Number Four - Zibo Barbecue#
- Eight Great Bureaus 🌟 🌟 🌟
We dragged our tired bodies and forced ourselves to be energetic. We took a 2-hour high-speed train ride to Zibo at noon. Since we didn't really plan ahead, we went directly to the most famous place in Zibo, the Eight Great Bureaus. The Eight Great Bureaus used to be a market in the city center, but it has become a must-visit place in Zibo, with many popular snacks. We took a taxi from Zibo North to the Eight Great Bureaus, and there was heavy traffic along the way. Fortunately, the driver took us to a less crowded entrance. We started exploring. The Eight Great Bureaus mainly have local specialty snacks. We had fried meat, bought some local milk, and visited a popular shop that sells a type of waterless cake, where we also waited in line to buy some. The freshly baked waterless cake was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, very delicious, but it wasn't as good when it cooled down. We thought all three of these foods were pretty good. There were also many shops selling glass and glassware products in the Eight Great Bureaus, which should be a specialty of this area, but they didn't have what I liked. Oh, there were also many fans being painted on-site, which looked pretty nice, but we didn't buy any either, probably because we didn't want to carry too many things. After squeezing through the crowded street, it was time for our usual program, finding a clean restroom and deciding where to have barbecue for dinner. We sat in a nearby shopping mall for a long time, searched on Meituan for a long time, and finally decided to go to a barbecue restaurant near the North Station with a decent rating, which would be convenient for us to return to Qingdao later in the evening. - Zibo Barbecue 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟
I think one of the great features of Zibo barbecue is that it's outdoors. So, the barbecue restaurant I chose must be an outdoor one. Another measure of its uniqueness is that it's cheap. I'm not asking for much, just that it's cheaper than barbecue in Hangzhou. But then I discovered another well-known feature of Zibo barbecue, which is that it must include a roasted pancake and a large plate of scallions. When eating, you should wrap three skewers of lamb skewers in the pancake, then add a few scallions, and stuff it into your mouth, feeling full and chewing. The restaurant we went to in the evening had good business, with many non-local tourists and of course many locals as well. Fortunately, although there were many people, we didn't have to wait in line. But we still waited a long time for our barbecue to arrive, along with a small stove. It is said that the grilled items are brought out when they are 80% cooked in the kitchen, and you need to grill them yourself. Anyway, I'm not good at cooking, and barbecue is a bit difficult for me, not that I can't do it, but I can't grasp the timing. Thanks to my understanding companion, she took on the challenging task of barbecue, and I am very grateful. I ate a lot during this meal, so much that it reminded me of the feeling of not wanting to go back to Changsha years ago. In the end, the two of us couldn't finish all the dishes we ordered. The total cost of this meal was about 100 yuan, which was really worth it!
After eating barbecue, we caught the last high-speed train back to Qingdao, and the subway happened to be running so that it could take us back to the hotel. And that's how our day trip to Zibo ended. I think Zibo is still very suitable for a day trip, and the experience was pretty good. The staff here have a very good service attitude. On the way back, my companion and I had the same feeling.
Complaints about the return high-speed train#
In the end, we found two first-class tickets from Qingdao to Hangzhou, departing at 6:30 in the morning, on 12306. They cost about 1000 yuan each, and without much thought, we quickly purchased them. Because we had compared the cost of taking a plane back to Hangzhou on the 5th, including fuel surcharges, it would cost about 1400 yuan for a red-eye flight. For a poor family, we can only exchange money for time, so we chose the slightly cheaper high-speed train. But it was really expensive on the high-speed train, the cheapest second-class seat from Qingdao to Hangzhou was about 300 yuan, several times more expensive, it really hurt. Through this experience, I realized that crossing from Shandong Province to Jiangsu Province is really a hurdle. I just wanted to be able to take a high-speed train to Jiangsu Province, as long as I reached Jiangsu Province, there would be trains back to Hangzhou. But there were no tickets available at all. The railway bureau in Shandong Province couldn't consider optimizing this route, and every route had to detour through Shandong Province before leaving the province, which took a really long time. It's really difficult for people from Shandong Province who work outside the province during the holidays. I don't want to go through the difficult process of buying high-speed train tickets again.
Number Five - Returning to Hangzhou#
In order to catch the 6:30 train, we woke up at 4:30, got ready at 5 o'clock, checked out, and took the pre-booked ride-hailing car. We arrived at the station around 5:30, and there were already quite a few people there. Most of them were taking the same high-speed train as me, there was really no choice. We ate some chain store wontons at the high-speed train station and waited for a while before boarding the train. Our first-class seats were separated by an aisle, so after tidying up our luggage a bit, I started to doze off. My companion started reading a novel, not because she wasn't tired, but because a fat man sat next to her and started snoring loudly, which could be heard throughout the entire train car. After this fat man woke up, he started talking loudly on the phone. First class wasn't as comfortable as I thought, I couldn't sleep at all. Both of us had headaches during the journey. There were also a bunch of children playing loudly on the floor of the train car. Amidst all these annoyances, we endured for 7 hours, feeling restless while sitting or standing, and finally returned to Hangzhou. We took a taxi directly home. When we got home, I forced myself to stay awake and cleaned up the mess left by my naughty cat. After the house was more or less in order, I finally lay down on the bed to catch up on sleep.
Summary of the Travelogue#
- Don't attempt to travel during the National Day holiday!
- Don't attempt to travel in famous cities during the National Day holiday!
- Don't attempt to travel in famous cities where it's difficult to buy return tickets during the National Day holiday!
Actually, in this trip, there were moments of happiness, pain, and anger. My friend and I also had disagreements and moments of silence, but after a while, the anger dissipated and our relationship became harmonious again. As long as we maintain the mindset of having fun and being comfortable since we're already here, that's the most important thing. The worst thing is to complain about everything during the trip. In that case, it's better not to travel and find trouble for yourself and others.