On Friday after class, Maeve and I decided to go see the ocean. Qingdao is pretty much surrounded on three sides by the water, so we'd seen it from a distance before. We got on a bus that we were pretty sure would take us there. As far as the buses go, we figure if we're not in a hurry, taking the wrong bus is more an adventure than an inconvenience. Also, each ride costs 1 kuai each, so it isn't a big waste of money. We wound up on the right bus, though. We got off and walked toward the beach. It was a beautiful sunny day and the water was incredibly blue.
There were some really pretty mountainous islands in the distance.
So, of course, as the tourists we are, we were obliged to take lots of pictures.
There are beautiful pagodas everywhere. After seeing this one we decided to try to get to it.
Before leaving to find the pagoda, we walked past several crazy old men in speedos. Some of them were exercising on the beach and some even went in the water. It was cold and windy (around 30 F) and Maeve and I were cold even in our jackets. We were talking about how nice it will be to go to the beach when it is 40-50 degrees warmer while these guys were enjoying the sun, seemingly unaware of the season.
There was a bit of a carnival set up on the beach. There were bounce houses, bumper cars, a carousel.
And of course, you gotta have your KFC on the beach.
On our way to the big pagoda on the hilltop, we stopped to appreciate the scenery from this smaller one.
The view was pretty nice.
While on this pagoda we also met a nice couple from Shanghai who were on vacation to Qingdao. It's not hard to see why it would be a popular tourist destination.
Because of photo uploading difficulties, this is going to be a two part post. More to come...
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