Aventuras De Viaje's Blog, page 37

Kashgar Old Town Youth Hostel Review, Kashgar, Xinjiang, China

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This post is a Kashgar Old Town Youth Hostel Review in Kashgar, Xingjiang, China. It also includes directions, pictures and other useful information as well as some (perhaps not so useful) personal ranting.

Upon arrival in Kashgar I had to get my ticket from the train station to go to Urumqi (I had a friend buy it online). I also had to return my original ticket which I has messed up (wrong day). I ran out of water on the train since it was so friggin hot (worst train ride ever) as well as the fact that I had missed judged the length of the ride by about two hours. The line in the train station took forever (about 90 minutes). It was not a good start to the afternoon but once I had my tickets and finally got some liquids in me I was feeling better and made my way to the Kashgar Old Town Youth Hostel.

Here is my Kashgar Old Town Youth Hostel review, Xinjiang, China.

Kashgar Old Town Youth Hostel Review, Kashgar, Xinjiang, China

Cost: 100rmb/night for a private, no-aircon, shared bathroom.

Address: 233 Wusitangboyi road, Next to the Fourth Police Station, Kashgar, China

Another busy little hostel and the staff are very friendly. It is well organized and the property is nice in a great location.

I had originally booked a dorm bed but changed it to a private with no-aircon and shared bathroom.

My private room was tucked away upstairs in the corner and was blocked off from the noise of the courtyard which was good. The dorm rooms looked spacious.

The courtyard.

The internet, not surprisingly for a hostel in China, is terrible, and that is when it is working.

The rooms are simple and they give you a fan (thank f*k because it is really hot and the sun doesn’t set until 1030pm!). Air-conditioned rooms are available.

There’s also another single bed.

Security is pretty bad. They gave me a padlock for the door but the window doesn’t close anyway. I think there is a 0100 curfew.

Only three bathrooms (possibly four). At least one has a western toilet. I think the showers get hot water but I didn’t test it. Cold was good.

At least one of the taps from the sink gives out water with visible flakes (of rust maybe) in it. The water from the shower is clear though so I filled my water bottle with that instead. Please note that I think China water is not safe to drink. I purify it with my Steripen first.

Three is a kitchen but it is marked private so I think it is not for guests.

I have a good view from the balcony next to my room.

View from balcony.

View from balcony.

Book your stay at the Kashgar Old Town Youth Hostel.

Getting to the Kashgar Old Town Youth Hostel, Kashgar, Xinjiang, China

The directions on HostelWorld.com are pretty good, except they do not mention that the #20 bus leaves from outside the bus station which is across the road from the train station. It took me a minute (meaning a little while) to figure that out and was about to just hop on any bus to see if it took me close.

So to get to the Kashgar Old Town Youth Hostel catch the #20 bus to the post office. The bus gets really crowded so maybe you can not see the post office from your seat or standing position. Here is a picture of the post office and also of what is on the other side of the road.

Post office

The other side of the road.

This is the bus stop you get off at.

The name of the bus stop.

The bus stop to get off at, showing which buses go there.

From here walk back a little and turn left up the street. Go to the very end. Turn left. The Kashgar Old Town Hostel is on your left.

The front of the hostel.

Book your stay at the Kashgar Old Town Youth Hostel.

Share your Kashgar Old Town Youth Hostel review in the comments, or if you have any other questions, thoughts, alternatives etc., feel free to share

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Korla Golden Star Hotel Review, Korla, Xinjiang, China

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This is a Korla Golden Star Hotel Review in Korla, Xinjiang, China. It also includes directions, pictures and other useful information as well as some (perhaps not so useful) personal ranting.

I tried to book the 7 days inn but apparently they did not like my nationality, so instead I had to book at the Korla Golden Star Hotel which is much a bit pricier than I usually pay but I didn’t really have a choice (there was literally no other cheaper option) I did think about couch-surfing but then I’d have to wait for a reply in which case I can not book the non-refundable hotel, and perhaps the room would be gone since it seems that everything else was booked out.

Almost every Chinese person I tell I am going to Xinjiang tells me its dangerous. Then I tell them that many Westerners used to tell me that going to China was dangerous. Then a high school kid I met in the hostel said that it is probably only dangerous if you are Han Chinese… it’s all about perspective.

Anyway, here’s my Korla Golden Star Hotel review.

Korla Golden Star Hotel Review

Cost: 195rmb for a standard double room if booked through Ctrip. 500rmb if a walk-in.

Address: 6 Wenhua Lu (���������6���)

The Korla Golden Star Hotel is a pretty nice hotel. I arrived fairly early and they still checked me in which I was happy about, although it took them a while to figure it out since it was a Ctrip booking made in English and the staff did not speak English.

