A Sweet Little Secret

I guess you could say I'm a guy with a lot of secrets.... Here's a sweet little secret of mine that happened not too long ago. Just 3 weeks ago to be exact.

I had the opportunity to go to Shanghai for a week (no, that's not the secret). I was there a week really, visiting various suppliers all by myself. Going alone has its ups and downs.. For one, you get to do what you want, when you want, wherever you want. But whatever it is you see or do, you do alone.

I also discovered in my first night that blogger was blocked in China! I could not even access my blogger account, and wasn't able to write the entire week I was there.

But anyway, I digress. A week traveling alone can get pretty lonely really. After the novelty wears off, you suddenly start craving for some human connection, of the physical, and the mental. By the third day there, I was feeling pretty horny.... but pretty lonely too.

I was in the city of Nantong, 2 hours north of Shanghai for about 3 days. My host (mostly expats from Brazil) was really doing the bare minimum in taking care of me....But I didn't complain. The local Chinese were much friendlier, taking the time to talk to me, show me around and made sure I had everything I need. Maybe its just Chinese hospitality. One of the first person I was introduced to was of course, the receptionist... and a cute one at that.

For some reason, the security manager, who took the task to be my chaperon during my stay kept tugging me to get to know this gal. "Chinese gals are not bad I tell you. And she is very nice!" Well.... I did hang around the reception quite a fare bit, while waiting for my host to bring me here and there... and since there was no one else around, I just made small talk with her in whatever little mandarin I had, and she in whatever English she could muster.

She asked if I was being taken out for dinner and to see the famous night lights of Nantong city. I told her no.... I was pretty much on my own for dinner and sight seeing... unless SHE brought me around.. I casually added. She thought about it, and to my surprise, she said "OK. If I'm not doing anything tonight.".. She then takes out a piece of paper and writes her name and number on it, and gives it to me. "Give me a sms / call later after office hours and I will confirm with you" I took it and said thank you. But was a bit dumb struck. I'm no smooth talker, what more in my halting Mandarin.... but this was positively an achievement!

Back in my hotel room, I sent her a text "Let me know if you are interested to go out tonight. Please don't feel obliged. Do whatever you feel comfortable with."... She reply that she was free... no problem to go out. So, there I was jumping around in my room, giddy as a school boy, as if going on a first date. I didn't quite know what to expect. What was this anyway? Was it just a local showing a tourist around? Was it a girl interested in a guy? Was it 2 people having fun at the side?

What about her? She comes across as a nice sweet girl... But nice sweet girls don't usually go out with strange foreign men... Hmmm. How far would this go? Will we even get to second base? Should even attempt any physical contact at all? Did I have a condom ready? I can't say I didn't think of sex with this woman. I mean, if it really came to that, would I bed her? Or is this just a casual dinner? I guess being lonely and horny sort of does things to you. Anyway, I decided I was going to just take it as it goes. If she turns out to be some wild suppressed nympho being curious, well... lucky me.... If not, well at least I wouldn't have to have dinner alone.

So for a change, I was being picked up by a woman instead. She drove her spanking new blood rednMazda 6 to pick me up, which was a total contrast to her personality. 10 minutes into the car, and she confessed this was just about the 2nd or 3rd time she has driven the car, and the first time unsupervised, plus she wasn't even sure how to drive into the city! As it turns out, she was taking a brave little step driving her car out alone for the first time into unknown roads just to show me around. I was actually quite amused, and quite charmed really.....I get all fuzzy when someone goes out of their way for me. I'm a big softie I guess.

We parked in the city and walked around instead. It was a cool beautiful evening, clear blue skies and hundreds of bicycles all over the roads.. I was taking it all in.. The sights.. the sounds... but mostly, the company. It felt a bit surreal in that sense. Here I was, 5000 miles away from home, in a foreign land, taking a slow stroll with an incredibly sweet Chinese girl, chatting about our individual lives, our shoulders brushing occasionally, and for once, feeling the texture of her skin. I kept my touches as friendly, yet as neutral as possible.. pats on the shoulder, nudging at the elbow... Who would have guessed I would be here? Its amazing how life sometimes brings you things you never imagined could be. Maybe it was her innocent and sweet demenour, maybe it was the beautiful evening sky against the river... whatever it was, I forgot the thought of going trying to get this woman in bed. I was having a good time, just walking around, sharing stories and life experiences. Its funny how even the simplest things in life, taking a simple stroll, can bring you joy. She shared how she has always wanted to move to Shanghai and eventually overseas to see the world and work for a Fortune 500 company. She studied English in university hoping it would give her a better chance at going overseas. I shared with her some of the memorable things I have seen in my brief travels, about life in Malaysia, backpacking in Paris and biking in the Peak District in the UK...... and in between we spend a lot of time trying to translate things between mandarin and English. I avoided the sob stories.....

We had dinner in a Japanese restaurant... because she told me she had never tried eating sashimi, and so I insisted. After walking the main street a couple of times, she was worried that I would get bored. She seldom came into the city, and had not planned on taking a visitor sightseeing... so she didn't really know where to go, or what to do. I told her it was fine. I did not say it, but I was content to just soaking up the whole experience. To her, this was just the city. A city she sees all the time, nothing special. But to me, this was a moment of a lifetime, I would most likely not return to this unexpectedly beautiful place again, in this manner, in the company of this person. And so, while I could, I just wanted to engrave it into my memory. You only live life once.... and no two moments are ever the same... You can take pictures, you can take videos.. but there is nothing that can make you relive the moments...... only in our hearts and minds do we have them kept as fluid memories.


We had our dinner, walked around a bit more, and I returned to my hotel..... alone. We never went beyond first base, but that was OK. Though hot wild hot fucking would have taken it up a whole new level, I guess it was not meant to be this time, or with this woman. I could live with that.... At the end of the night, she thank me for dinner, said she was glad to become my friend.. and said I was a really lovely guy. I seldom get upfront praises from women. I never know how to react when a woman praises me. But just like everything else that transpired this particular evening, it felt sincere. That last thing pretty much made my evening....

I was thought a lessen in life... people never remember all the things you tell them... but they will always remember the way you made them feel. And for an evening, this person gave me a pinch of what it feels like be out on a simple date with a simple, but very sweet person. Thanks!