Day 24 - Tinder body guarding

Breakfast - far more appetising than it looks.

Day 24 - 17th July

So it was another day of writing, coughing and sneezing. This damn cold won't bugger off but I'm lucky Guangzhou is a place to relax.

I joined Alex at Starbucks, secretly hoping his endeavour from the day before was going to be renewed. No such luck. I balls up my Frappucino order and had triple coffee instead of strawberry soy. Yuk!

This spare rib-rice combo was actually pretty good.

More good work was produced and a wander through the mall had me ready to hide out. Again, I had no such luck as Alex had set up a Tinder account and had set up drinks with Kira from Shanghai but visiting family in Guangzhou. He asked me to go along as back up and as ever, I just love to get roped in as a wingman to things that I know will end badly (ask my cousin Dave!)

That's a lot of noodles!

So we get ready, head out and have dinner first, trying to such whether this is a scam. After dinner, I had my first real experience of using a squat toilet and I tell you, I'm never going to be the same again but I'll leave it at that.

It certainly is.

Finally we met Shanghai Kira. She seemed nice enough, good English, decent smile. As she walked slightly in front, Alex give me the 'sack it off' sign but five minutes later, we're in a bar called Feeling, feeling the sense the scam is coming when we're told it's gentleman's night and the beer is free between 9pm and 11pm. Alex and I look at each other in disbelief but engage with Kira to find out more about her. Some of her exploits I can't put on here but she was crazy, having spent some time in Germany.

We started playing a game of 'Would I lie to you' over free beers and I wrote a poem on the wall (it's allowed and I was coerced into by the other two). Shortly after, Prashin - one of Kira's friends turns up. He was from Mauritius and a good laugh. We shared a hookah pipe and talked the night away again. Then Felix, Kira's other friend from Germany turned up. At only 19, he was living and studying in Asia. 

A common sight in China; 50% of cubicles out of use due to beer throw back.

Once happy hour, or two hours, had finished for the guys, Felix said he'd brought beers for a party at the bar a while back and still have 100 Quans left over so we had more free beer into the early hours. Alex and I got the locals up and dancing to Michael Jackson, Fun and others. It was awesome to see them popping some shapes. 

The feeling group - they sound like a bunch of offenders!

An eventful night, but one that didn't end in calamity as per usual! I have luck here in Asia!

A special mention to Uncle Cheese - Happy Birthday Blue. Definitely had a beer for you today!