I missed a day in Taiyuan that I will add now! my last day a friend of mine in Taiyuan really wanted to go skiing, and taiyuan had a semi artificial snow slope, it was real snow and cold enough that it didn't melt, but they had snow blowers to try and keep it nice to ski on, although by late morning it was mostly ice!
We went over in a small group but only me and one other Chinese guy dared to actually ski! It was £3.50 for ski hire and as long as you wanted sliding down the icy/snowy slope but quite good fun, they had some small slopes and some people from the far north of China hovering around offering basic lessons and then to teach you more for a fee. They also had a basic chairlift up one side of the biggest slope.
I went half way 5 times or so then decided to go for it and went right to the top, I hadn't skied before except once for an hour in a snowdome so it was an induction by far but it turns out its quite like ice skating, just a bit quicker, only one fall and I caught myself and recovered it pretty well. The top was really quite steep and then it mellowed out and after my one big run I thought I would quit while I was ahead!
At the bottom the group had all decided to go to a KTV in town so we packed up and I was invited along too, we went to KTV and there was two rooms, one with a lot of old men in with young girls on their knees who apparently had paid for the KTV including all drinks/food etc and then another room that was for the young people. We went in there but I got dragged as a token foreigner into the other room to 'cheers' the older men and speak a little Chinese to say thank you, they were surprised but happy to see a foreigner and it turns out the guy who paid is the friend of one of the girl's father. After KTV most headed off but the guy who had paid invited me to join a smaller group going for dinner, I accepted and was whisked across town in a big Mercedes and taken to a very posh restaurant.
No open dining only private rooms and I hate to think of the price per head, when I had sat down and everyone was settled the owner of the place came in to join us, a personal friend of the rich guy who had paid, and the rice whisky began to flow, I tried to argue for beer but there was none of that and so I had to join in and keep up! Everyone had to cheers everyone else at the table and then be cheersed by everyone else and then the social drinking started! Madness! The food was amazing although very expensive, (I asked afterwards and the meal for 8 probably cost £600, in a country where you can eat a meal in a cheap place for £1!)
After the meal they dropped me back and promised me another meal which they managed to fit in the next day in a FuJian restaurant. The food was quite like home and I got talking with another couple of guys who were Fujian people and talked about how I used to live very close, and ate food quite like what I used to eat often back in Lingxi!
After this lovely farewell I headed back home to Ningbo.
A few skiing pictures attached as well as a couple of the private dining room!
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