Cycling only tangentially involved

Yesterday was a fairly typical day for a holiday where we stay put. I took off at 7.30 with some colleagues for a cycle around Purple Mountain - trying out the triathlon route for May. A bit fast for my liking but managed the climbs at a bpm of under 180, which is surely a sign of increasing fitness.

My wife took the kids, with one of their friends, to school to swim. I met them there as our internet at home was dropping in and out, so I couldn't do ay of my TOK marking (with which I am currently a tad behind).

We went for lunch at The Potato - a kind of bistro/pub with a vaguely Western feel. It was the first place to open in Xianlin (where school is) catering for the ex-pat community in any way, shape or form so remains an option, though it is loosing its appeal these days as it becomes more local. We sat outside despite the threatening rain, but conceded to the weather as the drinks arrive. So we move inside, where some of the only people in the place are smoking. Now, technically, smoking is illegal in food establishments. This means nothing in China - to the point where restaurants provide ashtrays and if you complain about patrons smoking you are often told, with a smile, 'Oh it's OK, we don't mind!' With anticipation of a battle, I asked the waitress if she could ask them to stop smoking and, to my surprise, they did so obligingly. Round one to me. We hadn't even got to out table yet. On being seated, I notice that the three people at the next table are watching cartoons on their tablet computer, at full volume. I ask them to turn it down, am greeting with smiles, so I mime headphones and they actually get the message and turn it off, after a short exchange with the waitress which I have the impression is on the 'stupid foreigner' theme. I might have been wrong, but I'm beginning to feel jaded already and we haven't even ordered food, with all the potential that has for going wrong. To be fair, food arrived, as ordered, and was acceptably mediocre as we knew it would be. Then the music starts, too loudly. I'm not overly fussy, honestly, but we had to raise our voices to talk to the children across the table. We asked for it to be turned down, were successful in this endeavour, to the accompaniment of more smiles and animated discussion between waitresses. And then Lily Allen's cheerful 'Fuck You, Fuck You very, very much' starts playing, which causes huge merriment amongst the kids who recognize a rude word in public when they hear one, and I have to ask the staff to change the song. This they do, but clearly now think they have the customers from Hell to deal with...