When China, Russia and Day-Care Collide

It's about a week in, and I've been having quite a time in China. I found Shanghai incredibly frustrating and difficult to navigate, but I've really fallen for Beijing-- which is funny because every single person told me I'd feel the opposite way. "When are you going to stop listening to everyone? No one knows anything!" the curmudgeonly Mr. Lacy said over Skype when I told him of this stunning revelation. It's good advice except for the fact that as a reporter I'd pretty much be out of a job if I stopped listening to people. (Insert bad reporter joke here.)

Last night, we had an amazing dinner party starring Peking Duck and Mr. Kaiser Kuo, a Bejing rock star (literally), former editor for Red Herring Magazine and all around Beijing gadfly. Meeting him when you come to visit appears to be a rite of passage. And speaking of rites of passage, after dinner we went to Chocolate, a weird Russian nightclub in the Russian district of Beijing. Yes, there is such a thing. When I walked in I heard some warbling to Hotel California and excitedly said, "Oh are we karaoke-ing!?" Nope. That was just the house band. And they decided to keep coming back to that classic Eagles standard throughout the set.

Also, in this video is my fabulous traveling companion Mr. Tom Limongello. Tom and I met online (Remember when that used to sound sketchy? Ok, maybe it still does.) and he somewhat insanely volunteered to be a research assistant and China guide for free. I somewhat insanely agreed having never met him, hoping he wasn't an axe murderer. Please go follow him on Twitter NOW so he gets something out of this transaction. ;) In case anyone is wondering, I'm taking all applications for un-paid India travel companions. And no, I can't afford to pay for your travel. Also, I can't promise sketchy Russian clubs, I don't even know if India has a Russian district. But I can promise having to answer, "What time is our first meeting tomorrow?" over-and-over again and that you'll meet lots of cool companies. Don't all apply at once!

NOTE: If you feel bad for the tiny girl watching the racy pseudo-strip show, don't worry. There was a kids section to the bar.

When China, Russia and Day Care Collide from sarah lacy on Vimeo.