The Night Ferry to Qingdao And Beyond

I visited China in September 2010 for a brief week. That time I took the slow ferry from Incheon Korea to Qingdao China and boarded a bullet train for Beijing spending five days in China’s Capital.

China was enormous, relatively easy to navigate around, close to South Korea and cheap, so I decided to go and explore one more time. This time I was off to China’s centre of trade and finance – Shanghai.

I boarded the same Weidong Ferry from Incheon to Qingdao. I knew the procedure and the trip across went smooth. On China’s side I remembered that the people in the lobby of the ferry disembarked first and I skipped the long line and sneaked off to enter customs first. I also remembered the bus number to the railway station from last time and I printed a map to walk to the backpackers – too easy. If it had been a new foreign country or different route then it might have been different. 

 I spent a full afternoon and next morning exploring the streets of Qingdao and came across some interesting sights nestled between the old German architecture and rising skyline. A sign of the old ways still embedded in modern China as business men in suits come to by meat of the streets and women in high heels shuffle between chicken shit and guts on the sidewalk.

I went to China during the Chinese New Year (Lunar New Year) when lots of Chinese migrate cross country to be with their relatives for the festive season. It is regarded as the world’s biggest annual migration of people and this year it was estimated that 230 million people would travel cross country. For many it is the only time per year that they can visit loved ones and home. I spoke to a few people and they were all heading home to be with their family. Others told me that they have in the past stood on the train for a complete journey of 25 hours without sleep or a seat. Nowadays more people are able to fly or use bullet trains as the middle class in China is growing.

I on the other hand wanted to experience this mass exodus to and from the city and opted for a hardsleeper on a slow night train to Shanghai. The railway station was full with eager travellers wanting to get home and I was lucky to organise an overnight train ticket to Shanghai before leaving Korea. The queues were long and cramped but moving quick. I found my sleeping birth with ease and had the top bed sharing with five other Chinese eating noodles, listening to music on their cellphones and keeping to themselves. The journey went quick and was comfortable and I was on the platform in Shanghai only 22 hours later. 

CHINA!

Ever since I was little boy I thought of China as this far-off mystical place that Marco Polo took an epic journey to. An enormous empire at the edge of what I thought could be Earth. The place where they built the Great Wall ages ago, where you can find the Forbidden City, where all the clothes I wear get made and where many curious people dream of going one day. A country I studied about in Political Science back at Stellenbosch University, South Africa and a country whose presence I could see while travelling through many parts of Southern Africa.
A current Super Power that has opened its doors since the Cold War. The country with the world’s largest population and yet so many secrets surrounding this state-run country of which we still know little about. It was all this mystery and curiosity that made me want to go and see for myself.

I packed only a small camera backpack with all my camera gear, a few items of clothes, my passport and a map. The opportunity presented itself at the end of September to go to China and I was not going to miss out on this one.

The Slow Boat To China

One of the many ways to kill time while desk warming as a public school English teacher in Korea is to Facebook, read the news, day dream or look for travelling options to potential destinations. I started looking into ferry transport from South Korea to China and I was amazed to see the amount of options available. There are ferries that run almost every day from Incheon to ports in China and all I had to figure out was the dates I’d need to travel. A few phone calls later with some broken English and my spot was booked on a night ferry to Qingdao, China. The trip was going to take place during the week of Chuseok (Korean Thanks-Giving) and I had only one week to make the journey. Airfare during this period was expensive and I had no problem to take a 17 hour ferry to a distant port in China.

Not so long ago I returned from a fantastic two week vacation in Indonesia with Clementine where I sipped pineapple juices, spoke English all the time, stayed in cheap easy to find B&B’s and was catered for by a Tourism infrastructure that looked after all types of travellers.
This time I was looking for a different rush. One where I’d do minimal research, land at a port in fuck knows where China, take a deep breath and think to myself: Why the hell did I choose this route.

This unfortunately was not the case. I arrived on time at the port in Incheon where I boarded a gigantic boat with a red carpet, duty free shops and happy Chinese faces. I don’t know what I actually expected. Did I think I was going to be on ferry where they crammed people on and you share a small cabin with Soju drinking Koreans that fart and spit on the cabin floor?
This ferry (Weidong Ferry) was luxurious enough with everything you’d need for a 17 hour trip across the Yellow Sea. I booked the cheapest bed in a room with about 50 other people. A very basic bed with linen and a pillow provided. The round trip cost me only 210000 Won.

