The coming alive of the Dalian party scene

Some of you may remember my first email from China with its swashbuckling tales or leaking sinks, difficulties of not speaking Chinese in China and landlords from hell. If you have joined facebook and have browsed my photos there you will have no doubt by now realized that things are slightly different =) As one friend Chad pointed out, as the majority of my pictures feature the familiar red faced TKoo, Dalian is more reminiscent now of my times in London than the difficult stomping ground it was upon first arrival.

A lot of this has been due to a recent very good friendship struck up with an American Taiwanese friend, Wayne Hou. Having grown up in Chicago and Seattle, he is a DJ with a passion for bringing something different to the Dalian scene of music and parties. From cheap drinks at the Shangrila hotel, raves at up and coming bars to infamous house parties, Wayne along with my housemate Paris have contributed more to the decline of my liver in the last 3 months than in the last 3 years in Sydney. Also being a connoisseur or all that is food in Dalian as well as a wanna be cook who is looking to open his bar / bistro in Dalian, my association with him hasn’t done my belly any good either! But when you know the party man in town, cheap drinks, good food and beautiful girls are in abundance so not much to complain about here ;-) A recent visit from a good friend Troy from Australia will I am sure further testify to the party town that Dalian has become recently. Whether it be drinking vodka at Dave’s bar, beer at the Nepalese or Bavarian Beer House, smoking hookah’s at Hopscotch, playing poker at the Tin Whistle, dancing at a beach rave, eating goat on a stick outside JD’s, or fine dining at the Tapas Spanish restaurant, life has indeed picked up.

Life in Dalian has been further enhanced by a number of other networks mainly the playing of Gaelic football, the start of jamming again with some fellow Chinese musicians and the introduction to some other ethic groups such as Mongolians and Japanese. Amazing what a difference some good friends and a basic understanding of the Chinese language makes! With the infamous Dalian Beer Festival and Fashion parade just around the corner as well, who knows what the next 6 months will bring.