Solo Adventure

Every city that we go to, there is always someone that pops up out of nowhere that speaks English. Today, Irene (Or it could have been Ilene. The whole R/L pronunciation thing really came into play here.) appeared. She was a very smiley woman in her early thirties. She took a few us of down to a DVD store and the selection was superb. The hot item was Robin Hood. I’m not sure what kind of shady business goes down in order to get movies on DVD that just came out in the theater, but we all wanted one. I spent about fifteen bucks and walked away with just as many DVDs. Irene/Ilene took us over to an upscale mall, which was reminiscent of Lennox in Buckhead, for you ATLiens. Another artery clogging stop at McDonalds, then we headed back to the hotel to prepare for the third and final game against the Tianjin Golden Lions. Or so we thought…

After a light pre-game meal, both teams were in the lobby waiting for the bus to pick us and take us to the next arena that was about an hour away. Tianjin loaded the bus first, while we waited in the lobby for a few of the guys to come down (a common theme throughout the trip). I could tell something was up, as Boss Man and a few random Chinese guys (Another common theme; there is always a bunch of random Chinese guys with us in every city we go to. Boss Man is connected. His nickname is close to being change to the God Father.) were going back and forth in loud Chinese tones. All the Tianjin players got off the bus and headed back to their rooms. I asked Robert what the deal was, and he said he wasn’t sure and to go back to our rooms and they would come get us when it was time to go. I needed a bit more of an explanation then that and tried to ask Catherine, and Boss Man what was going on, but failed. I felt like a little kid trying to ask his parents “why?” and only hearing, “because I said so.” Back to the room I went. Robert never questions Boss Man. He is a loyal guy. Either that, or he is deathly afraid of be whacked by the God Father, or one of his hit men.

All the guys were looking at me, their fearless leader, for answers. “I don’t know what to tell ya.” I explained to them that I was in the same boat and wasn’t sure what was going on. After sitting in my room for the next hour, I started getting real impatient and was thinking the game was probably going to be cancelled. I finally hunted Robert down and he confirmed my suspicion. There was never a reason as to why, but at this point I just wanted to get out of the hotel. I told the guys to do whatever they wanted, as I was prepared to go explore the city of Zhongshan on a solo mission. Sunwen Road West was going to be my first stop. During my timeout in my room, I researched the city a bit more and found that Zhongshan had some cool things to offer. I saw Irene, or it still could be Ilene, in the lobby of the hotel and she gave the okay to my plan. I hailed a cab and gave him my piece of paper explaining where I wanted to go. All I got back was a blank stare, followed by a bunch of Chinese mumbo-jumbo. I got back out and grabbed Irene and she explained my ambitions to the cabi, and off we went. The cab ride was surprisingly quiet (little horn was used) and I made it to my destination unscathed. Sunwen Road West had a very European vibe to it, minus all the Chinese people. The narrow cobble stone street, lined with shops, reminded me of Grafton Street, one of my favorite parts of Dublin, Ireland. I walked the street curiously, being stared at the entire time. Weaving in and out of most of the stores seeing what they all had to offer, I stumbled across a little shop that had a bunch of nice watches for sale. I was prepared to put my negotiating skills to the test. There were several Rolexes that caught my eye, who cares if they were fake, and I got the lady down from 350 Yuan to 200 Yuan. I felt pretty good about that, but I think I could have done better.

While researching Sunwen Road and the surrounding areas back at the Seasons, I noticed there was a seven-story pagoda that I really wanted to see. Built in 1608, The Fufeng Pagoda, which translated means ‘whales vagina’ (I’m kidding, it’s from Anchorman for all you non Will Farrell fans) sat at the top of a hill that overlooked the city at the adjacent Zhongshan Park. The short hike up all the stairs was more of a workout than I bargained for, especially in the southern China humidity. The short, sweaty trek was worth it though. The pagoda was all lit up and made for a nice experience. I captured a few praiseworthy pics and headed back to Sunwen Road to finish my exploration. My last stop was at a retail store called, Johnson International, where I found some nice Ray-Ban sunglasses for cheap. The girls working in the store seemed pretty stoked on me being in there and I tried some clothes that were way too small. I even did a little modeling shoot with a few of them for some good laughs, and even more peace signs. Next, I ventured out past Sunwen Road West to some bridges that were lit up like a Vegas casino and snapped a few more pictures. It was getting late so I flagged down a taxi and made my way back to the hotel. I opted for another massage in preparation for another nights sleep on a hard mattress. Tomorrow is supposed to be an off day. We’ll wait and see what surprises arise…

Another update...