The room was large and it had a bath and I took one. It was the first time I have had a bath in many years (showers are more my style). They gave me two free bottles of water.

Inside the room

Internet in the room and lobby was good.

Breakfast buffet with eggs and other Chinese food, but no fruit.

It was in a good location. Close to the central park and walking distance to the river. A supermarket close by and lots of places to eat.

A gym and sauna was advertised but when I tried to get to it the lower floor was locked. I was looking forward to the sauna.

The Korla Golden Star Hotel is much nicer than I’m used to and cost close to double what I would usually pay in China (perhaps a touch over my travel guidelines limit… depending on exchange rate.), but if comparing to the US then at $30usd it was great value. If you are willing to spend $30 a night then I highly recommend it.

Book your stay at the Korla Golden Star Hotel.

View from my room

Getting to the Korla Golden Star Hotel

From the train station catch bus 101 and get off at the stop as in the picture below. The bus costs 1rmb.

Catch bus 101 from the train station and get off at this stop.

From here you can switch to the number 4 bus for one stop.

Switch to the #4 and get off at this stop (it is only one stop).

When you get off walk in the same direction the bus is going and cross the intersection diagonally, towards this.

The angle off the picture is from the other side of the road that you will be getting off at.

This puts you on WenHua Lu, the street the hotel is on. Walk up it. The hotel is on your right. It’s big, you can’t miss it.

The Korla Golden Star Hotel entrance.

Book your stay at the Korla Golden Star Hotel.

Things to do in Korla

I didn’t really do much in Korla so I am not writing a “Things to Do in Korla” post on it, instead I’ll just share my thoughts here.

The main reason I went to Korla was because it is the hometown of a former student of mine (from Guangdong Ocean University). Unfortunately she was out of town at the time and since there wasn’t anything special I wanted to do there I used it to catch up on some work and rest. Also, it made for a good halfway mark from Zhangye to Kashgar.

First thing that struck me was the dry heat. Reminded me of Perth (Australia), and it stayed hot well into the night. At about 2100 it was still daylight.

Everywhere I went into seemed to have security checks.

This was my first Xinjiang experience and the people still seem to do the same Chinese stuff (such as dancing in the park) but the atmosphere is different. It seems more relaxed and perhaps more friendly (this could just be due to Korla being a smaller city). Also a different language and the music they play is different.

I found myself walking around the river a lot.

Along the river

It clearly says no fishing or swimming, and these guys clearly do not give a f*k.

A peek inside someone’s house along the river front

Nice and blue

The other thing was People’s Park (Ren Min Gong Yuan).

People’s park

There’s malls also if your into that or want to escape the heat.

An outside mall.

Just in case Batman wants to take over.

Share your Korla Golden Star Hotel Review in the comments, or if you have any other questions, thoughts, alternatives etc., feel free to share

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Budgeting for Long Term Travel

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This post is an account of my methods when budgeting for long term travel. I don’t expect anyone would copy it exactly but perhaps my method can help you prioritize what you spend your money on.

I have two systems when budgeting for long term travel. A standing budget and a rolling budget.

A standing budget is when I save up the money I need before going. It is easy to budget for long term travel (or short term) with this method as it is always $50/day usd. This drawback is that it requires me to know how long the itinerary is. The big positive is having the luxury of certainty for money.

A rolling budget is when I calculate my budget on a monthly basis as I travel. It is dependent on my previous months profit and caps at $50/day usd. My monthly income fluctuates and is currently substantially less than $50/day but I figure that I will never actually starve. Worst case scenario I will have to live on the street until the new month starts (I’d rather travel like a bum than be a slave to society). Obviously this budget is a bit more adventurous but since I have started relying solely off website income I will use this budget more.

Regardless of the type of budget I use when budgeting for long term travel, at the end of each week I check my total spending and adjust my budget for the next week if I have overspent.

If I under-spend the leftover money gets “banked” meaning that it does not roll-over to the next month. Instead it gets put away into my “just-in-case” fund.

Any visas, air tickets or other pre-trip expenses are usually saved up for separately, although even when doing so I still usually stay under the $50/day budget.

Expenses in Order of Importance When Budgeting for Long Term Travel

Here are my expenses listed in order of personal importance. If I am going over-budget than I sacrifice things in the order of least important first – meaning that the first thing I sacrifice is sightseeing and the last is a private room.

Private room

I am a private person. I like to work, exercise, eat etc.
I will always go for the cheapest private room I can find, preferably with an on-suite. Free internet access is a must (if not in the room than at least a common area).
A private room in a hostel is often ideal because I get the atmosphere of a hostel but can retreat to my room if I want.

Private accommodation with internet is important to me.

Food

I usually eat pretty cheap street food, but I guess if I had to I could only eat from supermarkets, buy cheaper fruits etc. I wouldnt sacrifice health though, e.g. I would not just live off 2-minute noodles. Fresh fruit and veg is a must, chuck some garlic and ginger in there aswell.

