It is a large and modern city, at least half of it is modern. The streets were not choked with traffic as in Korea, and as we were on a private tour it was especially important to get back to the ship on time. Laurie asked our guide, Mitchell, if there we would see anything made in the US. I responded that we were riding in something made in the US, we were in a Buick minivan. Mitchell told us our Buick was made in China, as a joint venture.
Volkswagens and other cars are also made in China. The true Chinese cars, which were few and far between, were not very good. When we tried to fasten our seat belts, Mitchell told us only the driver is required to wear a seat belt. We had a few low speed close calls which resulted from aggressive drivers refusing to yield. Our driver, Mr. Yuan, was one of the aggressive drivers. I have no photos as I was bracing myself.
We visited the former German Governor's mansion. The Governor who built the mansion only lived in it for one month. It seems he went a little over budget and was fired so his successor enjoyed the opulence. It is the best preserved building in Qingdao because Chairman Mao lived there for one month. It holds a lot of history which I will not share at this time.
Chairman Mao's Bed
On the way we stopped at the People's Market where vendors were selling meat and vegetables. Note the meat cleaver on the tree stump chopping block.
At the Small Fish Park, which would have a spectacular view of the city if not for the ever-present haze which is not pollution or smog, but mist coming off the ocean, we were interviewed by Chinese TV. Ours is the largest ship to call in Qingdao since the Queen Mary in 1984 so it is a big deal although they seemed to be able to come up with many tour busses. Hopefully we did not cause an international incident, we tried to speak well of the city. I don't think tourists will flock to Qingdao as a result of our interview.
That's the Former German Governor's mansion in the middle of the hill behind the tourists as viewed from Small Fish Park.
While walking through an area occupied by a Sanatarium, we met a couple with a young boy and when Laurie remarked on how cute he was, they showed us his wee-wee. They are not Jewish. Good thing she didn't say how handsome the father was. Actually, they were showing off his overalls which separate in the front and back for quick access. No velcro, no snaps, just open sesame. They claim he was one year old and there was no diaper in sight. We're not sure how they accomplish that feat. I was not quick enough on the draw but the resulting photo should verify that I am not making this up.
We asked Mitchell to take us to a camera store so I could buy some camera batteries as I was going through them rapidly. He took us to a mall in the new side of the city. It was like any typical mall except all the stores were different. We saw a few familiar names, McDonalds, Starbucks, Ralph Lauren. The prices in the department store were comparable to the U.S. This is a mall for rich people. Starbucks was empty. They had my batteries, priced as they would be on the web and Mitchell told me they probably weren't as good as what I wad used to. I am not used to good batteries anyway. I was glad to find them. We also bought a thermometer. Laurie had a runny nose and I may be getting one so we want to make sure that we would pass any temperature checks that we may encounter on our upcoming tour through China. We saw the equivalent of an EZ Bake oven type of kit for sushi (less the oven).
We wanted some Chinese currency so he took us to an ATM in a hotel lobby which he considered safe because it was under surveillance. It seems that in some other locations crooks can put their own reader in the card slot to record your data off of the magnetic stripe snd record your pin as you enter it then clean out your account. The onboard pickpocket warned us of the same scam.
Lunch was an experience. It had been pre ordered by the tour company and I was relieved earlier in the day when Mitchell reviewed our order and I was able to change my order from shrimp to chicken. I have learned that I must now specify the part between the neck and the knees, less the internal organs and feathers. I was unable to identify anything on the plate as once belonging to a chicken.
I later surmised that the skin wrapped around bones must have been legs, not thighs or drumsticks which actually contain ckicken meat. I was also served a fish. All of it. Head, tail and everything in between. It was like they took it out of the net and tossed him into a pan. Why bother with cleaning? Unfortunately, the time between net and pan tasted like days or weeks, not hours. One taste was enough.
They did slice it but the garnish could not hide what was underneath. I should have known there would be trouble when on the way to the men's room to wash up I got to film a waiter chasing an eel around the floor who was wiggling for his life. At least the eel was fresh. I am now a shoreside vegetarian. Laurie was served broccoli which was too delicious for her. It was prepared with butter and MSG. Vegetarians need to vigilant. A sea cucumber sounds benign enough until you learn it is another term for sea worm. Not as misleading as ordering sweetbreads and reveiving a plate of cow brains (Acapulco) but "diner beware."
During the eel incident I saw two live chickens in a laundry basket covered by a net and should have checked after lunch to see if they were sitting down because they wanted to or because I was just served their legs.
The eels are in the blue bin. I have a movie of the eel on the run but it would make the email too big.
The Tsingtao (spelled differently but pronounced the same as the city name) brewery is a big attraction so we took the tour and got some free beer if you don't count the price of admission. It was a fun stop. We watched the filled bottles pass in front of a light and women were supposed to pick the not-so-full bottles off the line and we were amused at how many got by. That's why they put a label at the top of the bottle. The best part was the "Drunken room" which is a room tilted about 20 degrees and you try to walk through without falling into the wall. I can say it was very realistic.
We stopped at another people's market on the way back to the ship and could have picked up some lung and stomach but our refrigerator was already full.
We've already been through Dalian but that story will have to wait. We leave the ship in Bejing tomorrow for a whirlwind tour and catch up with Diamond Princess in Shanghai, probably with a lighter wallet as the shopping in Shanghai is supposed to be pretty good. There is a Saks there but I don't think Laurie will get her discount.
Regards,
Steve & Laurie
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