Harbin Dongbei, NorthEast China
 

It has been a long while since I posted anything in SBF, but I thought the info from my present trip maybe of some use to other cheongsters who may be planning a trip to this part of the world. This is a trip by the “Gang of Four” – with LaoTie (LT) & ErZi (EZ) of the infamous ADF (for those who are “old” enough to know us). Unfortunately “Uncle” and “God-son” were not able to make it to the trip, and LT’s two cheonging friends from Beijing made up the Gang of Four. This is more of a travelogue – just skip the boring parts if you are looking for cheonging info only.


Pre-trip (HuMen, Dongguan)

LT (traveling from GZ) & EZ (traveling from Macau) met up in HM in Dongguan about three weeks ago for business meetings. We had a few Singaporean ladies traveling with us, but managed to sneak away to check out our favorite SN that borders CA & HM, but was disappointed that all they offered was foot-massage due to the ongoing “YanDa (YD)” – however, the captain did give us another contact in CA proper where they still have actions but we decided to pass since we “lacked” the time. The captain told us they should be back in business in a “few days” time – we subsequently spoke to a couple of MMs and they confirmed this.

But my local Taiwanese friend made sure we did not miss out any action in HM. He made the appointment with the mummy at the SN he frequents (actually at the hotel we were staying) for some post-business meetings relaxation (after our Singaporean ladies biz partners have gone to bed). We then found out the main floor of the SN is officially closed (must show respect to authorities) but the rooms on two other floors were opened for regulars who called. It was passed midnight when we were there and we viewed more than 20 MMs. The charges are the usual RMB400/500/600 the 600 being the “model” grade (usually mean taller ladies and not necessary prettier or better service) plus the room charge (RMB200). I picked a 400-grade SYT, newly trained and I left very sextisfied – she made up her lack of experience (but not lack of trying) with her GFE. BTW, the deal here is you can bonk and cum as many times as you can in the two hours allocated – the two hours actually start after the MM has bathed and shower you like you never have been since you were a baby, and the horny ones and MM with good service attitude could possibly have one round already during the shower.


Beijing to Heihe

We left HM unplugged and traveled to BJ to meet up with our two local cheongster friends, Guangtou (GT) and Laoniu (LN) – both are the “new rich” & divorced – and therefore shared our cheongsters’ interests. I took the opportunity to catch up with many old friends, while I let GT took EZ to get him “initiated” to a typical cheong-scene in northern China – the bath-house. They went to a place outside the BJ city limit and popular with the locals in an area called Yanjiao. We heard that it was also under YD’s radar a few days ago due to the upcoming 60th anniversary of the founding of the “new” China. But then, someone has to feed the MMs and like one taxi driver commented – it’s business as usual – these places just need to put on a show and stay low profile. Indeed, from what I heard from EZ, the MMs at the place he visited were kept separated in another room. That was not the case when I visited the same place a year ago – during that time, all the MMs paraded themselves in the “Resting Room” (where customers can have their drinks and foot massage) and try to entice you with their special skills.

We flew from BJ to HH – only one direct flight a day for the four hours trip that included a stopover in Harbin. HH is a border town across the Heilongjiang River (Black Dragon River, aka Amur River in Russia) from the Russian town of Blagoveshchensk and you can literally see Russia from here. The town is also very popular with the Russian tourists, but GT who has been here before noted that there are a lot less Russian tourists this year due to the economic crisis.

We checked with the locals and found that there are no BBS, but there are “ZuYu足浴(ZY)” that we subsequently found are quite common SOP in northern part of Heilongjiang. We were told some of these ZY places offer special services for the third leg. Most of these look rather run down and did not give us much encouragement to do a more detailed survey. But we had a closer look at the other option – these are the massage places at the hotels. We checked out the one at the hotel we were staying and saw a few MMs that we would want to get to know better. But we were told they only provide straight massage and no more. The manageress then told us she could introduce us to MMs who can provide special language lessons in the privacy of our hotel rooms. We waited in my room in anticipation and three came – all petite SYTs about 18-21. I took a cute 18yo who claimed to be a student from Jiamusi and in HH studying at the Fine Arts College. Although cute and chatty, unfortunately I found that she is in a hurry claiming that it is getting late and need to return to her dormitory. WTF, I thought it is summer holidays! Needless to say, I wasn’t too sextisfied.

