The Mystical Tales in the Land of Qingdao

Traveling with Beth this past year, my travel companions and I were always treated to a bedtime story each night from her, based on the happenings of that day.  Even though Beth didn't travel with us over May Holiday, the tradition lived on.  I've decided to treat you to these bedtime stories, since they are more colorful than the actual events :)  If you would like what really happened, you can check out Jess's blog. Enjoy the story!(Don't mind the editing...I just copied and pasted this from it's original draft...)

Seafood galore!

Once upon a time, 3 beautiful princesses and one handsome prince decided to leave the responsibilities of their kingdom behind and to go to a land rumored to be flowing with beer and seafood.
 As they were reaching the outskirts of their kingdom, the heavens began to cry, fearing their kingdom would lose four of their favorite royalty to this mysterious and wonderful new kingdom.  As they boarded their magical lucky swans, they waved and promised they would return fully devoted to the work of their kingdom.  The luck swans flew gracefully to the land of Qingdao. Once in the land of QD, the royal friends took a carriage ride to a beautiful chrch homestay.  After settling into their chambers, the friends went out to explore the land of beer and shaokao.  After filling their bellies with delicious food and decent beer the royal friends went back to their humble abode and prepared for the next day of exploring adventures.  They hoped to dream of mermaids and beer goddesses.  

-          After a night of frightful dreams, the royal highnesses slowly woke  up. See, the queen of the land of Qingdao was not fully convinced of their royalty, had hid a pea in the princesses’ bed and because they were   true royalty, they felt every ridge of the pea.  The prince, however,  slept soundly, since the test only works on princesses.  After a family meeting, it was decided that the next night it would be best if the  prince would spend the night with commoners so that he could better understand the simple life.  The queen, satisfied with the royal status   of the family, treated them to a delicious foreign breakfast.  Once their bellies were filled, they headed out into the ever increasing gloomy weather, unaware that the evil sorcerer was watching their every move. 

  First stop was the beautiful ocean. Even through the mist and fog, they could still see the splendor of the majestic ocean. They made their way to the mystical underwater world, stopping along the way to eat a fish caught amongst the stars.

 

 

 Once at the mystical world, the royal family was disappointed to see that all the underwater creatures were frozen   in time under an evil spell from the evil sorcerer.

This princess is clearly masking her sadness.

      Crestfallen, the   royal highnesses walked through the sea of frozen creatures, wishing that something could be done to save them. As they walked along, the creatures slowly woke up from their trance, because unbeknownst to the royal highnesses, they too possessed magical powers. Excited about this turn events, the family skipped and sang their way through  the rest of the mystical world and to a feast of delicious sea food.

       Next stop was to the wonderful world of 啤酒 (pi jiu, aka beer). Armed with beer in a bag, they trekked to the world where the 啤酒 flowed freely.

Beer in a bag: not any tastier than beer in a bottle/can

      After seeing where all the magic happens, they decided it was time to go find more food. They got in a carriage not knowing it was the evil sorcerer trying to get them lost in the wooded mountain. They climbed to the top of the mountain  to see what they could see but all that they could see was the other side of the mountain. However, they combined their recently discovered magical powers and found their way back to the hostel. They enjoyed a night of tasty food, watered down drinks and watching tiny men kick a tiny ball into tiny goals. They went to bed with hopes of a more restful night sleep and wondering what their day would bring tomorrow.

wandering in the wilderness

if you look closely through the trees, you can see a golf course

     The next night brought a more restful night to the princesses. When they woke up in the morning, they enjoyed another elegant breakfast. They decided to dress like commoners to experience life outside of royalty and headed off to see the stones of the elderly. They boarded the band wagon and headed off sure of their destination not knowing that the evil sorcerer had mixed the stops on the bus so that the friends would get loss in the wilderness. However, the friends, proving once again their superior cleverness, found beautiful ocean views and enjoyed a delightful picnic on the beach. 

Two of the princesses treated everyone to these awesome family shirts :)

      They did not find the wondrous rock garden of the elderly, but they did find their way to the mystical red orb, which was told to possess magical energies that when used for good, could bring health and happiness to all. Still under the guise of commoners, the friends thought that they could snap a few photos whilst blending in with the crowd, however the magical vigor from the orb cast a special glow over the royal highnesses and soon everyone and their grandchild wanted their pictures with the foreign royalty. 

We each took turns blending in with the crowd

Can you find us all?

when acting naturally didn't work, we decided to try donning the very popular bonnet to blend in.

