Xiamen, China Oct. 1 2015

This was my first trip to Xiamen. The school gave us off October 1-5 for their National Holiday and it was thrilling to get out of town for a few days. 

Several of my students in my adult class recommended a visit to Xiamen and it is only a few hours from Shantou so it sounded like a great idea, but little did I know what I was getting myself into...  It was a quirky, sad, and difficult experience, but in the end a funny rewarding couple of days that couldn't have turned out any other way. 

 This story is a perfect example of how to survive traveling to a tourist destination during a Chinese holiday and why you shouldn't attempt to do it.  I have traveled during the Chinese holidays before, but always visited places that were remote or at least stayed in a place outside of town so if the crowds were too much to handle -  I could escape.

When I decided to make the trip from Shantou to Xiamen I had plenty of time to plan how to get there, where to stay and what to do. I rode my bike out to the long distance bus station so I could see where the take off point was. I learned what bus to catch in my neighborhood to get out there and researched the city to make sure it was where I wanted to go. 

The morning came for my departure and I was walking up the street to the bus stop when the city bus I needed whiz by me. There wasn't any way to get would get to the destination on time so employing a pedicab was the next best thing. A pedicab is basically an electric motor bike hooked up to a beat up old buggy. At least the poor lady driving it didn't have to cycle this big foreign lady to her destiny which was many miles away. 

After a fast long bumpy ride through town with my hair flying in the wind and water running from my eyes -  I finally made it to the bus station. (In Shantou - it is taboo to ride in a taxi because many taxi's will not use their meter and will charge you double. You have to ask them to use the meter and when you ask them - they pretend they don't understand what you are saying). 

The ride was around 4 hours long and the scenery along the way was mediocre. Outside of Xiamen there were many farms. A lot of them were vegetable, palm tree and duck farms all mixed together. There were also a lot of fish farms - basically ponds with circulating water machines to keep the fish alive and the water fresh. 

Coming into Xiamen we made our way through the industrial part of town and soon after to the island. There is not a lot of industry on the island because  the government is trying to attract foreign attention and keep the area free of pollution. Small lakes and ponds intertwine throughout the city and the government built many parks for people to enjoy along the waters edge. The city is well organized, clean and inviting. I loved it from the moment we drove into it. They cut down on people riding motorcycles and horn honking which was a welcome relief as Shantou is infested with both. There were traffic cops at the large intersections controlling traffic and they were not scared of the cars like the police in Shantou :).

With my overnight rolling bag in tow and my heavy knapsack on my shoulder I headed from the bus station to catch a local bus to my hotel. Little did I know what I was about to happen. 

 The bus traveled through the middle of a quaint little town bustling with tourists and then we hit the coast where a winding road dotted with small beaches and parks ran along the coastline. There was a separate bike trail waiting for me and I was very excited to get to the hotel. 

No one I talked to knew where the hotel was and I walked and walked until my feet were sore and then the wheel on my luggage bag collapsed. 
I walked for hours. 

The sun went down and it was getting dark - it was unsettling not having a place to stay. Soon after there was a little store under a tent near the beach and the owners of the store could tell that I was lost. 

Their daughter who spoke a little English decided to help me and we took off to a funny little section off of the beach with makeshift restaurants, hotels, hostels and food stands. The food looked delicious as there were steamed oysters, shrimp, lobsters, clams and many other things to eat. Even though I was starving  -  it was more important to find the Inn and I am sure that this girl was ready to get me to my destination.  

When we thought we found the right Inn,  they told me that they did not have my reservation and there wasn't a room available. To this day I still don't know if that was the right place. It was late and we gave up and headed back down to her family's store. 

The girl's parents called different hotels in the area and all of them were booked so I called my friend Jason a Chinese teacher back in Shantou for help. He found a hotel online, but it was many miles away and very expensive. At this point I didn't care and just needed to rest. 

The police were in the area and we asked them to flag down a taxi to take me to the hotel.  As embarrassing as this situation was - having the police assistance might have been essential  to getting a ride to the hotel as the taxi drivers have territories and are not supposed to operate outside of their area.   

It was around 8pm when I arrived at the hotel and the room was a suite. It overlooked the lake and the city - it was a beautiful view. I had a king sized bed, huge bathroom with a huge bath tub, a large living room with an attached room set up to play Pai Gow a famous Chinese game. After I searched online for another place to stay for the next couple of days I filled the bath tub and soaked in it for hours. It was heavenly and I enjoyed every minute of it. 

The next morning I went to the hotel brunch which was wonderful. They had marinated tofu squares, rice, noodles, cranberry juice, Chinese tea and some other really good dishes. I had enough fuel to get back to the beach to look for a place to stay. 

The weather was pleasant and the hotel let me leave my bags with them for the day. Through various bus and taxi rides getting lost or rather taking a tour throughout the city I finally arrived at yet another Inn where I had made a reservation the night before. The door to the Inn was locked
 and no one was around.  

An older friendly guy picked up on my frustration and made gestures to show me where to look for a place, but we didn't have any luck. At that point it would be a waste of time to continue searching for a hotel 
so I decided to enjoy the day and
 go back to Shantou that evening. 

There was still a lot of the day to enjoy wandering on foot up and down the bike trails and up the hills off of the beach. Hidden tourist traps with seafood stands and trinket stores were nestled in the hills away from the beach. It was fun to wander among the crowds and chat with a person or two or just smile and watch the people. Lunch was a delectable mixture of squid, tofu and vegetables and for desert a bowl filled with many different kinds of fruit. 

Later in the day the beach was filling up with more people by the minute and it was time to head back home. So another long journey of traveling through the city began in an overcrowded bus with a screaming naked baby sitting on the edge of my seat. When I finally clawed my way off the bus and flagged down a taxi, the taxi driver raced to the hotel, he picked up my bags and off we went to the bus station. Whew, I thought I am finally getting out of here and can get back to my peaceful life......Well, not quite yet. 

The bus back to Shantou was not crowded and it was nice to be able to stretch out and take a nap. By the time the bus arrived in Shantou - it was dark and there were gritty looking Chinese drivers  ready to pounce on me begging for the chance to drive me home. They didn't have any luck for employment and eventually lost interest. Just as I thought I was doomed to walk many miles home with a suitcase without a working wheel -  a nice clean looking friendly, happy Chinese guy drove up to me on a motorcycle to see if he could help. He told me I was going the wrong way so I negotiated a price with him and he threw the busted overnight bag, knapsack and computer case on his motorcycle and off we went. 

 The driver sped through the streets as I said my prayers over and over again and after he got lost several times he finally gave up and listened to my directions to get us to my destination. Forty five minutes later (Normally a 15 minute ride) I finally arrived home. My hair was scattered everywhere and my body was shaking as I got off the bike. The driver and I both started laughing at the experience and we were relieved the ride was over.   He was an adorable man with a great personality, but I know one thing for sure... that will never happen again. 

The lesson I learned is no matter how prepared you are for your journey - there will always be challenges to face and obstacles to tackle. I learned that if you  let go of the way you think it should be and embrace the moment - sometimes you will be pleasantly surprised. 

I met a lot of nice people along the way and they took care of me. They provided help and a safe journey to my destination. More important they brought me smiles and a great story! I will reward them by helping someone in the near future
 -  paying it forward. 

Xiamen is a well planned city with an artsy district, a focus on music and the beach. The next trip to this small city will be a smooth fun time exploring all that it has to offer. AHHHHHHH.