Our stay in HH was prolonged by the requirements of “Certificate of Health Examination for International Traveller” – this is a comprehensive booklet containing health statement that even include blood test for HIV!. You need this to cross the border. You can get this before arrival in HH (not sure if you can get this in Singapore, but definitely available in other major Chinese cities) in order to save the time – otherwise, you need 3-days and costs RMB330 although you can get the same-day “Express Service” for an extra RMB100. I suspect this is a Chinese requirement since we subsequently found that the Russian never asked for it. However, GT told me the Vietnamese at the Sino-Viet land border crossing also asked for this when he was there last year, and he ended up paying the “greasing fee” to get through.


... to be continued

Re: NORTHERN EXPEDITION (a personal trip to China’s DongBei & Russian Far East)
 

(continuing)

From Russia with love?

You can actually see Blagoveshchensk (Chinese called it BuShi) from the bank of HH that is also filled with local tourists and some from across the River. The close proximity of HH & BLS is reflected by the 10 minutes ferry ride. I was told it is even faster by bus on the frozen ice during winter. However, we had a 3-hours experience clearing the Immigration & Customs on arrival at BLS – all because of the total inefficiency of the local authority, as well as the very discrimatory practice of clearing the local Russians first. It definitely made a very bad impression on all of us, visiting Russia for the first time! Note that BLS is two hours ahead of HH by time zone.

We did the tourist things by driving around to get a feel of the agricultural base economy. Interestingly, in a country that is supposed to have right-hand traffic, the majority of the “newer” vehicles appear to be that for left-hand traffic. We were told these are all recon second-hand vehicles imported from Japan. We checked out the bank of the river where locals came to enjoy the sun since this part of the country is freezing cold for most part of the year. We were also introduced to the common local (national?) drink called “kbac” or “kvac” that’s being sold from pressurized keg in just about every street corner in summer. It is a common home brew of weak dark beer made from fermented rye bread. GT who is never adventurous thinks it tastes like toilet water. But EZ and myself thought it is not too shabby, especially during the hot weather – giving same thirst quenching experience associated with beer! But for EZ and me, the fun was deciding which spot has the prettiest or friendliest gal selling kbac – some turned out to be extremely friendly and even posed for photos, but unfortunately language is a real problem – but in reality most of them are just school kids on holidays and will probably land us in jail if we had any encounters of the intimate kind.

The most popular spot for tourists is the promenade on the waterfront along the bank of the Amur River overlooking HH – and HH looks quite pretty at night on the opposite bank. In the evening, it is near the Victory Square close to the promenade where we found a couple of vans filled with Russian gals who seem to be all dressed up (some with too much makeup) but no where to go. Our interpreter told us this is the standard operandus modi – these ladies are on display and they will be delivered to a mutually agreed place to provide the service of the intimate kind. However, we were told we could not take them back to the 4-stars hotel that we were staying – they will be stopped by the security. Well, we were not impressed by what we saw and were then taken to a local sauna place – supposedly one of the better ones, but it is no where near the luxurious setup for SN that we are all accustomed to in China. The place reminds me more of the Geylang set up, with a bar and minimalistic furniture design. The rooms have so called spa facilities. The joint that we visited has a madam (who has that classic madam look that we saw in some of the cowboy movies – heavy in size and with overkilling makeup) and four gals. We were not impressed and the madam called for more re-enforcements – more gals came, all by the vans. I would rate them anywhere from 2 to 7 in the 20+ gals that were brought in. EZ and myself were not tempted by any – maybe we were looking for ones similar to the grade we saw on the promenade. But GT decided he needs his “western meal” and the damage was 4000RussianRuble (S$182) for the gal and 300Rub (S$14) to the madam for the use of the facilities.

We then took the 14 hours train ride from BLS to Khabarovsk (Chinese called it KaBa) that is supposedly the second largest city in the Russian Far East after Vladivostok. Time here is an hour ahead of BLS and we stayed at a hotel conveniently located next to the Lenin Square – the main square of the city. From here it is also within walking distance to the Amur River where the promenade is very popular with both locals and tourists. We saw many topless ladies sun tanning on the bank, but all have the nipples covered by small cap (to beat the law?) We find the city not too tourist-friendly and getting around without interpreter is a pain. We were also checked by police – so, visitors are advised to carry their passports with them at all times. There is a sizeable Chinese community here and the huge Chinese market stretches a couple of kilometers, all filled with “Made-In-China” products ranging from jeans to nuts & bolts.

