Quick Trip to Guangzhou

This weekend, my friend Lindsay and I took a little road trip to Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province and a city of about 10 million people. We went for several reasons: to splurge on a decent hotel, shop for Western food to bring back to Zhanjiang, eat at Papa John's, and find a bar where we could listen to familiar music and chat with other English speakers. Missions: Accomplished.

It was a quick trip: we didn't arrive in GZ until late Saturday afternoon. After cleaning up and relaxing a bit at our wonderful four-star hotel, we met Lindsay's Russian friend, who studies Chinese in Guangzhou, at Papa John's. A large amount of cheese bread, garlic bread, and "everything" pizza later, the three of us headed to the Hill Bar, where a Chinese man and Filipino woman performed every popular bar song imaginable in a lively duet. Before long, we girls had met many interesting expat-types and ended up spending most of the evening with a group of friends that consisted of two Palestinian brothers and a Parisian. Everybody had a wonderful time dancing, joking around, and taking turns trying on the green St. Patrick's Day outfit discarded by one very large bar patron.

The next day, I found cheese, Nutella, Caesar dressing and other not-quite-essential-but-great-to-have foods at Carrefour, a giant French grocery chain. Refreshed and having satified every one of our goals for the trip, Lindsay and I left Guangzhou in the early afternoon and made it back to Zhanjiang in time for a late dinner. What an excellent weekend!