Shady KTV
Mike's last bash was this weekend. He's been teaching in Taiwan for a year and a half and now he's heading back to New Zealand. To celebrate, he organized a big KTV party. We all assumed it would be at a Holiday KTV, but after much confusion, it was decided that we'd meet at a smaller KTV somewhere.
Now, I was a little worried, knowing Mike's sense of humor and his penchant for purring at other teachers, I thought this might be a KTV that really wasn't a KTV at all. There are tons of flashy KTVs all over town, with a few bigger chains like Holiday or Cashbox thrown into the mix. If it's not marked Family KTV, and it's not a big chain, then you can bet that it's placed reasonably close to a motel and you can order a whole lot more than just songs. But Mike assured us that it wasn't this type of establishment, and so I found myself with a small map on my way to a new KTV with such specific directions as "it's in between two 7-11s (they are on nearly every corner here, so not really an effective landmark)" and "it's a big white place." Um, ok.
So, turning onto the street marked on the map in the middle of the freezing cold rain. Lee and I got off the scooter and walked up to the big white KTV. We asked for Tina, and the security guard pointed us across the street to a second KTV. We assumed he had seen a gaggle of foreigners over there so away we went. We walked inside only to be turned away a second time. "Meiyou (No) Tina." We headed back across the street after consulting the map a second time, and by this time our unhelmeted heads we dripping wet. We walked in and suddenly all the women in pink suit dresses looked confused and concerned that we had entered. Again we asked for Tina and a room number. Their concern at our presence and a huge picture of a couple in wedding gear decorating the info desk wall was pretty much all the evidence we needed that this was not your "family style" KTV. Again they pointed across the street and a quick phone call to Mike let us know that the map was wrong and actually the KTV was further down the street. We were between two Family Marts, not 7-11s. Oops.
The number of KTVs in this town is rivalled only by the amount of convenience stores, these things can be hard to distinguish.
Now, I was a little worried, knowing Mike's sense of humor and his penchant for purring at other teachers, I thought this might be a KTV that really wasn't a KTV at all. There are tons of flashy KTVs all over town, with a few bigger chains like Holiday or Cashbox thrown into the mix. If it's not marked Family KTV, and it's not a big chain, then you can bet that it's placed reasonably close to a motel and you can order a whole lot more than just songs. But Mike assured us that it wasn't this type of establishment, and so I found myself with a small map on my way to a new KTV with such specific directions as "it's in between two 7-11s (they are on nearly every corner here, so not really an effective landmark)" and "it's a big white place." Um, ok.
So, turning onto the street marked on the map in the middle of the freezing cold rain. Lee and I got off the scooter and walked up to the big white KTV. We asked for Tina, and the security guard pointed us across the street to a second KTV. We assumed he had seen a gaggle of foreigners over there so away we went. We walked inside only to be turned away a second time. "Meiyou (No) Tina." We headed back across the street after consulting the map a second time, and by this time our unhelmeted heads we dripping wet. We walked in and suddenly all the women in pink suit dresses looked confused and concerned that we had entered. Again we asked for Tina and a room number. Their concern at our presence and a huge picture of a couple in wedding gear decorating the info desk wall was pretty much all the evidence we needed that this was not your "family style" KTV. Again they pointed across the street and a quick phone call to Mike let us know that the map was wrong and actually the KTV was further down the street. We were between two Family Marts, not 7-11s. Oops.
The number of KTVs in this town is rivalled only by the amount of convenience stores, these things can be hard to distinguish.
posted by CJ at 6:33 AM
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