It has been exactly a week since last Friday, and in this week, all kinds of transportation means have been used - airplanes, trains, long-distance buses, public buses, taxis, boats - just about every mode of transport imaginable (originally there was a chance to ride a bicycle, but someone surnamed Zhou dragged their feet, so it didn't happen)! The journey went from south to north, with both personal and official purposes, it really doesn't feel like something that happened in just one week!
Let's talk about the itinerary. This probably needs to be linked with the trip to Wuyuan from the previous weeks. This week was exceptionally smooth, my mood was extremely depressed, so I hastily booked the main part of the journey. In short: My mood was troubled, the method was collective, the decision was hasty, the preparation was insufficient, the journey was painful, the scenery was beautiful, and the outcome was futile. The rape flowers in Wuyuan were indeed in large patches, but they didn't give me a feeling of awe. Looking at them too much even led to a sense of aesthetic fatigue, which might be related to my not-so-good mood at the time, as everything I saw seemed gray—except for the gray tiles and white walls of the Huizhou-style architecture, which left an especially deep impression on me. I really liked the streets here, like looking at old photos, they had a nostalgic taste~ Simple people, wooden tables and chairs, courtyards, not very bright lighting, making me suddenly want to experience what it would be like to live here. After deducting the travel time, we still had a day and a half, enough to tour Wuyuan thoroughly. The breakfast by the lake, though not abundant, was delicious and an unprecedented experience. Generally speaking, there wasn't much wrong, but the title of "the most beautiful village in the foreign land" might indeed be an exaggeration...
This week seems to have shown some signs of turning luck around (of course, low-key, low-key), although it might also be because my mood was so good that it created an illusion. First, flying from Qingdao to Shanghai, I followed a factor's suggestion and booked a room in the airport hotel in Pudong -- later informed that it was fully booked, I was worrying where to stay when arriving in Shanghai at noon, then suddenly received a text message saying the booking was successful! Luck came so suddenly that I couldn't believe it, only after making countless long-distance calls and confirming from various sources did I doubtlessly inform fellow Doudou. On the day of departure, I couldn't help but confirm again to make sure everything was fine—admitting that work made me so cautious! When we arrived at the hotel front desk, we were told that the 298 yuan room we booked was unavailable, so they upgraded us to a 358 yuan room—what a windfall! While we were secretly rejoicing over our small gain, we heard another person at the front desk say to a male guest: Sir, sorry, you booked the last 298 yuan room without windows!—while that teacher shouted: Why is this happening? Meanwhile, I couldn't help but think of a phrase: People compare and envy each other! Being kind-hearted, to not console him, we slipped away~ Upon entering the room, we found it exceeded our expectations—the bathroom and toilet were semi-transparent frosted glass, the walls and ceiling were the peach-pink color I hated most, the square footbath and stainless-steel sensation made us feel quite uncomfortable~ The hard bed and blanket quickly put us to sleep...
The next day, in order to reach Xitang as soon as possible, we got up early and rushed to Shanghai South Station—later proving it was too early. We managed to find a small shop nearby for breakfast, then waited for Rat who had bought tickets in advance and personally delivered them—using his words, to quickly get rid of us and ensure everything went smoothly—however, comrades are comrades, considerate and meticulous service! And the dense crowd that day proved buying tickets beforehand was indeed a wise decision! There’s no need to say more thanks, after a brief meeting, we jumped onto the long-distance bus heading to Jiashan, we will definitely come back, hehe~
Good luck continued. According to the original plan, we had to transfer to a bus going to Xitang in Jiashan, but unexpectedly the driver said after arriving in Jiashan, those going to Xitang don’t need to get off, I’ll take you there for free!—OMG, the falling pie hit me again! I excitedly shared this surprise with the Rat who helped buy our tickets, and he actually replied: Actually, I didn't tell you, I knew earlier!