Trying different foods is definitely up there with one of the top things I love about traveling.

Transport

It’s kind of hard to skimp on transport when I prefer walking or public transport anyway. The main thing here would be long distances, but I do not skimp on long distance journeys… I have a certain level of comfort I don’t mind “splashing” out for (such as having a toilet on board if the journey is more than a few hours, or a sleeping berth if it is overnight – also, I prefer trains to.. pretty much everything). So if need to save on transport the option is simple… I just stay put for a while, assuming staying put is cheaper than what I am paying for accommodation.

Indecently, staying put is what happens when I “run out of money”. I can rent something long term for cheaper with a kitchen and just work to build up cash reserves.

Trains are my preferred mode of transport.

Sightseeing

Sightseeing is the first thing I am willing to not pay for. There’s always plenty of free stuff to see, and those things usually have less people around also. In fact, something has to be pretty special for me to even consider paying more than $10usd to have a look.

Machu Pichu definitely qualifies as something I don’t mind shelling out cash for.

Extra Spending Money

This is a non-issue for me. I just put it in because I know people will be like “what about general spending money?”. I don’t buy souvenirs or other stuff I don’t need. Occasionally I send some postcards out but that doesn’t cost much. Things I do buy are only because my existing one is broken or lost i.e. it is replacing something from my packing list and I wouldn’t be able to skimp on it anyway.

What Things Do You Consider When Budgeting for Long Term Travel?

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Danxia Landforms Review, Zhangye, China

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This is a review post for the Danxia Landforms in Zhangye, Gansu, China. It also includes directions, pictures and other useful information as well as some not so useful personal opinions.

Danxia Landforms, Zhangye

Cost: 60rmb which includes the compulsory shuttle bus around the sites.

Danxia landforms is pretty famous so naturally there were a lot of people. The shuttle bus takes you to the first site and when your done just get back on it to the next one (or you can walk between them if you want).

At the last site you take the shuttle all the way back to whichever gate you came in.

The weather was good for me. It had rained in the morning but was fine in the afternoon which apparently is great for the colors. Judge for yourself by these pictures. Just to put this in context, I’m a bad photographer, this is using my phone camera and the only editing I ever do to my photos is resizing and editing.

You can click on them to see them full size.

Getting to Danxia Landforms

The hostel I stayed in offered a shuttle bus to the Danxia landforms for 50rmb round trip. It leaves at 1500 and comes back at 2030 or earlier if everyone is ready to go. The ride was not as bumpy as going to Mati Si.

I hadn’t planned on the tour so I did a little research on how to get there solo (off wikitravel.org I’m pretty sure). Since I didn’t actually go this way I can’t be certain it is correct.

Catch bus 3 or 4 to the Zhangye West bus station. From there you can get a bus to the Zhangye Danxia Landscape. It takes about 90 minutes to get there and costs 10rmb. The last bus back it at 1600. There is luggage storage available at the bus station.

Getting to Sha M�� Gong Yu��n (Desert Park)

Although I didn’t actually go to Sha M�� Gong Yu��n (not enough time) I had done the research of how to get there (I’m pretty sure this was off Wikitravel.org also). Since I didn’t actually go I can’t be certain it is correct.

Catch the #8 bus from about 50 meters north from the Drum Tower on the west side of the street. Apparently the bus is painted uniquely. Catch it to the south. The last stop is the Desert Park and it takes about 30mins from the Drum Tower. It costs 3rmb.

The drum tower is found in the center of town

Share your review of the PLACE in the comments, or if you have any other questions, thoughts, alternatives etc., feel free to share

Tags – Country, (Attraction or Accommodation) Review, Region

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Mati Si Review, Zhangye, Gansu, China

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This is a review post for Mati Si in Zhangye, Gansu, China. It also includes directions, pictures and other useful information as well as some (perhaps not so useful) personal ranting.

Mati Si, Zhangye

Cost: 75rmb for all three sites

The thing that peaked my interest to come to Zhangye was the Danxia Landforms, and after a little research I decided I’d also go to Mati Si (grotto temples) and the Desert Park (Sha M�� Gong Yu��n). Unfortunately I couldn’t get the train ticket I wanted from Chengdu to Zhangye which means less time so I was unable to get to Sha M�� Gong Yu��n, and I don’t think I would have got to do Mati Si either if it wasn’t for the shuttle bus arranged by the hostel.

Mati Si was pretty good. The shuttle bus left at 0800 and we got back about 1400. There are three sites and the shuttle took you around to each of them.

Here’s a bunch of captioned pictures.

The main grotto.

Climbing through the main grotto

Also the main grotto

You can climb this path from the main grotto site

This is what you see at the top of the path.

