Eric's Beijing Diary

The train was supposed to be in at about 8:30 pm last night, but it was 6 hours late. We pulled into Qingdao at 2:30 this morning. Pretty awkward time. I walked to a hotel that had been recommended by Lonely Planet as a nice place to stay. You know, it really did look like a nice place, but the room prices were higher than those listed in the book for peak season, and the problem was that they were going to charge me a whole day for the period between 3 am and checkout at noon. No dice. I walked back toward the train station and talked with some workers sitting outside a hotel I had seen on my way from the train station. This was clearly a lower class hotel, but the same deal. Since it was still 3 o'clock in the morning, I had to pay full room price (which they told me was 100 RMB +) for the period ending at noon. I asked them how soon I could check in for the next night. They said 6 am was the earliest. So I was basically looking at paying a whole day for three hours. I told them I would go away and come back later. Then they told me they would give me a special deal. I could stay until the 17th if I would pay 280 RMB. I said, "So one day is 140?" They said, "Yes." I did some quick math and informed them that they were still charging me a whole day for the period between 3 am and checkout. Hmmm...what is it about me...do I look like a complete idiot? Oh, well. I decided to go back to the train station and wait it out. There are always people waiting around a train station for some reason or other. When I got to the train station, a lady saw me and told me she had a place to stay. I explained my problem, and she told me she could give me a room for 30 RMB. Now I was really curious. I figured this place must be pretty bad, but the lady was so sweet and cheerful I just couldn't help but trust her. When I got to her place, she led me to a tiny, tiny room with another guy sleeping in it. There was one open bed, but the air in that place was terrible! This lady is basically renting closet space to bums and drifters who absolutely have to have the rock bottom price. I turned and walked out quickly, telling her I could not sleep in that stuffy place. She apologized all over the place, and when I got outside, she pointed to a mattress lying on the sidewalk, "How about this?" I said, "How much?" She said, "Twenty yuan."

Ever slept on a sidewalk in Qingdao in the summertime? It's a treat, let me tell you. Soft, cool breeze, crickets chirping. They guy next to me said, "Don't worry, we'll watch your stuff for you." I couldn't help wondering how he planned to do that as I watched him sleeping peacefully a short while later. But I wasn't really worried. These are nice people. Decent, working class folks trying to do the best with what they had. I don't know...do you think I should have just paid for the extra day at a nice hotel and called it good? Obviously, you've never slept on a sidewalk in Qingdao in the summertime.

I left shortly after six and finally found a very nice room at the train station hotel. Should have gone their first, I guess, but I still wouldn't have gotten in. They told me my room would not be cleaned until 8:30, but that I could put my stuff in it. I tried to bargain the price down, but they wouldn't budge. Stands to reason. The place is obviously packed if they don't have any empty rooms. Why should they come down in price? I didn't want to pay what they were asking, but it really was a nice place. Not top end luxury, by any means, but very nice rooms, with air conditioning and a good view of the sea. Oh, well. I knew staying in Qingdao was going to be expensive. Before I came to Qingdao, I had prayed for an "annointed vacation," and I had to accept what God was giving me. When they handed me my room key, I had to take a second look. My room number is 1903.