Great Wall of China Adventure

Our Beijing trip was mostly DIY as we were hesitant to go with a tour and also because we did not want to spend a lot. However, for our Great Wall of China adventure, we made an exception. Our lovely hostel, Peking Station Hostel, had this tour service displayed and it  offered a day trip to the Mutianyu Great Wall of China. We paid 300 RMB each and was given a receipt. We booked this a day prior to the trip.

Our lovely hostel 

The following day, we had to get up early to meet the tour guide at the Subway Station. We were worried that we will be mixed with Chinese tourists but we were happy to find out that we were mixed with foreigners (non-Chinese tourists). We boarded the bus and headed off to Mutianyu. During the 2 hour drive, our guide was happy to give the details of how this wall came to be. Also, he said there were 3 ways on how to climb the wall. First was to climb all the way to the top and it will lead you to station number 6. This had no extra fee. Second was to take the chair lift up and end up at station 10. One way fee was around 100 RMB but if taking the toboggan going down, the package will cost only 120 RMB. The last was taking the cable car and arrive at Station 14. This option costs 120 RMB for return and this option was what we chose. Then at the top, depending on which way the tourists came, they are then suggested to walk towards Station 20, the highest point of this wall.

After paying for the cable car, we hiked to where it was. There wasn't a long line yet because we were there early. Along the way, we saw the lush forest beneath us and the wall becoming closer and bigger.

It was the middle of summer and we braced ourselves for this hot hike. We made sure to put sunscreen lotion generously. Armed with our shades, umbrella and a couple of water bottles we started our hike.

The sun was beginning to be unforgiving. We had stops at some stations and found that there were small shops that sell refreshments and snacks as well as souvenirs. The shade at some stations proved to be really helpful. The last station was too steep, I was afraid that I would fall or have an accident.

Joel successfully reached the top while I just waited for him at the foot of it. There was too much people in there and my feet were aching already. The walk back to Station 14 was not too bad. Because it was already around 11am, there were already a lot of people coming up and the line to the cable car going down was getting long as well. We then went to the restaurant that our guide told us about and had our Chinese Style lunch which was good enough for our hungry tummies.

Our tips for Beijing and the Great Wall tour:

1. If using cash, exhange money at the airport because there are not much money changers outside the airport. Make sure to keep the receipt from this exchange just in case. Break down your paper bills to smaller notes. If possible, set up a we chat pay account.

2. If using the subway, not every exit has an escalator so prepare to carry your luggage through flights of steps. Otherwise, take time to find out which exit has an escalator.

3. When coming into China via Beijing Airport, they won't allow you to bring your aerosols thru the subway.

4. Purchase a Yikatong card from Beijing airport if you plan to stay in Beijing for a few days.

5. Download Google Translate for use in conversations and for text translations. This is very much handy!

6. Make sure to have your VPN ready when coming to China. Although hotels offer free wifi, we did not bother using it because we thought it would not allow us to access Facebook anyway.

7. Don't worry about not understanding train stations in Mandarin. They are well labeled in English as well.

8. Mutianyu is less crowded than the other parts of the Great Wall. There are 3 ways to go up:
a. walking trail and end up at station 10.
b. take the chairlift up and arrive at station 6. This is where you can take the Toboggan back down.
c. take the cable car and arrive at station 14.

9. Visit during spring or autumn. Summer is very hot and humid and not to mention Chinese school holidays which means more crowds.

10. If going to the Forbidden City, buy your ticket ahead online as they had limited their entries for the day. It might benefit more from taking a tour of the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square instead of being lost in the subways and figuring out where the entrances are.

11. At the Summer Palace, allow 3-4 hours to get around the whole place and relax to appreciate the beauty of the place.

12. Don't forget to haggle when buying souvenirs! I bought mine at the Great Wall and it was pretty expensive because I forgot to haggle.

13. Drink bottled water and buy them from the many convenience stores. If buying inside the tourist sites, the prices are jacked up to at least thrice the normal price.

