Life's Persistent Questions

Wednesday, Nov 24.

Live extravagantly. That's what I call when it's all-you-can-eat sushi/sashimi/Japanese ryoli for a meagerly RMB150. Actually now that I do the math, that comes out to be close to $20, so I guess it wasn't such a bargain. But then again, you get your own little room. All you can drink sake :) Made-to-order dishes. And you get a little bell to get the waitress' attention. For that I was a little uneasy at first. I suppose my uncomfort came from this mental image that I got from the fancy cat food commercials, where the invisible owner ring the bell and this lazy snow white persian fat cat comes running for the fancy food. I know there is no clear analogy here, therefore further compounding my conscience. Then I realized the bell is inevitable product of the awkward layout of the resturaunt and the staff's desire for minimum locomotion. Well I suppose the three uni nigiri also helped to easy my mind :)

The afternoon was spent browsing the so-called antique market at PanJiaYuan. Of course the place is a mixture of traditional art and craft, and innumerable attempts at forgery of various sophistication. Well, we were like two near-sighted mice, nearly-frozen, shuttling from one stall to the next. Ooooo and Aaaaing about the pretty little rocks/minerals/semi/precious stons were fun, but only to a certain degree. So we soon gave up trying to find cool and inexpensive gifts for my co-workers--it was tough considering half of them were Chinese so the usual suspects when it comes to "gifts" from China had all been tapped!

We finished the afternoon preparing for our overnight train ride to Shanghai. We bought instant ramens, sunflower/pumkin seeds, roasted chestnuts, cooked chicken, and drinks. Oh, it was going to be so romantic and comfy, having the entire four-bed cabinet to ourselves. Well, naturally, the plan falls apart when we finds two middle-aged men in suits occupying half of the cabinet. Adding our ferocious argument on top of that, oh the ride to Shanghai ended up been a long night.

posted by hedgehog @ 8:53 PM