Our interpreter/driver told us the SOP to get gals in KB is similar to BLS – that is, you need to have the contacts to have the gals brought over (yes, you guess it, in the vans) to wherever mutually agreed. Again, we cannot bring the gal to our hotel. The interpreter introduced us to one of his Chinese friends with contacts and we ended up in a place called Grand Restaurant that is close to the Chinese market. The place even provide car cleaning services, and has a bar with pool tables on the ground floor, and rooms on the upper floors for rent by the hour. The cost is 1200Rub (S$55) per hour which is somewhat pricey even though the room I had was humongous, about twice the size of a normal hotel room. I was told alternatives are the many so called sauna establishments mostly operated by Russians associated with criminal gangs. Most of these gangs also controlled the gals, housing them in apartments and providing the subsistence, with the gals getting only Rub500(S$23) of the Rub3500(S$160) that I paid for the gal’s one hour amusements.

I saw five gals and I would rate them 4 to 7 – but then, I am not a big fan of western meal. I chose Ima mainly because she’s one of the better looking ones – tall and smiles a lot. As an added bonus, I subsequently found that she speaks a bit of English – enough for us to communicate with more than body language. That may mean she was telling me the truth when she said she is a university student studying Design at the local Khabarovsk State University of Technology, or it could mean she has many English speaking admirers. But since we saw very few foreigners in the city, other than Chinese, the former may be true.

Ima is 21yo, nice body but only B boobs. She has a typical Russian girl-next-door look without any makeup. But she is extremely shy and would not share the shower. She came out of the bathroom with towel firmly wrapped on her body, and insisted on turning off all the lights – including the ones in the bathroom! It would have been pitch black if the TV was also turned off. She only give BJ and insisted on using the CDs she brought, and did a reasonably good job with plenty of deep throating. She was surprised that she did not finish me off then, as we moved to more conventional engagements. However, I was equally surprised when she insisted on going to shower half an hour latter. So, even though she is a nice gal who appears to try her best, it wasn’t exactly a top-notch bonking experience. Maybe the Rub500 that she supposedly actually get can explain this, but who knows.

My personal experience is such that other than the novelty of bonking a white Russian gal on Russian soil, I’ll get much better deal somewhere else, including China. You can get more fun and value for money deal from the Russian gals from Beijing’s Hollywood at their clean apartments for RMB800 (S$170)! But of course Macau is another story.

We returned to China by taking the 1.5hr boat ride from KB to Fuyang in Heilongjiang Province. FY is a small sleepy border town that is supposedly the top-most and eastern-most part of China, and we heard it is destined to be the next hot spot for tourism development after the Chinese and Russian settled their 40-yo border dispute last year. We heard that the returned areas will be designated “special areas” where even casinos will be allowed, with all kind of associated entertainment to attract foreign visitors. There is a railroad currently being built to link it to Harbin - so maybe one of these days cheongsters will be often seen on them traveling into the town for cheong sessions like we see them on the ShenGuan Express taking them to CP these days!!!

But right now, the cheong-scene in FY is somewhat limited although the local taxi driver claimed that there are plans to congregate the ZYs in one street. Will introduce FY and other towns in Dongbei in my next update on this thread.

Re: NORTHERN EXPEDITION (a personal trip to China’s DongBei & Russian Far East)
 

Thumbs up bro Huzige! Just when I'm also researching on this part of China.

Please continue your good work. :)

Re: NORTHERN EXPEDITION (a personal trip to China’s DongBei & Russian Far East)
 

excellent input. :)

Re: NORTHERN EXPEDITION (a personal trip to China’s DongBei & Russian Far East)
 

Wow it has been so long time since last saw Huzige..... very interesting read indeed. Cheers !!:D

Re: NORTHERN EXPEDITION (a personal trip to China’s DongBei & Russian Far East)
 

bro, huizige

very informative, used to freqent Donguan CP quite regularly,now after reading your fr, may be planning one northward as I do generally prefer northern chinese gal(who are much taller and bigger size than southern) and definitely the russian chicks too. but the price seem to be high too.

waiting eagerly for your next installment :)

Re: NORTHERN EXPEDITION (a personal trip to China’s DongBei & Russian Far East)
 

Bros Tony Stark, yanz, lavie & kingx3 – thanks for the kind words. I’ll definitely find time to complete the writeup for the Dongbei part of our trip. We actually traveled from FY to Jiamusi, Harbin, Changcun and Shenyang, but didn’t have the time to make it to Dalian as I need to be in Qingdao for an important biz meeting.

Bro lavie – long time no see. I’ve not been spending as much time in China as I used to in the past, but still find time to visit it occasionally while keeping a low profile. And whenever possible, I also try to revisit other less popular areas such as Zhongshan (Tanzhou & Sanxiang) that I am currently at. We must try to catch up again one of these days.

Re: NORTHERN EXPEDITION (a personal trip to China’s DongBei & Russian Far East)
 

Always pass by Sanxiang on my way to Dongguan.
Any cheong place worth visiting?