Thank you for reading and 'til next blog :)

Things we did in Xi'an, China

For our 2 days, 2 nights stay at Xi'an last July 2019, these were the things we did:

1. The Xi'an City Wall Walk

Entrance fee =  54 CNY for adults.

We were fortunate that the hostel we stayed at was really close to the South Gate of the Xi'an City Wall. It is said that it is the most complete city wall that has survived in China. It is around the city center of Xi'an and is around 13 kilometers walk.

We did the city wall walk just before sunset because we saw that the sun could be so harsh while up there. There were solo bicycles and couple/double bicycles for rent. We saw stalls selling snacks and drinks, too. It had a great ambiance. Very relaxing to watch the city life from above. We loved just  watching the flow of traffic and the people from the top of the city wall. We planned to come back the following day to do the whole walk but we weren't able to because we decided to watch the Chang'an Impression.

2. Chang'an Impression

Entrance Fee = 260 CNY for adults

We did not know about this show until we were walking at the city wall and heard that there is an ongoing show within the city gates. It looks impressive and it really made us curious on what it is about because we tried to peek through the enclosure from the top of the wall. It was pricey but we could still stretch our budget so we had a go the following day.

This show is held at the Yongning Gate which is about 10 minute walk from the bell tower. After exploring the Muslim Street, we walked as fast as we could to the Yongning or South Gate. The first act was done outside the gate and in the open space. Another wise technique to pique interest from the people outside. From here, they made us realize that we are guests visiting the old Xi'an which was the old capital of China.

Our tickets had seat numbers and we had to look for them inside. Not long after, the show started. We saw more dancing with the performer's elaborate costumes. I can say that the production was really good and the money spent is not wasted. The lights that served as a backdrop kept on changing as well. The whole show lasted for an hour. At the end, the guests were allowed to have their photo taken with the dancers/performers.

3. Terracotta Warriors and Horses

Entrance Fee= 150 CNY for adults

This was the main reason why we headed to Xi'an. We did not want to join any tour groups because we wanted the adventure. After reading some blogs on how to DIY, we headed to Main Railway Station and looked for Bus No. 5. Fare for the trip was 7 CNY and 1 hour for the travel towards the Terracotta Warriors Museum. The drop off was a huge parking lot and we had to walk for about 10 minutes towards the entrance. We bought our tickets via klook.com and headed to a designated window where we showed our vouchers to exchange for a physical ticket.

A lot of tour guides offered us for their service but we refused them and headed on our own. This was quite a mistake because we did not know where to go and we cannot find a map. We just followed the crowd. The walk towards the first Museum was about 10 minutes. Here we saw the photos of the excavation of the 3 pits. It was nice staying inside as it had air conditioning on. Then we headed to pit No. 2. It was founded in 1976 and is the most spectacular one for the variety of divisions including infantry, crossbow, cavalry and 80 chariots.

We then headed to pit. No. 3. It appeared as the smallest of the pits but it was the command post of the armed forces. It is said that it contained 68 warriors and a chariot with 4 horses.

We purposely left pit no. 1 last because it was the biggest and as per advise of the travel bloggers. Truly it was massive and the array of infantry was impressive.

 The work of restoration is still on going and we can see that it was tedious. Most of the horses and warriors were broken and like pieces of a puzzle, they were fit one by one.

Travelling to Xi'an? Here are our tips:

1. There are options for the subway trains: one day pass or 3 day pass card. For us, since we stayed for 2 nights and 2 days, we just purchased one way tickets each time we had to use the subway.

2. City wall walk was very worth it.

-You can pack snacks to bring while on the wall. There are stalls selling snacks but they are expensive.

- Bottled water at convenience stores are only 2 CNY while in tourist areas, it can cost as much as 6 or 5. Evian water is expensive at 28 CNY each.

- Options to see the whole wall are walking, biking or shuttle bus

-Time your visit for sunset as the views are nice and the sun is not too hot. It is also nice to see the buildings light up during the night.

