A Fun Evening

After my day of touring I returned to the hotel in time to join the group for dinner and some entertainment for the evening.  On our walk to the restaurant we passed some lovely shopping spots.

Again the mixture of new and old adds to the beauty of the area. We were treated to a traditional Shanghainese meal of 12 courses (I think - I lost count). I surprised myself with the appetizers by learning that my favorite was the deep fried eel. It was both sweet and crunchy and oh so yummy. We had all sorts of dishes including, of course, Peking duck.

Throughout the meal our hosts kept telling us we were in for a real entertainment treat. They were so right.

Following our meal we adjourned to The Party Place. This is a very large facility that has rooms from a few square feet to banquet size to suit any kind of party you may want to have. We had a smallish room equipped with - drum roll please- Karaoke!!! Having no vocal range whatsoever and difficulty carrying a tune in a bucket (just ask my daughters), I was surprised at how much fun I had.

We were a lively group and as long as I sang back-up (and without the mike) I sounded great. For those of you who know Ken, you would not believe the transformation.

Put a microphone in that man's hand and he becomes Bruce Springsteen. We discovered that Rommel has a fantastic voice and loves to sing.

Caslin sings well but likes to warm up first by reading some fashion magazines.

Deb LOVES to sing and never stopped.

May Lene and Su were a bit quieter but lots of fun as well.

Brad had a little of that quiet yet powerful vocal talent.

Thunder and Vicki joined in and the joint really got jumpin'.

One of the highlights of the evening was a duet of "Build Me Up Buttercup" sung full voice and with lots of choreography.

There were songs sung in English, Chinese, Filipino and even a dialect or two. The choices were almost uncountable. We even did a Disney set and some Lady Gaga. 

You might think that it took a lot of beer to get this party started, but you would be wrong. Though we had some wine with dinner, for the most part we were all drinking plum juice (not plum wine - juice). Think of how we would have been had we been drinking anything stronger. But there was a big day ahead of all of the gang the following morning so saner heads prevailed.

After a last song or two, it was time to leave. So sad!

With a few goodbyes we headed back to the hotel. And just to make life interesting, I have it all on film!!!