Cool and Foggy (Smoggy?)

Thursday, June 17, 2010--Dalian   We really had pollution here today.  Part of the problem is fog.  But added to that is lots of pollution from vehicles to create a smog that was so heavy that I could not see the office building that is across the street from my hotel!  It's also somewhat windy and cool.  It's strange that the wind hasn't cleared out some of the smog.    I'm trying to get everything arranged for the rest of my visit in China.  The first thing I did today was go across the street to buy my boat ticket to leave here on Saturday.  I got a combination boat/bus ticket that will take me all the way to Qingdao, my next destination.  All I will have to do is go across the street at 19:30, take the bus to the port, get on the boat, and then get on a bus directly off the boat to continue to Qingdao.    After that, I explored a while.  I went to a big square on the other side of the train station.  I went through part of the large underground shopping area.  (Several cities here in the north of China are like Montreal or Houston with big shopping arcades underground due to the weather.)  Then I came back to the hotel to read and rest.  I fell asleep until the maid knocked on my door about 1:15.   I went back out while she cleaned the room.  I returned to the shopping area where I had been yesterday.  It seems to be the largest concentration of malls in town.  I looked around some, but I really wasn't interested in shopping.  I returned to the supermarket and bought some peanuts, Oreos, and noodles.  Then I returned to the room.  The weather just wasn't pleasant enough to stay out more.  Instead, I read, watched TV, got on the Internet, and just relaxed for the rest of the day.   Before going to bed, I decided to wash three shirts.  I did that and left them in the bathroom to start drying overnight.   Friday, June 18, 2010--Dalian   Well, I had a problem which I was afraid I might face today.  My next destination, Qingdao, is a major summer tourist resort.  Therefore, I knew I would need to buy my train ticket early for leaving.  I went to the train station this morning to buy it, and the sleeping cars were already sold out for June 23.  I will have to travel in a seat overnight on my trip from Qingdao to Beijing!!  Yuck.  I should have tried to buy it earlier.   From there, I went exploring for bath houses.  It is still cool and cloudy outside.  Yesterday, I researched local bath houses thinking it would be nice to spend some time in the sauna.  I had a list of about 4 places to try to find.  The first, near my hotel, ended up being in a 5-star hotel--not the kind of place I wanted.  (My hotel has a spa which would have been like that.)  The second place was in a neighborhood not far from the hotel.  It was an interested neighborhood with a nice fruit/vegetable market and vendors on the street.  However, the building where the bath house should have been was abandoned with all its entrances bricked up.  Lots of new construction is taking place all over every city in China.  Just across the street from this location, 3 huge new apartment buildings are in the final stages of completion.  So my guess is that this building as been sold for redevelopment of the block and the bath house is now history.   While there, however, I bought a "Chinese" Egg McMuffin for breakfast.  I wonder if McDonald's got its idea for Egg McMuffin from here in China, because the Chinese have this product that is a dough with an egg and a layer of meat inside.  The Chinese cook theirs in a griddle constantly turning them after they have slowly layered all the ingredients.  But I can imagine an executive from McDonald's coming here for a visit, having one, and thinking, "We could do something similar to this by using a bun, an egg, and a piece of sausage; and it would allow us to start making more money by being open for breakfast, too!"   I had to take the bus to find the next location.  I had already mapped it out on the computer and written down street directions.  On the way there, we passed some interesting neighborhoods with nice houses and buildings.  Once I got off the bus, I followed my directions exactly.  But where the bath house should be was a high-rise apartment building that was in the last stages of completion!  Another bath house lost to construction!   For the last one, all I had was an Internet blog entry by someone discussing having gone there.  It had a name and said it was in a hotel of the same name.  I had to return to the room to check more on it.  I wanted to first explore the neighborhoods I had come through, but my timing was not great; I was starting to feel a bit of drizzle.  I just caught the bus back toward town.  By the time I arrived at the hotel, it was turning into a light rain.  I came to the room and searched and searched for more information, but I could not find the hotel or bath house listed by that name anywhere.  I just gave up and stayed inside.   I finished reading An Unfinished Season by Ward Just.  It is about a young man who lives in a small town outside Chicago and covers his last summer before going away to college--a summer when his father's business faces a strike, when he participates in the debutante season, when he works as a gofer at a local tabloid newspaper, and when he falls in love.  It is set in the early 1950s.  I gave the book, which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, 3 stars (out of 4).   Saturday, June 19, 2010--Dalian and Boat   I hate the days when I have night travel ahead.  It is always such a hassle to check out of the hotel by noon and then pass the hours until time to depart.  Today it is made worse by the cool, cloudy weather.  It rained during the night, but it has been dry since I got up.  I'm hoping it will stay dry until I catch the bus/boat tonight.  I have a new book I will start reading if the weather stays nice enough for me to sit at a park.   My luggage is much heavier with my computer and all its extras.  I wish I could unload some of it, but all of it is stuff that I need or want to keep.  The only hope is to keep reading my books and to get rid of them.  I will be looking for a westerner today to give away the book that I just finished.   I haven't lost anymore weight during the 3 days I have been here.  Guess it is due to the fact that I haven't been out walking much.  Hope the weather in Qingdao will be better.  It is a major beach resort in China, so it would be sad if it is cool, cloudy, and even wet while I am there.  Thank goodness I have the computer and the hotel will have Internet in case it is.