NeeHow from Qingdao

We arrived in Qingdao this evening weary from our ocean voyage. The boat experience was interesting to say the least. The boat was designed to hold upwards of 300 people but times must be tough for Orient Ferry as most of the cargo were containers and only about 30 passengers. I'm sure when the boat made its maiden voyage circa 1980 it was the toast of the Yellow Sea but now the aged decor and pungent aroma of diesel fuel permeating all corners of the boat was not something that made a great first impression. We warmed up to the boat a bit after discovering we were booked in a 12 person dorm room instead of the private room we thought we had booked. The 12 person dorm room ended up being our own private suite as there were so few people on this boat. The boat had a certain strange resembling to the Overlook in The Shining hence the restless night sleep. The creaking boards and occasional chinese/japanese loudspear announcements didn't help. Aside from the deadpan silence that flowed over a room whenever we entered, we were able to make friends with the obnoxious young children that quickly took over the gift shop and boat. Once we were able to conquer the gift shop back, we discovered they sold Tsingtao beer, the beer of our current residence, for 100 yen. This calmed our nerves and got us used to the rough seas.

As we approached China this morning the sky grew dark with some weird weather pattern we were told by our new Swedish friend Daniel (the only other Westerner on the boat) that this is what a nice day in China looks like. Our arrival was a little rough but Daniel's Swedish hospitality saved us with the offer of a taxi ride and a quick crash course in Chinese bargaining. We're here now and if the amazing plate of chow mein and skewers of meat we had for dinner says anything about the rest of our trip here, it will be a delicious experience. Tomorrow we are going to the Tsingtao beer factory to see where its all made. Coincidentally, Quingdao is also known for their wine, but I don't think we will have time to make it out to any vineyards before we hop an overnight train for Beijing tomorrow night.

P.S. Genevieve took advantage of Lady's Night at a weird Japanese internet cafe to post a lot of pictures on the zooomr.com site.