August 6, 2022 to August 9, 2022
Days 7-9: Guangzhou Side Trip That Went Sideways
Yesterday was a great day. I managed not one but two HIIT classes, met the principal of a top school in Shenzhen, then a search for an evening covid test in the ongoing typhoon soaker. After a nice bout of pre-partying at social mixer event, I had a long sleep at the hotel then got ready for the Guangzhou trip the next day.
The plan was to ride the bike to the bus station which was far away but that got scuttled due to the miserable weather. The way things work, inter-city trains are the way to get around and hardly anyone takes the bus anymore for short distance trips. I'm surprised there'll still even in business. But as part of that, surely, the bus stations within the city limits have long since vanished. The only options are stations far out of the city. Taking the folding bike on a train is hit and miss. It works in Shanghai as so few people do it and they just assume the foreigner doesn't know any better. But in a place like Shenzhen so close to Hong Kong I doubt you could pull it off. That particular train I've taken before anyway and they're too strict so I wasn't going to try my luck.
In some ways I wished I had just left the damn bike behind in Shenzhen and went on the train without it. The friend I was going to meet in Guangzhou doesn't ride bikes anyway, and we didn't need the bike for our part of the trip. But I brought along the bike because I intended to ride it back to Shenzhen after he left for the airport.
As per usual, things never went according to plan. We shared a hotel room to save money and the hotel staff couldn't quite figure out why two foreigners would arrive at different times. I was able to explain the situation in Chinese and they caught on. Many times in Guangzhou I would have people compliment me on the Chinese. The vibe is so much more chill with friendly locals which is why it's an enjoyable city.
Getting to Guangzhou was a major ordeal in itself. The taxi driver tried his best to get me to the bus station but it was all blocked off with those stupid red covid barriers and it meant I had to lug the folding bike back long distances in brutally humid weather. There was nobody there, and buying a ticket was complicated. Show passport, get passport checked, do this and that. All the while I was scared shitless of losing the document as it has happened before in precisely these kinds of situations. After all that I put the passport away and they wanted to check it again. Finally I could sit down and try to catch my breath while waiting for the bus.
The traffic was miserable the whole way and finally on arrival they wanted a covid test at the bus station. I asked my friend later who flew in at the airport and they never asked for a test there. But it is what it is. A taxi then brought me to the hotel where I lugged in that heavy bag and put in the room thinking what the hell was the point of bringing this bike anyway.
We then got oriented around this part of the city which was strategically located quite close to Party Pier. This had to be done just in case one or both of us got drunk in the middle of the night and needed to walk back to the hotel. We made sure to figure out the covid testing system in Guangzhou which had its own idiosyncracies. I made a mistake entering the information the first time and was freaking out when my tests never showed up in the system days later. My friend told me I was making a big deal out of small stuff.
[Update November 2022] He was right. The never-ending stress of the pandemic and lockdown had pretty much done a number on my mental health and I wondered when I would recover.
Covid tests sorted and a nap later, it was time to party. We toured the entire Party Pier complex. It is called that because it used to be an industrial pier of some sort before it got turned into a bunch of clubs and restaurants. In the last few years it has made a ton of money and covid didn't put too much of a dent in the industry.
There is one prime spot in all of Party Pier that can't be missed and that is Zapata's. This is a Mexican-themed restaurant (upstairs terrace) and dance floor (relocated downstairs near the entrance). It used to be the number one party spot in Shanghai before they closed down three years and since then I've made several trips to enjoy the Guangzhou location that is still running.
I ended up meeting the events planner and she was the one in the know. She explained in detail what this place is about and how they've adapted to the local market. Since most of the foreigners have left China anyway, the clientele has changed. Last I checked, it is 90% locals at the Party Pier now. Well the way I look at it is that expats started this and if the locals have adapted it to their tastes then it must be good. The main theme is still the same as the events planner told me, "We bring joy to people." That is what Zapata's has always done, and they always will.
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The partying on Saturday night was epic to say the least.
Today's ride: 20 km (12 miles)
Total: 1,656 km (1,028 miles)
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