summerstravels-blog
Summer's Travels
I have a very bad memory; I tend to forget half the places I've been to. This blog is an attempt for me to remember more of my overseas trips. I'll be sharing photos, costs, itineraries etc.
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Day 9 in Beijing, 12 Nov
Weather
Cool and Sunny. Very comfortable.
Itinerary
After Tiantan, we had lunch at a 饺子 restaurant near Tiantan South Gate. After lunch, we took a bus to Liulichang (琉璃厂). It's an ancient bookstore street that specializes in Chinese painting and calligraphy material. We shopped around for a while, before taking a break at a teahouse there.
Next, we took Bus 66 to Qianmen. We didn't know the bus is a loop service, and ended up missing our stop. We alighted a few stops later to take Bus 66 back to Dashilan. Tried the 狗不理 restaurant there. This is a very famous restaurant that sells 包子 (buns), and was one of Empress Dowager Cixi's (慈喜太后）favorite restaurants. They even have their own brand of beer. However, we were not too impressed with the buns. Next we walked to Qianmen Dajie （前门大街), and tried the 都一多 restaurant. Another famous restaurant that sells 烧卖. The name of the restaurant was given by Qianlong Emperor (乾隆). Like this better.
Finally, we took Bus 82 back to our hotel. Long day today. We'll be going to Tianjin tomorrow. Another tiring day. Hope the weather will be good like today.
Major Costs
Ticket to Tiantan RMB30
Tea at Liulichang RMB100 for 4 person
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Day 8 in Beijing, 11 Nov
Weather
Sunny, but extremely cold and windy. It was so cold and windy in the morning, I almost wanted to change my itinerary and do some indoors shopping instead. Luckily, we decided to brave the cold and stick to the original itinerary.
Itinerary
Reached 颐和园 (Summer Palace) at 10plus. Am not too impressed with the Summer Palace, maybe because we've just been to the Summer Villa in Chengde. There wasn't much to see at the Summer Palace, and it was too cold to take a leisurely stroll along the long corridor (长廊). We left after about 2 hours.
Took a bus to Yuanmingyuan (圆明园)。Yuanmingyuan was built by Emperor Kangxi for his forth son, Emperor Yongzheng. Subsequent Emperors spent more time here than at the Forbidden City. The place is huge and must have been very grand during its prime days. Sadly, it was destroyed by the Anglo-French troops in 1860. Now, all you see are the ruins of this once spectacular palace.
Left Yuanmingyuan at about 5pm. We wanted to take Bus 4 (专4) from Yuanmingyuan to Qian Men. However, we couldn't find the bus stop. Ended up taking a bus to somewhere near 中关村 to change to Bus 4. When we reach Qian Men, it was so cold, I could barely talk. We immediately boarded bus 82 to get back to our hotel. Had dinner at 马兰拉面, which was quite good. Ideal meal for a freezing cold night.
Major Costs
Ticket to Summer Palace RMB20
Ticket to Yuanmingyuan RMB25
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Day 7 in Beijing, 10 Nov
Weather
Raining all day. Hate it when it rains without snowing. Saw on the news that there is heavy snow in Chengde now. Just left Chengde. Would love to see some snow. It was snowing heavily the night before we reached Beijing too. Seem to always miss snow by one or two days.
Itinerary
After the Forbidden City, we wanted to go to Jingshan (景山) but changed our minds as it was raining. We took Bus 2 from the North gate （神武门）to get to Qian Men (前门) instead. It was raining quite heavily when we reached. We settled for lunch at 老北京炸酱面. It was quite expensive (RMB20) since there's only noodles, some shredded vegetable and beans.
After lunch, we went to Uniqlo to buy some heat tech. Heat Tech here is only RMB99, much cheaper than in Singapore. After shopping, we took Bus 82 back to our hotel for an afternoon nap, before proceeding for dinner at 王府井Yoshinoya.
Major Costs
Forbidden City Tickets RMB40.
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Day 6 in Beijing, 9 Nov
Weather
Bright and Sunny
Itinerary
Another early day today. Woke up at 6am, had breakfast at 7am, and checked out of hotel at 8am.
Bought tickets to Beijing Sihui's bus station. The bus ride was relatively short (only 3 hours, compared to 4.5 hours if traveling by train). However, there were multiple security checks along the way. I guess it is because of the 18th Party Congress meeting. All passengers traveling to Beijing need to produce their Identity Cards.
After reaching Beijing Sihui station, we took the subway to our hotel. That was a nightmare, especially since we had our luggages with us. The subway was super crowded, we almost couldn't alight at our stop.
After checking in to our hotel, we went for a late lunch at Wang Fu Jing McDonalds. We wanted to go to Qianmen after lunch, but one of us was not feeling well, so we went back to the hotel at around 5.30pm. Will be going to the Forbidden City tomorrow. Hope the weather will be good.
Major Expenses
Bus Ticket to Beijing RMB 85 + 2 (Insurance)
Hotel
Jade Garden Hotel
Ok location (very near 东华门 night market and 王府井, but quite far from the nearest subway station).
Nice comfortable bed. I love hard beds, and the bed here is ideal for me.
No wifi here, only wired Internet. Can't upload photos taken with my phone. Have problems accessing all Google services (including gtalk, gmail, Google Maps etc). Have to use Baidu instead.
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Day 5 In Chengde, 8 Nov
Weather
Very cold in the early morning, but weather soon turned bright and sunny in the late morning.
Itinerary
After Summer Villa, we went for lunch at KFC for a short break before taking bus 6 to Puning temple. I wanted to go Putuo temple, but the bus stop I found with Google maps does not exist, so we accidentally ended up at Puning temple instead. Nonetheless, Puning temple did not disappoint. In it is the World's biggest wooden Guanyin statue, worth a visit. Puyou temple (another temple beside Puning temple, included in the ticket) has two halls with about 100 odd Luo Han statues, quite interesting.
After the two temples, I wanted to go Putuo temple, but the rest are not keen. So we went back to do some grocery shopping, and returned to the hotel to rest. Going back to Beijing tmr.
Major Costs
Summer Villa Entrance Ticket RMB90
Puning Temple Entrance Ticket RMB60
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Train Ride from Beijing to Chengde (My first train ride in China)
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Day 4 in Beijing, 7th Nov
Weather
Bright and sunny, very pleasant weather
Itinerary
Reached Chengde at about 12.30pm. Once we exit the train station, we were bombarded by hordes of taxi drivers, tour agents etc. Quite an experience.
We managed to take a bus to our hotel, Super 8 Chengde. We had a shock when we found that the hotel is currently under renovation, yet Ctrip didn't inform us about it. With the help of a tour agent, we looked around for other hotels. The first hotel she recommended was too sleazy, so we opted for a more expensive hotel (Sihai International) nearby at a reasonable rate.
After checking in, we went for a late lunch and shopped around. Found a big supermarket, did some grocery shopping, and went back to the hotel very early to rest. Tomorrow's going to be another early day. Hoping to visit the Summer Villa and at least one temple tomorrow.
Major Costs
Mini bus to Beijing Railway Station RMB50/Bus
Train Ticket to Chengde RMB61+5 (admin fee)
Hotel
We stayed at Sihai International for RMB280 per night, and we managed to negotiate an additional breakfast for RMB15. The location of the hotel is unbeatable, 10mins to the Summer Villa, opposite a large departmental store, and a number of bus stops. Not as clean as I would like. I find Chengde to be a run down and dusty place in general, and the hotel was no exception. The bed is my major complaint. Hard as a rock, and you can feel the spring. Other than that, the hotel is as good as it gets in Chengde. Good service, great location, reasonable rates.
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Day 3 in Beijing, 6 Nov
Weather
Very Too sunny.
Itinerary
Went to Yonghegong in the morning. This used to be Yongzheng's residence, and was changed to a Lama Temple.
After Yonghegong, went to Jin Ding Xuan for lunch. As there are six of us, we didn't have to wait for a table, which is great cos I was so exhausted. Ordered dim sum. Food is pretty good, large proportion and fresh ingredients.
After lunch, we went to the Imperial college and Kongzi Temple. Very exhausted today as I didn't sleep we'll yesterday night. Didn't go out for dinner. Going to Chengde tomorrow. Another early day..
Major Costs
Yong He Gong Tickets RMB25
Kong Miao, Guozijian Tickets RMB20
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Day 2 in Beijing, 5 Nov
Weather
Bright and sunny day today. Nice cool weather, occasional wind, but not freezing cold like yesterday.
Itinerary
After the climb, we had coffee at an Italian cafe and lunch at Mr Yang restaurant. Didn’t expect much from the restaurant, but the meal was surprisingly good.
We returned to Beijing city at about 4.30pm, and strolled along Wang Fu Jing. We then went to Wang Fu Jing food street for some exotic food. Tried sparrow and fried scorpion. Sparrow was disgusting, all I could feel was the skin and bones, hardly any meat. Scorpion taste like any bland fried stuff, no juice, just shell. It would probably be much better if they deep fry it and add some salt and pepper to it.
After our adventure at the food street, we had a light dinner at the KFC opposite and returned to the hotel for an early night. Going to Lama palace tomorrow.
Major Costs
Mutianyu Tour 260RMB/pax
Mutianyu Cable Car Ride 80RMB/pax
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Fried starfish, anyone?
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Wang Fu Jing foodstreet
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Mr Yang restaurant at Mutianyu Great Wall. We had our lunch there. Great food.
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Cable car on the left, Toboggan on the right (See the track?). We took the cable car down. Too cowardly.
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Slippery steps where I fell...
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Mutianyu Great Wall. See the 3 towers side by side on the right? Unique to Mutianyu.
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