China and Japan Trip Report April 2009
Apr 8th, 2009, 03:40 AM
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China and Japan Trip Report April 2009
I have never posted a trip report before but feel that I owe my fellow fodorites one for all the great help I have received off this site over the years. I will be posting live as I go and hope to have as much detail as possible as to help others in the future.
I will start off by saying that I am 100% Chinese but do not speak or understand much Mandarin at all. My mandarin consists of the phrases yes, no and I don't know. I speak Cantonese though so if I can get through my first 2 weeks, so can anyone. I am traveling with my 50/50 wife (half brit, half chinese) who also is mandarin challenged just like me.
I will start my posting my itinerary. I had lots of help on this from my dad (who is an avid fodorite, and other foderites, (thanks Hawaiann Traveller, rkwan etc).
April 6: Victoria/Beijing
April 7: Beijing, Arrival 4:20pm
April 8: Beijing
April 9: Beijing
April 10: Beijing
April 11: Beijing, Depart 5:00pm /Xian
April12: Xian, Arrival 7:00am
April13: Xian, Depart 11:00am /Guilin Transfer 2:00pm/Yangshou Arrival 4:00pm
April 14: Yangshou
April 15: Yangshou, Depart 6:00am/Longsheng, Arrival 9:00am, Depart 3:00pm/Guilin Arrival 7:00pm
April16: Guilin Depart 1:00pm/ Guangzhou, Transfer 2:00pm /Jiangmen Arrival 5:00pm
April 17: Jiangmen
April 18: Jiangmen, Depart 7:00am/Hong Kong, Arrival 11:00am
April 19: Hong Kong
April 20: Hong Kong
April 21: Hong Kong, Depart 3:10pm/, Tokyo , Arrival 8:30pm
April 22: Tokyo
April 23: Tokyo/Hakone
April 24:Hakone/Kyoto
April 25:Kyoto
April 26: Kyoto
April 27: Kyoto
April 28: Kyoto/Tokyo
April 29: Tokyo
April 30: Tokyo
May 1: Tokyo/Victoria
So here we go:
April 6, 2009:
Flew business class for the first time ever in my life. Once you go Business Class you'll never go back. I have always flown cattle class and I strongly suggest that anyone out there who can afford it, if your flight is over 6 hours it is worth every penny, From the comp lounge, to the fact that I was sipping Champagne before I was taxiing, and I swear we were eating dinner while we were still ascenting, got to order from a menu no less!! Also the ability to recline your seat in to a horizontal position is huge. My wife slept 90% of the way!! It is bitter sweet though as I now can never fly cattle class again. I kept peeking back at my poor flight companions that were sandwiched between two others with there knees implanted in the seat in front of them, poor guys. I knew from that moment on I would beg and borrow to ensure I will always be up near the pilot as that is where it is at, They don't even care if you wear your seatbelt, and the bathroom is always available and smells of the finest flowers. Even the flight attendents are more attractive LOL. When you leave your seat they even fold your blanket for you when you return. Anyways...enough about that.
Got into Beijing on the 7th at 4pm. Had booked at the Days Inn Forbidden City for one night just to make things as smooth as possible for my first night in China. Booked it for 400 yuan, about $80 CDN. Non english understanding taxi driver had trouble finding it. Ended up dropping us off at our back up hotel and we caught another cab from there to Days Inn. No big deal as cabs in China are CHEAP!!! I swear if I had done the same trip in Canada it would have cost me at least $60 CDN. THis whole trip cost me maybe 30 yuan!! $5 CDN. Amazing. No need to take public transport in China. Cabs are giving it away. I thought my cabbies meter was broken at first as it moved so slow. We checked in at Days Inn and the front desk spoke great english. Room was a bit disapointing at first, as I am accustomed to 5 star North American hotels and although the room has had slapsitck new renos, it was not as clean as I would have liked. I planned on moving the next day from my first impression. However after we checked in and realized that the hotel itself caters to westerners (even has a cheeseburger for room service) and the location was perfect, I decided that I can overlook a few other things. I am now on my second day and the place is really growing on me Its got charm and character. We rolled out at about 5pm and went straight to the Wang Fu Jing night food market which I have heard so much about. It was totally overrated. Although there are tons of stands they all served the same thing, meats on sticks, noodles and sugar covered fruits. I am all for meat on sticks but to be honest it was quite dry and not very flavorful. Also the smell and the crowds of the place is not very appetizing. We ended up in a hole in the wall in an alley located in a hutong near our hotel and got a great meal for $60 yuan! There are tons of hole in the wall restaurants near the days inn. Just pick a busy one, point at other tables around you with dishes that look appetizing and go for it, We had a great dinner. Do be prepared though for local diners to be smoking and butting there cigarettes on the floor and spitting on them to make sure they are out. Side note: it seems that picking your nose and hocking massive loogies in China is the norm. In fact I have started doing these things myself and you know what...its great LOL. When it Rome...After dinner we wandered aroung Wang Fu Jing area (Beijing TImes Square???) and went to bed.
