This will not be remotely interesting to anyone.
So for those of you who care, but don't know (you don't exist), I was wandering about China for the past week and a half or so, and halfway through I decided to chronicle some of it because what the hell else is livejournal for. I'll update it whenever I feel like, with a random amount of days contained within. Read it or don't.
Wednesday, Day 1 - Let's start if off with a bang.
...
Well nothing really happened. We drove to SF, left the van for my sister to use when she flies back, and checked in. It turns out our flight was delayed by a couple hours, so mom commenced fretting about whether we'd catch our transfer from Beijing to Qing Dao. Michael bought Cooking Mama for his DS. I'm not sure what I was expecting out of that game, but it was disturbingly hypnotic to watch. Because Michael and mom are both Air China Silver Card members (I'm just a companion card, though I should be upgrading soon), all 3 of us were upgraded to business class. So that was nice.
-China Fact- Business class makes the flight over about infinity times more bearable. Not only is the food edible, but electrical sockets mean unlimited laptop time, which really helps the time fly by.
~~~
Thursday, Day 2 - Technically due to the time skip we only had about 8 hours in this day. It turns out mom's worries were founded, as our transfer plane was taking off just as we got our baggage, and we were business class priority. We ended up having to stay overnight in Beijing, which I'm not particularly sure if they comp'ed us for or not. It was a cheap 3 bedroom deal, but it was a bed, so I fell asleep more or less immediately.
-China Fact- Riding in a taxi is probably simultaneously the most frightening and most safe thing you’ll do here. The taxi drivers show no fear or concern for the well being of their vehicle or those within. On the other hand, people know this and will give them berth. And the drivers do this for a living so, they’re pretty good at maneuvering. I'm not sure how this compares to taxis elsewhere.
Correction: Bus drivers are worse, because they're taxi drivers in lumbering top-heavy things with half the maneuverabilty.
~~~
Friday, Day 3 - We woke up bright and early to fly to Qing Dao. Well, that's not technically true. We woke up early. It was still dark as we headed towards the airport. I drained Michael's DS batteries playing FF3. We arrived and met dad at the airport, then drove to the apartments to get everything set up before lunch. I'm writing this in retrospect, so I don't really remember what else happened except for what I noted down. And what I noted down is the food: "Peking duck for lunch, hot pot for dinner." I do remember having lunch with my grandpa, and I assume the time in between was spent getting a foot massage.
-China Fact- Peking duck is delicious. I could eat it every day.
~~~
Saturday, Day 4 - We drove to Lai Ci to visit dad's factory. We brought our overnight stuff in case we decided we didn't want to drive back. We spent most of the day shopping over there, and got our hair washed. Everyone got a haircut except for me. We ate dinner with dad's staff, and ended up just crashing at the factory. They moves some bed mattresses into dad's office and Michael and I just camped out there surrounded by his office chairs. I may or may not have stayed up late/woke up early to internet.
-China Fact- I have long forgotten how nice getting your hair washed over here feels. Massages are great. I gotta remember how they do their stuff. We need this back in the states, but with the cost of living over here....ehh.
~~~
Sunday, Day 5 - We spent most of this day driving. We dropped dad off to check out some factory stuffs, which too us about an hour off route. I think we went shopping, though I really can't remember. Time just flies.
-China Fact- Driving over here can be described as free-for-all, or more accurately “Fuck you get out of my way.” Lanes are merely a suggestion.
I think that's all for now.
Wednesday, Day 1 - Let's start if off with a bang.
...
Well nothing really happened. We drove to SF, left the van for my sister to use when she flies back, and checked in. It turns out our flight was delayed by a couple hours, so mom commenced fretting about whether we'd catch our transfer from Beijing to Qing Dao. Michael bought Cooking Mama for his DS. I'm not sure what I was expecting out of that game, but it was disturbingly hypnotic to watch. Because Michael and mom are both Air China Silver Card members (I'm just a companion card, though I should be upgrading soon), all 3 of us were upgraded to business class. So that was nice.
-China Fact- Business class makes the flight over about infinity times more bearable. Not only is the food edible, but electrical sockets mean unlimited laptop time, which really helps the time fly by.
~~~
Thursday, Day 2 - Technically due to the time skip we only had about 8 hours in this day. It turns out mom's worries were founded, as our transfer plane was taking off just as we got our baggage, and we were business class priority. We ended up having to stay overnight in Beijing, which I'm not particularly sure if they comp'ed us for or not. It was a cheap 3 bedroom deal, but it was a bed, so I fell asleep more or less immediately.
-China Fact- Riding in a taxi is probably simultaneously the most frightening and most safe thing you’ll do here. The taxi drivers show no fear or concern for the well being of their vehicle or those within. On the other hand, people know this and will give them berth. And the drivers do this for a living so, they’re pretty good at maneuvering. I'm not sure how this compares to taxis elsewhere.
Correction: Bus drivers are worse, because they're taxi drivers in lumbering top-heavy things with half the maneuverabilty.
~~~
Friday, Day 3 - We woke up bright and early to fly to Qing Dao. Well, that's not technically true. We woke up early. It was still dark as we headed towards the airport. I drained Michael's DS batteries playing FF3. We arrived and met dad at the airport, then drove to the apartments to get everything set up before lunch. I'm writing this in retrospect, so I don't really remember what else happened except for what I noted down. And what I noted down is the food: "Peking duck for lunch, hot pot for dinner." I do remember having lunch with my grandpa, and I assume the time in between was spent getting a foot massage.
-China Fact- Peking duck is delicious. I could eat it every day.
~~~
Saturday, Day 4 - We drove to Lai Ci to visit dad's factory. We brought our overnight stuff in case we decided we didn't want to drive back. We spent most of the day shopping over there, and got our hair washed. Everyone got a haircut except for me. We ate dinner with dad's staff, and ended up just crashing at the factory. They moves some bed mattresses into dad's office and Michael and I just camped out there surrounded by his office chairs. I may or may not have stayed up late/woke up early to internet.
-China Fact- I have long forgotten how nice getting your hair washed over here feels. Massages are great. I gotta remember how they do their stuff. We need this back in the states, but with the cost of living over here....ehh.
~~~
Sunday, Day 5 - We spent most of this day driving. We dropped dad off to check out some factory stuffs, which too us about an hour off route. I think we went shopping, though I really can't remember. Time just flies.
-China Fact- Driving over here can be described as free-for-all, or more accurately “Fuck you get out of my way.” Lanes are merely a suggestion.
I think that's all for now.