Bowling in China

The other weekend, we went bowling. We had heard about a bowling alley near Dushu Lake so we looked up some information on the place. After all, we didn’t want to travel 30 minutes to a place that might have closed or if it was like 40 years old or something. My research online indicated that the place was very technically advanced and had 28 lanes for bowling so it sounded like a good place. It was out in the middle of nowhere but we decided to go anyhow (one of the disadvantages to not having a car, sometimes getting to a place is easy….it’s getting back home that is the problem). We took the 20 minute ride to the place and got to see a few new sights since it wasn’t a normal route for us. JiaFu Bowling is located in a “sports complex” which has a gym and other sporting activity courts all contained in one building. We walked in and found the bowling alley rather quickly since the place wasn’t crowded; we just hoped the bowling alley was open so we didn’t make the trip for nothing (you never can tell if the internet has all the correct information). It was open (a good sign) and we walked in and took a quick look around. It appeared to be like a bowling alley but there was something different that we noticed right away. We didn’t hear the sounds of pins being knocked down, there was no smell of popcorn and pizza (and of course that intriguing aroma that is the mixture of shoe spray and feet), it was rather quiet. It was a little darker than I expected and right away the décor seemed a bit odd but it is a bowling alley so it’s not like they should have a leather couch and high backed Queen Anne chairs and stuff (would you have any Grey Poupon?).

Behind the counter are 4 people working and we go over and indicate that we want to bowl. How many games? Um, one and we’ll see how that goes. How many people? Okay, pay now. Ummm, okay. So I pay the girl for 4 games. Then she gives me a receipt and points me to her immediate left. We go over to get shoes for bowling, which required that I show the receipt (even though he just saw me pay…see my post “It Must be the Shoes”). We had to provide sizes (which is always fun since they want the European sizes) and the kid behind the counter would look for us (after he puts on his protective mask and rubber gloves to handle our shoes. Eewww, foreigner foot odor.). BUT, in order for us to get the shoes, we had to give him our shoes. Really!?!? Okay, I guess (I’ll give you my new pair of Aasics for your lovely old two-tone slick-soled shoes…sucker!). So we tried on the shoes and once we had pairs that fit (of course, it took several pairs for Warren to find the right size), he gave me back the receipt and pointed us towards the bowling lanes. There around the corner of the counter is another employee who will get us to our lane and help us get the bowling balls (it wasn’t like it was located in a different building or something, it was 4 meters right in front of us). He looks at the receipt (of course) and shows us to our lane (today’s special is King Pao Chicken and it’s 2-for-1 beers until 7:00 pm). He asks us what ball weight we use and we tell him. He asks all of us, I guess assuming that we all want a different ball (do you understand the concept of sharing). It took a little more time after he gave us the balls for us to walk around on our own and try a few more since our fat, sausage fingers wouldn’t fit into the finger holes of many of these balls.

With a real good look at the bowling alley, I would have to say that it was a little less than “state-of-the-art” (and that’s being kind). It had 12 lanes (what happened to the other 16?), which seemed a little narrower than I remembered. The scorer’s keyboard was in Chinese so the employee had to help us enter our names (which we just entered our first initial to make life easy for him). There were screens over top of the lanes that indicated your score and would tell you what pins you knocked down and such, which was similar to what I am used to with the exception that here the screens were purple (I think that the brightness was put on the absolute lowest setting). They had small, odd shaped 60’s sofas (and I’m talking the “peace and love man” type sofas) that were located in such a way that you could not really even see your lane without leaning over to see. The entire place felt more like a bomb shelter than a bowling alley but it isn’t like this is a major sport for the Chinese (not like table tennis, don’t even get me started on that). The bowling balls were “Made in the USA”, oddly enough. I guess if a bowling ball was built in China eventually it would explode upon impact with the pins. There wasn’t an option for bumpers so there was no chance for the kids to cheat. There were about 4 other people in the place bowling when we arrived. One guy in a lane to our left seemed to be pretty good at it. I don’t know what he scored but he was at least bowling a good game. He was the closest and he was 2 lanes over, other than that, nobody (did I already say that).

So, we bowl. No warm up, no courtesy throws to check the lanes, no practice, just start bowling. Not much different about the bowling except to say that we are terrible. Despite our obvious lack of talent for the sport, we still got an audience of the bowling alley employees that would watch us bowl. It was like they were there to assist us but I’m not sure with what. They would smile when we got a strike or did well and seemed to look away when the ball went in the gutter. We tried not to notice but it was hard not to. For snacks at the alley (because Jacob’s favorite thing to do is say “I’m hungry” or “I’m thirsty” as soon as we get anywhere that might have food) there were chips, soda and beer. So the kids got their barbeque pork potato chips (you read that correctly) and a lemon drink. We completed one game and then had to walk back to the counter to pay for another round and then show the receipt again to the “ball boy” so he would let us continue to play.

While we were going through our second round, the place got more “crowded”. A young lady came in and got the lane next to us. We thought it would be interesting to see if they have any “lane etiquette” (that means, when you are in position to bowl, no one around you throws, first one up is the first one to bowl so you don’t break the concentration, if you don’t do this then a pox upon you). She was actually quite funny to watch as she didn’t have a ball but made the motions of bowling, (something like playing the air guitar but she was air bowling). We found it strange but thought that perhaps she was a good bowler and used this technique to mentally prepare for her moves (wax on, wax off). Unfortunately for her, once she actually put a bowling ball in her hand she had zero control over where it went. She was bad (not Michael Jackson bad, crappy bad, even worse than we were and that’s saying something). Another guy came in and he took the far lane. Nothing like seeing someone bowl with a cigarette in his mouth. Nothing gives you the impression of an athlete more than that. Neither of them showed any lane etiquette, no surprises there are witnessing the “road rules” around here. They would bowl quickly like it was speed bowling or something. It was interesting to watch. Usually they had two balls just so they didn’t have to wait for the ball to come back. As soon as the pins were reset, the next ball was on the way.

So on the one hand, it was bowling. On the other hand it wasn’t the same but we’re not in the US are we? Getting home was a little of a challenge. We asked the people in the information center to call us a taxi but I don’t think that happened. They indicated we should wait outside for 10 minutes. Well, we did and nothing. It started to sprinkle a little and we were a little concerned that we would be getting a soaking before a taxi came along. We went out to a larger intersection and were able to flag one down in about 15 minutes. It was tough since we didn’t see many cabs but we got lucky that we were able to find one within a relatively short time. All-in-all, it was another experience to check off the list of things to do while in China.

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A quick change of topic just because I can. Today we went out to the lake to people watch. While we sat and watched a group of 2 boys and 2 girls came by (somewhere between 16 and 20 years old) and sat down near us. While they walked up, they were obviously staring us down. They sat across from us and watched us intently (it was obvious). Soon, one of the young men came over and sat down right next to Warren. His group cheered him as he obviously passed his dare. Soon, the group all moved over to our side and tried to speak a little to us. We were a little lost with some of the phrases they asked but we could make out some of it. Soon, a flower came out and was given to Warren. He tried to turn it down but they insisted he take it. They were howling with delight to watch him squirm (Tammy and I also were enjoying it). So we sat there for another 15 minutes and it was time to go. When we got up, we said our goodbyes and Warren gave the flower to one of the girls. As soon as we started to move away, they got up and headed in another direction. We hear one of the girls shout “I love you” as we move away. Very funny! It’s not often that we get to watch the interaction of the younger kids, especially with our kids. Warren was not quite as amused as Tammy and I but it was pretty darned funny.