miss this.

Cool traditional music

And then it turned to dancing

But Luo Xiaoping had pinged me to say his wife had left a couple of little presents at Li Kun's office, so I used that as an excuse to leave the festivities and picked them up there with a couple of glasses of tea as you do. I told Li Kun I wanted to see Zhuang Hua so he said he'd meet me there in a bit but a couple of mates turned up and we ended up having a few beers first as you do.

Cute Xmas presents from Luo Xiaoping's wife's hands - they will go on our tree

It was great to see Zhang Hua though, and although I hadn't invited anyone else I knew a couple of people there, including a woman from Yunan I couldn't remember the name of. Li Kun did turn up a bit later we enjoyed some nice bbq, and I left at I guess gone 1am to get back to do some packing, which is basically Tan's and Xixi's clothes so it wasn't difficult.

Final bbq of 2024 thanks to Zhang Hua

Final packing of 2024 thanks to A Xia and Li Kun getting Tan's and Xixi's clothes respectively

Dog and pig and gong wen bao followed by guitar and a very very late night

With nothing important to do I went for a walk in the afternoon again to get my steps in. It's not difficult here, and eats up a few calories that the evenings inevitably bring in. I got in contact with Lu zong who invited me to eat at his bar at Jiangbing Lu at 9pm, so that was the evening sorted. In fact even more sorted as Huang Lidan had got in contact with me to meet up to have a drink at 10.30pm after work. Even better.

So I didn't really bother with lunch or tea much. I had a few bits and pieces in the house to get on with. I also avoided having more than a couple of drinks before going out as it's just not necessary. I got to Lu zong's place soon after 9pm to find he was the only one there, with a huoguo of dog meat and a plate of pig penises as you do. Well it was great to catch up and I enjoyed the pig penises and dog more than I should have done, as more people turned up, and it ended up being a totally enjoyable evening with the lads.

Dog meat and pig penis as you do

But I was due to meet up with Huang Lidan, whom I'd not seen since well before the birth of her son. She now sells gong wen bao baijiu and was just over the river at the new place. It was great to catch up with her...she's one of the few people here who seem to have a fair degree of self-awareness, and it was good fun talking to her and her "meimei" who is literally not her little sister.

Catching up with Huang Lidan after quite a few years...she kindly gave me two bottles of gong wen bao

But I could hear guitar music and singing from another table, and when I went to the loo I was accosted by the bloke I've known for a few years now. I told him that I was talking to "beautiful women" - how sexist, but that excused me from having to play music. For a bit at least. Not that long though...Lidan and I drank the rest of the gong wen bao that was cooked with ginger and brown sugar and probably wasn't very healthy. But being with people is healthy, and I wished her and her friend a very good night around 12.30am.

Then of course I found myself at the table with the bloke I knew and lots of others I didn't. Of course the guitar was thrust into my arms and I had to do a couple of English songs which they appreciated. Jeez...I felt quite sober, but it wasn't hard to do a few ganbeis to catch up with them. There was one pretty woman playing an electric guitar fairly professionally to accompany the main acoustic guitar, and I complimented her on her playing. Despite her feminine voice thanking me, somehow I realised that she was a he, or at least in some way. I was of course embarrassed, even though I'd not intimated they were of any particular gender. I think it was just seeing the shape of their body that made it look like they were born male. But having had a couple of drinks I said something nice about their hair, and only then did they say they were not really sure if they identified as a gender. This was definitely the first time I've come across this in China, well anywhere really. I just said the equivalent of "who gives a shit?" and we just cracked on with another song. I can't remember how long I stayed for but it was a great evening and I managed to drive back unscathed.

Bit of a sing-song at around 2am as you do

Except I stupidly stopped off to go for a walk at about 3.30am. Why? I'll never know...I guess I wanted to sup up a bit more of Pingguo. But I was a bit surprised when I heard my name called out from the other side of the street. Oh blimey, it was a bloke I'd just been singing with not an hour before, with a couple of women. Oh well..in for a penny...I ended up singing a few more songs with them and jeez if it wasn't 8am when I finally got back home. I love living here!