One of the other sites

Form the same site as the previous picture

Getting to Mati Sit

I took the tour from the hostel which leaves at 0800 (Chinese time) and cost 50rmb (round trip). It took just over an hour to get there and it was a bumpy ride. I’m surpriised that for a fairly well known tourist attraction the Chinese government hasn’t made the roads better. There was some great mountain scenery on the way.

I think a ‘tour’ is what most people recommend. The guy at the hostel did say the other option involved a bus to the nearest town followed by a taxi to take you around. All up I’m sure it would have cost more than the 50rmb and would be a lot more hassle, particularly if, like me, your Chinese speaking ability is sh#t.

Other Things to Do in Zhangye

I’ve decided to tag onto this post some stuff I encountered whilst walking around town, and in the Danxia Review post I will include my research on getting to Sha M�� Gong Yu��n.

Basically on the first day I arrived I went for a walk around town. The town is pretty small (for China). Here is what I saw.

The drum tower.

A pagoda

Some markets

There where also a couple of pay to get into parks which I did not explore.

Share your review of Mati Si in the comments, or if you have any other questions, thoughts, alternatives etc., feel free to share

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Zhangye Qicai Danxia International Youth Hostel Review, Zhangye, Gansu, China

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This is an accommodation review for the Zhangye Qicai Danxia International Youth Hostel in Chengdu, China. It also includes directions, pictures and other useful information as well as some not so useful personal opinions.

My train ride into Zhangye was fine and saw fields of yellow (canola/rapeseed I’m guessing) on the way in.

Scenery from the train to Zhangye

Zhanye Accommodation Review – Zhangye Qicai Danxia International Youth Hostel, Gansu, China

Cost: 50RMB / night for a dorm bed

Address: 182 HuanChengXi Rd, Ganzhou District, Zhangye, China

It took my a while to find the Zhangye Qicai Danxia International Youth Hostel because directions they give on HostelWorld.com were wrong (get the right ones below). After catching a few pointless busses I ended up walking it. It tool about 45 minutes to walk from town.

The front of the Zhangye Qicai Danxia International Youth Hostel

Here are my thoughts on the Zhangye Qicai Danxia International Youth Hostel.

The staff were nice and pretty helpful. At least one of them (possibly the owner) is pretty much fluent in English.

Showers aren’t great. I took four in total. Two were cold. One was hot but pressure was terrible. Last one was hot enough and good pressure.

The corridor was a little flooded from the bathroom.

Okay atmosphere.

No kitchen, which kind of sucks in a hostel. I think it said it had one in the description.

Internet was slow at night, probably becasue every f*kr was on it (including me).

It was a bit far from town a buses stop running at 1930 in summer (1900 in winter). They start running at 0630 and 0700 respectively.

There’s enough restaurants and small shops around so you don’t need to go to town if you don’t need to.

Clean enough, although the bathrooms could be cleaned a bit more regularly.

They offer a shuttle bus to Mati Sit and Danxia which is convienient and I think actually works out cheaper (at least it does for getting to Mati Sit). Check out these posts for more details Danxia Landforms Review / Mati Si Review.

All in all for two nights it wasn’t too bad. For the shuttle bus convenience I would stay again but in a private room with on suite. The bathroom situation was the worst thing about this hostel, but still was not that bad.

The common room has lots of power-points and music.

Book your stay at the Zhangye Qicai Danxia International Youth Hostel Review, Zhangye, China.

Getting to the Zhangye Qicai Danxia International Youth Hostel in Zhangye

Actually, the directions given on the hostel world website are mostly correct except for one vital bit. The name they give you for the bus stop to get off at is wrong. Here is what it actually is.

The correct bus stop to get off at.

I did tell them so hopefully they have changed it.

Also my train came in to the west train station which they do not give directions for, but there is only one bus from there so catch it to town. It costs 1.5rmb.

From town you want to catch the #4 to the station in the picture above, and then walk north for a few minutes until you see the YHA sign on your left.

The front of the hostel from the road.

When catching the number one back to the main train station make sure you catch the right one. There are two #1’s. In the picture below it has a character before the 1. DO NOT catch this one.

If you have made it to Zhangye I’d almost bet you know the characters for train station, but if not, here they are. ���������.

Book your stay at the Zhangye Qicai Danxia International Youth Hostel Review, Zhangye, China.

Share your review of the Zhangye Qicai Danxia International Youth Hostel in the comments, or if you have any other questions, thoughts, alternatives etc., feel free to share

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7 Must Try Chengdu Foods

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Discover 7 must try Chengdu foods including pictures, costs and other useful information as well as some not so useful personal opinions.

I was going to call this post must try Sichuan Foods but I’m not sure if all of them are unique to Sichuan, but I am sure that I ate them in Chengdu.