These days I prefer the kampung feel. Big cities too commercialise. :D

Re: NORTHERN EXPEDITION (a personal trip to China’s DongBei & Russian Far East)
 

Ya,more GFE feeling right?;):D

Btw,bro Huzige u got a nice FR on Dongbei(1 of my favourite).

Re: NORTHERN EXPEDITION (a personal trip to China’s DongBei & Russian Far East)
 

Sanxiang is actually quite pleasant and not so kampong if the massive number of the tall apartment blocks and residential districts are any indication. Indeed, I get the same feel like in Zhangmutou, wondering who are buying all these apartments, especially since rental for a fully furnished new apartment is only RMB800/mo (according to one MM who said she always rent new place). I can only assume most buyers are Hongkees and Macauese since they are relatively cheap – they must be buying them hoping for capital gains since returns from rental is so low. I also felt somewhat safer – and all the residential areas seem to have private security guards (of course more as deterrent) compared to some other areas in DG.

Food is slightly cheaper than CP and you get the usual entertainments such as KTVs, SNs and foot massage. Just our luck, we arrived on the day SX is having its turn for YD and all the MMs at KTVs were given holidays although they are allowed to turn up with customers in non-uniform, acting like gfs. We had a look at MMs arranged at someone’s office, but pickings were slim. The MMs are 2-5-8, although I understand there are also 1-4-6 joints. I was told things should be back to normal today, but I had to leave as I need to meet a biz associate in CP.

I am not a big fan of SN, but there was one SN located in PingDong area that offers the package for RMB198. Talking about PingDong, that’s one of the major disappointments for me on this trip. The Sanyue Jie near the PingDong market used to be packed with BBSs (still my favorite) but EZ and myself found out these have been victim to a major YD efforts a year ago. We only find two joints still in operation – one with auntie grade (must be late 20s or early 30s) probably for niche market, and another has 5 MMs out of which only 1 can make it. The price is RMB150 s/t for take out. We also found another BBS closer to Yajule with about 10 MMs (same price), but another one at Sunchang area would not allow take out. I am sure there are more, but my contact does not seem to know them. With so many gong-chan meis (the town is filled with factories although some have been victims to current economic downturn), there must be some OKTs who can provide them for part-time services.

As for the quality of MMs, I always believe it depends on your luck. EZ met one that is quite fun and in no hurry to leave the next day. But I met one who never came back after she asked to go to a friend’s birthday party for an hour. She tried to apologise the next day, but I’ve been around too long – plenty more where they came from.

SX also has a LanGuiFan, with streets filled with bars, but have to bring own MM though. There are beer girls for potential chat up & kc, although there do not seem to be too many worthy targets the night I was there. It’s value for money – three big bottles of beer with some tit-bits (peanuts, fried wanton & cuttle fish) cost us RMB50 only.

There are also hot-springs nearby, one located within SX district. Can bring MMs there in the evening during summer when MM will not complain about the heat since it is open-air, and day time during winter. I heard that there was one that offer MMs for “pei-xi” but not sure if that info is true or not – there is only one way to find out.

There is also a limo bus going from SX to CP, but it actually stop at DG-East Station that is closer to the computer center and the new 5-star hotel (EuroAsia “AoYa” International Hotel). It costs RMB67 and the trip via highway took me 2.5hrs due to a couple stops in DG – the bus actually get off the highway to drop off passengers and got back onto the highway to continue the journey. BTW, AoYa looks big – claims to have 420 rooms and 100 KTV rooms.

Sanxiang, Zhongshan
 

Bro Huzige,

Wow thanks for the detail write up on Sanxiang! Deeply appreciate it.

Your work must have brought you to many interesting places. Cheers! :)

Re: NORTHERN EXPEDITION (a personal trip to China’s DongBei & Russian Far East)
 

Go kampung, must not forget to invite this kampung Ah Pek. :D:D

Re: NORTHERN EXPEDITION (a personal trip to China’s DongBei & Russian Far East)
 

No problem! :D

Re: NORTHERN EXPEDITION (a personal trip to China’s DongBei & Russian Far East)
 

With the introduction made by LaoTie(LT), this is my supplement to the account of our trip to Far East Russia, from the ErZi's (EZ) persepctive.

EZ recently found himself unemployed and probably unemployable due the current economic conditions and therefore decided with all the time in his hands, might as well take an adventure. The topic of venturing to Russia has been previously proposed by GT during GT's trip to the south sometime early this year.

I thought that the following information on the application process for Russian Visa may be useful for some.

