Shanghai Weekend and Timo'

  Two weeks ago I went to visit some friends in Shanghai for the weekend.  We went talked and shopped and, since Shanghai but a super hedonistic town, we did a lot of drinking. ;)

 On the left is the World Financial Center which is the third tallest building in the world and on the right is the tower that China is putting up to be the TALLEST building in the world.  It's scheduled to be completed 2015.  A combination of smog, rain, and night lighting created this creepy post-apocalyptic looking photo.

 With Alex and Krit at a bar in Shanghai. I had such a great time with them! While I was in Shanghai I realized what an easy place it is for an expat to live, it's like it's not even China! But I also realized that I'm in the right place, that lifestyle would not be for me. 

Like several bars I've been to in China, we went to one that had a resident pet cat.  At first in sat next to me on a bar stool then eventually it jumped up onto the bar.  The bar was filled with expats, no one even batted an eye. Eventually it got tired of being ignored and jumped over the beer tap and trotted off into the kitchen.  It probably went back to lick all of the beer glasses.

The following weekend we celebrated Timo's birthday!  His 'birthday wish' was to go on the Suzhou Ferris Wheel, a giant ride that overlooks a nearby lake.  It's also surrounded by a very small amusement park, which is mostly for little kids but we didn't let that stop us.

There were a couple of small roller coasters which were pretty fun  Ben and Helen are good friends to Timo because most of the rides made them more than a little nervous but they went on every ride without complaining.

Sweet Helen had never been on a roller coaster in her life and, much to our amusement, she mostly screamed bloody murder on every ride.

So we were getting on this roller coaster and the ride operators told be that I had to wear this very fashionable hairnet because there was a danger of my hair getting caught in the gears!! High quality.
I'd also like to add that since I've come to China, a combination of the pollution and working with germy little kids has given me a constant runny nose.  In one of the top ten most attractive moments of my life I was on the roller coaster, wearing this hairnet, when a giant stream of snot came flying out of my nose and probably splattering on the people all around me.  My hands were strapped down so I was powerless to do anything. Super sexy.  

Me with Helen and Jesse!

 The only ride that actually made me a little nervous.  I just feel skeptical that those cables aren't going to detach and send people flying across the park.

Ben deciphering the children's labyrinth.

Me comforting Helen as she has a baby panic attack right before we go on the haunter pirate ship.

The haunted house cost 25 RMB (which is weird because none of the other attractions cost anything extra) and it was a hilarious collection of dilapidated puppets under black lights and some creepy music.

Definitely not supposed to climb all over this fountain but since we were the only ones in the park we did it anyways.

'Scary' pirate ship in the background!

We saw a bride and groom with a professional photographer taking her wedding photos!  

Poor Jesse did a lot of translating for me this day.

 "Jesse, ask them if they'll let Timo in for free because it's his birthday!"

 "Jesse, ask the bride if she'll take a photo with Timo because it's his birthday!"

 "Jesse, ask them if they'll let Timo go on the ride again because it's his birthday!"

Because traditionally everyone in China just marks their age as one year older with the changing of the lunar new year, birthdays aren't a significant event in China.  I don't think people were accommodating us because it was Timo's birthday more because we were being pushy.

The main event was riding on the giant ferris wheel which we saved for last.  But when we finally got to it was closed! The operator has just gone to eat his dinner! So in a rockstar move Jesse went and found the guy and asked him to come back and start the machine back up for her friend's birthday! And he did! Let me tell you this is a BIG ferris wheel that takes 30 minutes to get all the way around.  I can't believe they fired it back up for seven people.  China.

 On the ferris wheel.

 With the birthday boy, Suzhou in the background!  I love Timo!

 Views of Suzhou from the ferris wheel.  Home crap home.

 Friendly reminder on the ferris wheel.

  When we got off the ride the operator walked us out to make sure that we actually left, but not before we snapped one more bizarre photo.

Then there was the part where we had barrel roll races down a hill.  I have some video of this but it's mostly Ben and I shouting rules at everyone and trying to convince Helen and Jesse to join in.

Afterwards we went to a delicious Indian restaurant for dinner.  We managed to get some candles in a dessert for Timo and sing a proper "Happy Birthday". I love this photo, he looks so happy! (Being from England, James and Jarod also made us sing 'For He's a Jolly Good Fellow')

 And no evening in China is complete without at least three hours of KTV.

Jesse is very serious about her KTV and she likes to monopolize the microphone by singing 10 million Chinese ballads.  And this is the face that she makes whenever anyone else has the microphone, especially if you decide to tarnish the KTV temple with some silly English song.

Jesse! Enough with the ballads already!

 

Bohemian Rhapsody.  Which we really sing just to annoy Jesse. ;) 

The awesomeness of Queen is totally lost on our Chinese friends.