Games at Destination

Valentine's Day & Night

In the wee hours of the Valentine's Day we had already known for only on few hours that we (and the entire 11th floor of our building) would have to move out of our place next to Destination in Gongti.

 

So we decided to head over to Destination - one "last" time with a group of friends and got drunk - one of us more than other. I ran into an old friend and he introduced me to a Chinese friend of his who spoke great Japanese and so we pera-pera'd all night - tanoshikatta! It was the BF's turn to get drunk, and he didn't disppoint ;-) I was amazed he didn't have a hang over when we awoke relatively early.

One of our neighbours decided to help us find a place, so it was he who ran around to a few estate agents and within 12 hours we had new place to move into near Dongzhimen - incredibly just a few 100 metres from where we set off our first fireworks with friends at the start of Chinese New Year. Is that destiny or what?

The BF's family and I went out to pick strawberries in the north of Beijing on Valentine's Day. Then it was off to have sushi with friends at The Place for dinner. From there it was off to another friend's house for a Valentine's Day party where it was suggested tops wear blue and bottoms wear red. Not everyone participated in the dress code. I wasn't sure what to wear, if anything at all. In the end I wore blue and the BF wore red. I did my best to chat up all the reds ;-)

We knew there was a Fridae-sponsored event at Destination but were shocked to see such a huge line up outside when we arrived. It turned out to be blast and not as crowded as I'd thought. The music was fine and there were so many new faces. I wonder where they usually hang out ~

Not leaving Destination alone
In case you're wondering, the BF took this shot

Valentine's Day gay wedding in Qianmen, Beijing~

Tedious Destination

What the hell is this place up to?

Where is their justification for raising prices on admission and drinks?
Consumer prices are coming down in the midst of looming deflation. Hello?

The security guys are a downright rude bunch of goons: perhaps a good thing if you hadn't already bought an (overpriced) entrance ticket and were just loitering about and looked like a gay-basher.

Gay crackdown in China?

A friend just told me about Oasis in Beijing being raided recently and I found the article here:

http://shanghaiist.com/2008/03/31/a_big_gay_crack.php

Video snapshot I took in front of Destination on 8/9 March.

How distressing that the guys at Oasis were detained and/or taken away! I truly hope they are all okay. That’s surely not going to be good for their business in the future. A real shame. Their new location near Dongsishitiao is a nice place - though not at all like a Western bath house, it was quite hopping with a nice mix of young/old & local/foreign guys … and action to be had all over the place.

I was inside Destination during the first police “raid” on the night of the 8th/9th March. If I recall correctly, it was at midnight that the music suddenly ended. Friends who had just arrived outside were not allowed in. Then before we went out to meet them, security told us we would not be allowed to re-enter. There were a couple of police cars outside with their lights flashing, but no obvious (uniformed) police presence inside.I departed China as previously scheduled a couple of days later, and since friends who have gone to Destination said it’s not as busy as it was before the brief closure. (Perhaps not a bad thing as it was sometimes packed beyond comfort.)

China is generally not gay-unfriendly. My Chinese partner & I held hands everywhere we went - though we are certainly not out to his family. If there’s any complaint I have about being gay in Beijing, it’s that there aren’t enough gay bars or venues.