EZ volunteered to take care of the Russian Visa requirements. Firstly, in SG, there is only 1 authorised agent situated in PPC. Just google it and you should be able to get the address quite easily. The procedure is, you need to get an Invitation Letter from either any hotel or travel agent in Russia first. With the Invitation Letter, then you can apply for Russian Visa. The travel agent can do both the Invitation Letter and Visa. The Invitation Letter takes only about 3 working days and costs SGD 110. We need to accurately list down the exact names of the town (up to 5) that we will be visiting in the Invitation Letter. LT decided that we need to be exact and not anyhow list any places as there are a few sensitive areas like naval bases in Far East Russia.

Interestingly, there was a slight hiccup and EZ reconfirmed with the agent that we will be going to Blagoveshchensk and Khabarovsk. The agent offered to put in Moscow but I firmly declined knowing very well we are definitely very very very very far away from Moscow and chances of dropping by is remote. One of the Russian managers working in the travel agency gave me that "look" of - "What the hell is this guy going to some kampong place in Russia?"

Travellers are actually required to carry a copy of this Invitation Letter together with the Visa and passport. The Visa will take about 5-7 working days, costs SGD 126.

One more thing to add is, based on my experience with the Russia Customs, at least for Blagoveshchensk and Khabarovsk, I personally think I am the first person holding a Singaporean passport to pass through via land/sea port route because the Custom Officers spent a hell lot of a time checking the authenticity of my passport. Or maybe they have not seen a Singaporean PP before and therefore decided to take some time studying it. The Custom Officer asked me a few other questions like what's my occupation and what am I doing there... etc.

Similarly from the China side in Heihe (黑河) and Fuyuan (扶远), the Chinese Custom Officer took great interest and caution in the immgration checks, especially that the Custom chop will state the entry point, which for me would have been entry via Macau / Zhuhai. The Custom Officer in FY even commented that I enter from almost the most southern part of China and exiting into Russian from the most northern part of China... :D

My overall comment about these 2 Russian town would be, I kinda like Blago.... better, even tho I find it quite a mouthful to pronouce it, and a hassle to even spell it properly. Khabarovsk gives me the feeling that it doesn't quite welcome tourist. Finally, I have verified for myself the rumours about Russians not fond of smiling and personally, I believe it is true.

Other than the hot summer nights drinking the cold kbac (I believe it is pronounced as "krass"), I can't imagine anything else interesting here.

Re: NORTHERN EXPEDITION (a personal trip to China’s DongBei & Russian Far East)
 

LT and EZ thought that we can do another 互动 action before we go off to Beijing, never realise the timing threw us off our plan. Oh well...

In Humen, EZ picked a demure looking gal, but once the action starts, realise that the demure looking gal is definitely a pro. Pro in trying to take short cuts after she realise that it was EZ's first time patronising the place. Oh well... at least still manage to get the job done.:o

Re: NORTHERN EXPEDITION (a personal trip to China’s DongBei & Russian Far East)
 

Thumbs up for the add on info and adventurous spirit! :)

Re: NORTHERN EXPEDITION (a personal trip to China’s DongBei & Russian Far East)
 

Yanjiao (燕郊), I believe, is just a general term fir the outskirts of Beijing, which is already considered Hebei (河北) province, the word 燕 represents 河北 which is commonly found on the car number plates.

EZ met GT around 8pm, and GT drove to one of the bath house. There is a huge communal bath area, and you can get a body scrub using a towel done by a guy. I decided that is definitely not for me.

There is also a resting area where you can get a foot massage, shoulder rub or even a pedicure (修脚). GT explained to me that due to competition, this particular joint offers the foot massage service for free if you take the standard service (大保健). GT tried to get a pedicure first but the masseuse insisted that he has to complete the standard service first before getting a pedicure.

Standard service = 1 bonk. Because of the clamp down, all the gals are now housed in a secret section behind a secret door in a discrete corner room. This will be the arrangement before 10pm. Once after 10pm, the gals are then allowed to parade in the resting area. I guess this is a sign of respect during this clamp down period.

There were about 20+ gals then, with another 10+ currently working. I would rate the selection there anywhere between 4 - 6.5 on a scale of 10.

In the first round, GT didn't see anybody he liked, so he suggested to me to wait a little while more and I follow suit. After 30mins, I guess GT couldn't wait anymore and decided to go into the secret chamber again. This time, GT found his pick, and I just picked one whom I can visually accept.

We were led to another section of the building with partitioned rooms and there is where the job is to be done. I would rate the place at most 5 because it really looks run down. Well, at least my gal used another clean bed sheet to lay over the bed, otherwise, I really can't imagine doing it at the joint under such conditions.

The only reason this kinda bath houses are extremely popular with residents both in Beijing and Hebei is because it is really a cheap bonk. My bill turns out to be only RMB 198.

