lust in honkers

im at the point in my trip where nothings been pre-planned so daily events are conducted on the fly. its also become hard for me to remember what happened when or where so i appreciate the absurd or memorable events that make a lasting impression on my noggin.

hong kongs dating scene makes the grade. the other night clarence and i walked into a room full of campy asian and gweilo (typical word used to describe caucasoids. translation: foreign devils) men in suits, many of whom sported prominent red bindis. at the door was a table blanketed by pre-printed plastic nametags. i chose 'freddie' and clarence selected 'nick'. we made a b-line to the booze table, realized we were probably the only sticky guys in a room full of rice and potato queens, and didnt win the raffle. where were we? the monthly installment of 'fruits in suits,' hong kongs social venue for professional gay men.

to grasp the vibe of our peculiar environs, imagine a very small island where every social interaction is a future business prospect. assume that the prevailing style of communication favors a passive aggressive chinese cultural flavor and that the sassy actors are prone to fomenting unnecessary drama. top it off with the yucky power dynamics created by a former british colony that is 95% nonwhite. now you have a decent understanding of what froots in soots and to a larger degree, hong kongs expat gay scene is like.

for more insight into dating in honkers, i scheduled drinks with a local. after eating some good chinese food clarence took me to m-bar and was about to leave when my date showed up. during the usual 'how are you' chitchat between them my mankub sensed sumting gossip-worthy and launched into a relentless inquiry of clarences evening plans. i watched in awe of this spirited sparring match between my date and my host. clarence sufficiently ducked and weaved the dozens of jabs and hooks, disclosing nothing.

despite his voracity, both of us were charmed by this chinese-aussies cute accent, his playful rapid-fire teasing, and his sly habit of folding his arms behind his head to display his nice guns. to thicken the plot, it turns out that months earlier clarence had made advances only to be rebuffed. from what ive seen and heard, hk boys play unsophiticated dating games, and this one was no different. humanoids are a self-involved lot and tho he might actually be interested in my host, me thinks he saw disrupting a date an opportunity to test his own desirability and the effectiveness of his charm at full throttle. but when clarence bid us adieu after three drinks it was clear that the main attraction had left the building.

coming home early to update my weblog and check email didnt make me feel especially desirable. but lo and behold who started sweet-messenging me online despite his early am flight to taipei? clearly home dudes impressive flirting repertoire includes post-diss public relations to deflate any bitterness that might soil his reputation. with this kind of drama, who needs hobbies? (on another note and night, dear chuckles: 2 models down...)