Qingdao

The sleeper bus was unlike anything I have ever experienced and I thought we would die numerous times. The punch line to the trip was that there is no such thing as a sleeper bus because the amount of times the bus honks its horn at people he tries to pass, who then cut off the bus causing him to slam on the brakes and rock the bus forward with a screeching halt, is... well, I lost was I was trying to say but I love China. 13 hours later we arrived in Qingdao.

Qingdao meant no plans, and that was basically how I interpreted it the entire time I was there. Beijing was packed with so many big things and every effort to try to everything we could. Qingdao, however, was much more relaxed. The city of Qingdao is on the coast and was host to sailing sports of the 2008 Olympics. Also, the city itself was once a port to Germany and the architecture throughout the town resembles its Bavarian influence.

On the first day Jessica and I got separated from the group and spent our time on one of the beaches and walking through the street vendors. Eventually we met up with the rest of the group, to which we added another people. We found a place to eat and made our way to the Lennon Bar, a bar built in tribute to the Beatles. To those whoever find their way to Qingdao, this was the best find by far. The atmosphere was great and far enough out of the way that it is basically a secret. There was a live band playing a bunch of classic rock and roll covers, some of which were Beatles music. The Singer/bassist and guitarist were middle aged Philippino guys and the drummer was from China. It didn’t matter, though; it was the best live band I have ever heard. The evening ended with Jessica and me trying to find a dancing bar. China, in true form, made the effort an experience worth remembering. The first two clubs were not actually dance bars, which was actually confusing since the music was all techno and the rave lights were flooding the places with seizure inducing intensity. The third place looked promising at first. Aptly named Club Z, which caught our attention and made us think, ‘hmm, that must be a club,’ the place was an accident waiting to happen. Our approach should have told us everything. Despite the lights being on, there was no music coming from the place and doors were closed. So, not willing to let the night rest without a dance I opened the door to investigate to find that, in summation, Club Z was in fact a hen house – we left. Fourth and finally was ‘The Feeling Club.’ This club got its name from its literal meaning, we got our dance, got groped by more Chinese people than I ever could have imagined, and my phone was stolen from my back pocket. All in all, a successful night on the town in old Qingdao.

Day two in Qingdao was Jess, Finn and I relaxing by the Olympic village, meeting the Mickey Mouse English Speaking School of Hubei Province, eating at Pizza Hut, and drinking some Starbucks. Completely enthralled with the Lenin Bar, we finished the night with the whole group listening to the same band as the night before. The next day, and last full day, the whole crew made our way to some island just outside of Qingdao where we found an amazing beach. We spent the day there swimming in the Yellow Sea and sleeping in the sunlight. It was incredible and relaxing.

The trip ended with a 22 hour train ride home, a bag full of smelly clothes and gifts, and 11 tired foreign English teachers.