April 8, 2009
Woke up 4am. Nothing was open. Waited to about 6am and things started opening up. Had the breakfast buffet at Days Inn. 1 Breaky was comped the other cost about $60 Yuan. I am a restaurant owner and I have to say there buffet was fantastic!! I DO NOT give out praise to buffets with ease either. There presentation was good, selection fantastic (both Asian and Western) complete with omlette station (Cook couldn't actually cook omletes, more like scrambled eggs with fillings but who cares tasted great), attentive efficient service, top quality bacon (which I think is the mark of a good breakfast buffet, often you get that deep fried burnt pork jerky crap) and I could go on forever, I was very impressed will be back tommorrow.
We left our hotel at 7:30am and walked 5 minutes to Tinamen Square, It was great. Lived up to all the historical signifigance, soldiers were on guard, andbest part, was not too crowded, we got there early. I have been before in the afternoon and it was a zoo. Side note: pack summer clothes, we thought it was going to be cold but the weather has been great, in fact I am about to go out for dinner 7pm and I am still in shorts and t. Also the heat had not yet hit and I remember last time I went in the afternoon the smog and heat was unbearable. Hung out aroung Tinamen square, checked out the garden and then went to Forbidden City. A must and do it early if you can. Less crowded, cool weather, can get through a lot quicker. Got approached by private guides but we declined. No need. Just wikipedia it right before you go, maybe watch the last emperor and give er. Furthermore they have plaques explaining everything anyways so don;t bother with the auto tour earphones either Just the size and architecture alone will make you appreciate it. We didn't bother with the mountain at the end of it but you could. We walked back to the hotel. Rickshaws were all over us but we wanted to walk. Ended up taking a shortcut through one of the many Hutongs which was really cool. Wife got a bit nervous in the Hutongs but the people were very non-threatning. Just living their life, minding their own business as we travelled through their backyard. Went back to the hotel where I booked all my domestic flights and train through the front desk (no charge!) great service. We then went to noodle king for lunch in Wan Fu Jing (quick, good and cheap) and took a taxi to the zoo. Cost $30 yuan from Wan Fu Jing. I really wanted to see Pandas which is why we went but I must say...first off a disclaimer: I am by no means a animal activist or a guy that kisses his dog and loves all animals but I do respect wildlife and the Beijing Zoo does not. Zoos in my opinion are about research and education, not exploitation. All of the animals seemed sick, depressed and dying, no exaggeration. The Pandas were trying to eat (as that is all they do) and people were yelling at them and calling them to come over like a household pet, just crazy At one point one Panda just got up and walked to a corner of his cell and turned its back on the crowd and buried its head in its lap. Do you think this stopped the crowd, no way, the cat calls just got louder. I have been to many Zoos and often there are signs like "do not stare the animals in the eye" etc, basic courtesy but in the Beijing zoo no way. We got to this one part where they had 6-8 big cats just caged up in 10 by 10 cells. Everyone was just crowded around these cells taking pictures, posing by holding peace signs no less with no consideration for the animals. It looked like an animal death row. I swear at one point I made eye contact with the Jaguar and it looked so sad, on the verge of tears! I am not a sensitive person but man it was sad. We were so disgusted I snapped a few pics, which I will look to post on a website and left immediately. I really implore all people that give a hoot about animals wild or domestic to boycott the Beijing Zoo. It really is tragic. Well my wife just got up and we are off to Quanjude for Peking duck. I am off to the wall tomorrow and will continue my rant...until then Fodorites.
I will start off by saying that I am 100% Chinese but do not speak or understand much Mandarin at all. My mandarin consists of the phrases yes, no and I don't know. I speak Cantonese though so if I can get through my first 2 weeks, so can anyone. I am traveling with my 50/50 wife (half brit, half chinese) who also is mandarin challenged just like me.
I will start my posting my itinerary. I had lots of help on this from my dad (who is an avid fodorite, and other foderites, (thanks Hawaiann Traveller, rkwan etc).