—truly, people gather based on similarities, the people around me always lack proper words... Upon arriving in Xitang, it started drizzling—a place considered the Jiangnan under smoky rain, with its own unique charm! But mainly due to my good mood, even the rainy days looked bright! Ha ha~ My long-awaited Xitang, I've come! Before entering the gate of Xitang, I once again made a wise decision after consulting with Little Bear Rabbit classmate—not to visit the so-called outdoor attractions! Of course, we also did something slightly bad—Lord, please forgive me! We found the previously booked Qinglan Inn—conditions could only be described as average, but the hostess was very warm-hearted—but I said, with a good mood, these things don't matter, sea Ning leather. Then Dou Bao and I began wandering. Here I need to explain, the main purpose of my trip was to experience the Jiangnan charm of Xitang under smoky rain; while Dou Bao was experiencing the eating culture of Jiangnan! How did we end up together with such different goals?! Haha~ Joking aside, the photos taken, Dou Bao's were absolutely no fewer than mine; and the snacks she ate, I ate, the ones she didn't eat, like maltose candy, I ate... The two stores that left the deepest impression on me were: one was a store selling hand-bound notebooks claiming to be the only one in China, finding it distinctive and meaningful, after choosing one each for Baihui and Rat who were about to leave, I bought two more for myself as souvenirs; the other was a small coffee house we entered after touring Xitang during the day, warm arrangements, comfortable sofas, even the owner's personality made the little house exude an extraordinary atmosphere. The store had a little notebook for guests to record their moods—I originally despised such behavior, but there, seemingly influenced by the atmosphere, I wrote down a full page! Hoping to see these words again next time if I get the chance. In the drizzle, I tasted various snacks and took commemorative photos, then the rain finally became heavy! After persistently holding the umbrella to take a few more photos in the spirit of dedication, I finally gave up! Dinner was eaten at a riverside restaurant, the taste was average, the蝉衣包方I drooled over was a bit disappointing, but never mind, the mood was good! As the red lanterns lit up, night tours of Xitang by boat could begin! When we miserably ran to the ticket window, the queue behind was already packed shoulder to shoulder! When will we get to the front? Unexpectedly, another pleasant surprise appeared!!! A tourist group lost some members, leaving two empty boats! So the guide was looking for individual tourists to form a group, cheaper tickets, and able to depart earlier!!! Without waiting long, we were already floating on the river—let the pies fall harder! The scenery was beautiful, no need to elaborate, let the interested people experience it themselves~ Floating along, a boat came, with four musicians playing various instruments, haha, there was even accompaniment?! And only our boat had it! Adding icing on the cake~ With a joyful mood, we returned to the inn, but were too excited to fall asleep for a long time~ Finally fell asleep after I wanted to tell ghost stories and Dou Bao firmly refused to listen...
The next day, overcast weather. Also let us see another side of Xitang before leaving, sea Ning fur. The innkeeper's children insisted on seeing us off to the station, unable to refuse their kindness, but at the same time, made us wonder if they were also trying to successfully send us away from Xitang? Continued taking long-distance buses to Hangzhou. The traffic in Hangzhou was truly terrible—spent a whole hour standing by the roadside hailing a taxi! And refusing passengers seemed to be commonplace~ This left my first impression of Hangzhou not very good (actually, it wasn't even the first impression, many years ago I had been to Hangzhou, but completely forgot). Hardly managed to hail a taxi, and was mistaken for a high school student by the driver, ha~ha~ha~ Met Wen Hui and her boyfriend Mr. Shen—need to specifically mention, while boating in Xitang, we actually bumped into classmate Li who we hadn't seen for many years!!—the joy of meeting old friends in a distant land—whether planned or accidental encounters. The following schedule was all arranged, crossing Nine Creeks and Eighteen Ravines, tasting tea on the halfway point of Longjing Village, night tours of West Lake (this was somewhat unexpected) and Hangzhou streets, deliberately pulling heart-shaped balloons on the road while pretending to be sentimental... Feeling very relaxed. However, due to the poor traffic conditions, we descended the mountain when it was already dawn, missing the daytime view of West Lake, Wen Hui kept muttering: I am such a failure! Making us feel guilty for causing her trouble~ At the time, we decided to get up early the next morning to see West Lake, then rush to catch the train! The plan was grand, implementation required determination! To avoid regrets on our Hangzhou trip, we had determination and resolve, thus at 6:30 the next morning, our four half-asleep figures reappeared by the West Lake! Here, special thanks to Mr. Shen, who carried and lifted luggage for Dou Bao and me throughout the journey, also serving as our full-time tour guide, thank you for your hard work! Of course, this also indirectly reflected the inadequacy of our classmate Wen Hui's leadership skills! Our pride! Afterwards, we hurried to the water station, also with tickets bought in advance by Wen Hui—she herself had experienced multiple failed attempts to go to Shanghai! Regrettable! Alright, Shanghai, we're back!
