tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8764786763979427673.comments2022-05-02T01:56:23.183-07:00Abayo!Mat Ricardohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12348863140830436960noreply@blogger.comBlogger142125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8764786763979427673.post-43312746921929604532017-01-19T10:01:02.586-08:002017-01-19T10:01:02.586-08:00What a great story, thank you for taking us with ...What a great story, thank you for taking us with you!Stark Radiohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07794665106402314809noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8764786763979427673.post-29815892869224231542016-12-06T10:58:47.602-08:002016-12-06T10:58:47.602-08:00Thank you for your words Mat, they're helping ...Thank you for your words Mat, they're helping with my bottomless pit right now.<br />Mark BellAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8764786763979427673.post-90740170258813855582016-04-07T06:15:44.785-07:002016-04-07T06:15:44.785-07:00Very well written, Mr Ricardo. I love your work. ...Very well written, Mr Ricardo. I love your work. Thank you for sharing your black dog story. Stay strong! but remember it's ok to get weary.Stark Radiohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07794665106402314809noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8764786763979427673.post-68696105299893849332016-04-03T12:28:52.820-07:002016-04-03T12:28:52.820-07:00you said at the age of 65 he was introduced as a n...you said at the age of 65 he was introduced as a new comer only shows how original he trick were all through his long and giving life I didn't know him but i'm sure a lot of people will no doubt miss him sorry for your loss of an old and valued friend Matt. georgenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8764786763979427673.post-47326410229535919652016-04-02T08:09:26.029-07:002016-04-02T08:09:26.029-07:00Wonderful thank youWonderful thank youAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16459645124161796690noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8764786763979427673.post-75488900685320219482016-02-10T09:48:32.002-08:002016-02-10T09:48:32.002-08:00You write very well, thank you!You write very well, thank you!Stark Radiohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07794665106402314809noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8764786763979427673.post-47194098357673530192016-02-10T09:44:33.577-08:002016-02-10T09:44:33.577-08:00Lovely photographs, Mat. Sounds like you had fun!...Lovely photographs, Mat. Sounds like you had fun!Stark Radiohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07794665106402314809noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8764786763979427673.post-61085753584191808942016-01-20T14:48:47.752-08:002016-01-20T14:48:47.752-08:00Thank you for living through this and sharing it. ...Thank you for living through this and sharing it. I'm sure it will save many people a tremendous hassle in the future. You have an awesome act and they totally missed out by screwing you over. I'll go out of my way to catch one of your live shows when I can, and I certainly hope to see your name in the storied pages of Guiness one day.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8764786763979427673.post-8047716243807473702016-01-20T10:44:55.046-08:002016-01-20T10:44:55.046-08:00i feel your pain. i had a similar experience when...i feel your pain. i had a similar experience when i was producing a feature film out there. its the chinese way. shttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18270004399833954198noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8764786763979427673.post-16361530938616783162016-01-20T09:01:20.789-08:002016-01-20T09:01:20.789-08:00Interesting story. Just FYI, they were bluffing wh...Interesting story. Just FYI, they were bluffing when they said they could cancel your visa. It's not that easy and that'd require your passport and at least a week's time. Probably difficult to forget about all of that and just enjoy your time, but you were already there!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01797098082641221347noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8764786763979427673.post-27005362014018984202016-01-20T04:20:49.230-08:002016-01-20T04:20:49.230-08:00Ah, you got China'd. It's unbelievable the...Ah, you got China'd. It's unbelievable the amount of times I've heard similar stories. Allen Iverson had the same situation last year. <br />http://basketballbuddha.com/allen-iverson-trip-to-china-ruined-by-chinese-agents/<br /><br />I've got two hard rules that I have to maintain while living here. Never let a Mainlander completely control my schedule and always have an escape plan. <br /><br />Not that you were wrong for getting out of there so quickly, but your Visa would have been fine. There's no way that they could have cancelled it in such a short amount of time. It was just a scare tactic to coerce you into doing what they wanted. Lying and cheating are standard parts of doing business. Wadehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01739322445787964535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8764786763979427673.post-3395513497422515272016-01-20T01:04:41.641-08:002016-01-20T01:04:41.641-08:00I did the same thing in Wenzhou back in 94 ,they m...I did the same thing in Wenzhou back in 94 ,they made a fake work permit that I found out about when opening a huge club as a DJ. Got an early morning ship to Shanghai, train to Beijing, picked the rest of my stuff up and pegged it. Bless you mate, you did the right thing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8764786763979427673.post-28953647462263749872016-01-20T00:59:45.134-08:002016-01-20T00:59:45.134-08:00Shared your article on Reddit China, a forum run b...Shared your article on Reddit China, a forum run by expats who live here. As you can see from the comments, none of us were in the least bit surprised. https://www.reddit.com/r/China/comments/41t7zk/abayo_and_the_world_record_for_worst_gig_ever/Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8764786763979427673.post-41394224512944533562016-01-20T00:46:20.278-08:002016-01-20T00:46:20.278-08:00They can't just revoke your visa and leave you...They can't just revoke your visa and leave you stuck at the border. The police would have to charge you with a crime first and seize your passport. As long as you have your passport, you're good to go. Sorry to hear you had such a bad experience but you handled it with class. Hoping you get another chance to come back to China to do the trick you originally signed up for. