One-Way Ticket

We moved David into his new place the other night (my school is playing Musical Apartments right now — I think the prize is getting an apartment with a bathtub) and we noticed this bar on the way over. That totally shaped our plans for the evening!

Inside, the decor is kind of World Cup-meets-Mystic Seaport, with the unbiquitous Christmas theme. I’m not sure if so many places leave their Christmas decorations up year-round to show that they’re Western, the way you might hang up Chinese New Year banners as a decoration at a Chinese-themed shop or restaurant. Then again, the Chinese leave their own New Year’s banners up for months, until they fade and tear and look more like litter than good-luck wishes, so maybe they just don’t take down holiday decorations. (Don’t worry, Yantai, when my mom comes to visit, she’ll explain in no uncertain terms that it’s past time to take down the Christmas lights. In fact, she’ll probably get my dad to do it!)

This is Zorro Jason playing darts… I took this photo slightly before I threw a dart and hit the wall. Which sounds bad, until Jason hit the proprietor with one.

After a few drinks, some foozball and 3-handed Hearts, we decided that we’d found our new air-conditioned hangout. We called Will about halfway through this investigative process, and said we found a cool bar in Kaifaqu and he said “Oh, is it the One-Way?”