La Defense Restaurant - Luqiao

After spending one night in Cixi, the next afternoon I hopped a car Ningbo, which was an hour and a half away, then I jumped a bus for another 3 or 4 hours that took me into Luqiao (pronounced Loo-Chow). I had heard some real horror stories about the busses in China but I must say the ride was very comfortable. The seats were large, the AC very cool, and the bus was not even too crowded. I got to spend a few hours listening to music and soaking in the gorgeous scenery on the drive. I have never seen rolling hills of bamboo trees anywhere else apart from China. It is really beautiful when the wind blows because it looks like the whole mountain is swaying.

The hotel I checked into was right next to the bus station because I had to head out to another city first thing the next morning. Luqiao is definitely larger than Cixi and there is a lot of life around the train station. There is a large main street bordered by buildings covered in lights. There were also some coffee shops, restaurants, and loads of people walking around. But having moved around this town before I know that this is the main street and other areas away from here are very quiet. The hotel was decent and the room a lot larger than the place I stayed the previous night. This one even had a PC in it!! But I could tell fro the small of the sheets, the stains on the carpet, and the texture of the bath towels that this hotel room has probably seen more sex than I hope to in my entire life. This place was sketchy I tell you, I have a sixth sense for these things. I knew that lurking in some corner if this hotel or in the basement level there would be a massage center that dished out a bit more that happy endings and probably a KTV (karaoke center) flittering with ladies of night. I decided to have a shower and get the fuck out of there for some dinner.

I was in the mood for chilling in a place with a nice atmosphere, taking back a few drinks, and having a very hearty meal. I spotted this place La Defense not too far from the hotel I was in. From the outside it looked very nice with seating by the front window and a huge wine cellar displayed by the entrance. I noticed groups of people moving in and out of there as well so I was hoping for a fun atmosphere.

It was quite dimly lit in La Defense, and there were loads of private rooms. The hostesses gave me a very strange look when I told them I would be dining alone. I was wondering what kind of place I came to. After walking through long dark corridors with crowded rooms filled with people enjoying their meals on either side of me, we finally reached a sort of lounge. There were large couches with dining tables in front of them and smaller groups of people sitting around enjoying food and drinks. It was still strangely dark but there was a candle of every table. With a name like La Defense I really did not know what kind of food to expect but I was pleasantly surprised to see their large menu was printed in English as well as Chinese. However it was not in very good condition at all. Maybe this is just the menu they reserve for foreigners.

I can not begin to explain to you how twisted the menu was. I have never been so confused in all my life as when I tried to make a selection of what to eat. There is no way I can even explain or comment on this so I curious to know what sense any of you can make of this. Maybe these selections have something to do with France or national defense. But if it does they totally lost me in translation. These are just sections in the menu; I did not even bother taking pictures of the names of the actual items.

INDOLES OF ITALIAN POWDER FACE

AMID THE QUINONOID FORMULA FAST FOOD INDOLES

AETIOPORPHYRIN STORE UNIQUE FEATURE MESITYLENE

I finally ordered some spare ribs and fried rice. The rice was pretty boring but the ribs were surprisingly good. The items on the menu though oddly named actually looked very good and I wish I could have ordered more but it is hard to sample a variety of dishes when dining alone. You cant really see all the ribs but there were more than enough hiding under all that crispy stuff.

I did not really care for the city of Luqiao much, nor for the neighboring town Hangzhou. I have been there a few times now and the place is just really drab. They have gorgeous mountain ranges surrounding them and I image there would be some amazing nature walks but nothing in the area has been developed. There is a huge amount of industry coming up there and loads of apartment buildings. But in terms of entertainment is the city there is nothing there and nothing planned. I have talked to numerous locals there and when I ask them what they do with their free time they simply reply, count money. Well, that sounds like a pretty decent pass time to me.