Re: NORTHERN EXPEDITION (a personal trip to China’s DongBei & Russian Far East)
 

Re: NORTHERN EXPEDITION (a personal trip to China’s DongBei & Russian Far East)
 

My experience of Dongbei (东北)

Fuyuan (扶远), according to GT and LN, is the most north-eastern town of China. Apparently, the provincial governemnt of Heilongjiang has listed Fuyuan one of the top 10 towns to be promoted and developed for tourism. The Russian and Chinese governments has apparently entered into an agreement to jointly develop an area in FY into another SEZ (Special Economic Zone). With a railway station coming soon in FY, that will significanly ease access and increase the number of people visiting FY.

LT, EZ and LN decided to explore the town abit after arrival. I forgot what was the reason that GT decided to call it a night early. And so the 3 of us hailed a cab and asked to be taken to those places that offers some happy ending (找些乐子). The driver took us to 3 different joints. There selection was really limited and none of the gals really gave us the "oomph". Rather than to go through motion, all 3 of us decided to just skip it and call it an early night. After all, for LT and EZ, we still have a long journey ahead.

If you ask me to compare 黑河 and 扶远, I kinda like HH better. One of the evenings in HH, we had bbq and beer for dinner, something that I personally quite enjoyed.

Well, after having been to HH, FY, Blago...(布市) and Khaba (哈巴), these 4 cities situated along 黑龙江 or Amur River, I can claim that I have seen the other side of the shore from both sides now.

Re: NORTHERN EXPEDITION (a personal trip to China’s DongBei & Russian Far East)
 

Hi Tony Stark, thanks for the encouragement, don't believe I have met you yet becos I keep an extremely low profile.

The motto of LaoTie and Erzi's travels has always been based on adventure, so much so that we do have our fair share of stumbles during our travels, although the experience of LT manage to cushion some of it.

I kinda agree with you on one of your previous comments - Big cities too commercialised. But these days, certain not so big cities are also becoming very spoilt and commercialise - just look at CP.

I believe not many have seen CP the way it was before, and can never imagine how kampong it was, not like now... Oh well, I guess I was lucky enough to experience that before it was being corrupted like now... haha

Re: NORTHERN EXPEDITION (a personal trip to China’s DongBei & Russian Far East)
 

I did not find the place, I wouldn't have if not for a local Beijing friend - GT. He was the one who took me there.

EZ = ErZi (儿子), altho techically we are friends, but actually I am EZ = 儿子:D

This is the adventures and travels of LaoTie - 老爹(LT) and ErZi 儿子 (EZ), father and son of the African Dysfunctional Family (ADF).

Re: NORTHERN EXPEDITION (a personal trip to China’s DongBei & Russian Far East)
 

Long time no see bro.

Certainly this seem more like an adventurer trip.

For yr LT, he has run out of fun places in PRC already....U too ?

We should catch for kopi together when we r all in town...since u guys go PRC much less recently....

Very Nice FR......for the adventurious travelers. Well done.

Re: NORTHERN EXPEDITION (a personal trip to China’s DongBei & Russian Far East)
 

Hello Sir,

Yes, long time no see, all are very busy, and I hope that's good news.

No lah, it's not exactly me and LT run out of fun places, infact the essence of our adventurer spirit is to continue to look for fun places! ;)

And I paraphrase from somewhere "To boldly go where no man has ventured before..."

Would definitely love to catch up sometime, I reckon maybe until mid-Sep then have some breathing space then... now is damn busy...

You take care!

Re: NORTHERN EXPEDITION (a personal trip to China’s DongBei & Russian Far East)
 

Yes smaller towns like CP have also turned commercialised. Guess we have to seek out those rural places. China is so huge I'm sure there're some treasures out there waiting to be uncovered. :D

Haha yes the explorer spirit. I do that sometimes whenever I have more time and resources. It's the process of seeking out unknown places that gets the adrenalin pumping. :)

Re: NORTHERN EXPEDITION (a personal trip to China’s DongBei & Russian Far East)
 

Mis-adventure in Shenyang

It takes some research, reliable network and friends, time, effort, and money to go on an adventure, source for places to have fun. Sometimes things might work out, but many a times, things don't turn up as planned. Below is an account of an adventure which LT and EZ took, which I (EZ) personally think didn't turn out quite as expected, but due to our gut feel, probably sharpened through the years of experience dealing with China MMs, has managed to soften the impact.

LT and EZ landed in ShenYang (沈阳), capital city of LiaoNing (辽宁) province. LT had to fly out to another place for some serious business meetings, and on the last night, LT and I decided let's be adventurous. I suggested to go KTV then, we deserve a break after our long trip and now with SY being our last stop.