1. Sheng Jiao Nu Rou Dao Shao Mian

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Birth of pepper, beef, knife shaved noodles

Cost: 9rmb for a medium sized bowl.

The first item on my list of Chengdu foods is Sheng Jiao Nu Rou Dao Shao Mian. I wanted to lay of the chilli but ordered this by accident. Actually, it was not as spicy as it looks, but my mouth did go a little numb.

Dao shao mian, I’m pretty sure, is actually a northern speciality (Xian I think), but I am sure the peppers are the Sichuan twist on it.

Sheng Jiao Nu Rou Dao Shao Mian

2. Chengdu Street Snacks

There is a large variety of street snacks and they are all different prices, but usually no more than 2 or 3 rmb.

This one has potato and some spice

This one was sweet, honey I think

Total cost for both of the above was 3.5rmb

There’s lots of these vendors all over Chengdu

This was from a “restaurant” under a bridge. 8-10rmb depending on how much you eat.

3. Mapo Doufu

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Mapo Tofu

Cost: 8rmb

I’ve had mapu doufu plenty of times, this was as good as ever.

8rmb for the doufu + vegetable soup and a bowl of rice, 13rmb in total.

Mapo Doufu

4. Pai Gu Mian Xian

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Pork Ribs Thread Noodles

Cost: 8rmb for a small bowl.

I’m not sure if this is a Sichuan specialty but I haven’t seen this type of noodle before and it seems to be everywhere here. The fact that it is Paigu (pork ribs) is just the what I had in it. The actual noodle is what is interesting. Kind of like La Mian.

Roughly translated, mian means noodle and xian means thread.

Pai Gu Mian Xian

5. Suan Tai Rou Si

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Garlic shoots with sliced pork

Cost: 8rmb with bottomless rice

I’m not feeling 100% so I decided to up my garlic intake. I found this little place about a 10 minute walk from my accommodation with a good menu and it’s pretty cheap. Filled with local men drinking beer and eating. The food is good. I think I’ll be going back here for most evening meals for the remainder of my time here. They have a bunch of things on the menu I want to try out and although most of them probably are not special to Sichuan they will probably be included in this list of Sichuan foods.

Suan Tai Rou Si

6. Food from Kuan and Zhai Alley

There’s a massive selection of unique foods to try in Kuan and Zhai alley. This picture is just a small sample.

Just a small sample of the food in Kuan and Zhai Allay

7. G��n Bi��n S�� J�� D��u

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Sichuan Style Fried Green Beans

Cost: 5rmb with bottomless rice

This last dish on my list of 7 Foods of Chengdu does not look as fantastic as other dishes but is probably the only one on this list that I am 100% definitely sure that it is Sichuan style. I don’t really like green beans, but this was pretty good. Simple and healthy. Just the right amount of spices.

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G��n Bi��n S�� J�� D��u – Sihuan style green beans – Simple, healthy and delicious.

You do not have to get green beans. Gan Bian is the style of cooking. The place I got it from also had eggplant and a few other options with this style.

What Other Chengdu Foods Have Your Tried?

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Henry International Hostel Review, Chengdu, China

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This is an accommodation review for the Henry International Hostel in Chengdu, China. It also includes directions, pictures and other useful information as well as some not so useful personal opinions.

Chengdu was my first stop on my Multi-Cultural China Tour. My original plan was to only stay a couple of days but due to there being no available sleeper beds on the train from Chengdu to Zhanye on the day I wanted I ended up staying five nights. I’m glad I chose the Henry International Hostel.

Henry International Hostel Review – Chengdu

Cost: 102rmb for a standard double room when booked online (advertised price in the hostel is 168rmb)

Address: No.114, Beisanduan of Erhuan Road, Chengdu North Railway, Chengdu, China 610000

The Henry International Hostel is in a pretty good location. It is within walking distance from the North Railway (about 20 minutes) and there’s enough close by to keep you entertained and well fed. There is also a couple of good bus stop near by which will take you to some tourist spots.

The staff is friendly and at least two of them speak decent English. It is a well run/organized hostel.

Security is good. They have a guard.

There is a bar and they serve food. There is a small library, free billiards and computers to use. There’s wifi in the lobby and is also available in the rooms but you have to get the cable and router from the front desk. It is free but you need to give them a 50rmb deposit (fair enough, people must have stolen those before).

My room was on the fifth floor. There is one elevator. Hot water, kettle, TV, adequate amount of power points, towels, soap, daily cleaning, western toilet. It was good. The room was big enough to do yoga in and had a desk to work at.

Standard Double Room

I had to swap rooms because the air-con didn’t work, but they swapped it immediately with no questions asked. The staff was very good.

Standard Double Room

I stayed in a standard double room so I can not comment on the dormitory situation, but if the standard is the same then I think it will be comfortable.

