Oops, Should Have Pre-booked Accommodation A short 1 1/2 hour flight from Chengdu had us arriving in Xian. The flight did not cost much more than the train that would have taken 12 -16 hours to get us there. This was the first place we have traveled to and had a problem because we didn't prebook accommodation. It seemed many of the backpacker type places were full. I left Jack standing in a cool outside corridor of one of the hotels with our bags. It was really hot and not going to be pleasant to try and carry the bags around with us while we looked for accommodation. After trying several … [Read more...]
Not Impressed With Chengdu Or The Panda Breeding Center
Surprisingly They Know What Makes For A Good Hostel In Chengdu We arrived at the Mix Hostel. Actually they did not have any double rooms left for us in the hostel so we stayed in the building across the street which they call the Mix Hotel. I think they actually just work out a deal with the hotel to use their rooms. It had a completely different hotel name on the front of it. Anyways, it was a very nice room, clean, quiet and with a modern private bathroom. It was 160 yuan a night, a bargain for $22 Canadian to have such a great room. We were able to stay there but then come over to the … [Read more...]
Zhongdian, On The Doorstep To The Tibetian Plateau
Getting Our Bus Tickets To Zhongdian Was A Challenge In Lijiang we were told to go to a place called Mama Naxi's. She runs a guesthouse and is supposed to speak English very well. She can easily set you up with bus tickets or any other travel plans. We walked almost the entire city looking for this place. Many people had never heard of it or had no idea where it was. We ran into many other travelers who could not find it either. We eventually gave up on finding this guesthouse. The next day we packed up our bags and decided to take our chances by just going to the bus station. According … [Read more...]
Lijiang
Our Arrival And Finding Accommodation We took a 3 hour bus ride from Dali to Lijiang. This route would take us up another several hundred meters in elevation. It was a scenic bus ride passing through mountains and valleys. We arrived in the new part of Lijiang. The city has 3 bus stations. The bus station we ended up at was not the one we were expecting. The guy who sold us the ticket had told us the wrong one. Now we had no idea where we were. We managed to find out where we were by pointing to Chinese characters in our pocket dictionary asking "where are we" and showing our map to … [Read more...]
The Modern And Western Feeling City Of Kunming
Beware The Airport Taxi Scam, Even The Official Drivers When They Think They Can Get Away With It. Outside of the airport exit we saw a sign marking an official taxi stand where a line of taxis were parked along the curb. We remembered being told not to take any unofficial taxis into town. As we made our way over to the line a man ran up to us saying he would take us into town. We pointed at the taxis and asked which one was his. He didn't answer, he just kept repeating 40 yuan. We went to the first taxi in the line and the driver wouldn't even interact with us. He made no gestures or showed … [Read more...]
Li River Cruise
We booked this trip while in Guilin, and after we had already spent time in Yangshou. It actually took us back to Yangshou. The price includes a bus trip back to Guilin. They only give you about 40 minutes to spend wandering Yangshou before you have to get on the bus. That's such a shame for the people who will have this as their only opportunity to see the town of Yangshou. Since we knew Yangshou well and how to get the bus back to Guilin we decided to take a local bus back ourselves. We took the opportunity to stay in Yangshou and have some lunch and make it a much more relaxing day. The … [Read more...]
Dope Pushing Grannies of Dali
The first time you walk past the sweetest, wrinkled little old lady and she whispers to you ” you smoka the ganja” it will certainly take you by surprise! These ladies are referred to as the grannie dope pushers of Dali. You will likely be approached several times as you wander the streets. Don’t be insulted if you’re a bit older, consider yourself hip enough looking that you’ve been propositioned. Along with these grannies you will find several places that are referred to as "low key" Amsterdam style cafes where you can spend your days listening to Bob Marley tunes. … [Read more...]
Dragons Backbone Rice Terraces, Longshen
Not A Lot Of Options For Food Or Accommodation In Longshen We took a local bus from Guilin to Longshen, it took about 2 hours. This is not a tourist town, there is no reason to come here other than using it as an access point to the rice terraces. There are not a lot of choices for accommodation and certainly not much in the way of places to eat. If we were to do it again, I would recommend staying in one of the many guest houses that are right at the terraces. There wood be more options for food and it would give more time for exploring the terraces. We ended up staying at a hotel we … [Read more...]
Guilin Attractions
Jing Jiang Princes City Park This area was an ancient walled city, it is now a park and home to Guanxi University. We climbed up many stairs to Solitary Beauty Peak in the Park. We got a great view of Guilin in all directions from the top. The park had many areas to walk around and enjoy the gardens. There were groups of people practicing Tai Chi. It's fascinating to sit and watch everyone do the moves in unison. Seven Star park This is a very large park with beautiful landscaping. The entry includes admission into a set of caves within the park. A long time ago the caves were … [Read more...]
Guilin And Our Introduction To The Weirdness Of China
We took a short bus ride from Yangshou to Guilin. It was just over an hour. Guilin is one of China's major highlights as far as tourism goes. Many people come to Guilin as part of a package holiday. It is a shame that most don't get away to the smaller town of Yangshou. Guilin is a beautiful city with places of interest, but Yangshou is where you want to be for the really beautiful scenery and laid back atmosphere. Since we have enough time we decided to check out Guilin as well. When we arrived at the bus station in Guilin there were a few touts trying to take us to different hotels. We … [Read more...]