April 6: Victoria/Beijing
April 7: Beijing, Arrival 4:20pm
April 8: Beijing
April 9: Beijing
April 10: Beijing
April 11: Beijing, Depart 5:00pm /Xian
April12: Xian, Arrival 7:00am
April13: Xian, Depart 11:00am /Guilin Transfer 2:00pm/Yangshou Arrival 4:00pm
April 14: Yangshou
April 15: Yangshou, Depart 6:00am/Longsheng, Arrival 9:00am, Depart 3:00pm/Guilin Arrival 7:00pm
April16: Guilin Depart 1:00pm/ Guangzhou, Transfer 2:00pm /Jiangmen Arrival 5:00pm
April 17: Jiangmen
April 18: Jiangmen, Depart 7:00am/Hong Kong, Arrival 11:00am
April 19: Hong Kong
April 20: Hong Kong
April 21: Hong Kong, Depart 3:10pm/, Tokyo , Arrival 8:30pm
April 22: Tokyo
April 23: Tokyo/Hakone
April 24:Hakone/Kyoto
April 25:Kyoto
April 26: Kyoto
April 27: Kyoto
April 28: Kyoto/Tokyo
April 29: Tokyo
April 30: Tokyo
May 1: Tokyo/Victoria
So here we go:
April 6, 2009:
Flew business class for the first time ever in my life. Once you go Business Class you'll never go back. I have always flown cattle class and I strongly suggest that anyone out there who can afford it, if your flight is over 6 hours it is worth every penny, From the comp lounge, to the fact that I was sipping Champagne before I was taxiing, and I swear we were eating dinner while we were still ascenting, got to order from a menu no less!! Also the ability to recline your seat in to a horizontal position is huge. My wife slept 90% of the way!! It is bitter sweet though as I now can never fly cattle class again. I kept peeking back at my poor flight companions that were sandwiched between two others with there knees implanted in the seat in front of them, poor guys. I knew from that moment on I would beg and borrow to ensure I will always be up near the pilot as that is where it is at, They don't even care if you wear your seatbelt, and the bathroom is always available and smells of the finest flowers. Even the flight attendents are more attractive LOL. When you leave your seat they even fold your blanket for you when you return. Anyways...enough about that.
Got into Beijing on the 7th at 4pm. Had booked at the Days Inn Forbidden City for one night just to make things as smooth as possible for my first night in China. Booked it for 400 yuan, about $80 CDN. Non english understanding taxi driver had trouble finding it. Ended up dropping us off at our back up hotel and we caught another cab from there to Days Inn. No big deal as cabs in China are CHEAP!!! I swear if I had done the same trip in Canada it would have cost me at least $60 CDN. THis whole trip cost me maybe 30 yuan!! $5 CDN. Amazing. No need to take public transport in China. Cabs are giving it away. I thought my cabbies meter was broken at first as it moved so slow. We checked in at Days Inn and the front desk spoke great english. Room was a bit disapointing at first, as I am accustomed to 5 star North American hotels and although the room has had slapsitck new renos, it was not as clean as I would have liked. I planned on moving the next day from my first impression. However after we checked in and realized that the hotel itself caters to westerners (even has a cheeseburger for room service) and the location was perfect, I decided that I can overlook a few other things. I am now on my second day and the place is really growing on me Its got charm and character. We rolled out at about 5pm and went straight to the Wang Fu Jing night food market which I have heard so much about. It was totally overrated. Although there are tons of stands they all served the same thing, meats on sticks, noodles and sugar covered fruits. I am all for meat on sticks but to be honest it was quite dry and not very flavorful. Also the smell and the crowds of the place is not very appetizing. We ended up in a hole in the wall in an alley located in a hutong near our hotel and got a great meal for $60 yuan! There are tons of hole in the wall restaurants near the days inn. Just pick a busy one, point at other tables around you with dishes that look appetizing and go for it, We had a great dinner. Do be prepared though for local diners to be smoking and butting there cigarettes on the floor and spitting on them to make sure they are out. Side note: it seems that picking your nose and hocking massive loogies in China is the norm. In fact I have started doing these things myself and you know what...its great LOL. When it Rome...After dinner we wandered aroung Wang Fu Jing area (Beijing TImes Square???) and went to bed.
April 8, 2009
Woke up 4am. Nothing was open. Waited to about 6am and things started opening up. Had the breakfast buffet at Days Inn. 1 Breaky was comped the other cost about $60 Yuan. I am a restaurant owner and I have to say there buffet was fantastic!! I DO NOT give out praise to buffets with ease either. There presentation was good, selection fantastic (both Asian and Western) complete with omlette station (Cook couldn't actually cook omletes, more like scrambled eggs with fillings but who cares tasted great), attentive efficient service, top quality bacon (which I think is the mark of a good breakfast buffet, often you get that deep fried burnt pork jerky crap) and I could go on forever, I was very impressed will be back tommorrow.