Standard Double Room – Bathroom has hot water

Book your stay at the Henry International Hostel in Chengdu, China.

Getting to the Henry International Hostel, Chengdu

Make you way to Chengdu North Metro Station, or if arriving by slow train you will already be there.

Buses 2, 9 and 65 go from the North Rail Station to the Henry International Hostel and costs 2rmb (I did not actually catch these but read it on the bus stop out the front of the hostel).

It takes about 20 minutes to walk to the Henry International Hostel from the Chengdu North railway station.

This is a picture of the Chengdu North Railway station.

Chengdu North Railway Station

With your back towards it walk to your left (East).

Walk towards this (the railway station will be on your left) and I think I recall KFC in the same view. There is a big bridge to your right with the road.

Cross the road when you can (via the overhead passes) and just keep walking.

This will be on your left.. Keep walking.

Keep walking past this.. nearly there.

The Henry International Hostel will be on your right.

Book your stay at the Henry International Hostel in Chengdu, China.

Share your review of the Henry International Hostel in the comments, or if you have any other questions, thoughts, alternatives etc., feel free to share

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9 Things to do in Chengdu

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Discover 9 things to do in Chengdu. Most of these are free. Includes short reviews, directions, pictures and other useful information as well as some not so useful personal opinions.

Chengdu is the first stop on my multi-cultural China Tour. Chengdu doesn’t really go with the theme but this may be the last time I’m in China and I couldn’t leave without going eating Sichuan food in Sichuan and experiencing all the things to do in Chengdu.

Also, it is a good halfway mark to Xinjiang – I like trains but more than two days at a time is not my idea of a good time.

The train rides over (from Guangzhou) where more pleasant than I have previously encountered. Probably due to my bottom bunk bed and not having crying babies or old smoking men near me.

I had a little pit stop in Gui Yang when swapping from the bullet train to long distance slow train. I went to use the ridiculously disgusting public toilets (even for China standards) outside the train station in which there are rows of buckets lined up to pee in.

After that I went to search for food. I encountered “prostitute alley” (don’t worry folks, I contained myself – I did not feel like having to deal with a lingering STI for the rest of my life) which led out to the family friendly market area (why are these two places so close to each other?).

Continuing on I found snack street but did not indulge since I was in for a 13 hour train ride (see my Keeping Healthy While Traveling post). Eventually I found a small eatery and had YangZhou fried rice. I wish I took pictures of this little walkabout.. all this was within ten minutes of the train station. It is clear that Guiyang is a heavy populated and busy city.

1. Tainfu Square

Cost: Free

The first thing on my list of things to do in Chengdu is Tianfu Square. Basically it is a big square of concrete with some fountains and a big statue of Mao in front of the Science and Technology museum. I got there just before noon and caught the last of the fountain show, which was okay I guess.

Getting to Tian Fu Square

Get the Metro to Tian Fu square on line one.

Tianfu Square

2. Peoples Park

Cost: Free

A free park just up the road from Tian Fu square which is good for a walk around. I liked it, but I like parks.

Getting to Peoples Park

It has it’s own metro station, or walk 5-10 minutes west of Tianfu Square.

At one of the entrances to People’s Park

Inside Peoples Park

3. Wuhou Temple

Cost: 60 RMB

I went to the temple but did not go in, although I was tempted to. I decided not to for a number of reasons.

It was not something I originally planned to do and I was not willing to pay the entry free (the only reason I considered it was because I took a 30 minute bus ride there and for some reason I though it was free.)I’m not feeling 100% (ironic since I recently posted Keeping Healthy While Traveling).There was a f*k-tonne of people there and I am not a big fan of crowds, especially off the large Chinese tour group variety.I’ve seen this kind of thing in China before and the crowds are not worth the effort… in fact it seems the more I travel the less I am willing to go out of my way to see things because I’ve seen something similar before… the general walking around and trying different food never seems to get old though.I flipped a coin to make the final decision. Mao’s head lost.

Out the front of Wuhou Temple.

A map of inside the Wuhou Temple grounds – I think it is easily a half day event.

Getting to Wuhou Temple

It is a 30-40 min bus ride from the Henry International Hostel which costs 2rmb.

From the Henry International Hostel walk out the front door and go right.

Walk past this (there is a cross street behind me)

Keep walking to the main road. Do not cross the road. Turn right to the bus stop which should be GaoSun Tang (���������).

Turn right at this street

Catch the #1 to Wuhouci (���������).

3. Jinli Street

Cost: Free

Jinli street is the road out the front of Wuhou Temple. There’s restaurants and some shops to look in if you want.

Jinli Street

4. Kuan and Zhai Alley

Cost: Free

I think Kuan and Zhai means wide and narrow. Anyway, it is three alleys filled with things for tourists to buy.

kuan xiang zi ���������
zhai xiang zi ���������
jiang xiang zi ���������

There is lots of different food at inflated prices – but some of it I had not seen in other places

Professional ear cleaning anyone? 30rmb.

