My Itty Bitty Footsteps through life: Back in Beijing!

Just came back from a very relaxing and productive vacation at Qingdao last Saturday night. We were really productive and visited all the touristy spots in Qingdao without having to rush from one place to another... 小鱼山公园, the Qingdao brewery, the 小青岛 lighthouse, 八大关宾馆，青岛迎宾馆，St.Michael's Catholic Church, 啤酒街 and so much more..

We had enough sleep every night that we were there, (our 2 hour nap at 8pm on the first night turned into a 12 hour rest coz we only woke up at 8am the next day). So yeah, we were really well rested. Good seafood, broccoli and fresh Qingdao beer every meal... We lived a content life for three days. We walked on the beach the whole of our last day in Qingdao, and I am definitely tanner from the walk. The three of us wore shorts out to the beach, because well... it was the beach.. turns out we were the only three people on the beach wearing shorts. Chinese people, for some reason.. wear long pants and sweaters out to the beach. 怕晒黑吧。可是在马来西亚，很多人都怕晒黑。。可是我们不穿长裤和毛衣去海边.. 奇怪极了！Needless to mention, we were stared at. Not only because we were wearing shorts, but also because of the presence of Andrea. haha.

There's something about travelling with friends that make you laugh at any situation that you're in. Moments where we could not stop laughing:
Stephanie's head lolling over onto the cab driver's shoulder on the cab ride to the train station while Andrea and I slept with our mouths open, Stephanie dusting the sand off her feet at the side of the road after her short frolick in the sand, Andrea smashing the toothpick holder with the sweep of her hand at a restaurant we were in and ended up having to pay 5 kuai for it, looking through pictures and realizing that I look like a Chinese tourist guide next to my American friends because of the "Chinese" sweater that I was wearing, Andrea's sunburnt neck and shoulders, our crazy experience at Feelings club (-_- yeah!) and our daring-ness to make a fuss about the waiters wanting us to drink 200 kuai worth of alcohol for us to get on the dance floor (the fuss we made was worth it, Steph and I had green teas each and Andrea had a beer and we were on the dance floor.), Andrea and I tripping on the sidewalks like idiots, our discussion on the train about Steph's 'lack of expression' face when we go clubbing together... good times, definitely good times. Oh oh, and Andrea's horrified facial expression and squeals after coming out from a Chinese public bathroom that had diarrhoea poop everywhere... (that definitely traumatized her) Could not have picked better people to go on vacation with.

Random moments worth remembering in Qingdao:
- one of our many taxi drivers making the random comment of “中国政府有脑病 the Chinese government has brain problems" to Andrea's comment of how there aren't many Catholics in China.
- meeting a Chinese dude on the train who did his undergrad in Malaysia's Stamford University. Need I say that I was excited as hell to coincidentally meet someone on a train who studied and lived in Malaysia for 4 years? Yeah, I was excited as hell. Until he asked for my Msn address and said that he wants to chat with me and casually mentioned that when I go back to the US for school, he won't be able to talk to me because of the 12 hour time difference. -__-
- On the train ride there, Andrea and I passed out next to each other coz we didn't sleep much the night before (or at all, in my case). A Chinese lady came and stood next to Andrea's seat in a position where her butt was shoved against the side of Andrea's face. Andrea was definitely not happy about that... but then, the lady made the comment of how the both of us probably went out late last night with guys and got really drunk, which was why we were both passed out on the train. Really now, really? I mean we went out late.. guys (friends) were present.. but drunk we were not.

This was on the day that we first got to Qingdao. It was freezing. And this picture captures it all. Andrea sticking her arm out to catch a cab.. and Stephanie freezing with her hoodie up and hands in her pockets..

The sign at the entrance of the Qingdao beer brewery... Very welcoming I must say..

Our free pitcher of beer. If there's one thing that I have learned in Beijing.. is to drink beer. Still cant drink more than one bottle of beer without feeling bloated as hell though... 1 bottle, more than enough for me. 1 pitcher on my own, definitely cannot.

Look look! at my very 'Chinese' sweater. It was so soft, I just had to get it. Don't I look like a Chinese tourist guide to those two Americans? =D

The view from high up of 小鱼山公园。The left part of the triangle of shops is where my hotel is located at.

The Governor's Mansion. Qingdao used to be colonized by the Germans so many of the buildings in Qingdao do not look anything like the Chinese buildings that I am used to. Being in Qingdao definitely felt like being in some European seaside city.