I took a bus to the city of Qingdao, over 4 hours away on the coast. From 1898 to 1914, Germany built and controlled Qingdao, so it is fairly different from other cities in China.
From a friend’s recommendation, I was able to stay in a unique place. The first thing I notice is a kayak above the door, many odds and ends everywhere. Inside, I see over 30 ticking clocks in the first room. I counted at least five steering wheels from ships. The owner took a flash photo of me as soon as I walked in. He really likes taking photos.
He showed me one room, over 10 clocks on the walls ticking and ringing. I said no thanks to this one, a little too much for me. I took a really tiny room instead. The shared bathroom/shower were so small that it made living conditions here fairly bad. The soft floor under the sinks didn’t give me a good feeling as well as the toilet which wouldn’t fit me standing all the way up. Difficult to walk anywhere, since everything was so narrow and there were things everywhere. I found the cooking area, literally less than one square meter in size.
One thing I’ve noticed in China lately is the size of the sheets they put on beds. If it isn’t an official hostel or hotel, the sheet is smaller than the bed itself. So it means your head and your feet may not be on a sheet. Also pillows rarely have a proper cover. Instead you get something that looks like a towel placed over the pillow.
Anyway, I got to see some of the new and old of Qingdao. In some areas it looks like you are in Europe, in others it looks like you are in a normal Chinese city.