Once upon a time in Shanghai

Six zealous Norwegian hostNesses decided it was time to take a break from the Expo and see another part of China. Their chosen destination was Tsingtao(Qingdao), a beautiful seaside "town" (population 7-8 million..) in northeastern China, once occupied by Germans. Another minor, yet joyous detail is that Tsingtao is the home of China´s most infamous beer. And as it were, the six girls´chosen vacation days happened to coincide with the Tsingtao Beer Festival (What an amazing coincidence).

The six girls were naturally divided into two groups. Three of them were typical backpackers, staying in dormrooms at Youth Hostels and drinking beer from plastic bags:

The other three preferred to glam it up a bit, and their choice of residence was a (beautiful?) seaside hotel, which also happened to be a bank

So what to do in this picturesque seaside town? The first activity the girls attended to was a visit to the Tsingtao Beer Museum. They figured it was a smart idea to learn the theory before testing out the goods. A yellow-clad, english-speaking, award-winning guide was hired, and off they went.

After a very informative tour, the highlight of the museum turned out to be "the drunken house", where one could experience the sensation of being intoxicated. The backpackers trying it out on the picture below.

Coming out of the museum, the girls followed the green sign below

and the evening ended with a magnificent KTV session, where the girls were thrilled to find Norways beloved Alexander Rybak with his hit single Fairytale

Beermuseum and beerstreet, check! Now the next day was devoted to the Beerfestival

The backpackers ended up making some new best friends, having a dance performance on stage, and drawing funny tattoos on each other. All but one picture have been purposely left out. The glamourous girls eventually made a secret escape from the festival to go to an exclusive, more quiet venue downtown to drink WINE.

The final day of the retreat included a splendid photo shoot on the beach with the girls bearing their new matching Tsingtao t-shirts

And later on in the evening, just before departure to the airport, the unthinkable happened: A moment´s carelessness left the backpackers without their luggage and passports, as their cabdriver drove off with their suitcases still in the trunk!!! Luckily, with some quick investigation, the girls got to ride in a policecar down to the station where they found their luggage safe and sound. Exuberantly relieved, they posed for a picture with the heroes of the hour: The cabdriver and the police officer

The three girls were astonishingly calm about the whole ordeal, and they were very happy that it happened to them and not the glamourous girls, as they were sure it would have totally freaked them out (as if). Nonetheless, it was a happy ending to the trip, celebrated with food and some

Tsingtao beer!