T plus 1 - Shanghai
I'll post the obligatory night-view-across-the-bund-shanghai-skyline pictures later, but this is far more interesting.
I chanced upon this surreal scene in the People's Park, right in the middle of the city. Guess what these hordes of hopeful-looking middle aged people are doing?
Selling umbrellas?
Nope, wrong.
Guess again.
Job hunting?
Wrong.
So apparently they're looking for love for their kids.
Every Sunday, thousands of parents - desperate to be grandparents - set up mini stands to try to find a nice boy (or girl) for their too-busy-to-get-hitched children. The standard "CV" covers the vital statistics - year of birth, month of birth (for feng shui reasons), height, day job, personality profile etc (the rest I can't decipher).
I enquired further in my broken mandarin:
Me: So, what's happening here
Hopeful lady: Do you have a girlfriend? Do you want to make friends with my daughter?
Me: Err, no and no, I'm not local
Hopeful lady: *looking even more interested* Oh? Japan? Korea? Taiwan? (in order of preference I suppose)
Me: Malaysia
Hopeful lady: *slightly less interested but "ok-you'll-do" look* What month and year are you born in?
Me: Umm, May '84
Hopeful lady: Very good! The heavens are aligned and you will have an auspicious future with my daughter. What is your telephone number?
Me: Err, no thanks. I'm just visiting.
Hopeful lady: No problem! I can call her here now. What is your number? (by this time 6 of her friends had boxed me in)
Me: Err, really, I have to go.
Hopeful lady: My daughter has a passport. What is your number?
Eventually I politely extricated myself from the mama-sans on steroids. But yeah, mail-order brides are for suckers. Fly to Shanghai and pick one up for yourself.
If you're a lady, do it quickly though. There's a pretty hard-coded expiration date for you. Sorry, that's the way it is.
I'll post the obligatory night-view-across-the-bund-shanghai-skyline pictures later, but this is far more interesting.
I chanced upon this surreal scene in the People's Park, right in the middle of the city. Guess what these hordes of hopeful-looking middle aged people are doing?
Selling umbrellas?
Nope, wrong.
Guess again.
Job hunting?
Wrong.
So apparently they're looking for love for their kids.
Every Sunday, thousands of parents - desperate to be grandparents - set up mini stands to try to find a nice boy (or girl) for their too-busy-to-get-hitched children. The standard "CV" covers the vital statistics - year of birth, month of birth (for feng shui reasons), height, day job, personality profile etc (the rest I can't decipher).
I enquired further in my broken mandarin:
Me: So, what's happening here
Hopeful lady: Do you have a girlfriend? Do you want to make friends with my daughter?
Me: Err, no and no, I'm not local
Hopeful lady: *looking even more interested* Oh? Japan? Korea? Taiwan? (in order of preference I suppose)
Me: Malaysia
Hopeful lady: *slightly less interested but "ok-you'll-do" look* What month and year are you born in?
Me: Umm, May '84
Hopeful lady: Very good! The heavens are aligned and you will have an auspicious future with my daughter. What is your telephone number?
Me: Err, no thanks. I'm just visiting.
Hopeful lady: No problem! I can call her here now. What is your number? (by this time 6 of her friends had boxed me in)
Me: Err, really, I have to go.
Hopeful lady: My daughter has a passport. What is your number?
Eventually I politely extricated myself from the mama-sans on steroids. But yeah, mail-order brides are for suckers. Fly to Shanghai and pick one up for yourself.
If you're a lady, do it quickly though. There's a pretty hard-coded expiration date for you. Sorry, that's the way it is.
Born: 1980. No takers.
Aww.
Aww.