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8764786763979427673.post-9022988107799415132016-01-19T21:50:36.646-08:002016-01-19T21:50:36.646-08:00Great story and warning to others going to China. ...Great story and warning to others going to China. Personally, they xrayed my bags leaving China ( by foot to Vietnam ) and they confiscated my LonelyPlanet ( Tiawan etc ). Their logic evades me!<br />My border guard's English name tag said "Candy Sin" but I didn't feel I could laugh.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8764786763979427673.post-42623053087770275252016-01-19T17:29:51.267-08:002016-01-19T17:29:51.267-08:00I've been to China and my wife is Chinese. Thi...I've been to China and my wife is Chinese. This story is 100% China in every way; in every detail. Not a single nuance shocks.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8764786763979427673.post-82277463344360775672016-01-19T13:12:41.573-08:002016-01-19T13:12:41.573-08:00Whatever the sponsors are feeling proud of, should...Whatever the sponsors are feeling proud of, should be their new shames.Ghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15034590683037815859noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8764786763979427673.post-77325593514847351182016-01-19T10:24:20.284-08:002016-01-19T10:24:20.284-08:00I want to hear more about how you found vegetarian...I want to hear more about how you found vegetarian fare at a McDonald's! :)Kaznoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8764786763979427673.post-82714897000793029592016-01-19T10:15:26.501-08:002016-01-19T10:15:26.501-08:00The awful misadventure you had was far more engros...The awful misadventure you had was far more engrossing of a tale than had it gone as planned: kismet! I found similarities to my first six weeks working for Aeon English Schools in Japan - a boss who hated Americans, hated men and told lies even when a lie benefitted nobody. I walked out on that awful job and left 80 students in the lurch after sitting down with her and management from HQ ... I said the next lie she tells I'll stand up, grab my coat and leave both this job and the apartment you rented me. Twenty seconds later I was out the door. The job I found in Tsukuba a month later was a flowery walk in the park after that nightmare. I'm glad you stuck to your guns and put them in a predicament, it was the right move.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8764786763979427673.post-51265548234104286052016-01-19T08:00:48.895-08:002016-01-19T08:00:48.895-08:00Wow. Just Wow. You deserve the Guinness World Reco...Wow. Just Wow. You deserve the Guinness World Record for sleuthiest escape from a psycho TV show 😜 Dreamertinkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04443342680345138014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8764786763979427673.post-82108678223235188182016-01-19T05:00:35.320-08:002016-01-19T05:00:35.320-08:00By turns horrifying and hilarious (and frequently ...By turns horrifying and hilarious (and frequently both)! I really enjoyed this insightful and amusing post; glad to hear that you escaped safely in the end! Did you exchange details with any of the other performers and discover how it panned out for them?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16094324537320460339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8764786763979427673.post-25945328708293746842016-01-19T00:05:31.671-08:002016-01-19T00:05:31.671-08:00Great read, admire you standing up to them. I now ...Great read, admire you standing up to them. I now wish I'd thrown some jeopardy into the Cardiff gig I booked you for a while back Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17051456113402563877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8764786763979427673.post-37857623776527556112016-01-19T00:03:33.301-08:002016-01-19T00:03:33.301-08:00It makes the gig in Cardiff I booked you for very ...It makes the gig in Cardiff I booked you for very straight forward. Great read admire you standing your ground, well done. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17051456113402563877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8764786763979427673.post-44856224084859708452016-01-18T16:56:16.167-08:002016-01-18T16:56:16.167-08:00Great read, you're amazing!Great read, you're amazing!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03446427293466385261noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8764786763979427673.post-3554656292073323002016-01-18T14:48:28.442-08:002016-01-18T14:48:28.442-08:00Sorry to hear about your experience, sounded like ...Sorry to hear about your experience, sounded like a very stressful and generally very poor experience, but I got a bit distracted by this throwaway... <br /><br />"Bear Grylls. And the stuff he does on Chinese TV is a little, shall we say, more hardcore, then what he does on your TV. I only watched it for about ten minutes, but I witnessed him tear the wings of live birds"...<br /><br />What? I mean seriously WTF?Scott Khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02364754599617237596noreply@blogger.com