An Attempt to Visit DaPeng

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May 1st is Labor Day in China so almost eveyone takes off from work for the day. Caitlin and I decided to take a roadtrip to DaPeng, a city a few hours bus ride away. DaPeng is a 600 year old village that is supposed to be rich with history. Things did not go as planned.

Admittedly, we got a late start. We had stayed out too late the night before celebrating our pub quiz victory. And then Caitlin's blood sugar had been low. By the time we got going, we were already over an hour behind schedule.

We walked down the sunny brick sidewalk, weaving through the car lines at the gas station ("Did no one think to buy gas yesterday?" we wondered.) and turned the corner just in time to see the bus we wanted pull away. It took over half an hour more for us to get the next one.

We got on the crowded bus. At the top of the stairs was a PE teacher from my school. He speaks no English besides, "HELLO, KRIS!" He grinned at me and said "hi" in a quieter voice than his usual boom. I showed the bus conductor the name of the stop we were riding to--I had it written on a piece of paper, courtesy of Tamara. He saw me "cheat" and gently smacked me on the head.
After a few stops he managed to get a seat, which he barely fit into. It was like watching my dad try to fit onto the bus seat when my parents visited. Caitlin and I stayed standing, happily chatting. At one point I looked over and ended up making eye contact and smiled. He responded by grinning and gesturing me an offer of his seat. I laughed and shook my head no. I wasn't going to leave Caitlin standing while I climbed over someone to get a window seat.

We got off at stop number one, waving good-bye to my coworker. We waited about 20 minutes for our next bus and what we knew would be a long ride. Oh, if only we knew how long.

We climbed on the 364 and headed east, past downtown, past the shopping districts, past the rail lines. The whole time we were smashed in like sardines so tightly that if we lurched no one fell over. I think I had two feet between my feet, belonging to two different people. In front of me a girl smelling somewhat foul and wearing a pink shirt glared at me everytime I leaned into her. It wasn't my fault, I had two other people leaning into me and causing me to stand permanently bent at the waist. She leaned on her pink, pleather purse, which she rested on the back of a chair occupied by a slumped over, napping woman. How I envied her.

At one point the bus emptied a bit. Just a bit. Just enough for the lady who can't stand her heels to board and stand right next to me. The rest of of preferred to crunch together to give her adequate dancing room so as to protect our feet. Every time the bus started, stopped, slowed, turned, or someone breathed, she would yelp and jump, landing hard. All while loosely holding on to a pole with one hand. Her boyfriend was useless and unhelpful, simply standing safely down a step and out of the way. I wanted to haul him up a step so he would feel the same danger and our fear and remedy the situation.

The dancing lady exited and more people got on. Again I was smashed in like a sardine. A hot, sweaty, quietly cranky sardine. No one talked. It was like being on a bad date with no hope of getting a cocktail to numb my brain and having no chance of excape. At least no one tried to touch me in ways that would cause me to resort to violence.

Finally, the bus arrived at DaMeiSha, the first of many beaches. A number of people got off, giving the rest of us breathing room and me the opportunity to run to the back of the bus to one empty seat. I sat next to a nice man who spoke a bit of English. We looked out our open window, enjoying the cool breeze. The bus stopped for reasons I don't know. I looked out and saw the Pacific. I snapped a few pictures quickly, apologizing for leaning over him. He didnt' seem to mind. We both started to mind, though, when our mid-road stop began to drag on.... for 20 minutes. At least I had a view.

Things like this happened a few more times, but thankfully the scenery was always wonderful out my window. The beach traffic was too much for the 2-lane road, especially with people walking on both sides.
By the time we arrived in DaPeng I was cranky, hungry, had low blood sugar, and really needed a bathroom. Our 3 hour trip had taken us oer 6 hours.

We got food and sugar and a bathroom (I have never been so happy to see a KFC). While I was waiting in line for the toilet I saw a woman across the restaraunt taking my picture with her cell phone. Ok. She kept taking my picture. I tried to hide behind a wall. When I was done and waiting for Caitlin, she decided to take my picture some more. Then she handed the phone to her male friends across the table, who excitedly leaned their heads together to have a look at the blonde. I'm glad I could make their day.

Caitlin and I concluded that we either had 2 or 3 hours until the last bus back to Shenzhen, depending if May is considered winter or summer. We walked around a bit, enjoying the slower pace of life, the lone traffic light, the mountain. It was like small town America except that everyone looked Chinese.

We ate a lovely dinner of Chinese eggplant with potatoes, fried rice, and a corn and pinenut dish. We then ran back to the bus stop to make sure we didn't miss the infrequent bus back. We waited half an hour, crammed in, getting one seat to share, and rode back. Thankfully, the ride back was only 3 hours, most of it sitting, safely.

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Photos

View from the Bus
Suddenly I was content to wait a bit.

View from our dinner table
Nothing like lookin' out a glassless window to a view of a beer can.