We left our hotel at 7:30am and walked 5 minutes to Tinamen Square, It was great. Lived up to all the historical signifigance, soldiers were on guard, andbest part, was not too crowded, we got there early. I have been before in the afternoon and it was a zoo. Side note: pack summer clothes, we thought it was going to be cold but the weather has been great, in fact I am about to go out for dinner 7pm and I am still in shorts and t. Also the heat had not yet hit and I remember last time I went in the afternoon the smog and heat was unbearable. Hung out aroung Tinamen square, checked out the garden and then went to Forbidden City. A must and do it early if you can. Less crowded, cool weather, can get through a lot quicker. Got approached by private guides but we declined. No need. Just wikipedia it right before you go, maybe watch the last emperor and give er. Furthermore they have plaques explaining everything anyways so don;t bother with the auto tour earphones either Just the size and architecture alone will make you appreciate it. We didn't bother with the mountain at the end of it but you could. We walked back to the hotel. Rickshaws were all over us but we wanted to walk. Ended up taking a shortcut through one of the many Hutongs which was really cool. Wife got a bit nervous in the Hutongs but the people were very non-threatning. Just living their life, minding their own business as we travelled through their backyard. Went back to the hotel where I booked all my domestic flights and train through the front desk (no charge!) great service. We then went to noodle king for lunch in Wan Fu Jing (quick, good and cheap) and took a taxi to the zoo. Cost $30 yuan from Wan Fu Jing. I really wanted to see Pandas which is why we went but I must say...first off a disclaimer: I am by no means a animal activist or a guy that kisses his dog and loves all animals but I do respect wildlife and the Beijing Zoo does not. Zoos in my opinion are about research and education, not exploitation. All of the animals seemed sick, depressed and dying, no exaggeration. The Pandas were trying to eat (as that is all they do) and people were yelling at them and calling them to come over like a household pet, just crazy At one point one Panda just got up and walked to a corner of his cell and turned its back on the crowd and buried its head in its lap. Do you think this stopped the crowd, no way, the cat calls just got louder. I have been to many Zoos and often there are signs like "do not stare the animals in the eye" etc, basic courtesy but in the Beijing zoo no way. We got to this one part where they had 6-8 big cats just caged up in 10 by 10 cells. Everyone was just crowded around these cells taking pictures, posing by holding peace signs no less with no consideration for the animals. It looked like an animal death row. I swear at one point I made eye contact with the Jaguar and it looked so sad, on the verge of tears! I am not a sensitive person but man it was sad. We were so disgusted I snapped a few pics, which I will look to post on a website and left immediately. I really implore all people that give a hoot about animals wild or domestic to boycott the Beijing Zoo. It really is tragic. Well my wife just got up and we are off to Quanjude for Peking duck. I am off to the wall tomorrow and will continue my rant...until then Fodorites.
Apr 8th, 2009, 07:49 AM
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I am really enjoying your report. (Hint: if you can break your narrative up into shorter paragraphs, it will be much easier to read and thus will have more readers.)
We have avoided the Beijing Zoo for exactly the reasons you spell out so well. Your passionate and compassionate plea is sure to affect anyone who reads it.
Looking forward to more...
We have avoided the Beijing Zoo for exactly the reasons you spell out so well. Your passionate and compassionate plea is sure to affect anyone who reads it.
Looking forward to more...
Apr 8th, 2009, 08:47 AM
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Am enjoying your report and was particularly interested in what you wrote about the weather. I leave on the 14th for Beijing, Xian, Yangtze river cruise, Tibet, Hong kong and was inclined to pack warmer clothes. For Tibet I'll need sweaters and fleece but I'll pack knits for China. So sorry about the zoo, I don't patronize zoos or circuses due to exloitation and cruelty to the animals. Your description sounds so sad. Will be following your adventures until I leave myself. Have a wonderful time!!
Karen
Karen
Apr 9th, 2009, 02:43 AM
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First off I am going to repost this under the title China - Japan April 2009 Trip Report as I re-read it this am and decided to fix my typos and take Maryas advice, thx, on paragraphs. Had a few too many Yangjings last night before posting LOL. I have also added a few other notes as well as my new post.
ileen: Weather is highs of 26C lows of 10C, fantastic!! Toilets everywhere, don't forget to hover if you are a female, not pretty but they are there. I save 2s for my hotel room.No souvenir purchases yet.
ileen: Weather is highs of 26C lows of 10C, fantastic!! Toilets everywhere, don't forget to hover if you are a female, not pretty but they are there. I save 2s for my hotel room.No souvenir purchases yet.
