Well we were back to being tourists again today, it was certainly a change of pace from the last few days. Today’s schedule lead us to Qufu, home of Confucius, and it turned out to be an exciting trip! While traveling on the highway, the bus ran over something and the rear tires started making a strange noise. The driver pulled the bus over and check everything out and then got us back on the road. The noise continued for several kilometers and all of a sudden there was another loud bang. I looked out the back window and saw a small piece of metal tumble away from our bus down the highway. The driver pulled the bus over again but after a quick check it we were back driving, slowly limping our way to the next exit. Everyone on the bus knew something was wrong with the tires but no one was sure what was happening. Then as we pulled off the exit there was another loud bang and then one of the rear tires went bouncing down the road behind the bus. This time the bus was dead in its tracks. The bus driver went running back down the highway to get the tire and bring it back to the bus. There was no use in trying to limp any further down the road. Everyone got off the bus and started walking down the exit ramp. By the time we got to the end of the ramp there was another bus waiting for us to take us to Qufu.
By the time we needed to head back to Jinan, the bus was fixed and we headed home. What an exciting trip! It’s another early morning with a 7 A.M. High Speed train to Beijing.
Zaijian,
Mr. C