Recent Posts

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Listen, in China, you’ve got two choices. First: buy a cheap Android and use a VPN, since having two WeChat accounts is tricky. Second: try apps like Telegram, Signal—they’re less monitored. Just keep things low-key.

Remember, privacy is a luxury in China—always proceed with caution 😉
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The Champagne Cabana / Re: What's Making Me Happy!
« Last post by Escaped Lunatic on October 29, 2024, 04:22:12 PM »
Progress.  I've created a simple 4 line poem (2 rhyming couplets, 7 sylables each - Tang Dynasty style, but in English) for nearly all of the initial set of chapters.  I also got some more details added to a number of those chapters.

I'm going to have to add additional chapters to make it to 300 pages.

For fun, I've been going off-map.  The tourist maps show the major streets, but there are big blank spaces in the center of areas looped by those streets.  So, take a turn off the map and explore every branch.  Many are dead ends, but a few are suprising.

I found my best one ever last year, but didn't remember where it was hidden.  I was coming up a side-street when I saw a familiar looking pathway.  From the outside, you would think it would end in a wall or a closed door, but instead, it opens into an area several hundred meters on a side.  There are only a handfull of houses at the entrance and then it's mostly a garden and a huge overgrown field.  I could only catch glimpse of a group of people in the field, but could hear the dogs they had.  Two of them eventually popped out, ran past.  Happily, they didn't decide I was a dangerous intruder.  Sadly, they declined my offer to pet them and mostly ignored me.

I've also been getting videos of the lights coming on along various points of the river each evening at 6:30.

The only drawback of all this running around - my feet are tired.
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The Champagne Cabana / Re: What's Making Me Happy!
« Last post by never2late on October 27, 2024, 02:35:46 PM »
you must live right.  bjbjbjbjbj bjbjbjbjbj bjbjbjbjbj
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The Champagne Cabana / Re: What's Making Me Happy!
« Last post by AMonk on October 25, 2024, 07:23:29 PM »
w0w!!!  You do have the very best of adventures!!   akakakakak  ababababab agagagagag agagagagag
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The Champagne Cabana / Re: What's Making Me Happy!
« Last post by Escaped Lunatic on October 25, 2024, 03:26:58 PM »
Lots of adventures so far.

I didn't make it out of the High Speed Rail station before a couple of girls ran up and asked "Uncle, can we take pictures with you?"  I bumped into them again while walking around the ancient town.

There are lots of foreigners here.  Turns out the nearby airport is part of the visa-free scheme and many people are taking advantage of it.

Was barely awake one morning and got a video call from a photographer friend here.  He wanted to kidnap me for some sort of photo/video shoot.  I was about to say "Call me back when I'm awake", but he turned his phone to show me the lovely Miao girl who would be in the video.  I told him to pick me up in 10 minutes.  Even better - there were 2 lovely Miao girls.  I was only in a few scenes with them, but tagged along the whole day taking photos and videos of my own.  Since I was also in costume, I got more than my usual number of people wanting pics with me.

I got grabbed by a Miao drummer who was working at one of the attractions in town.  The next thing I knew, I was getting drum lessons. (Too bad I REALLY suck at drumming. ahahahahah)  I thought I was about to escape, but the Miao wizard who was part of the group grabbed me to be an assistant for a magic trick.

The decorative lights come on at 6:30 PM. I've managed to get two fairly nice videos (and one sadly blurry video) of the moment of enlightenment.

For inspiration in writing, I visited the memorial to Shen CongWen.  He wrote the book that made Fenghuang famous.  On the way out, I was stopped by a pair of lovely girls who wanted pictures with me.  As I was turning to leave, a pair of lovely ladies also wanted pics with me.  I feel that this is a sign that Shen CongWen appreciated my visit.
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Thanks for this!
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The Bar (ON-TOPIC) / Re: What are the best Rent-a-Bicycle Apps? Free Yellow One?
« Last post by Ivyman on October 18, 2024, 07:43:04 PM »
Thanks.

I cannot read the Chinese for the Yellow Bikes. But, I can try to learn the Chinese, or get English.
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The Champagne Cabana / Re: What's Making Me Happy!
« Last post by AMonk on October 10, 2024, 10:30:50 PM »
 agagagagag akakakakak
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The Champagne Cabana / Re: What's Making Me Happy!
« Last post by never2late on October 10, 2024, 06:32:56 AM »
It is an Lunatick Mariner,
And he stoppeth expat companie.
'By thy long grey beard and glittering eye,
Now wherefore stopp'st thou me?
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The Champagne Cabana / Re: What's Making Me Happy!
« Last post by Escaped Lunatic on October 09, 2024, 04:16:47 PM »
I may have to pick a better word for rhyming.  ahahahahah
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