LT did some research and rummaged through his old notes to see what choices do we have. Seriously if you ask me, I would prefer places like the BBS or commonly known in the southern parts of China as Falang (发廊). I do enjoy sauna occassionally but one thing I don't like is the ISO procedure, I always request the MM to skip those unnecessary stuff. As for KTV, I think we got to set our priorities right. My priority is to get into the pants of MM, it may sound blunt, but at least I am honest about it. Going to KTV, spending money on the drinks, is just part of the process which if possible, I would want to skip that and just get right to the main action.

LT got back with a phone number of a KJ and the name of the place which was recommended. However, it turns out that the phone number is already not in use. The name of the joint was 金色年华, and it was just further down the street where our hotel was. And so, we decided after dinner that, we just walk in to the ktv then. But little did we realise that the 金色年华 has 2 joints, and the one near our hotel is the family ktv type. We almost wanted to give up and seems like we are not going to get any action tonight.

Our next course of action is to either go to another recommended ktv called 音乐虫 or to go the pub street and hava a few drinks. We hailed a cab and off we went. We passed by the western part of the city, and presumably that's where the 音乐虫 and the pub street was. Our hotel was slightly more central, at the city center.

We alighted at 音乐虫， but we realise, it is another family type ktv (量版式)! bummer. So were ready to give up and decided our last course of action is to just to have a few drinks at the pub street. We hailed another taxi and off we went.

When we pass thru the west side of the city, LT commented that he once stayed there, and that time, while wandering around, he popped into a ktv with a big hall with performance. Along the way, we saw the sign pointing towards the side road, and the name of that KTV also happened to be 金色年华！

Suddenly we were thinking... could it be there are 2 金色年华, and we happen to go to the wrong one? Anyways, LT picked up a conversation with the taxi driver trying to sound out what's the local scene like. When we reach the supposedly pub street, it was... empty... and we were puzzled. Then the driver said the pub street has long gone, 1 year ago! We told the driver to head back to 金色年华 which seems to be the right 金色年华, suddenly the thought of having some action was revived!

When we arrive, ah ha! That looks more like it, there were 知客. We walked in, enquired about the cost, seems ok, and we were brought to the room, taking the lift going up to the 5th floor of the hotel.

We didn't waste anytime and start to get straight into the main reason, got the mummy to start bringing in the girls. The pickings for that night, in terms of quantity was low, due to the recent clamp down and also it was a weekday nite, so quite a number of gals decided to take leave. Quality wise, i would say it was 4-6.8 on a scale of 10.

LT picked a cute lil gal type, i picked one that i thought looked the best among the group. All I can comment is, these gals are just super seasoned. Definitely have been around, and drink alcohol like water. Personally, I was a bit pissed off by my gal towards the end, as I began to realise the game that they were playing. My gal keep pushing for the drinks to be bottoms up. They probably knew that since we are from outta town, the chances for us coming back will be slim, so low chance for return biz. So they decided to make as much a killing as possible.

The other thing is, normally, the mummy doesn't get the tip, because normally they would already take a cut from the gals. However, towards the end, or late into the nite, the mummy stayed in the room, while most of the time she was nowhere to be seen. When we decided to call for the bill and began to settle the tips for the gals, my gal quickly handed her portion to the mummy and asked for another 200 tips. That kinda pissed LT off.

It turns out to be an expensive night, with drinks coming up to about RMB 900+, and RMB 200 x 4 = RMB 800 tips for the KJ, 2 gals and 1 mummy. The going rates at this joint is suppose to be 2/5/8 i think...

Mid way through the nite, I have already made up my mind not to take my gal for any further action, I guess that is the saving grace. Same for LT, he commented that he knew if he were to take his cute lil gal, that would probably be the start of a disaster. Towards the end of the nite, his cute lil gal turned out to be quite a gold digger, kept pestering LT for more tips, for supper, etc. LT, being experienced, earlier on has already faked drinking too much and pretend half unconscious.

LT tried to hint to me to carry on singing, trying to extend the time of our departure so as to get rid of the mummy in the room, but I didn't exactly get what his point because by then, i was quite pissed by my gal and just wanted to leave.

If this is the modus operandi in northern China, I guess i won't be coming back for further exploration. Well at least, I learnt a valuable lesson that night.

Re: NORTHERN EXPEDITION (a personal trip to China’s DongBei & Russian Far East)
 

Good FR Bro.

I frequently visit Shenyang cos my girl is staying there. Too bad I don't have any chance to move around for "private entertainment". But my girl told me that the 澡堂 and 浴室 have 小姐。One of these days must go there and verify.

