Seaside Walk

Challenges of the Chinese Train in Summer

Summer is in full swing, and it seems like everyone is on vacation. Trains are jammed, with seats sold out weeks in advance. We tried in vain to buy a ticket to Harbin in the north and to Xi’an in the south. Then we started looking into buses. For about the same price, it would take two to three times longer to get anywhere, and there were no tickets to any of the destinations we were looking for anyway. We stayed an extra day in Beijing, venturing down to the new Beijing South Railway Station. The lines were still long, but nothing compared to the previous day’s harrowing experience trying to figure out the system at the main Beijing Train Station. The South Station opened in 2008, and is a great alternative, with a modern, much less crazed atmosphere.  We scored two soft seat tickets to Qingdao for the next day. It wasn’t a place we knew much about, but it was on the coast, so we decided to give it a try.  You can’t ever really go wrong near the sea.

On Your Mark, Get Set, Go!

Bright and early we head back to the station and found a tiny corner of bench to wait for boarding. A half hour or so before departure everyone made the mad rush to the gate: scrambling over one another, elbowing and pushing their way through (as seems to be the norm) as soon as the attendant opened the doors.

It was our first experience on a Chinese train, and we found it to be a pretty comfortable way to travel. There were car attendants and snacks were offered for sale once or twice. Hot water for making instant cup noodles or tea was available between cars. Seats were wide and comfortable (we hadn’t seen hard-seat class yet). People were loud, and cell phones were constantly either ringing so people could answer and have a lengthy conversation, or beeping and buzzing at full volume as people played video games. One man periodically took a radio out of his bag and scrolled through the static on every station at full volume, trying to see if he could tune in his favorite program. I wonder what they would make of the Japanese request for everyone to have phones set on “manner mode” in any form of public transport!?

Blue House Qingdao

Sorry, Your Reservation Was Cancelled

Qingdao was entrenched in heavy fog when we arrived, so we didn’t get much of a feel for downtown.  We did find the train ticket office and figured out there were no trains to Xi’an for at least 10 days. Writing the Chinese characters for the hotel and surrounding landmarks paid off with the gypsy cab driver, and we made it there only to be told that our reservation had been cancelled. Since it was prepaid, this was not a good thing. They suggested going to another hotel, but Donny stepped up and insisted they find something. Our theory is that they got a big group and overbooked. Finally, they said they had something but they needed to clean it up, and we would be the first guests to use it. It was clear why. The room wasn’t finished. Walls, tiles, leaks smells…without going into too much detail, it was not ideal. We were only able to transfer our last night, after the ceiling started pouring down water.

Things looked up a bit the morning as we started off on a marathon walk to find an internet connection through which we could plan our escape. The place listed in our guidebook as an airline ticket booking office looked like a hotel that had been condemned. There was furniture and mattresses piled up, dirt, debris and papers laying around. Most of the doors were literally chained shut, but we ventured into a deserted-looking lobby.  After a bit, a young woman passing by led us down some dark corridors to a tiny of office of Shandong Air. We booked two tickets to Xi’an for two days later and thanked God something had finally gone right.

Wedding Photos

Qingdao Seaside Walk

The rest of the afternoon was spent meandering back toward the hotel along part of the 40-kilometer Qingdao seaside walk. The city hosted the sailing competition during the Beijing Olympics, so there were a number of sights related to that by the harbor. We saw parks, thousands out strolling, flying kites, snacking and enjoying the afternoon. Bathing Beaches 2 and 3 were dotted with brides and grooms posing for photo shoots in the late afternoon light, celebrating their new-wedded bliss. One pair even had a real, white pony as one of their props. Each couple had their own cameraman calling out the poses: head up a bit, arm around her, stick your right leg out as if taking a step . . . The richer folks had an assistant helping with the spotlight and fluffing the dress or holding it out of the waves.

Beer Street

Beer Street!

Closer to our neighborhood, there were a large number of historic residences and buildings left from the Germans. They took over in 1898, and Qingdao remained in German hands until the Japanese arrived in 1914. With the Germans came beer. Qingdao is an alternate romanization of Tsingtao, the Chinese beer so popular here and abroad. We got to try a pitcher of the dark stout (yuanjiang) on Qingdao Beer Street before we left. It was caramelly, nutty, with hints of toasted toffee. Yum! Beer Street starts right outside the Tsingtao Beer Museum, and is lined with restaurants serving seafood and other delicacies with pitchers of several varieties of the local brew. We had heard you could buy beer by the bag around here but didn’t quite understand what that meant until we saw a few guys walking down the road with a clear plastic bag, like a small grocery bag, with handles, but not closed at the top. From the number of kegs sitting curbside, it seemed you just walk up and fill’er up right into the bag.

Yum!

German Influence in Badaguan

The Badaguan section of town has a big park with a summer amusement park, ponds, pavilions and the city tower, which you can ascend for nice city views. There are many German villas in the hills, whose rooftops and colors make it seem quite European. The old town has a lot of German architecture as well, including the Protestant Church and the former German Governor’s residence. Our stay in Qingdao turned out to be a pleasant surprise. We had some good seafood and street food and got in some terrific walks, enjoying the whole experience of a Yellow Sea holiday.

Click HERE for photos.