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We boarded our, space ship like, bullet train from Beijing to Qingdao (complete with blood stains on front from an unsuspecting railway crossing mammal of some description). If we were to take the Lonely Planet literally, which we did, we would have expected a quaint little seaside retreat which has been described as 'China's Switerzland'.
We had pictured Qingdao, a former German settlement, as a little seaside town but, to our surpise, it is a bustling city with a population of Belfast and Dublin combined. We are now starting appreciate the shear scale of China and understand that nowhere in China is small. To give you an idea of the size of China, its population is about the same as Europe, North America and South America combined. We arrived to a busy seaside city but was it was so nice to feel the sea breeze after the humidity of Beijing.
We spent a full day cycling around the coast passing the multiple beaches, which get significantly cleaner and less populated the further away from the centre you get, and the Olympic Sailing Venue from 2008. It was a great way to see the coastline and a great way to
avoid all the hawkers and vendors along the sea front. We spent some time at the beach before scoffing some quail eggs on sticks beside the sea.
Our hostel was great but perhaps the greatest thing about it was the free Tsing Tao beer provided each evening. Your single token could be used from seven in the evening and most hostelers were pretty prompt at converting theirs into beer, meaning that for a brief period all the hostelers were brought together. It was a good way to get chatting to people. We met an Irish couple, a girl from England and a girl from Northern Ireland (our first encounter with someone from home). It was quite refreshing to speak in full sentences again and not just broken, pigeon, English as we had been getting used to using. These guys had already been in Qingdao for a few days and knew their way around. On our second night, they took us to a place they refered to affectionately as 'crazy hair lady's' just around the corner. Jugs of beer were cheap and the food was good. As soon as we approached the street side restaurant we saw a Chinese lady
with the biggest hair and the biggest smile. We immediately knew we'd arrived. Tables pushed together, food and beer ordered and a great nights craic was had. We had a laugh, comparing stories and sharing experiences of the 'ching-lish' signs and t-shirts we had seen so far.
On our second day, the sun managed to break through the dense mist/fog/pollution combo long enough for us to sun ourselves on the beach where we chilled out and just enjoyed the sun. That night we dined outside at a broiling pot place which was essentially a place that had a couple of round tables with a vat of near boiling water in the centre and a load of mysterious food on sticks. We had the fear as the friendly propriator threw in a load of there unidentifiable stick foods. We were particularly concerned about what we were meant to pay for and what the price would be. After chowing down on what we all agreed was tofu in all shapes and sizes, we ended up paying a whopping total of just 28 yuan for three people - equating to just over 2 pounds for dinner and 3 beers. Awesome. After dinner
and with a taste for the local brew, Tsing Tao, we picked up some bag beers. In Qingdao you can by beer by the bag from streetside keg vendors. The plastic bags we like the ones you use in tesco to put veg in. We took our bags to the balcony of hostel and had some good chats before heading off to bed.
The concept of queueing hasn't quite made it to China yet. Getting tickets at the train station can be tough. We have learned that the Chinese equivalent of queueing is a system by which the closest to the counter, and not the first to wait, is first served. This system in involves a lot of nudging and when your with a group of people, we've found it's best to create a human wall to prevent any sneaky locals worming their way to the front. A lot of patience is also required and just because you look like you might be served next definately doesn't mean you will be. Once at the counter half the battle is over but the other half is trying to cross the language barrier. On this occasion we were fortunate enough
to take advantage of English Sarah's Chinese skills.
We have been trying to learn bits and pieces of Mandarin as we go along and can say some of the very basic lingo - I want, I don't want, the word for pork and how much is that? ... every little helps.
On our last couple of days we were treated to some almighty down pours with a good dose of thunder and lighting.
Qingdao was relaxing and just what we needed. Off to Xi'an next to meet the Terracotta Warriors and then who knows!
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eve
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adventures
hello big sis, you look lovely in the photos. All looks very different over there and soooo much more fun. I see you had lots of beer........bad guys. love you loads eve xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxooooooooooooooooooooooooooxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx