There are those days were everything goes wrong …
First, bad planning: We (Amy, James and me) needed to be at the bus station at 9:00 to get the bus to the factory we try to visit. We wanted to meet at 8:30 in Jin’an, but half an hour was never enough, at least 45min was needed to get to the bus station.
Second, bad execution: We couldn’t find a cab and then the cab took more than 45min to find the meeting place in Jin’an. So we didn’t arrive until 9:00.
After we bought the train tickets for the 11:00 bus, we realized that this was already too late (we would arrive a 13:00). So we canceled the visit and got a refund for the bus tickets.
What to do? As the Germans say: Wait and drink tea. So we went to a tea house instead and relaxed a bit.
Finally, plane to Beijing at night. Trains were of course already booked out, so a plane was the only option. In the chaos of all this, I manage to loose my prescription sun glasses. One of the two things that cannot be replaced (the other being my passport). Finally after some cab problems we arrived at the Beijing hostel around 2:00.
Crappy day.
P.S.: Apparently they also closed Xiang Yang Market (the famous fake market). It was only a building ground there. 🙁