Foreign places Famous Faces All that digging in the sand at the beach when i was a little girl paid off and i finally reached China.

Where did we go ? Shanghai – Suzhou – Beijing – Xi’an – Beijing – Ulaan baatar (Mongolia) – Bejing – Shanghai – Suzhou – Shanghai (and then me back to Suzhou after taking Corey to the airport) How long was the trip ? 5 weeks What did we do at each Destination ? BEIJING Visited : Tiananmen Square The Great Wall of China The Forbidden city Panjiayuan Markets Beijing Zoo Summer Palace Olympic Stadium for Beijing 2008 Beihai Park Fun times : Flew a kite in Tiananmen Square at night Got chased by Corey in a tuk tuk Ate at Asia’s biggest duck restaurant Got visas for Mongolia Had superb dinner at the Cantonese restaurant at the Gloria Plaza Hotel Bought a big box of expensive mooncakes Had High tea at the International Hotels revolving restaurant that didn’t revolve Took a long hot & sweaty boat ride from Beijing Zoo to Summer Palace Went on a Hutong Tour Boat ride to the 17 arch bridge (at the Summer Palace) Cocktails at Pavillion Bought magnetic clicking things Made video of all the snoozers on the train – couldn’t stop giggling. Met young girl with her parents on the train on the way to Xi’an– gave them mooncakes The pits : Having to sit straight up on the train for 11 hours (between the hours of 7pm and 7 am). Trying to figure out exactly where to purchase a ticket at the train station and being sent back & forth between booths until a chinese man helped us get what we wanted (sort of). Lost or Stolen – the camera SUZHOU Mainly consisted of preparing for the trip and catching up with Chinese friends before we left so that Corey could meet them. - ate at restaurant in Lumu with Chinese teacher friends - Kitty & Jack - had tea with Chinese teacher friend - Carl - had dinner at Thai Coconut kitchen with a couple Where did we stay ? Well we didn’t stay at the school that’s for sure. Bamboo Grove Hotel was booked. It was a very much a Chinese hotel but it was 4 star. I probably wouldn’t go there again. The staff weren’t so helpful. SHANGHAI Stayed at : The Regent Hotel Visited : Xintiandi - where gorgeous the gorgeous old Shikumen houses are found The Bund Glamour bar Toni & Guy Shanghai (outrageously priced hair do – another story in itself). Shopping, - Nanjing Road, The Superbrand Mall, Raffles – bought new clothes that fit Swam in the Regent Hotels swimming pool Had relaxing facial Yu Yuan (Shops near the garden) Party with friends – Jazz Bar, Absinthe Bar, followed by some bar we have no idea where it was but it was full of Nigerian men. BBQ Korean restaurant owned by students father. Romantic dinner splurge - Shintori Japanese restaurant Nanshi Theatre – Acrobatic Show – VIP front row seats XI'AN Visited: Terracotta warriors Banpo Neolithic village Silk Factory Jade Factory The Bell Tower The Islamic restaurant street Found a restaurant recommended in the Lonely Planet (Four thumbs down) Met and toured with german brother & Sister as well as some Spaniards and the Dragon Master MONGOLIA Trans-Mongolian Railway –30 hour first class train ride from Beijing to Ulaan Bator Kathryn fell terribly ill with fever. Drank vodka as per Mongolians request, Corey went to meet the locals. Stayed one night at The Ulaan-bator Hotel. Bad hotel experience with smelly paint fumes in the rooms. Upgraded to a suite like a house. Day two consisted of Kathryn being ill and Corey demanding that we be compensated for our troubles during the night – to no avail we changed hotels to the Chingiss Khaan Hotel. Kathryn remained in bed for four days, while Corey hunted around for things to do. Went for a meal at the California restaurant. Went to the only department store in Ulaan Bator. Watched lots of movies in the hotel room on HBO. Finally, booked a one night stay in a Ger Camp with Samar Magic Tours - Awesome – best ever part – unforgettable. Kathryn still sick but got through. Had lunch at the Mr Gomez Hotel’s Spanish restaurant - kind of weird. Food cooked on fire and with hot stones inside Only people staying there Magical views Played goat sheep horse game with knuckles Rode Horses – Corey fell off Lite a fire in the ger – even though it wasn’t that cold Met the Spanish ladywho fixed my back Spent time on the hill Watched the milking of a mare Met Little Girl and her parents Decided to stay a second night Didn’t want to go home The Hostel drove us to the airport Stopped by police on the way to the ger camp ?? who knows what was going on? Went to the black market which Lonely Planet said was dangerous but we didn’t find it so. Near the Chinggis Tourist Camp was the newly built but not open for business Chinggis Khan Statue Getr Camp on the bank of the Tuul river How did we get out of there ? Plane – 1.5 hours (story on this) WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE TRIP : 1. We didn’t really do much planning. In fact we had not booked ahead for anything at all on this trip, so we were winging it all the way. We had our trusty (Ahem !) Lonely Planet. The thing you have to remember about Lonely Planet is that it is only a guide. We had a vague idea of where wanted to go, and what we wanted to do. This made it incredibly easy to change our plans at the last minute to suit where China wanted us to go. It also seemed that as soon as we got to one destination, we were thinking about trying to organise how to get to the next destination. Frankly, that’s what we had to do before we could relax and take a look around. I can see why people pre-book tours of China. But we really learnt a lot and can say that we really did it on our own. 2. We did a hell of a lot of travelling., particularly by train. Shanghai to Beijing 1463km (11 hours ) Beijing to Xi’an 1200km (10 hours ) Xi’an to Beijing 1200km (10 hours ) Trans-Mongolian Railyway: Beijing to Mongolia (Ulaan bator) 1136km (30 hours) Mongolia top Beijing Flight (1.5 hours) 1136km Beijing to Shanghai (2hours) 1463km Shanghai to Suzhou Taxi (1.5 hours and 550 yuan later) 200km 3. Stayed in Fabulous Hotels The Regent Shanghai – best pool, best bathroom, best view, best food, best everything Gloria Plaza Bejing – best brekkie Qianmen Jianguo Hotel Beijing – best grand piano Meihua Golden Tang International Hotel Xi’an – best The Ulan Bator Hotel – best 4 room suite Chinggis Khaan Hotel – best chandelier in foyer Baolong Hotel (Grand Mecure Hotel) Shanghai Beijing Jingmei Hotel - little box room but kind of good - except for the shower which went cold and ran out of water while i was stil soapy.