Shanghai, I can't remember how many times I've been here, though the impressions from the previous visits weren't great. Our beloved Dou Bao classmate was actually visiting Shanghai for the first time!—excluding the first day of landing by plane. In Shanghai, I've been to relatively more places, so the main goal this time was for Dou Bao to broaden her horizons, while I met friends—again, two people with different goals, haha! Rat met us at the Shanghai station, even though he had already informed me to wait at the northeast exit, I still walked to the northwest entrance with my "extraordinary" sense of direction... However, in Xitang, Dou Bao classmate had already said a sentence that I would never forget in my life: Fortunately, Xitang had you, otherwise I wouldn't know where to go!—this sentence was a great encouragement to my long-neglected sense of direction, although it didn't help much before reaching Shanghai... Bund—a place where Dou Bao discovered the complete difference between impressions and reality! In her imagination, Shanghai should be men walking through bullets in the underworld + women dressed in cheongsams with endless charm + yellow lights + retro buildings. Disappointment was written all over her face~ Next was Nanjing Road, aimlessly strolling, I really didn't have any feelings for this street, lost count of how many times I've been here, occasionally stopping at shops Dou Bao wanted to admire. This trip was less like shopping, more like marking points, hehe~ Oh, right! The wax figure on Nanjing Road finally changed from Uncle Ge You to Jackie Chan! Lunch was randomly chosen at a "soup dumpling shop", only to find out after entering that it was a closed old shop, so many locals rushed to try it—how insightful of me! After finishing the meal and having some time, we visited the Hongkou campus of Shanghai International Studies University where Rat studied, it felt like returning to campus after a long time! Along the way, the birth of Sunny Baby, and subsequently, the series of babies including Vitality Baby, SISU Baby, Regret Baby, etc... Pushing this SISU mascot, we took a commemorative photo at the school gate. Then spent 2 hours in a beverage shop, a bunch of meaningless chatter, but nonsense is life itself! Every time I came to Shanghai before, something small would happen, leaving me with some shadowy memories of this place. But this time, even though we didn't visit many places, it was the happiest—always thought that sometimes traveling isn't satisfying because of beautiful scenery or fragrant food, meeting small friends is the happiest thing, the important thing is not the beautiful scenery or delicious food, but the beauty of friendship! Ha ha~ Shanghai and Hangzhou are the same~ Lamenting how fast time passed, we needed to head to the airport, the three of us had dinner together at the airport, after wasting two egg tarts, we boarded the return flight. Speaking of the waiting process, there was a story too, the airport broadcast repeatedly announced that our flight was on time, but the ground staff kept telling us not to believe it, saying the plane would be delayed. Of course, facts proved that humans are more reliable than machines~ The cheap flights kept showing advertisements non-stop, intentionally keeping us awake~ There was even someone selling the scarves worn by the air stewardesses, and incredibly, someone actually bought it!! Couldn't help but suspect if this person had some strange collection habits? Thus, we returned home!
Here, I must thank all the brothers and sisters along the way for their enthusiastic and thoughtful care and timely accurate information, it's all noted in my heart!
After staying home for a day, I immediately rushed to Taian and Ningyang for business~ Since it was private matters, there wasn't much fun. The impression Taian left on me was that the dishes were too bland!! However, there was one interesting incident: While having breakfast at Mount Tai Grand Hotel, we saw monks coming down the mountain to have breakfast (even going to three-star hotels for buffets, ORZ~). While discussing this, one monk walked straight towards our table. Just as we were guessing his real intentions, he directed his words at the only female among us—Comrade Adou—and quietly said: You look very much like one of my disciples! After saying this, he drifted to another table and calmly continued eating. As we slowly forgot about this person, he assigned another monk to invite Comrade Adou over, saying he wanted to give her a word of advice. We, not being invited, didn't feel it was appropriate to join, couldn't help but speculate if he was trying to persuade Adou to become a nun, that one word might be "take off the leather coat, wear the cassock" (Adou was wearing a leather coat at the time)? We saw the two of them whispering closely for a while, then Adou joined them. All we knew was that she seemed to be asking for incense money at the end, but we firmly refused. Other than that, we only heard Adou constantly talking about: It was pretty accurate! But we didn't know exactly what was accurate. Anyway, we thought the whole thing was quite funny~ Both ways, I was sitting in the front passenger seat, unable to sleep the whole way, and returned to Qingdao with mixed feelings. In the car, I was thinking resentfully that I would sleep as soon as I got home, humph, see who dares stop me~ Didn't expect to waste time writing this article, and ended up close to midnight again... Sigh~ Having finished venting, I'm going to sleep!