Aside from Qingdao and Dandong, we spent several days in the lovely city of Dalian. It was very different from Qingdao... much more laid back and quaint. Our hostel was nestled in the hills surrounding the city where the actual residents of Dalian live along beautiful winding roads overlooking the ocean. We stayed at one of the nicer hostels that I've seen in China. That being said, we actually didn't sleep in the hostel--since it was National Holiday, there was no room for us in the actual hostel so instead we got to go out into the "garden" (brickyard) and set up camp... literally.
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| That brick ground was so soft... |
On our last day in Dalian, we had hours--and I mean HOURS--to kill before our flight took off at midnight. We spent the morning wandering around the shore trying to find a way down to the ocean. Sadly, we failed miserably and all we could find was an over priced amusement park that kind of reminded me of a poor man's Six Flags if it had a love child with The Little Mermaid. From what we could see, there were rides, shows, and a very small beach but nothing worth the 200RMB price tag. So we continued to wander around to see what this part of town had to offer us.
In the end, we found an old naval ship.
Now you would think, a gang of twenty-something year olds would be able to walk along the halls and deck of the historical ship like mature adults. That, however, was not the case. For 20RMB, this was one of the greatest playgrounds ever!! There were places to climb even if the signs technically said, "Danger! No climbing!" (How would I know? I'm just a stupid American who can't read Chinese...). There were hallways that led throughout the bottom of the ship (through what we think might actually be a hostel). There were even giant guns that you could rotate and move (needless to say we went to town gunning down our imaginary ships, planes, and enemies like we were five year olds).
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| GAH!! For the Motherland!! |
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| This bad boy actually spun around 360 degrees |
While being on the ship, (my) Adam and I couldn't pass up the chance to reenact that oh-so famous scene from Titanic...
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| We do "cliche" like it is nobody's business |
And of course, (Other) Adam could not be one-upped, so the bromance had their chance to shine as well.
Let me make one thing clear: I LOVE ZOOS. There have been a few zoos that I have visited that, to this day, I am still madly in love with (Cleveland, anyone?). Now, I have heard stories about Chinese zoos where they try to pass off dogs as lions (no seriously, look at this!) but we read that the Dalian zoo is one of the best in China for the conditions of and for the animals as well as how well the animals are treated by the guests. Other than the awful habitat for the polar bear and the fact that zebras were in the pony pen, it was actually a pretty nice zoo! I got to see my very first panda ever, made friends with a chimpanzee (you know how I love me some primates), witnessed the politics of rhinos, and got to watch my boyfriend pick up a cat that could probably have torn out his throat if it wanted to.
As the sun set, we packed up our little makeshift campsite just big enough for the three of us and we headed out to the Dalian airport. We were told by a friend that there was a typhoon in the region of Hangzhou but I didn't really think anything of it since we had just had Typhoon Usagi during the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Well that was a mistake on my part.
Out flight was delayed for about 40 minutes, sending us off at around 12:30 at night. Again, a little rain... I didn't think anything of it.
Once we were on the flight, I immediately fell asleep, having been up and moving all day and being thoroughly exhausted from the last week of nonstop traveling (that's how you know you done good). About thirty minutes from Hangzhou, the turbulence was so bad that I woke up and was suddenly painfully aware of how much the wind was taking us this way and that.
Now you might be thinking, Amanda, big deal! A little bit of turbulence is expected when flying! And I would turn around and tell you to shut up I would agree with you. But this was also not my first time flying, nor was it the first time I experienced a really rocky flight (I had a flight to Dusseldorf that was so bad, I hit my head on the window at one point because the plane was rocking so much). Not only did we rise and fall a lot but we also jerked from side to side more than I have ever felt before.
I have never been afraid to fly. Nervous? Of course! But afraid? Never. I think this flight changed that.
At one point, I had my head down and found myself praying. For those of you who know me, I am not an overly religious person but you can be darn sure I was closing my eyes as tight as I could and muttering a few desperate prayers under my breath as the plane continued to be tossed through the air. There were some moments when the flight attendants were shouting or when the arm of the chair dug into my side as I rocked alongside the plane's movements that I actually found myself thinking that if I was to go--having just had an amazing trip through China, living the adventure of a lifetime with some of those who are dearest to me right now--well then, that was the perfect way for me to go and I would have had no qualms, no regrets.
But wait! There's more...
In the midst of tears, prayers, and resignation, we spot Hangzhou beneath us. There! It's the ground! Sweet, safe ground! Sweet safe ground that is much too close for comfort... where is the runway?!?
Just as we thought we had made it and it was safe to land, the engines rev back to life and we find ourselves ascending once more. I had no clue what was going on and thank God I was not traveling alone because I still feel like I might have bruised (my) Adam's arm with how tight I was clinging to him.
Without knowing what was happening, we let the plane take us up and away from Hangzhou and after about an hour of flying, we found ourselves in Changsha in Henan Province.
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| This is the furthest west I have been!! |
We arrived in Changsha at around 3:30 in the morning. After about twenty minutes of utter confusion where a handful of men felt the need to have a cock fight and speak (aka: shout) their mind and keep everyone waiting, we were on a bus headed into the city to a hotel for the night. We arrived at the hotel in Changsha a little after 4:00am. We were told to be back in the lobby by 6:00am for the bus to take us back to the airport. The was less than two hours of sleep. We fell on the bed, closed our eyes, woke back up, and ran downstairs only to learn that the bus was not there yet and that we could go back to bed.
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| The guys still able to pose even after being awake for almost 24 hours |
Those extra two hours of sleep worked wonders on me.
By 8:30am, a bus had come to pick us up and we found ourselves back at the airport. We waited at the gate for another two hours and when we thought we had made it--we finally got back on the plane--we found that we had to sit there, on the plane, with about 100 other people for more than three hours. To make matters worse--my mp3 player had died during our long journey so I was forced to sit back for those three hours and watch the people of the plane descend into madness... screaming at the flight attendants, yelling, and banging on the luggage compartments, screaming, "Let me out!" (Yes, in English).
Finally, we were able to take off and we landed in Hangzhou about an hour later to find that the typhoon hadn't really stopped just yet.
A taxi that should have taken maybe an hour or an hour and a half, took us almost four hours to get through the city. There were times when the main road--Wenyi--became a river. As I sat in the taxi, I could feel the waves hitting the bottom of the boat car. This was rain and weather like I have never seen it before (Even now, there is still standing water in some areas of the city... just look at this bus)!
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| Why am I reminded of Titanic all of a sudden? |
That night, Adam and I braved the rain and wind to get to our favorite restaurant and found crayfish swimming in the road--that is how much it rained.
So that is the exciting conclusion to the National Holiday 2013 Tour... If I end up staying another year, who knows what to expect for next year's National Holiday. Only time will tell!!
Until Next Time,
Amanda
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