Tales from the Dragon

[arsenal]

The Freedom is Slavery one is interesting Jellybean and something I've thought about a lot here in China.

Through circumstances I won't go into at about midnight the night before total lockdown I had 20000rmb on me and was unable to get to the atm to deposit it.

I went to a park next to the canal to drink a milk tea and enjoy my last night of freedom for a while. Of all the things I was concerned about that night, being robbed of my money didn't enter my head. In the 'free' West you'd have to be totally insane to even go into a park at midnight let alone with over £2000 in your pocket.

Freedom comes in different shapes.

[arsenal]

Lockdown is coming to an end here. Just as I was happy to post that life here was great when seemingly the rest of the world was fucked I'm ready to admit it's been truly horrible for so many reasons.

For a start is was an actual locked in with becapped Communist Party gnomes guarding locked gates. 7.00am loudspeakers along every corridor calling everyone down to have a huge swab rammed down your throat. At night an endless tooing and froing of flashing lighted ambulances and police cars everywhere. The city management desperately trying to save themselves from the wrath of the party for their incompetence in the first place.

Food was never an issue, in fact I ate rather well, much better than the two weeks I spent in quarantine in March 2020 when I lived on nothing else but instant noodles and biscuits because someone was bringing it to me and I didn't want to put her to any trouble. But coffee got very low and at one point I thought I might run out of cigarettes when I was down to just one carton.

Plus ask any foreigner and they'll confirm 'the Chinese collective.' This is where the Chinese get together and collectively decide it's the foreigner's fault. Myself and my fellow wide eyes had real worries about bring arbitrarily taken away just so the authorities can tell their ruthless bosses they're dealing with the problem.

This last 21 days has however totally confirmed something I've often wondered about. My sentence involved staying in.my apartment with its view of the city, delicious food whenever I wanted it, cigarettes, coffee, unlimited internet access with an almost unlimited selection of tv shows and movies, hot power showers at will and all the comforts of a well appointed home. And I still found it difficult. So for me it's confirmed my opinion...These people like Harvey Weinstein, Phil Spector, Ghislaine Maxwell etc who are facing insurmountable evidence and odds and with it very very long sentences. I can't understand why they don't simply go into a locked room with a gun and end it because I think that is definitely preferable to incarceration.

[a447]

Posts unrelated to this thread have been moved here :

https://sawatdeenetwork.com/v4/showt...-of-the-Dragon

A447
Moderator

[arsenal]

Out and about as the city comes out of locked in. The guys playing basketball. The canal at night and two boys who came to talk to me, one of whom gave me an Evel Knievel style ride past. Lovely to get out on the bike again and still nice and warm at midnight.

[Nirish guy]

Either ( or both !) of your motorcycle friends would do very nicely - so when they're coming to chat is that a "oh look a white guy lets go chat to him" or more the Pattaya style "I lie you, where you / we go ?" type conversation perhaps ?! :-) I guess if you play your cards right one conversation could well lead on to the other - or would they be horrified at the mere suggestion and run a mile at the merest hint of hopeful impropriety on your part maybe ?

[Nirish guy]

so when they're coming to chat is that a "oh look a white guy lets go chat to him" or more the Pattaya style "I lie you, where you / we go ?" type conversation perhaps ?!

That was a genuine question actually i.e are the gay / interested guys there openly gay and "up for it" if and when they come up and talk to you ( not you presonally there by the way, I mean to white guys in general), or does that almost never happen as they're shy / it's not culturally the norm etc and so do YOU have to do all the leg work in getting the conversation round to such topics in the hope of convincing them / letting THEM know you're up for it if they are etc pr do you too have to be very careful in instigating such conversations perhaps in case it gets back to the wrong people perhaps ? Genuinely interested to know as always enjoy hearing how other Countries deal with such issues.

[arsenal]

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly..
1. A collection of photos.of the city at night. I didn't take them, a friend of mine did with a much better camera than mine. However I can say they are not enhanced in any way, it really does look like that.
2. One of the prison holding rooms still there around the city. I'm not sure how they were used and a few areas are still being held in isolation.
3. A few fisherman hoping to catch something from the rather polute canal. I don't know how they survive but there are fish a foot or more long in there.

[francois]

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly..
1. A collection of photos.of the city at night. I didn't take them, a friend of mine did with a much better camera than mine. However I can say they are not enhanced in any way, it really does look like that.

Judging from the photos,looks like Yangzhou City, China.

[gerefan2]

God, I can see why you miss Pattaya...

[francois]

Oh, so that is where you are, Arsenal.