KTV Smack Down
 

Even China veterans like you guys also get embroiled into bullshit situations. Makes me feel better with my own mis-adventures. :p

Below I'll share my own SOPs and tactics in dealing with bullshit/tricky situations.

Same here I prefer BBS or Sauna. If time permits. Start hunting early from 12pm onwards. This way you get a good head start and can look for replacements if things don't go your way. You're in control of the situation and time.

Usually KTVs only start from 6pm onwards. Like you said a waste of time and money. Nonetheless we can still go to KTVs to search for gems but we must not be desperate. Be prepared to evacuate when situation gets tricky. This I'll touch upon later on.

For unknown KTVs I may want to test the waters first by sitting at the main hall. This is of course if you do not want to sing karaoke. The idea is to minimise the damage without getting chopped. I'll look around to have a feel of the girl quality. If girl quality sucks I'll leave after one drink.

Ok these type of girls I detest the most. What I may do if I'm super pissed off is I'll subtly hint the girl if she's thirsty for alcohol? Ok let's up the ante and drink something else. 服务员 or DJ 来来来! I want to order some whisky, chinese wine, vodka, etc. Even though these liquors are fake. The girl will get the f*cking idea that it's time for neat drinking baby. Unless she's a hardcore drinker then too bad this doesn't work. Nonetheless they get the drift you're ready for trigger action.

Again this type of bullshit mummy can also tekan with my above tactic same with those thirsty KTV girls. Bam, bam, bam, bam, bam, bam. Bottoms up. Very soon the people in the whole room will avoid you at all costs. Do it with an evil look. If they pester your buddy. Go over to him and suppress fire for him. Bam, bam, bam again. LOL.

Maybe it's a good practice to have an evacuation plan before a mission starts. Communicate via sms in the room if you need to be tactical.

I may also engage a BBS girl to bring to the KTV and act as my "bodyguard" cum "medic". Discuss all the SOPs with her before mission starts. This is a little complex. Will discuss further if needed.

Also at any point if any bullshit happens and after through peaceful requests/negotiations and things still cannot be resolved. Then it's WAR time! Some examples would be.

-Get real angry like incredible hulk.
-Throw the microphone on the table.
-Throw a few glasess, aluminium ice buckets (loud sound effect) on the floor.
-Smash up the fruits or whatever.
-Readers please suggest. I need some new and creative stunts.

DO NOT GET INTO PHYSICAL ASSAULT AND DAMAGE EXPENSIVE GEAR AND FURNITURE! THIS IS TO COVER YOUR OWN ASS!

Please remember that this is all an act to let them wake up their idea that the shit has hit the fan and you're a crazy bastard.

I believe this can happen anywhere in China not just Northern China.

There're many times that I've observed the KTV managers, mummies and staff trying to pull off the chalking up the bill stunts but I just keep quiet as the party is not organised by me. So as not to embarrass the organiser or guest. But if it's a party organised by me then it's a different story. :p

Sorry if any readers feel I'm an extremist. I've to admit I'm an asshole should anybody forces me to be one. Hahahaha. :D

Re: KTV Smack Down
 

So when u organise,can i join?Like 2 c u perform leh!:p:D

KTV Smack Down
 

You're always welcomed my bro. Just watch out for my schedule. :p

I got "BUY 1 GET 2 SEATS FREE" again on my flight back to Singapore two days ago. :D

Re: Sanxiang, Zhongshan
 

Pleasure is mine, but this old fart is slowing down although still believing in working hard but playing harder – just to make sure I stay ahead.:D

Wah, EZ – so on – arrived at midnight and you were posting early in the morning. Thanks for providing the extra meats. I am continuing my write-ups, but memory is failing me some what.

Bro – you should join us for some of these trips, instead of hanging out in the same area. China is big. After our northern expedition during the summer, I think we will be ready for the southern expedition during the coming winter - there are many interesting places further south of CP. And we need to do our own 西游记. I was in Kerle in Xinjiang last year and saw streets of BBS, but couldn’t do any thing as I was with my lady friends.

EZ, this should be 金碧辉煌 – the mummy card also translated it as “Glorious Brilliang” :D And there will be a 3rd 金碧辉煌 starting up soon – heard from the MM that I was sitting with that night that this new joint will be more of the bath-house, presumably with “value-add” service.

Absolutely true – these are the standard sop in Dongbei – you just need to check which are the ones offer the “value-add” services. Been to a few, but it is similar to SNs in the south – but I’m not a big fan of such ISO-style services that I find somewhat mechanical.