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[denise]

I could go on and on and on about failed romances and flings that I wish had never happened... But failure is not exactly the purpose of this thread, is it? I will spare you, and keep my moping to myself.

d

[Roger]

This is my true romantic story!
She addressed me in that Xiaguan-bound train from Kunming. Almost as tall as myself, stylishly short hair, a melodious voice, dressed in a THAILAND T-shirt and a purple skirt with flowers printed on it. She had a lovely face...
In Xiaguan, I boarded a bus to Dali, arrived there, rented a room in the No. 4 Guesthouse, which is a very nice hostel with a beautiful courtyard. In the evening, I went down Huguo Lu, and met one American acquaintance from another encounter, then moved on for a leisurely drink to another bar (there are some three dozen western-style bars and pubs there), and sat outside.
Another group of acquaintances came along, students from Shenzhen that I had met on the train from Guangzhou... the world is small, everybody meets anybody in places like Dali or Lijiang... they departed, and then, I saw her again!
She sat down for a chat with me again. How old was I? She guessed. I let it be at 40, and guessed her age at 26. In reality, it was 41, but this I learnt much later.
She paid for my drinks (!), then I walked her to her guesthouse. We made plans for a trip together the next day. I went back to my guesthouse.
We had a lovely day together, exploring the surrounding areas of Dali in Yunnan. This was somewhat surprising as she insisted on speaking Mandarin all the time, obligating me to respond in her mother tongue. She was cheerful in spite of my somewhat monosillabic contributions to our conversations. I have seldom met such a good female sport.
We made tentative plans to meet up in Lijiang, and she left the next day. I followed her a day later, only having the telephone number of a family-guesthouse in the old town of Lijiang.
I arrived in Lijiang, but it was one hell finding her place. You cannot understand this unless you have been to Lijiang. This is the most complex maze I have ever come across. At the post office, no one knew the street name I showed them in CHinese, nor did they have a telephone. Somehow I managed to find my way to the place she was staying at, but she was out, looking for me. When she came back, I knew I was in for a most romantic experience!
She led me up stairs to the room she had rented for the two of us.
We continued our trip to Shangrila (Zhongdian), and back to Kunming, and on. We have now been together over one week, and had no struggle with each other at all. O yes, sometimes I have to make special allowances for her food tastes, and in the evening, she watches TV, while I read. But she too is most tolerant - accompanying me to western eateries, sampling muesli, coffee or pizza... She haggles with hawkers, vendors and taxi drivers over the minutest amounts I pay, but she foots at least half of all the bills herself, never asking me to pay first! She is a Chinese lady that I can respect, that is not after any advantage. She even agrees with me that her fellow countrypeople are behaving in a boorish way to me - she is now daily witness to the "Hello!" shouts, condescending attitudes and occasional rudenesses, but at the same time, her presence earns me many an advantage.
Yes, this sounds like a holiday fairy tale, and it certainly is a holiday fairy tale. She is a university lecturer in an East Chinese city. Our ways will soon diverge. Will there be a sequel?

[guty]

gave the president a bj while his wife wasnt looking and the mayor of New York one in the dark, s hagged Ang Lee, Bobby Mugabee, Shane Warne, Christopher Marlowe and Vicente Fox under a palm tree, whle the star of my favorite tv program watched, how cool am I? Does anybody have any similar stories to share?

[guty]

I gave the president a bj while his wife wasnt looking and the mayor of New York one in the dark, s hagged Ang Lee, Bobby Mugabee, Shane Warne, Christopher Marlowe and Vicente Fox under a palm tree, whle the star of my favorite tv program watched, how cool am I? Does anybody have any similar stories to share?