Friday, October 10, 2008

A trip to the sea.

Well, not content with our last little jaunt (an attempt to do what many nomadic tribes failed to do – assault the Great Wall of China), we thought we could do with another nice relaxing break – this time by the sea. We chose a place called Qinhuangdao, two hours from Tangshan, near the sea, perfect. Of course, we didn’t bank on getting a little merry the night before (Thank you I don’t think Mr Muller!) and having to endure a 2 journey, hung over, stood up on a packed Chinese train!That aside, we got to the hotel and OMGFG!!!! Luxury! I had really forgotten what luxury was – but it wasn’t the plush interior that got me excited… oh no! It wasn’t the carpeted floors either! Not even the Gin stocked mini bar (although that did raise a big ole smile!). It was something you lot probably take for granted – A BATH!!!! Oh my gods, a real, deep, clean, hot water spouting bath! I almost had to change my underwear!Having got over the shock of the bathtub, we decided to explore Qinhuangdao’s sea front. It was amazing to see the sea again – hear waves, feel sand getting between the toes and of course the numerous huge tankers passing by. We were so over awed with the sight and spectacle that we almost didn’t realise that we had somehow ended up in Port Talbot! It was almost exactly the same! Beautiful beaches, amazing waters, and there, off to our left a huge dock loading all manner of ecological unpleasantries onto ships…Even that didn’t spoil the mood though – we spent our time wandering the beach, smiling amiably at the locals and staring, awestruck at the sheer number of things they sold that were constructed purely from sea shells and glue :o/ All in all we had an amazing time, and even found a workable swimming pool there! But the best of all came on the train ride home…Anyone familiar with the Chinese transportation system will know how difficult the journeys can be – had to book tickets 3 days in advance, and then all sold out apart from standing room (again!). We got on the train, expecting another two hours of standing in the carriage, but as the train pulled off Valmai was grabbed by the arm and lead down the corridor to a spare seat – amongst a group of devout Buddhists and two monks travelling to Beijing! We spent the whole journey back conversing in broken chinglish, sharing sunflower seeds and being force fed garden-pea flavoured ice lollys! I kid you not… Life on the road uh?So I’ll sign off this one with a thank you to that kind group who gave us seats (and seeds, and pea-flavoured lollys!) and to you, my Buddhist friends ‘a mi tuo fo!’

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