Qingdao, literally meaning 'Green Island,' is a coastal city in China, only about 5 hours by train from Tianjin. Normally, it is a hot tourist spot but since it is a bit cold now, there were not too many people there. Still, it was a nice break from the colder temperatures and heavy winter pollution in Tianjin. We probably had 40 degree-ish weather while we were there. (Note...I am being VERY cautious to not complain about the cold here since all of you Midwest folk are freezing in your britches!) Anyways, nearly everyone wants to visit Qingdao in the summer but I was perfectly happy to go when there would not be scores of people! On the map below, you can see where Qingdao is in relation to Tianjin - not far.
As I mentioned, we took the sleeper bus to Qingdao as it was nearly impossible to get train tickets so last-minute. I figured it was time for an adventure! The bus is divided into 3 rows and each row has an upper and lower bed. Try to imagine 3 rows of beds, a bathroom (if you can call it that...) and a total of about 30 beds on a bus - if your mind's image does not include a lot of aisle room or bed room, then you are right! As soon as I stepped onto the bus I was immediately stuck because the aisle was not wide enough for my backpack to fit through. When we finally reached our beds at the back, I was completely claustrophobic but also excited for the new adventure! Everyone else was settled into their beds and getting ready for the movie to begin. Also, everyone was staring at the blond girl and saying how they couldn't believe I could get used to this kind of travel...little did they know! Once I got all situated in my too narrow, too short bed (you know the kind where there is not enough room to stretch out your legs but also not enough room for the fetal position without your knees falling off the side of the bed...okay, so maybe you don't know...) I settled in and tried to not think about how the bumps were going to make the journey even more difficult since I'd vowed not to use the ahem...toilet...on the bus! Although I'm not exaggerating about the 'accommodations' on the bus, I am dramatizing the whole thing a bit...it wasn't too bad and there's always a chance to catch up on that missed sleep later! The picture below does not do justice to the actual bus...
After arriving in Qingdao, we took some time to rest then went out to do some sightseeing. There was a pier that is a hot-spot but was extremely windy and cold so we didn't stay long. We also found an old Christian church, built in 1908, so we looked around there for a while - it was beautiful!
Qingdao Christian Church
That night we found a movie theater and watched a Chinese movie, "Red Cliff." It was pretty good! I'll probably write more on that later...I want to blog about some Chinese movies I've seen lately.
The next day we took it easy - explored the beach which was nearly empty; that serene emptiness added so much to the already vast seaside - and ate some good seafood.
Thankfully, we were able to get a train ticket for the trip home and that thankfulness was emphasized hugely when we almost missed our train! We had to beg the taxi driver to go faster and still we arrived at the station just 13 minutes before our train was leaving - and we still had to get through security and make it to our gate! Needless to say, we RAN! We made it with 3 minutes to spare and I was struck with a revelation: either A. I am totally and utterly out of shape or 2. It's true what they say about running in Tianjin and how the pollution will burn your lungs to lifelessness. But taking into consideration that we were still in Qingdao and not yet back to Tianjin, I must plead guilty and acknowledge that the former revelation is the most accurate. (Of course my friend doesn't know this...I made up some excuse about my backpack swinging and causing me to run slower! :)
Next city...here I come!
1 comment:
When I saw the pic of the bus, I felt better. I imagined the ceiling to be really low too--as if you could not sit up! Have a fun trip shanda!
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