AliceLooking

03/02 Connor and I got up early (7am) to go to Mao's mausoleum. Lined up for around ten minutes at what we thought was the entrace only to find we were on the opposite side. Got sheperded by some extremely stern and scary looking guards to the line, where we had to wait around twenty minutes in temperatures at least 8 below zero. Not pleasant... There were far too many people up so early to see Mao! Made it to the entrace and got pushed through security scanners, had to turn out our pockets to prove we had no cameras, and then showed our passport to the guards to get in. Everyone was buying Mao flowers from little talls set up just beyond the entrace, so we copied the masses and forked over 2 kwai for ... read more

28/01 Arrived in Qingdao late at night on the 28th, it was terrifying in the dark. Found our hostel, and met a few nice travellers before going to bed. 29/01 Got up early to find the local market to no avail. Several hours later realised that no one is going to open up early on a Sunday! Went to the Qingdao brewery and beer museum (where they make Tsingtao) to do a tour, which was very cool and indluded free beer and a look at the packaging line. Found the markets on the way home. Went to a little family run restaurant for dinner around the corner from our hostel - they had cspan on a little television, and we got to watch saome of Nadal vs Djokovic. A nice taste of home! funny though that ... read more

Got up rather late, so the kitchen was closed. Ordered a coffee anyway, which was very nicely made! Went out to the local shopping strip to get breakfast, found the local bakery and got some pastries. Overly sweet for Connor but just right for me! Made our way to thelocal train station, which was actually closer than we had originally imagined, amd bough tickets for each of us to People's square, only 3 yuan each! Tickets are like single use myki's, and their system is much for efficient. Walked around in the park at People's square for a while taking pictures of all the amazing architecture. The buildings are sooo huge. Found the Shanghai Museum, but the line was too long and we were eager to do something interesting so decided not to wait and made ... read more