I think this is Jiang alley

Getting to Kuan and Zhai Alley

Take the metro to peoples park and exit from D1.

Go north-ish on Upper Changshun. Cross the street when you can. Just keep following this road around to the left.

Walk in this direction after coming out of the metro station.

Just past the Jinhe Hotel is the start of Kuan Xiang Zi.

This is the start of Kuang Alley

5. Jin Tai Street

Cost: Free

After Kuan and Zhai Alley I went to Jin Tai Street which I hear is much better at night.

Jin Tai Sreet – apparently much more lively at night

It was not all a loss though because inside Jin Tai street is an entrance to the Chengdu Cultural Park (also free) which was nice to walk through.

Map of Chengdu Cultural Park

Getting to Jin Tai Street

Assuming you went up Kuan, down Zhai and then up Jiang you should see this.

Go left, then right and then right again on Jin He road. Cross the road when you can and take a left onto Jin Tai.

Walk past this which will be on your right.

This is the entrance to Jin Tai Street

Alternatively, the Tong Hui Men metro station (line 2) is right out the front of it.

6. Bai Hua Tan Park

Cost: Free

At the south end of Jin Tai street is Bai Hua Park. This was my favorite of my 9 things to do in Chengdu.

Some areas of the park are completely quiet — rare in China

A bonsai garden

Getting to Bai Hua Tan Park

There is a bus stop out the front but I didn’t catch the bus number.. sorry.

I guess take the metro to Tong Hui Men and then walk south through Jin Tai Street.

Numbers 4, 5 and 6 on this list of things to do in Chengdu are all within walking distance of each other. Here is a map.

7. Chunxi Road

Cost: Free

Chunxi Road is basically a brand name shopping street. Not really my thing but I went for a look anyway.

Prada, Loui Vutton, Dolce and his mate and other names I can’t spell. Also a panda climbing a building – This is actually just off Chunxi Road

Getting to Chunxi Road

From out the front of Henry’s International Hostel catch bus number 54 (2rmb) and get off at the last stop. Keep an eye out because the bus is a little old school (at least the one I got on was) with no route map inside. Also the last stop isn’t that the bus terminates.. it just loops.

Walk SSW (South – South West) for the bus stop to Chunxi Road.

Old school little bus to Chunxi Road

Alternatively catch the metro to Chunxi Road station on line two. Also 2RMB.

8. Wenshu Monestary

Cost: Free – although some people say it is 5rmb (I walked in and couldn’t see any type of ticket sales area)

������ (Wen Shu)

Although there is an actual Wen Shu building inside the temple grounds which I did not go in, so perhaps that is 5rmb.

The monastery grounds are surprisingly big with all the usual monastery temple/statues and also a nice garden area with a fish pond, a turtle pond, some rocks, bamboo etc. Free incense for those of you who want to pay respects to Buddha.

A quiet area inside the monastery grounds – recreation for the monks?? – or maybe just for who-ever.

The streets out the front of the monastery are also nice for a little walk around.

Part of the monastery garden

Getting to Wenshu Monastery

Catch the metro to the Wenshu Monastery stop on Line 1. Exit K and go NE on the main road. The sign says Munushri… it is WenShu.

You’ll see this sign on the main road.. follow it right.

The entrance to the street that the Wenshu Monastery is on.

9. Bifeng Valley

Cost: 118rmb (including entrance fee to the gorge, panda base, sightseeing bus, elevator and tasting Tibetan tea)

The last thing on my list of things to do in Chengdu is Bifeng Valley which I had planned to go to but didn’t for two main reasons.

1. I don’t agree with animals in captivity (I know it is a breeding program and I suppose it is for the best, but I still don’t like it – and no, I am not a vegetarian and I realise these things contradict each other).

2. I’ve gone off major tourist attractions – Every major tourist attraction I have been to in China (and most places in the world) are spoiled by the massive amounts of people (I am not much of a people person). From now on I am only going to big tourist attractions if my chances of seeing something similar are slim.

Bifeng Valley is open from 08:30 to 17:00.

Getting to Bifeng Valley

Since I had planned to go there I did the research on how to get there. I think I got this from wikitravel but could be mistaken.

Take a bus to the Bifeng Gorge at Xin Nan Men Bus Station in Chengdu. Buses leave every 35 minutes from 07:00 to 19:30. It takes about 2 hours. Ticket price: 46 yuan. Bus No. 6, 28, 49, 55 or 301 to Xin Nan Men Bus Station.

Well that’s it for this post on Things to Do in Chengdu. Please add or correct stuff in the comments.

The post 9 Things to do in Chengdu appeared first on Survive Travel.

