Hou Hai

As promised, here is the tale of 后海 (hou hai, literally "back sea") which is a lake surrounded by bars and clubs in Beijing. The excursion was masterminded by Angie Lee, of Berkeley forestry club fame, who invited me to party with her posse for the evening. This was a very welcome development, not only because I really like Angie, but also because she is totally dialed in to the scene around here. Sure enough, she led us to what can only be considered the Shangri-La of Beijing nightlife.

We started at a hot pot restaurant, where we enjoyed the delicious flavor of all manner of delectable delicacies dipped in boiling, spicy broth. Mmmm. Here's the crew.



They are all super cool Hong Kong kids, fluent in Cantonese, Mandarin and English. A great bunch of folks. Aren't they awesome? To my delight, Angie, her sister Michelle, her friend Natalie (妞，"babes") and I climbed into a cab to continue the adventure. Nick, you're really pimping tonight, they remarked, How does it feel? It feels great.



Next stop: Hou Hai. This place is like a cross between the ancient city of LiJiang and Bourbon Street. It is lined with charming, intimate bars, thumping clubs, karaoke and all sorts of curious little spots. I was taken at once. We gazed out onto the lake, lights reflecting off the water in a dazzling show of sparkling color, lanterns and temples lit with blue and red.



The air was festive with laughter and drinking. We wandered about, wondering what to do, each place seeming better than the last. I think it was Michelle's idea that we rent a boat. Of course, I didn't need much convincing. Boat? With beers? Just me and three hot girls? Had I died and ascended to the seventh level of heaven? Short answer: yes I had.

So we rented a pedal powered paddle boat shaped like a giant duck, bought bottles of beer and a lantern, loaded ourselves in and we were off!



I don't think I have words to describe the nirvana I attained during this excursion. I had powder day perma-grin (skiers: you know what I mean). We paddled around, looked at the temple, said 你们好 (Nimen Hao! Hello!) to the other boats, laughed, drank, and made merry in our little floating duck. At first, I thought we were the only ones heckling the other boats. Then another guy with a bunch of babes in his boat buzzed by, happily yelling something in what sounded like Arabic. 什么? (Shen me? What?) All the other boats were laughing, it was great. Someone yelled, "We're all Chinese people!" or something of that nature. It was quite fun.

Anyway, it was definitely the high point of my trip so far. My faith was restored in Beijing, I made some wonderful friends, and discovered my new favorite spot. Then next day, I told Peng Gong about it. Tough life, he said. Indeed.