Dalian or Dull-ian: verdict still out

We're lying in bed after exhauting night in stinky, burpey, snorey hard sleeper train carriage - no chicken's feet this time, only sickly sweet scent of peaches. Sim gave me her iPhone to listen to some Desert Island discs she'd downloaded. I fell asleep with David Attenborough who'd turned black as when I woke it was Kwame Kwei-Armah. I managed to listen to most of Michael Mansfield who like me went to Keele but thought I'd missed vital info about our Dept prime minister as Nick Clegg had a wife and kids then when I woke up again had a boyfriend who looked like John Travolta - but iTunes had moved on to Peter Ackroyd!

Anyway, that distraction took me through the twilight hours from
3-6am when the ticket collector woke me to swap the credit card-like train token (it was a metal slab with a bed number when I was last in China in 2006 traveling from Beijing to Wudang Mountain and Shaolin temple on my taiji trip).

Our initial experience of Dalian was not promising. The taxi driver called the policeman and various passers-by and other cabbies over but noone could understand /locate Hotel. Eventually we found the word for square - Guang chang and Zhongfang Guangchang is the nearest landmark we could find. Eventually after missing the wrong exit off this roundabout - where a bit of The Last Emperor was filmed and where at 7.30am there was still a group of taiji ladies fluttering their fans - and then finding that it was in fact the wrong exit and the previously wrong exit was right (never trust Googlemaps!). We miraculously rolled up to reception only to find a total B who asked for too much money, claimed there was no wifi or internet access and booked us into un-cleaned rooms.

This is where the Swiss Miss took over. (We should have booked into Dalian's SwisH hotel instead - even if it was just for the glaring typo! At least they won't get sHued for copyright!!). Within 10 mins the stroppy Swiss was back up on the 13th floor with the receptionist's minion and master key card and we'd moved up 2 floors to 1505!

On returning for an afternoon nap the staff had changed shift and not only did Alex get Internet cable conection which he then broadcast up to our floor so we can get wifi in our room - so no excuse for not skyping me on my bday - but I also got a cube refil for mini water machine and two tea cups so I'm happy not to have to go to Costa Coffee again for 28 yuan (£2.80) pot of tea. May not sound a lot but that is five meals in my uni canteen!!!

Also Great to have a view of mountains (hills) and we're up in the clouds. Fortunately they gave way to hazy sunshine as we hit the beach, tho it was definitely a Russian version of Margate with hideous 'Dreamland' funfair and a Harbour promenade. However the lovely ride on old-fashioned and modern trams made up for the disappointment on arrival.

Guye has booked KTV (karaoke) for Fri 15th when she and Xinhong arrive for my birthday after visiting her Granny in nearby (4hrs away) Anshan. The other great leap forward in my Chinese is that with the help of tranlations for hard sleeper and middle and bottom bunk from Lonely Planet, I managed to book 3 beds back to Harbin for my classmates on 18th June and me a day later. We thought it would be easier and nicer for Simone to spend her last (hotel) night in China with me in Dalian rather than another overnight train to Beijing for her third visit to the Three Legged Frog hostel. Instead she'll spend from 12.30am - 7.30am at Beijing airport and return via Dubai to London. I think after 5.5 months she's ready for home comforts and pussycats.