Multi-Cultural China Tour Itinerary, China

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This post is my planned itinerary for what I have decided to call a Multi-Cultural China Tour. It is fluid while I travel so will be updated as things change. It also serves as a good way to know where I plan on being / the last place I have been just in case I “fall off the planet”.

Links will take you related posts and will be updated as they become available. Every week I will tally up how much I spent.

Now that I have finished my contract with Shunde Polytechnic I will use the remainder of my visa time to finish touring the parts of China that I want to see but have not done yet. I am dubbing this as my Multi-Cultural China Tour which consists of one month of travel followed five weeks of Kung Fu training, which also includes some Chinese language learning.

China borders a few places that are otherwise hard to get into i.e. North Korea, Tibet, Russia, Mongolia, Pakistan and Tajikstan. It’s not that you can’t get into these places, it is just that it takes time and money which I don’t have at the moment. I’ll go to them proper eventually, but for now I will explore the outskirts of China in order to get a glimpse of the cultures of these places. It will not be 100% authentic of course, since you are still in China, but a good experience none-the-less.

A lot of miles are covered and about 1/3rd of the trip is spent on a train. It could be done faster by bus (or plane) but I like trains. You get to see lots of awesome scenery. Also, this itinerary is a bit rushed due some time restrictions I have (visa, kung fu training and the need to attend a wedding in Malaysia).

Update: I’ve had to add in a couple of flights because all the train tickets were booked, even though I tried to by them two weeks in advance! Yep, there’s a lot of people going all over the place in China. Actually, the cost wasn’t that much more and it cut out two really long train rides which means more time in a couple of destinations.

Multi-Cultural China Tour Itinerary, China

Here is my planned itinerary. The travel dates are pretty well set in stone since I have already bought the train/plane tickets. Booking train seats ahead of time is necessary in China , especially if you do not want to be standing for the whole trip.

Day 1 (14.7 – Tu)
Guangzhou to Chengdu
Trains: Shunde – Guangzhou – HuiYang – Chengdu

Day 2 (15.7 – We)
Arrive Chengdu
Chengdu Accommodation Review

Day 3 (16.7 – Th)
Tianfu Square
People’s Park

Day 4 (17.7 – Fr)
Wuhou Temple
Jinli Street

Day 5 (18.7 – Sa)
Chengdu

Day 6 (19.7 – Su)
Chengdu

Day 7 (20.7 – Mo)
Chengdu – Zhangye by train

Day 8 (21.7 – Su)
Arrive Zhangye.
Zhangye Accommodation Review

Day 9 (22.7 – Mo)
Danxia Landforms.
Desert Park Sha Mò Gong Yuán (????)
Mati Sit

Day 10 (23.7 – Tu)
Zhanye – KeErLe (Korla) by train.

Day 11 (24.7 – Fr)
Arrive Korla
Korla Accommodation Review

Day 12 (25.7 – Sa)
Kuerle – Kashi (Kashgar) by train

Day 13 (26.7 – Su)
Arrive Kashi
Kashgar Accommodation Review

Day 14 (27.7 – Mo)
Kashi

Day 15 (28.7 – Tu)
Kashi – WuLuMuQi (Urumqi) by train

Day 16 (29.7 – We) – Arrive WuLuMuQi
Urumqi Accommodation Review

Day 17 (30.7 – Th) –
WuLuMuQi (Urumqi) – HuHeHaoTe (Hohhot) by plane
Hohhot Accommodation Review
Arrival of Mari

Day 18 (31.7 – Fr)
Hohhot

Day 19 (01.8 – Sa)
Hohhot

Day 20 (02.8 – Su)-
HuHeHaoTe (hohhot) – Hailier (Hailar) by plane
Hailar Accommodation Review

Day 21 (3.8 – Mo)
Hailier

Day 22 (4.8 – Tu)
Hailier
Sleep on grasslands?

Day 23 (5.8 – We)
Hailier?

Day 24 (6.8 – Th)
Hailar to Manzhouli by Train
Manzhouli Accommodation Review

Day 25 (7.8 – Fr)
Manzhouli

Day 26 (8.8 – Sa)
Manzhouli – Dandong by train

Day 27 (9.8 – Su)
Arrive Dandong.
Dandong Accommodation Review

Day 28 (10.8 – Mo)
Dandong

Day 29 (11.8 – Tu)
Dandong – Shenyang by train
Shenyang Accommodation Review

Day 30 (12.8 – We)
ShenYang – Jinan by train
Jinan Accommodation Review

Day 31 (13.8 – Th)
Jinan – Taian by train
Taian Accommodation Review

Day 32 (14.8 – Fr)
Start Kung Fu Camp

The post Multi-Cultural China Tour Itinerary, China appeared first on Survive Travel.