We eventually crawled out of our bed around lunchtime. We grabbed a couple of Sam's bikes and set off on a bike ride. After just 10 minutes we were in the country riding parallel with the river along dirt tracks. The kasts and rice fields zipped pass. It was like cycling back in time, people worked the fields with ox's and carried buckets of water they collected from the local pump, their homes were single story with no real doors or windows and had mud floors. We had no idea where we were or where we were going but we just kept cycling. The only sound was the birds and insects. It was beautiful. Then suddenly I heard an awful sound like a creature I've never heard before. I warily looked around trying to catch a glimpse of this mystical beast. Then i found the source of the noise. Steve had his headphones in and was singing Glee songs at the top of his voice.
We continued on through the stunning landscape just the birds insects and Steve's waling until we reached the dragon bridge, which was supposed to be a tourist attraction but was just a bridge. We stopped and had a snack and a drink then headed back. In places the path got really steep and I struggled having to get off and push my bike. I always thought I was pretty fit at home I worked a lot of hours and went to the gym. But since we've been away I keep finding myself struggling. I'm trying to convince myself it's the excruciating heat but maybe I'm just getting lazy.
When we got back Steve reminded me of our date to go to KTV which I had forgotten about. I didn't actually think the girls would show up anyway, and I really just wanted an early night as i was looking forward to going rock climbing at 6.30 the next morning. But Steve had already been complaining during the day and this was the only thing he had got excited about for ages. I tried to convince him to go without me but he said he would just stay in. So I decided to go but told him I would leave early.
We met the girls in Monkey Janes, dam it i couldn't believe they actually showed up. They turned out to be really fun and up for a good laugh but I didn't feel great so didn't get that involved. We left to go to KTV and the Chinese students they had invited the night before came with us. Sam had already told me how expensive KTV was but it seemed to come as a surprise to everyone else and they spent about half an hour traipsing from one KTV to another with me following way behind trying to figure out when I was going to make my excuses and slope off. One of the Chinese girls said she new a KTV that was cheaper but everyone decided they couldn't possibly walk to it as it was 10 minutes away even though we had already been traipsing around from one KTV to another for 30 minutes now. When they finally decided on one which was £44 plus expensive drinks it was decided to split the bill. It was clear the Chinese students hadn't anticipated this and it seems that I was the only one who had realised they thought they were being taken out. It seemed obvious to me. Firstly when you invite someone out in China the host traditionally pays. Secondly it was really expensive and these were students who sat in bars and didn't even buy drinks. But nobody else had expected it and it got very awkward. It would have cost the same wether they came in or not but everybody else was quite shocked and felt like they were being taken advantage off. Que awkward silence and lots of whispers. After what felt like ages the Chinese students said they had to get up early to study and wouldn't be able to go in, but this was just their way of being nice and getting the everyone out of an awkward situation. I felt really ashamed and it really put a dampener on everything for me, especially after all the Chinese people we had met were so generous to us. The KTV turned out to be great and the girls were really fun. Inside you got a really fancy private room with leather sofas and a toilet and a giant tv with hundreds of songs to choose from. And everyone went a little bit wild. Since we had only paid for two hours I decided to stay until the end. But when we finished a group of Chinese people invited us into their room. They plied us with beer and fags and just wanted us to sing all the time. They sang along and clapped, and generally treated us like celebrities constantly plying us with alcohol. By this point I had had a few drinks and was having too much of a good time plus I thought bad for leaving when they had just given me a drink. As the night wore on things got messier and messier, they kept toasting us and trying to get me to strip and people wanted to feel my chest hair and they kept wanting to see my tattoos, it was all very weird. When the lights finally came on and it was time to leave we made our way out onto the street. The girls decided to carry on somewhere else but we made our excuses. Just as we were leaving we saw a Chinese guy slap one of the pole dancers and push her down the stairs of the club. Their were lots of people around but no one batted an eyelid except for the girls who quickly got in the middle and started having a go at the guy. So we went back and made sure everyone was alright and waited for the guy to leave. Finally half an hour later we left, it was now 3am. We walked back to Sam's and his dad was waiting up to make sure we got in ok as their had been a power cut. So for the second time that evening i felt bad. It was so hot in our room without the air con I couldn't sleep and eventually a couple of hours later it was time to go rock climbing. I was in a pretty bad mood. I should have just said I wasn't going out, I could get drink any night, it was no different to being at home. Rock climbing was something I had been really looking forward to. All I wanted to do now was sleep though. Sam's words English today hungover tomorrow rang in my ears.