Hallo folks,
now a bad report. Maybe my own stupidness, but I think one has to be very, very careful with all the joints that are located arond Nanjing-road and the eastern-end of it.
I arrived this morning and after some relaxing I started to walk along Nanjing-Road for a looksee.
After a while I was spoken to by a pretty good (but not stunning) looking girl, who told me, she wanted to practise her English skills.
So we strolled along Nanjing Road and had a nice chat and it was raining and I was holding her umbrella.
After some time (maybe 10 minutes) I suggested, if we shouldn´t have a coffee somewhere and she said, yes she would know a good place.
So we went to a place right on Nanjing-road and we went up and it did not look sleezy and it was not empty but there were quite a few folks sitting around and there were 5 or 6 waitresses standing/running around.
It did not look like a scam.
So we sat and ordered coffee. The coffee came and after a while two small glasses with alcohol (wiskey) arrived. I had not ordered them, but the girl had and my first big mistake was, that I did not stop the whole action there and then.
Fortunately I did not drink the wiskey, as I am not very keen on alcohol and by that way stayed sober. Otherwise this whole thing would have escalated even further.
After a while the girl was called on her mobile and I was introduced to the other girl on the other end of the line.
5 Minutes later that girl showed up as well and, as she looked as good as her companion who had forked me up from Nanjing Road, I treated her to a coke, which, however came with another three glasses of wiskey.
What an idiot I am - Now I should have stepped on the emergency-brake to keep the damage small, but we had real fun with our conversation and bit by bit the girls began to come closer to me and began to work on me to get me hot - IN THE COFFEE-BAR!!!
Then two or three times the waitresses brought more glasses and I let the girls drink it all and refrained to take part in the drinking, despite their intensive prompting.
After maybe one hour somehow we decided to go to the hotel and continue there what we were almost about to start in the coffeebar and then I was confronted with the bill: 6750 RNB - that is almost 670 EUROS !!!
It was - they claimed, 19 drinks and the coffees and the cokes and they did not let me off the hook. I had to pay with my credit-card in order to clean the bill.
Tomorrow I will make a photograph of the place and note down the address and send this in as well. (Edit on 21 Nov. 2007: Had no chance yet to take the picture, will deliver next week, when back to Shanghai)
So - the first part of the bad story is: don´t go with girls who want to "practise" their English skills. Don´t even trust a proper-looking coffee-bar, the scam is there before you arrive there yourself.
AND fellas keep control over what is ordered and by whom. Best is probably, to throw rounds and pay each round separately.
Then the damage is less or at least you know what you are going to get yourself into! - And - STAY SOBER in these places.
Frustrated with this I took another stroll tonight and went out in the direct vicinity of the Howard Johnson Plaza Hotel on Jiu Jiang Road.
That was also not a very good idea as I say now.
I let myself being lured into a massage-place in Zhei Jiang Road, which is behind the hotel.
I chose a girl and after insisting, they told me the price for the massage would be 150 RNB. Then they served drinks and fruit and nuts (alcoholic drinks for the girl and for the mamasan and a coke for me). Then the mamasan left us alone and the girl and I had a nice talk and began to negotiate about the scope of services and prices. I gave here a tip of 300 RNB because she said she was afraid that I would not pay her more in the hotel (she wanted to have originally 400) and then she said OK, let us get ready to go and I said OK, send up the bill and we go to my hotel.
The girl went out of the room and that was the last I saw of her.
Instead of her TWO guys came up and presented me with a bill of 1300 RNB.
The drinks and the fruit and the nuts and the room and and and.
I could do nothing but to consent and paid cash.
The girl was still not to be seen and in the meantime my prick had got as short as one inch, because I was really pissed off and could not do a thing about it.
OK, I know, I have been pretty stupid myself and I have let myself being conned into both situations.
But I could imagine, that others could also be fooled and I want to leave this story here, as a warning.
I tried to make a photograph of that place with my cellphone, but I almost got beaten up just for trying.
I will try it tomorrow form a car with my proper real camera. (Edit 21. Nov. 2007: Photograph not able to provide, those people are allergic to have any pictures taken in that area. Just don´t go to these joints!)
So, in the moment I will turn into a monk in Shanghai.
Fellas, learn from this and don´t be as stupid as I was.
Good hunting,
Concerned
One afterthought connected to the hotel: At around 11 pm I tried to get a massage from the spa of the Howard Johnson Plaza Hotel. However, the spa was closed and I have the feeling they do not offer what we are looking for, the spa looked like a real work-out-place and nothing else.