We're in China!!

We survived the trip to China.  It was one of the longest flight we’ve ever taken.  Dave says that he endured a Riyadh to JFK connection that was a little longer, but I wasn’t with him for that one. . . . Thank goodness!  After arriving in Beijing, our four hour layover was lengthened by two hours as there was a “thick fog” in Jinan.  It was a very long trip. And by the time we arrived at our new digs at the Hanlin Hotel, we were very tired.

Our first impressions of Jinan were dampened slightly by the grayness of it all. This is a picture of the view from the top of Thousand Buddha Mountain near the Halin where we live. 

We were warned that Jinan had bad smog problems.  The grayness and haze here rivaled the skies of Dhahran, during a sand storm.  It appears to be a combination of fog and smog.  We were told that this was uncommonly bad, and we’re hoping that it will soon pass.  Bad pollution is like this in most of China.

Toby took us to our new home, the Han Lin Hotel. We pronounce it Hanlin Hotel. Our apartment is on the seventh floor. We have a view of the campus. There are lots of trees here in Jinan, and besides the gray, it’s quite green. The streets are tree lined, and it’s very agreeable.

We have a two bedroom, two bath suite. This summer, new dark wood laminate floors and wall paper were put in. So it has an updated feel, although the kitchen is scant and very used looking. There’s an old white microwave that I haven’t mastered yet. All the markings are in Chinese. The toaster oven is white, except where the baked on grease of many past uses have stained it. The hot plate is very stained from past use as well, and it’s either broken, or I’m a complete idiot about how to use it. Our refrigerator is a bit taller than the ones you see in the average USA motel/hotel. The freezer unit is much better and larger though. It sits very low to the ground though. We set the whole refrigerator on an extra bedside table that we weren’t using, and it seems to be a lot more user friendly this way.

Take note of Dave’s foot-ware. We found these cool slippers that work just like dust-mops. They are comfy, and since Dave forgot to bring his slippers, and the floors here aren’t carpeted, they work out great. And for only $2.75, they’re a good deal! Should we bring any home for you?