Car Rental#
The reason for attending a wedding, I went to Weihai during the May Day holiday. Since Weihai does not have a subway, and the location of the friend's wedding was quite far, it seemed that renting a car was the best travel option.
The last time I drove was before the Spring Festival two years ago on a self-driving trip in the northwest. The time before that was when I was taking my driver's license test. Compared to those times, this time was much more relaxed. Except for initially forgetting to release the handbrake (apparently, you can still drive without releasing the handbrake), all other issues were related to the car itself. For example, the front brake pads were worn out, the tires were deflated, etc. However, these issues occurred close to the time of changing the car and did not have any impact on the trip.
In my only previous driving experience, apart from the fatigue of driving for a long time, the stronger feeling was driving on desolate roads, which deepened the sense of loneliness.
So this time, I tried to find someone to carpool with through Xiaohongshu (a social media platform), and someone actually contacted me. Although I don't agree with the fast check-in, taking photos, and leaving approach, it was still a pleasant half-day, and I didn't choose to travel together afterwards.
Wedding#
Because I had nothing else to do, I arrived at the venue of my friend's wedding a day early. The traditional wedding process was tiring. There were no requirements for dowry there, and it seemed like everyone left the wedding venue in an instant after the meal.
Return Journey#
I couldn't get a standby ticket back, but there were others who attended the wedding with me and were also returning to Beijing. So, we rented a car together from Weihai to Tianjin because either it was not possible to return the car in Beijing through the car rental platform, or the prices were high.
There wasn't much traffic on the road, although it was still a long drive. But since I wasn't alone, I didn't feel too tired. The ride back to Beijing from Tianjin in a carpool was quite boring.
Conclusion#
The biggest gain from this trip was gaining a lot of experience and improving some driving skills.