- City wall is open until midnight. You can buy tickets on the day as it does not have a maximum ticket limit.

3. Muslim St is best for street food and cheap souvenirs. It is very near to the drum and bell tower and it can get pretty crowded in there.

4. When travelling by train to other provinces (in our case, Chengdu) the ticket for the high speed train can only be redeemed from the railway station and not at the subway stations.

5. Arrive at the High Speed Railway Station about 1.5 hours prior to departure. Food options are available at the station. Expect a very long line when queuing up for food or for boarding.

6. Buy your Terracotta Warrior entrance ticket in advance. In our case, we purchased it from the Klook. There is a limit of 65,000 tickets sold per day.

7. Bus 306 (or Bus No.5) goes to Terracotta Warriors. We used google translate to inform the bus staff that we wanted to go to the site. Cost per way is 7 CNY.

8. Don't forget to bring hats, umbrellas, sunscreen, water and snacks while at the Terracotta Warriors and Horses site.

9. Visit pit B first then pit C and A the last while at the Terracotta Warriors Site.

10. Restaurants outside the site can be skipped as their prices are costly. We were so hungry and we gave in to temptation to eat at one of the restaurants. We paid for almost 100 CNY for just 2 meals! Also,  a man offered us some souvenirs for 50 CNY and we just walked past him, he shouted that he is offering down to 10 or 5 CNY even.

I hope this helps! Thank you for reading and 'til next blog :)

2 days in Chengdu

The third city we've been to during our China trip is Chengdu. This is the capital of the Sichuan Province and we came via the high speed train. It took about 5 hours for the trip. We have booked the train tickets from Trip.com and we exchanged our voucher at Xi'an North train station the day before our departure.

I thought that Chengdu would not be as big but I was wrong. It has a very organised metro line and lots of tall buildings at what I think is their downtown area. For this leg, we decided to splurge with our hotel accommodation. We stayed in a hotel that I did not know was a 5 star one LOL. It was called Dorsett Grand Chengdu and was very near the train station. We were assigned to a room in the 33rd floor and this was our view.

We arrived at around 3pm and just decided to go to People's Park. It was so easy to get to as it is right beside the People's Park station. Entry was free. It was a Saturday afternoon and so it was packed. It was nice to see families with their kids playing and just enjoying the atmosphere. The park was huge.There was a bonsai garden and a fish pond.

I think it is the only park I have seen that has a mini kid's carnival. There were rides like bumper cars and roller coasters. This was the busiest part of the park. Also, we found out about a food cart that sells of sugary lollies that can be customized to different characters. 

The kids love it!

Chengdu is known for their spicy food and abundance of hot pot. We are not really adventorous with food but I tried to eat dumplings with a little bit of spice. It was surprisingly not too bad! I would not hesitate to have it again. 

The main goal why we headed to Chengdu was to catch a glimpse of how their pandas are being taken cared of. We went to the Panda Research Base and I have written all about it here.

Some tips we have compiled for your upcoming Chengdu trip:

1. The Panda Research Base opens at 7:30am. We got to it at 8am and there was a long line at the entrance already. You can choose to come in really early and buy tickets right there at the entrance.

2. Taxi rates can vary from time of day, taxi companies and etc. We paid 60 RMB going to the panda base on an early morning but only 40 RMB coming back to the hotel after. This was even though there was heavier traffic going back.

3. Souvenir costs are pretty much the same whichever store you go.

4. Heading to or from the Chengdu airport? Easier to take the subway line whichever way.

5. Be specific when ordering food. Some establishments might forget you can't only tolerate a spicy meal.

6. It was a good decision to just pay for a subway ticket everytime we would ride a subway line. Saved us time from searching how or where we can have a permanent subway card refunded. Although it takes time to line up at the ticket counter but we did not mind.

Thank you for reading and 'til next blog!

