Tuesday night - Jason, Charlotte, Max and I went out for dinner with Mr. Jiang - he owns (?) an English Center in town. He wanted us to meet three of his business friends - he called them "Big Potatoes" which I guess is like saying "The Big Cheese". Anyways, we went to a Cantonese restaurant for dinner. It must have been an expensive place because there was a real toilet there. When you go to a nicer restaurant here, you get a private room with a private bathroom. At this place we had servers in the room who fill up your empty glass. But the food was amazing - no hot pot tonight. There was shrimp (served sans head, which is a treat for me), fish, jellyfish (I passed), chicken, breaded ribs, veggies and of course, beer. Oh - and beer is usually served at room temperature. So gross. We have to ask for cold beer and even then, it's never ice cold beer, but it's better than room temp.
About half-way through the dinner a girl about 20-21-ish comes in and sits next to one of the men (Mr. Lee). We asked Mr. Jiang who she is and he said, "Oh, she is Mr. Lee's friend and secretary." Ya right. From what I understand, many wealthy business men have young girlfriends that they take out and show off. I guess the girls are in it for the money, the presents and whatever else. And because family is so important here, many wives will turn a blind eye in order to keep the marriage together.
So after dinner, our hosts wanted to go to KTV - this is the Chinese karaoke. But it is very different from back home. We all went to another place that is very hard to describe. It was something like a really fancy hotel. Inside was a grand staircase and all these girls dressed in orange chiffon dresses. Some of the girls looked really young - like teenagers. Once again we had a private room. Huge flatscreen tv, karaoke machine, private bathroom and private servers / attendants. As soon as your glass was empty (and remember that the glasses here are slightly larger than shot glasses), a girl would come over and fill it up. In my opinion, this is ridiculous. I can fill my own glass. Anyways, our room also had a balconey over looking a stage and some couches. Next thing you know, between 50 and 100 girls come parading out, each wearing a number on their dress. It was like a Miss America show, only more degrading - I have pics to post once I figure out how to do so. However, when the men see a girl they like, they can order here. I don't know how much it costs, but the girl will come to the room and sit beside the paying man, pour his beer and flirt with him. I don't know if it goes further, but I imagine it would depend on the girl. Oh - and that girl from dinner - she comes into the room once we get there in a new outfit (fancy dress) with a number. So secretary by day and girl-for-hire by night?
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