This past week, I started my vacation with a trip to Qingdao with Pang Li, Annie, Jesse and P.A. Initially we were planning on going to DaLian, another beach city, but there was an oil spill just weeks ago that has ruined the waters and beaches (sound familiar?).
There are really only two words I need to describe Qingdao: beach and beer. If you want to get more cultural about it, I can add that there is a heavy German influence in the architecture and history.
The train from Beijing to Qingdao went by fast, and once we arrived, we took a van to check in at Kai Yue Youth Hostel/Old Church Lounge. This was my first time staying in a hostel, and it was a great experience. The hostel was recommended by Hostelworld.com and Lonely Planet. They had a bilingual staff, a bar/hang out area and one free beer per day per customer! We stayed in two eight-person rooms with other Americans, an Irishman, and a Taiwanese family. My only complaints: no hot water and the front doors are locked at 2 a.m.
Once we were settled in and got our free beers, we called the van driver from earlier. We (read: Pang Li) struck a deal with him that we would pay 300 yuan to hire him as a guide for the three days we would be in Qingdao, and he would take us wherever we wanted to go. He recommended (as did Lonely Planet) that we go to Beer Street, which houses the Tsing Tao brewery that makes Tsing Tao beer. Both Qingdao and Tsing Tao are pronounced "ching-dow," but they are written differently because of the evolution of Chinese pinyin. Beer Street also had numerous places to eat, drink and listen to live performers. We ate outside at a barbecue restaurant that the driver recommended. Since Qingdao is a port city, we had lots of delicious seafood. The pitchers of fresh Tsing Tao were also great and “the real deal.” We even tried black beer, which I think was only appreciated by myself and Pang Li. Our driver was fast asleep by this time, so we bribed a taxi driver an extra 5 yuan (US$0.75) to let us cram all five people in his cab and got home safely.
The next morning, we enjoyed an American breakfast (that’s even how it was advertised on the menu) at the hostel with eggs, bacon, sasuage, coffee, etc. It hit the spot, especially the coffee. Pang Li was not impressed and insisted that we give Chinese breakfast a chance the next day.
We set out for the day to an island called Little Qingdao that could be accessed by one road with waves crashing upon it. On the island, we walked along the rocks, let the waves crash upon our legs, took some pictures, and marveled at the number of Chinese people disobeying the “do not cross” signs to get nearer to the sea.
Next we went to one of my favorite places in the world: the beach. It was pretty crowded, but we found a spot to put our stuff down and lather up. The sun was out in full force, and the Chinese people all had their personal umbrellas to help. They also had an eye-catcihng range of clothing, bathing suits, and floating devices. I’m talking inner tubes, rafts, and even wing floaties (yes, grown men were wearing floaties – many Chinese people don’t ever learn how to swim). The sea water felt great, and we even got Pang Li to go in to his waist (he also can’t swim).
Once we were good and pruny and had seen enough small children running around the beach in the buff, we set off in search of lunch. Jesse and P.A. recognized a Chinese restaurant they dined in the last time the ASU group was in Qingdao, so the driver joined us for lunch there. It was amazing, but we all ate so much that we were in need of a nap back at the hostel.
We woke up and set off for a restaurant/bar that John recommended. John is an Englishman that works in our office and taught in Qingdao for a few years two years ago. The French restaurant, Le Bang, was a pretty big letdown as we were among the only people there, the service was slow, and the menu was pricy. We tried another of John’s recommendations, Corner Jazz Bar, later and this was equally disappointing. We decided to leave the empty establishment after one Qingdao. This proved to be a great idea since we found a place called Beer Bar (although it was basically just a few kegs and small chairs outside on the street across from our hostel) selling pints of beer for 2 yuan (US$0.30). Annie busted out the cards and we taught Pang Li B.S. and Spoons (which we improvised for and re-named “Chopsticks”). It turned out to be a great night full of lots of laughter.
The next morning, we held up our end of the bargain and ate a Chinese breakfast of dumpling soup and vegetable buns. Surprisingly, I liked it a lot, though nothing will replace bacon and buttered toast. Next, we set out for Mount Laoshan, which was about an hour outside of Qingdao. It was pretty touristy, but great to get away from cities and have a good sweat and hike. We hiked past pagodas, waterfalls, and a monastery that was supposedly 500 years old (although it looked pretty new to me). We even saw some goats, which reminded me of the last time I had hiked abroad on Mount Pilatus in Greece.
We returned to Qingdao and ate on Snack Street, another strip of restaurants specializing in barbecue seafood. I had a crab, a large shrimp (Qingdao’s specialty), some kind of large clam, and a fish that we picked out and watched get killed (sad, but, as Pang Li says, “TIC: This is China.”). We decided to give up on the bars and embrace our hostel’s amenities, so we headed back home to out free beer and hookah. This was another first for Pang Li and something I had been wanting to do in China ever since I heard that Hookah Bliss in Chapel Hill had closed (moment of silence, please). We worked our way across the street and down a bit to a place where the beer was, believe it or not, even cheaper. We eventually even got a bag of beer, another #onlyinchina moment. While we were out drinking and socializing, P.A. didn’t feel well so he was in the hostel meeting an American roommate named Chris who, no lie, graduated from UNC and was originally from Charlotte. P.A. told Chris about me and sent him out to find us. We flagged him down as the only other Westerner sitting amongst Chinese people and had a great conversation. It turns out that he did a summer in China when he was my age through UNC’s B-school and decided to learn Chinese and return before starting work for Habitat for Humanity. We “bar hopped” and toasted to yuan fen (read: fate) for introducing two Charlotteans and Tar Heels in Qingdao!
The next morning, while Chris set off for the airport to go back to the States, we had another Chinese breakfast, said our goodbyes to Pang Li and set off for the train station.
Next stop: Shanghai!
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