Day two in Zhongshan was a very relaxing day. I woke up and had breakfast then got a work out in at the modest hotel fitness center. Being that my room at the Seasons was so nice I lounged around in it, knowing that I would have plenty of time to see the city in the next two days. I mentioned earlier that before I came to China, Robert and I would Skype often to discuss the trip, conference call with agents, secure all the players information, and handled any issues that arose regarding the trip. One time Robert, out of the blue, asked me about mattresses. Yes, like mattresses for a bed. He would ask me what brands are good, and how much they cost and things of the like. I thought it was a bit odd at the time, but after lying on numerous beds the last week or so, I can see why he was asking. Even here at the luxurious, Seasons View Executive Hotel, the mattress is very stiff, and very thin. Maybe this is why massages are so affluent in the Orient.

A huge down pour came crashing down on Zhongshan that afternoon, fearing a tsunami (not really but it was raining really hard), I decided to just hang out until it was time for dinner and to head to the second game against the Tianjin Golden Lions (my mistake on shorting them on the Golden part in the previous post.) After dinner, both teams boarded the same bus, which was extremely uncomfortable, and headed to a different gym then we play in the night before. As a coach, I hate playing teams a second time after beaten them badly, especially the night before. The players tend to come out not playing hard and just think they can loaf around and win the game whenever they want. This mindset led to a dismal first quarter, and an earful from Robert on the bench. We pulled things together and took a five-point lead to halftime. The second half we regained our dominance with some good contributions from Drew Gibson, Terry Martin, Jamal Johnson, and Justin Billingslea. Tianjin just didn’t have the same discipline that Jiangsu possessed. We ended up winning by twenty plus and the photo shoots quickly followed. The highlight of the night was seeing the refs head for the scores table immediately after the game and seeing one of them light up a smoke right there on the court while one of the others stripped his officiating jersey on the spot. I had to capture a photo of that one.

After the game we all (both teams and some random cheerleader types) jumped back on the same bus and headed back to the hotel. The cheerleaders quickly found their way to some of the guy’s seats on the bus and started speaking all the English that they could. One girl, sat next to Terry Martin and it was like a bad episode of American Idol auditions. I heard that Lee won that by, the way. Lame. I was routing for Crystal. Anyways this girl was signing her heart out the entire ride back, all the while Terry was egging her on with every note. Where was Simon Cowell when I needed him? When we got back to the hotel, there was some food waiting for us. I just couldn’t do the Chinese cuisine anymore, and I took a cab to McDonald’s. Getting around anywhere is hard, because you have to get someone that speaks English to write down where you want to go, hope that it’s right, and give it to the cab driver. I hailed a cab, showed him my piece of paper and said “McDonalds”, he obliged and we took off. Ten minutes later he pulled up to a KFC. I was so frustrated! If there was anything other than Chinese food that I didn’t want, it was K-F-freaking-C! I repeated my demand for McDonald’s and I guess he finally got it and dropped me off at Micky D’s. When we pulled up, I noticed a guy preparing a pizza delivery-like oven bag that had McDonald’s logos all over it, and getting ready to hop on his moped. I immediately thought, thank the good lord that we don’t have McDonald’s delivery in the States. Can you imagine the catastrophic nightmare that would be? Obesity would quadruple and McDonalds rehab would become necessary. The Supersize Me campaigning aside, I ordered a nugget meal, a burger, and a chocolate fudge sundae for good measure. My stomach officially hates me. Goodnight.