Summer time of our lives

We took a visit to the Summer Palace during the previous weekend before I embarked on my Qingdao Trip but I guess it wasn't as good as I expected it to be. Perhaps I got kind of bored looking at the same architecture over and over again (which can explain why I decided to head for my trip). Instead of opting for the easy way down to the palace (via bus), Junwei found a brilliant route where we could take a boat ride to the palace. Sounds cool right?
It was until 10 mins into the ride. Haha. We boarded the boat which was vastly empty and we were enjoying the cool summer breeze until the board stopped at its first station and almost the entire Chinese population boarded. Horror of all horrors. No more nice cosy comfy peaceful ride. Halfway into the ride, We were informed that we had to change boats halfway as the original boat is not allowed pass some waters (or some sort). Surprises still awaits us.. the 2nd boat that supposedly leads to the palace stopped outside as we didn't purchase the entrance tickets and we had to walk in. FYI, its a freaking long way to the palace from the south gate. I bet any assassination attempts would have been put off by the seemingly huge distance to run and hide.

At 40rmb, the boat ride was a little overpriced (hey, its a tourist trap) but its certainly quite a different experience but one might want to choose a weekday to really enjoy the sights peacefully. Gosh, i'm just too lazy to talk anymore about the palace. So I shall just leave you guys with pictures alright? I guess its all self-explanatory.


Haha. Rock on. Qingdao here I come!