Car Rental#
The reason for attending the wedding was that I visited Weihai during the May Day holiday. Since Weihai does not have a subway and the wedding venue was quite far, renting a car seemed to be the best travel option.
The last time I drove was during the Northwest road trip before the Spring Festival two years ago, and the time before that was when I was getting my driver's license. In comparison, this time felt much more relaxed, except for initially forgetting to pull the handbrake (it turns out you can still drive without it). Other issues were related to the car itself, such as the front brake pads being worn out and a flat tire, but these occurred close to the return time and did not affect the trip.
Regarding self-driving, my previous experience of driving alone, aside from the fatigue of long hours on the road, was that the feeling of driving on desolate roads was starkly different from the calm and openness portrayed in movie scenes; instead, the sense of loneliness deepened as the journey progressed.
So this time, I tried to find fellow travelers to share a ride through "Xiaohongshu," and unexpectedly, someone actually contacted me. Acting as the driver, we visited several scenic spots together. Although I cannot agree with the approach of taking photos and then leaving, it was still a pleasant half-day experience.
Wedding#
With nothing to do, I arrived a day early at the venue for my friend's wedding. The traditional wedding process, and from my limited experience of attending weddings, I felt consistently that hosting such a wedding is quite exhausting.
Return Trip#
I was unable to get a standby ticket for the return trip, but there were others who attended the wedding and were returning to Beijing as well, so we rented a car together to drive from Weihai to Tianjin. Yes, because the car rental platform either did not allow returning the car in Beijing or had exorbitant one-way return fees.
There was not much traffic on the way, and although it was still a long drive, it didn't feel too tiring since I wasn't alone. The ride back to Beijing from Tianjin was quite boring.
Conclusion#
The biggest gain from this trip was the increase in experiences and a slight improvement in driving skills.