The nights sleep was comfortable and it did not for one moment feel as if I was on a ship. The excitement grew and I soon caught my first glimpse of Qingdao through the morning mist – a city that looked as mysterious as what I’d thought it would be. I smiled through customs, jumped a crowded bus and headed to the train station. Scenes of rundown, half built buildings, dirty pavements, people taking to the street with their produce, potholed roads and cranes on the horizon. The craving experience of new smells, interesting sights, a diverse range of cars and people crossing the road as they like – This was it, I made it to China!










I opted for the first train that would leave Qingdao and headed to Beijing after being in China of only an hour.
The station was modern, the bullet train even more and I was soon cruising at 200km/h North to the capital.

The mist and smog did not clear up but I could see the countryside as we sped through where farmers used every square of land. Hard working men and women ploughed and worked the fields. We passed massive industrial plants that send black clouds of pollution into the air. These were the industries I expected to see, but not so many.

The most prominent thing that stood out for me when entering China and throughout my brief one week stay was the amount of construction taking place. New apartment blocks were built next to old dilapidated ones and cranes coloured the horizon.
The construction increased even more as I entered the outskirts of Beijing and my 800km journey by train was soon over. A few subway stops later and I walked through the busy streets to the backpackers where I ended up staying for the week.

Busan Break

We (Clementine and I) took the slow train down from Seoul to Busan for a weekend, basically covering Korea from the North-Western corner of Ganghwa to the South-Eastern Corner of Busan. It was my first time to Busan and I was very curious to see the landscapes and a new city.
Busan is a little slower than Seoul and the presence of trade through this busy harbour port is evident as many Russians and Japanese walk the streets of downtown Busan searching for a bar, a meal or sex.

The city is beautifully located amongst the rolling hills with beaches and a more relaxed atmosphere.
The sceneries by train were average and the same: rolling green hills with highways, rice paddies and industrialisation. My expectations were not satisfied, but hey, it was another proof that even the landscapes are same-same. I want to go to the East-Coast next to see if there is some kind of change.
It was a great weekend break away and my first introduction to train travel in South Korea. Almost any place is reachable within one day from Seoul be it by train or bus and I should see it as an opportunity to do this more often.











Next week will be Chuseok (Korean Thanks Giving) and I am planning to take a slow boat and slow train to Beijing China. I got my visa on the weekend and booked a return ferry ride to a port in China. I don’t know much other than the ferry is 17hours and the train 12hours. I’ll need to do some research this week, but I also don’t want to know too much. The plan is to visit the Great Wall, how exactly I don’t know.

Taipei to Kaohsiung via the East Coast

The East coast of Taiwan is in such strong contrast with the industrialised West coast that I at times thought I was not in the Taiwan I had seen up until then. Green fertile rice fields spread across the valleys as the railway track cut through the mountains. There was not one piece of land that was untouched by some form of agriculture. Fruit trees, coconut palms, rice plantations and huge mountains dominated the landscape as the train made progress to Hualien.







I stopped off in Hualien at the backpackers for the night and boarded another train to Taitung from where I took a bus to meet Estienne and Xenia in Dulan. Estienne knows about a hidden away beach house on the coast that they have rented several times before. The small house is the ideal weekend getaway spot and is situated very near the town of Dulan where you can buy all your goods and listen to Taiwanese groups perform music at night. We (me, Estienne, Xenia, Vicky and Michael) had an awesome creative braai using beach wood and it was good to eat a meal that I was accustomed to. The Taiwanese food has been something to get use to. It’s not that it’s bad, it’s just that I don’t know what I eat and I also don’t know what to order.
We hit town after the braai and clapped hands with the Taiwanese musicians as they energised the crowd.





My time is limited in Taiwan as the visa application has taken a lot of time and I am heading to Korea on Friday. I wanted to drive up the East coast on a scooter and camp on the beaches, but time has not allowed me.

The Night Train to Windhoek

Everyone I spoke to had different opinions regarding the train. Most of then did not know much but still had something to say. Goofy said that it was dangerous and that I would need to be able to fight. The owner of the backpackers said that in the good old days they traveled by train but now all the blacks took over. Michael Mackenzie that gave me a lift to the flamingos said it was awesome and a cool experience.

I was at the station an hour before departure. The train came in from Walvis Bay and was an hour late.

Whenever you board a bus or train you always look at the people around you thinking who would I sit next to? Leaving for Namibia in June 2008 I sat next to the coolest girl I’ve ever met on public transport – Sam Murray. This time would not be the same.