Mornings with the Pandas in Chengdu

I have not blogged for a long time because me and Joel went for a 3 week holiday to Japan and China. After coming back to Australia, I spent a few weeks getting back to my daily grind and now that I have settled I will try and write about our amazing trip. I might not be able to write it in order of the itinerary but here we go..

On our last 2 days in China, we were in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province. We arrived in Chengdu via the high speed train from Xi'an. I planned for us to go and see the pandas at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding or Panda Base for short. It has been created to imitate the natural habitat of pandas for their rearing and breeding. This base takes care of other endangered animals such as black necked cranes, white storks and etc. There are other panda bases in Chengdu but I chose this because it is the nearest (because of its location, it is the most crowded!)

I've read a lot of blogs and one of them suggested not to go with the group tours as they leave the city late and when you arrive at the base, there will be tons of people and most probably the pandas are asleep already. It is said that giant pandas generally spend most of their time sleeping. Therefore, I did not bother to look for tours.

We woke up early and tried to get there by 9am. We asked the hotel staff's help to hail us a taxi. We paid about 60 RMB for the 10km journey and upon arriving, saw heaps of crowd already! Talk about trying to beat the crowd LOL. As with all tourist attractions in China, we had to line up to buy the tickets. Adult ticket is 58 RMB.

Upon entering, some people were lining up to ride the free shuttle that would take you directly to where most of the giant pandas are. We ignored that and just followed the general crowd. The map of the base makes it look huge but walking through the area is not that bad.

There were bamboos on the sides that kept the area cool and shady anyway. I even felt that I was back in Japan!

The first pandas we saw were the red pandas. They were so cute! We had the right timing when the carer came to their area and fed them. They were eating and getting food from the bucket while the carer cleaned their space.

We also saw pandas sleeping on top of the tree which was cute!

Also, a panda playing while his mum is sleeping. The young panda was so playful that it climbed up and down their tree house which made for a great crowd entertainment.

The crowd was becoming thick as the tour groups have arrived. We decided to do a bit of people watching by sitting on the benches that are on the sides. I saw people were selling panda headbands or accessories inside the base.

We would have stayed longer but we had to go back to our hotel to check out. Before we left, we didn't forget to check their gift shop for a souvenir.

Goal achieved for our last day in China! We then headed to the airport via the metro line for our flight bound for Australia. Thank you for reading and 'til next blog!

Travel Goals

There are a lot more places that I dream of visiting. It will take a lot of savings, planning and time for me to achieve and travel to these places but who knows, maybe in the future I might just can! Here are my travel goals for the years ahead in no particular order :)

1. Japan

image taken from http://www.chehobo.com/en-us/japan

There's just something about Japan and it's culture that most people find interesting. I get excited every time I read blogs and articles on how they traveled Japan on a budget, the amazing things they did and picturesque views they watched. I just love love love Japan. Someday, I will go there. But first, let me try and understand their train system.

2. South Korea

image taken from http://www.korea-hotels.net/

My room mate is a big fan of K Pop and so naturally wishes to go to Korea. Though I am not a big fan of Kpop, Korea is one on my bucket list because of it's city and famous theme parks. I also want to go and see how it feels to be in the DMZ.


3. China

image taken from http://science-all.com/china.html

I'd like to walk on the Great Wall of China, see the crowd and how big Tiananmen Square is, see how the Terracotta Army looks like and walk on their Glass Bridge.

4. Europe

image taken from http://www.europeanbestdestinations.com/destinations/bergen/

It is my wish to travel by train and see beautiful and picturesque countries which are in close proximity. How nice it would be to wear some warm clothes and having your photos taken on cold temperatures.

5. United States of America

image taken from www.lightage.com

The home of my favorite singers and actors. I'd like to see the vastness of The Statue of Liberty, the Golden Gate Bridge, make a snow man, carve a pumpkin and do trick or treatin' and eat Turkey on Thanksgiving.

There goes my wish list! I'll make sure to write a blog when I go to any one of these places. And of course, to inspire and help people for their trips. Thank you for reading and 'til next blog!