With a surprising frequency, I get emails and messages from other Travelling Trinis, most of whom are in Asia, either touching base or asking a question about life in Hong Kong or getting information about a certain destination or what not.  But once in a while I also get people telling me their stories, and this one was such a weird one I thought I’d share it! I’ll keep the guest poster anonymous because I’m sure his wife wouldn’t want to know what goes on at ‘business gatherings’ here in HKG!

Hi TTT,

Read your blog and think it is very interesting. That one about the sex toys was hilarious and in your article you were wondering if the locals get it on or not — well let me tell you about what I know about the topic!

I’ve been living in Hong Kong for just about a year now, I’m here on contract working in the automotive business and there’s a few things I’ve noticed about the way they do business here as opposed to back in Trinidad. It all starts off with a client being interested in buying a particular car, in this case a luxury car like a Ferrari or Lamborghini. He calls up his dealer contact, inquiring about his inventory, a discussion ensues about the various choices, and a decision is made to view a particular vehicle. They meet for a showing and maybe a test drive, prices are discussed, and then the strangest thing happens. They decide to seal the deal at karaoke.

Now the karaoke that most westerners are used to is the one were you go to a bar and simply sing along while having a few drinks with your friends. In Hong Kong and mainland China it’s a little different.

First, let me backtrack a little. I am a married man, so I don’t know anything about picking up Chinese girls (I swear!). But from what I understand, the local women here in Hong Kong appear to be very worried about their reputation of being what they call a ‘bad girl’ so even when they have a boyfriend they don’t indulge in ‘intimate activity’ at all. As for the married men, pretty much all that I know cheat on their wives, and from the sounds of it they ain’t getting none at home, so they all go to Karaoke.

Now it sounds like you have a nice, respectable job, and don’t have to deal with rich horny businessmen all day, so you may not be aware of what goes on at Karaoke. After work, you and your colleagues go to a Karaoke bar, and are taken to a private room were dozens of young pretty women, in shiny tight dresses and high heels, all lined up for you to pick and choose from. And yes, you can choose more than one!

After all involved have chosen their hostess for the night the singing begins. This hostess basically feeds them snacks and plies them with alcohol all night while the singing is going on as well as play a stupid dice drinking game. They get really, really drunk. A lot of groping and flirting goes on and continues throughout the night. Oh, I should also mention that there is a madam present in the room who the girls answer to – the mama-san — and she along with each girl is payed individually for their presence in the room.

Anyway, so at some point during the debauchery of the night a deal is struck about the car and the new owner buys the Ferrari or Lamborghini. The guys then either choose to go home with one of the hostesses, or move to a room upstairs, or to a nearby hotel, to take things a step further, if you know what I mean. They all do it, it’s like a private joke amongst the men here, it’s a code of trust between them. If you ever do business with a Chinese businessman you HAVE to do this or they will never trust you. I’ve been forced to go to this kind of place with my colleagues and clients but I always go home afterwards because I would never cheat on my wife, and even if I was the kind of man who would I would never pay for it! I’ve asked them if they ever simply go to a bar or club and pick up girls the old fashioned way and they all look at me like I have two heads!