Finally, a sort of normal day

Finally, finally, I slept more than 10 hours till nearly 1pm. Yes I may have taken one or more alprazolam but bloody hell it seemed justified. No more waking up at 6am not knowing how the day would pan out. I had no deeds to do and no promises to keep (thanks Paul Simon) and was dappled (but not drowsy or ready to sleep). I probably should have gone out to get some jiaozi but just made some pao mian at home instead. I decided I'd go for a walk in a bit but boringly had to do some paperwork for my dad's house; apparently the survey had shown there was moisture getting in so the buyers were lowering their offer. Fair enough, I've been in the same position before, and rather than argue just accepted it on his behalf and hoped he'd be ok.

I saw that I had an email confirming my train ticket to Nanning on Sunday. Wow, I must have been on auto-pilot when I booked that, but I'm glad I have. Now I only have to decide whether to book a hotel in central Nanning or by the airport. That will depend on what I hope to do in Nanning, and more than likely booking one at the airport will be the sensible choice. But I rarely do sensible here. I'm really not looking forward to an 8.20am flight though. It's literally 5 years since I took such an early flight but I booked it so last-minute I didn't really care. And quite frankly up to now I have no regrets.

So at 4.30pm I set off for what may well be my last Pingguo walk this year. I will never take this for granted. It's not even special...but yet again every turn greeted me with a potential new experience...seeing workers building new roads, seeing people making earphones for aeroplanes etc. It's times like these where Tan won't understand, although maybe the kids will. Just being in a different place justifies the effort in getting here. And more important than that is the ability to understand (mostly) the language. That is literally the most important thing, along with the justification of being the husband of a local. The former has been my effort, and the latter, well just the way it is but I always hope that I paint Tan in a nice way. I mean I joke about Guangxi women being 厉害 but it's always taken in a way that means respect.

A minor detail maybe, but it's a lot easier to scan these QR codes now to charge up the dian dong che

Well I'd made nearly 5km so I headed for racist Huang's place as I'd not properly seen him this time. It was gone 6pm and I'd done my 5km so arrived while his daughter was playing in his car with his worker's son. His wife was there and bade me speak a bit of English with their younger daughter and indeed she could speak quite well for a five-year-old. And with that I was invited to eat with them. Perfect, I had no other plans so they brought out a chicken soup and a couple of blokes joined us though didn't eat. Huang is now off the booze due (I think) to physical issues, but he ordered a large bottle of beer for me. The soup was fantastic and so was the accompanying fish we had. All in all it was a great meal and I didn't miss the drunken Huang of years past.

Huang's wife and Huang...he's not drinking anymore for a good reason I guess...still a lovely meal

But Li Kun had pinged me to say that Xixi's clothes had arrived, so around 8pm I made my excuses and left to go home to pick up the dian dong che, and drove over to his studio. But this time I made a point of first going to Guanmart to pick up three more portions of pickles, as I wanted to get one for each member of the family; I already had baba, so I picked up mama, and two babies (male and female) and 12 beers to bring over.

Xixi's ware arrived...she is happy

I also stopped off at a place I saw was selling kao ya, but it seemed they had closed. But on looking inside I saw all the ladies (yes they were all ladies) eating and asked what they had left. They were more than happy to jump up from the table and show some kao ya and some pork stuff which they cut and heated up and it only came to 40 kuai. Such a tiny thing to do but I got quite a buzz out of it. It just seems that such transactions make me the winner.

I got to Li Kun's and he was the only one there. That was a bit surprising but it wasn't to last. I brought out my food and of course it was appreciated, as was the beer, but we drank tea for the next 20 minutes until other people arrived. He thought my idea of getting free bowls was a bit weird, but not as weird as a few years ago when he didn't know me as well. I was grateful for him receiving Xixi's clothes and sent her a pic and she was very very happy. Now at least I think I've justified being here, about to bring back many clothes for the women in my life.

Maybe last time this year with such good friends

I think he sort of understood why I'd got the bowls too, and even Xixi sent a nice message saying she'd use hers every day. Hmm... Anyway more and more people turned up and it was a typically lovely evening, the sort of which I'm here for. I'm not special, I'm just a normal bloke with these people, and that means more to me than when I was the "foreign guy". That now to me is the most important thing...just being a normal bloke.