The train arrived and everyone boarded. It was empty and we could choose our own compartments. I walked into an open compartment and put down my bag. Behind me stood a figure that I could smell a mile away. This slangoog (snake eye) character asked me if he could share the compartment with me. Not wanting to be rude I said yes. The whole train was open, why share with me. Then he started going on about how he was not an Alien but a Human being and I should not judge. He was drunk and repeated himself several times. I was quick to say: “sorry friend, you speak too much. I am finding somewhere else to stay”.

I ended up sharing a compartment with a middle age black man and his young son who were on their way for a doctor’s check up. The compartments did not have doors and the Alien luckily did not bother me again.

In Windhoek Norman picked me up in the city centre. Emile was only arriving the next day. I made us a filling chicken stir-fry and we just chilled at the flat.

The night of Emile’s arrival we went out in Windhoek for some beers. Norman, Emile and I pub crawled between Joe’s, Zanzibar and Kiepies. In Zanzibar and Kiepies I met some of the guys I played pool with in Swakopmund on the weekend. I also met an old Simonsberg friend of mine, Frey Ulrich. Namibia is such a small place. Everyone knows each other.

I find Windhoek to be quite behind. Behind in terms of music, fashion and trends you’ll find compared to cities in South Africa.

If there is one thing that will never ever be behind in a small town or a place like Windhoek then it will be the latest in Afrikaans Sokkie Music. Kurt Darren’s Kaptein span die seile is more prominent than all the Chinese investment being pumped into Namibia.

In Windhoek I mainly spent my time with South African pilots. If there is one thing all these pilots have in common then it is that they don’t want to be in Windhoek.

I only spent a short time in Windhoek. I wanted to take the train further south to Keetmanshoop before the weekend rush. Thursday morning Emile took me to the station and I booked my train ticket for that night to Keetmanshoop.

The Night Train to Keetmanshoop and beyond

Emile dropped me at the station and I immediately found my compartment. This train was a lot busier than the one I took from Swakopmund to here. The platform was active and we left two hours late. I had another character that fitted the slangoog profile in my compartment. He was a friendly guy wearing a faded Fubu sweater and slops with feet that looked like he walked barefoot through the desert with eyes fitting the slangoog profile. He soon decided our compartment was to boring for him and moved next door to the party cabin where the Nama tunes played through the night.

I was left with three women, an old man and his grand child in my compartment. The old man and the child was in a ‘who could speak the most’ battle but soon went to bed. The babies did not cry once on the trip, but coughed as if they had TB. The compartment had a door and we closed it because Slangoog and his friends were partying next door. It was hot and stuffy in our compartment. I had the top berth and the babies slept on the floor. I had a good night sleep rocking to the movement of the railway tracks.

From Keetmanshoop I wanted to take the train South to Karasburg and then to Upington, De Aar and Cape Town. The Karasburg train only went the next day; there was no passenger train from Karasburg to Upington and also no passenger train from Upington to De Aar. From De Aar I would only be able to board a 00:00 train to Cape Town. This option seemed stupid and I decided to rather travel back by road to Cape Town.

In Keetmanshoop I asked around for the next bus south. Intercape and Ekonolux would only be leaving Keetmanshoop at 23:00. It was 09:00 and I had all the time in the world. While walking to the ATM to draw money for an Intercape bus, I thought of giving Fritz Brandt a call. I’d been in contact with my father and according to one of his sources Fritz was in Namibia. Fritz told me he would only be in Namibia in 3 weeks time. It was 2 weeks on, but I called him anyway.

Fritz was loading fish in Walvis Bay due for Cape Town. He would be in Keetmanshoop around 04:00.

“I’ll give you a lift if you’re willing to wait till then”

The bus would only arrive at 23:00 and they might even be late. With Fritz I had a free lift to Cape Town. One time, I was taking the truck.

I walked 4km out of town to the Engen garage where I sat waiting, killing time by reading and listening to my Ipod.

After sunset I moved to a seat in the Wimpy watching the Leopards VS Griqua’s rugby game. When the game finished I moved back outside and pulled my usual stunt by sleeping under the tree till Fritz arrived.

It was as if I had seen him yesterday. Two weeks passed and I told him all my adventures.

Back in South Africa we passed through the same flower fields again. In two weeks the landscape had changed and new flowers where prominent.

I arrived back in a wet and cold Cape Town on Saturday 22:00.

In my short two week trip to Namibia I met up with an old friend and made new friends along the way.

Had some great experiences and took nice photos.

The trip hardly cost me anything with most expenses going towards food and booze. It was almost cheaper to travel than stay at home.

What an amazing trip I had all by just making use of opportunities, being flexible, tolerant, patient and having faith in others.