Thanks for the moral support!
I had basically only gone as a suggestion in my "Need another perspective" thread had said "Well, you've invested X. What do you have to lose?" Originally, I had planned to spend all 11 days in Wuzhou but, shit, am I ever glad I didn't do that now. I had sent her a note just prior to the booking of the hotel and stuff saying "If I don't see you on webcam or QQ before I leave, I don't want to when I arrive." I softened up on that one but I should have stuck with it. Now I know: no personal email address/QQ/MSN = block.
Odysseus, she was 19, then 18, then 20, then 19. Yeah, I guess I was thinking with the wrong head... but I did get personal pics and such. I think likely they scammed them off of her as well.
Ted, I'm back in GZ. The school has decided that it will be August if I want the gig. I think I do although the woman I met tonite thought 5k wasn't enough money. Maybe I should let her negotiate it for me.
So back home to Calgary I go for at least another three months or so.
Oh, so now I should post the Yibang stuff!
So, after meeting Princess Yiki, I sent the Agency a note asking if perhaps they knew anyone else in WZ that spoke English, etc. They said no. Okay, fine. I'm going to have a nap then. So, I get this phone call at 630. "The girl is in the lobby." "Huh?"
(Have you noticed that most of my discussions with the front desk end in ?) I head down still groggy from my nap and see this girl standing there. She's beautiful and has another one with her. As Austin Powers says, "Twins, Basil. TWINS." (They weren't but the point is made.)
"I am Dong and this is my sister."
"Huh?"
"I am Dong and this is my sister."
"I'm sorry, my dear, but I don't know who you are."
"I am Dong and this is my sister."
"I... I don't mean to be rude but.... who are you?"
"The Agency sent me. Yibang."
Now, I know from reading around here that Yibang is code for "You're about to get fooked in the wallet somehow." Okay, she's really beautiful and I'll play along.
"Where should we go for dinner?"
Same drill, I know nothing of Wuzhou, you lead... They lead me to this place off the beaten path that is, again, rather cheaply priced and really set up nicely. We go, and sit down. She tells me, in REALLY good English, that Yibang told her to come to the hotel to meet me. "They send me your picture earlier. Have you seen mine?" I told her, no, I still have no idea who you are. She is embarrassed to the nth degree. "Now, it's no problem, my dear. It doesn't mean we can't enjoy dinner together anyways." We talk and she's really a sweetheart. I'm smitten and we have a really nice dinner together. Her sister is really attractive, too, but speaks zero English. We walk back to the hotel, I take some pictures and she leaves. No, nothing happens although I wish.... She gives me her QQ and off she goes. Not twenty minutes later, she calls the hotel and gets patched through. "Here is my phone number." Life is good. I hit the email and there's a note from the Agency. "We have connected with a girl in Wuzhou that speaks English. She will be in your lobby at 630. Don't be late!" Ahhh, so there's my notice. I send them a quick reply basically saying the phone craze is sweeping the world and most hotel rooms have them. When one wishes to impart useful and time-sensitive information to someone, they're strangely effective. No reply... wonder why?
I sit down and add her to QQ. "I had a wonderful dinner with you, we should go again tomorrow (Friday)." She sends back yes and it's a date. So, last night, she gets to the hotel. She's even more beautiful in plain clothes and not all dolled up. I'm completely and utterly smitten. Beautiful eyes, wonderful smile, put together well. I've never met a more attractive Chinese woman ever. We go out and head to the same joint Yiki and Party of Five go the night before. We sit down and she orders tea. First thing that comes to my mind: Tea. Ceremony. You know the one: the tourist gets button-holed by two hot chicks who then leave him with a $2000 bill. So, I bring it up. "No, this real tea. 3 RMB per person. It is good, yes?" Tea is great. So we start talking. I brought up the fact that, during convo Thurs. night, she seemed confused by what I meant by "profile".
"How does a girl who's 22 find herself on a site looking to get married? You said last night that you were looking to meet foreign people to practice your English with and it's a place looking for marriage."
"What do you mean?", she asks.
"Well, I asked the agency for your profile number and saw you. It said you were looking to build a stable relationship and the site is for those looking for marriage."
"Oh, my God."
She goes on to tell me that she went to Yibang looking for just that but they took the pictures, they picked which ones to use and they wrote up the profile. She had NO input on any of it. She says then that she gets letters all the time from guys and, if she doesn't write back, the translator just does it for them anyways. Plus, if they get sent gifts, often the translators just keep those, too. Yibang basically exists just to pay translators.
I go on to further explain why we would be angry as men. "Imagine if you had just spend 3000RMB to talk to someone thinking you were getting far in a relationship with them to find out they're fake? Imagine you've flown the better part of an entire day to see someone that basically doesn't exist?" Now, I took the trip to China as a "Happy Birthday To Me From Me" trip that had a side trip to meet a hot girl. I could only imagine someone actually having that issue. 
She seemed to understand why we would be upset.
"Don't say anything to Yibang! Please?!"
"Why?"
"They are dai mon tai lah! (Big problem)" It seems that the contract is such with them that it is very hard to have any sort of dealings with the Agency. The girls don't pay for *anything*: the pictures, the EMF, the translator, nothing. They are just like spam email: cheap, effective, throw away. If us men don't like it, who cares so long as we keep buying credits?
"If they're such a problem, why not tell your parents and let them help you fight it?"
"Because it's a problem." The typical Chinese woman fear of confrontation. (Yes, I know some of you are married to the exception to the rule....)
So, avoid Yibang at all costs. Regard them with the same sort of affection we have for Changsha Love Bridge.
PS. The girl is still one of the most beautiful people I've ever met and reaffirmed my love for Chinese women after the Yiki BS. I was truly sad to leave Wuzhou but only because of her. There's no chance of anything with her long term but... she's going to make someone very happy one day.
