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Published: January 7th 2010
Xin nian quai-le! Some friends and I decided to spend New Year's Eve in Wuhan. We arrived just in time for the rush hour, and were stuck in traffic for some time. We finally made it to the area of town where we would spend the evening. After a meal and some aimless wandering, we met up with our local friend Lei at Brussels, a Belgian bar, with 30 minutes left in the year.
The crowd was a more mature bunch- many professional Chinese, some French, Russian, and Canadian tourists. Lots of dancing, fun and fireworks. I pitched a business plan or two. I should have kept chatting with the Chinese, because the Canadians I talked to claimed to be from the West Coast. I related the story of the time I had an altercation with some "uncivilized Skatchies"- folks from Saskatchewan. Turns out one of them was from this same province! Whoops.
Three in the morning- time to leave the bar and find a room. Only all the hotels are either full or they demand two hundred yuan! Good thing there are all-night tents that serve BBQ skewers in Wuhan. I met some friendly locals,
ate some food, and went "tent-hoping" until about 6 AM. Wandered down to the ChangJiang, watched some Tai Chi, wandered more, heard the first muzzenin call of the year, wandered some more, and ended up back by my friend's hotel.
While walking around the shopping district, I was struck by how much it reminded me of my idea of Japan. Lots of flashing lights, crowded streets, and blatant materialism. Not the best China China could be. I wanted to yell at the young people
Nimen bu shi Ribenren!, but I didint.
Around 10 AM a young man started talking to me in broken English, and pointed at the badge on his coat, asking me to come with him. He seemed friendly enough, and I far as I know I hadin't broken any laws, so I came along. As it turns out, he is a student at the local naval university. He wanted to take me to see an old destroyer that is now a tourist attraction. After heading back to the river, we approached the entrance. No foreigners allowed! I found this highly amusing, and bought my young friend some coffee for his troubles.
At noon
I met back up with my friends for more wandering and food. It is easy to get lost in Wuhan. There was a "little person" who stared at me like I am a freak. Him and I should become friends, walking around the city and staring at each other. Could be lots of fun.
Took the night train to Beijing to visit my buddy. More on that later!
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