Boys Club

Today was supposed to be a light day of a little sightseeing in Wuxi then back to Nanjing. It turned out to be a little different than that. Instead of doing much sightseeing we visited another school in a city south east of Wuxi called Suzhou then we were taken to an ancient house once lived in by a very wealthy and important family. It was nice, but the translation from the tour guide was a little lacking so we eventually just started wondering around on our own. Soon after leaving we headed back to Nanjing which turned out to be a 4.5 hour bus ride and we were all hurting by the time we arrived at our hotel in Nanjing.

The whole time we were in Wuxi, Martin, Ming and I had been talking about getting massages at the hotel when we returned to Nanjing, so when we arrived at the hotel one of the first things that we did was go to the spa on the 6th floor to get more information on pricing and making reservations. Of course the girl did not rally speak English, but we managed to get the information that we desired. you just walk in and tell them what you want…not reservation required. They had a list of prices. 45 minute Head to toe (180 yuan which is about $26), 60 minute Fiit nassage (turned out to be foot massage for 120 yuan) and Chinese nassage (198 yuan). We were so excited, so we decided that we would go to dinner and get our massages when we came back. Well…when we forgot to ask about their hours, I went to the help desk to ask. No one there spoke very good English but what was very clear was when he said “the spa is only MEN!” I said “UUUUH? You mean they will not massage ME???” So, they called someone and soon after that they reconfirmed that women were not allowed in the spa! That only the acupuncturist could massage me and it had to be in my room, not in the spa. I was blind with shock. So, I went back over to the group (who was already getting informed about the amazing pricing in the spa) and I had to break the news that it was only for MEN. So, of course the heckling began and did not end as you can imagine. Ming and Martin were soooo clever with their digs on how good their massages were going to be…blah blah blah. I was so bummed…there are no words to express my foul mood after learning of this. I was offended for my gender but mostly just feeling sorry for myself because I really really wanted a massage for $25 :’(.

As for dinnr…..WE ATE AMERICAN FOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!! We managed to get a free night from an organized dinner and there was a restaurant called Tacos just next to our hotel so we all decided to give it a try. This perked up my mood pretty quickly. I ordered garlic bread to start, cheese lover pizza after that, then finished up with 4 scoops of ice cream over small cubes of watermelon. 1 chocolate (which was amazing) 2 strawberry, and 1 vanilla (which was the best vanilla I have never tasted). So, needless to say I was a VERY happy camper!

So, we finished up dinner, walked around the streets of Nanjing, where they set up little street vendors during the night for extra income (nothing worth buying…most of it was used eeeeek) and then back to the hotel. So, I got to my room and thought that I would call the front desk just to make sure that there was no way for me to get a massage and before I knew it I had a girl in my room ready to massage me!!!!!! Turns out that girls are not allowed in the spa but the spa will come to you for no extra cost. So, I got the best deep tissue for $25 that I have ever had. She was like a massaging ninja…she was super fast and pushed rally hard. It was 85% great and 15% PAIN! There were some oddities like when she massaged my stomach but the gold medal goes to when M2 decided to stop by before going for their massages to rub it in just a little more and I was like “I am getting a massage…so take that ….AND IT IS GREAT! Did I mention that Ming was in his robe when I answered the door…that man is so crazy! So, M2 were laughing so hard they were rolling on the floor in the hall way all the way to the elevator. It was a great massage and a great memory of the boys interrupting.

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