      After appeasing a many commoners as they could without lashing out, the royal friends decided to run for it. They ran and they ran until they could run no more. Tired and famished, they began to search for anyplace that would give them food. They found a small shack hidden against the side of the sea and feasted on the most delicious of clams and cabbage. 

      Reenergized and satisfied the friends found a carriage back to their home stay where they enjoyed another enthrall ing game of little men hitting little balls into little goals. After which they finished off their night with bags of liquid gold and silver sticks of shao kao goodness. With bellies full and taste buds satisfied, the royal friends went to bed with more dreams of mermaids and beer goddesses.

Pretty, pretty princesses (and a handsome prince)

-          The royal friends, tired from their excursion as commoners slept late the next morning. Although they enjoyed their experience as commoners, they missed their royal lifestyle and dressed to impress before exploring more of the hidden beauty the land of Qingdao had to offer. 

it's probably best not to ask....

       They trekked through the open land and soon stumbled upon an oasis of cherry trees. They gazed upon their beauty and feasted on some ice cream. Unfortunately the evil sorcerer did not want them to enjoy this delicious cool treat and put a curse on one princess's ice cream and it was almost a disaster. However, the princess, using her grace and eloquence averted this crisis and once again foiled the evil sorcerer's plot.

   

Can you find all the couples getting wedding pictures?

     They ventured next to the seaside where many other princes and princesses were basking in the warm sun.  The friends visited the ancient palace where their ancestors once ruled over the land of Qingdao.
     The next stop was to feast on the catch of the sea, followed by a trip to the street where the beer flowed freely.

      The royal friends enjoyed some quality bonding time whilst enjoying the land of Qingdao's finest before heading off for one last shao kao experience. It was a very bittersweet moment knowing that this wonderful union of meat/veggies and fire would soon be just a memory. The friends savored every moment, storing away the beautiful memories to share with their friends and family back home. After a final night enjoying all that the land of Qingdao had to offer, the royal friends headed to bed to reenergize for one last day in the land of Qingdao.

during the eating process of shaokao

all gone :(

-          Wanting to enjoy one last day in the mystical land of Qingdao, the royal friends headed to the pier to soak in the sunshine and gaze out at the beautiful sea. However, the increase of the evil sorcerer's pig-faced minions told the friends what they didn't want to hear... That the evil sorcerer was near and readying his evil army for an attack. 

the minion is in the background trying to lure a small child with his evilness

      Knowing that their time was limited and that without their powers the people of Qingdao would not be able to withstand the forces and would very quickly become subjected to the evil sorcerer's ways, the royal friends jumped into action. They ran to the enchanted Squidmire to ask for his sound advice.  He informed them that they could never  completely defeat him because his powers were just too strong, but if they could at least get him trapped, then they could contain him in the old observatory which was lined with ivy and covered in lady bugs, the two substances known to drain the evil sorcerer of his powers. 

consulting the enchanted Squidmire

Squidmire.....get it?

     Thanking the enchanted Squidmire, they left and  pooled all of their powers together and decided that the  best battle plan was to do the complicated, but effective Circle of Love and Happiness. They quickly put their plan into action circling the evil lair and quietly casting laughter and joy over it all while avoiding the pig-faced minions guarding the lair.  They had to seek refuge only once, in an old abandoned chrch where they could get reinforcements. 

      Once, reenergized and reinforced, they headed back out continuing to cast their spells of laughter and joy. In a disappointingly epic-less battle, the royal friends completed their Circle of Love and Happiness, grabbed the subdued evil sorcerer, and locked him in the old observatory.

The ol' observatory

      Seeing that their leader was gone, the pig-faced minions scampered off into the woods and the people of the land of Qingdao flooded the streets shouting for joy. To thank the royal friends, they offered one last meal of liquid gold and silver shao kao. The royal friends ate to their hearts content. Once satisfied the friends bid farewell to the town folk who begged them to stay in case the evil sorcerer's minions would come and try to free the sorcerer. The royal friends wished they could stay,  but the work of their own kingdom beckoned. They promised though to always look back at their time with fond memories, and that they would return if ever the evil sorcerer escaped. 

      With tears in their eyes, they waved goodbye and got in a carriage which took them to the docking port for their magical lucky swans. They boarded their swans and soon they were back in their kingdom, where their friends and family welcomed them with open arms. And they lived happily ever after.

      

      I had a wonderful time traveling with friends and have truly been blessed to be given such great friends and the opportunity to travel with them. I hope that you at least enjoyed the pictures,  and that you dream of princesses and princes and mystical sea creatures when you go to sleep tonight :)

   Until next time.....His will be done.