Aventuras De Viaje's Blog, page 45
August 9, 2014
Bizovac Thermal Springs, Bizovac, Croatia. How to Get There
I read on Wikitravel.org/en/Osijek to go to Bizovac for the natural thermal springs, but couldn’t find any other information on it. It sounded like a good thing to do so went to check it out.
Getting to Bizovac
Catch train from Osijek. Cost is 25.8 kuna for a return ticket that lasts 3 days, but it is an easy day trip.
Getting to Bizovac Town from the Train Station
Head east on Kolodvorska (the street out the front of the train station) then turn left on Suncana. At the end of this street turn right on Kralja Tomislava to the town, which is small but has a bakery, post office, supermarket and a few other things.
Getting to the Bizovac Health Spas
I’m not 100% sure if this is what the guy on wikitravel.org meant, but I could not find any other alternative. So this is how to get to Bizovac health spas, or Bizovac Toplice.
From the train station, instead of turning left on Suncana, turn right. Take the first left, which is also Suncana. Follow it. There is a water-park, and further on there is the health spas. We never actually went in so can’t tell you the price or anything
Get the Latest Survive Travel Books FREE! Click Here to Get Them.A Better Place to Go Swimming in Bizovac
A better idea is to buy a sandwich for lunch from Osijek, and from the train station go straight to the lake we found.
You’ll see this little ‘chapel’ on the way to the lake
From the front of the train station turn left (west), then immediately right at the no trucks sign. You’ll be heading in a NNW direction. Turn left at the end of this street, on Kralja Tomislava., then the first right on Petra Katancica. At the end of this road turn left and pick which way to go in the fork of the road. We went left. Go past the chapel, corn fields and dirt path until you get to the lake.
Next Stop…
Bizojek was a day trip from Osijek. We went back to Osijek and then went onto Rijeka.
Tip: To find the best accommodation, compare Hostelbookers.com and HotelTravel.com and to find the cheapest flights use CheapOair.com
Osijek, Croatia. Survive Travel Guide.
Take a train. They leave several times a day and it takes about 4 hours. Cost is about 136kuna.
Where to stay in Osijek
We stayed in Hostel Tufna. It is located in the historic part of Osijek, walking distance from the city. The cost was 107kuna per person for a dorm bed (which is all they have) but no one was there so we had the whole place to ourselves. They had internet but it was down when we where there. If you go out the hostel and turn left to the bars, you may be able to leech free internet from in the courtyard.
It is above a night club, but was quiet in the rooms. Kitchen and laundry access and air-conditioner provided. I think you are supposed to pay 5 (or perhaps 50) kuna to use the washing mashing.
Osijek cathedral, Croatia
To get to Hostel Tufna from the train station head north on Stjepana Radica. Keep going past the market. Turn right (East) on Kapucinska. If you hit the water you’ve gone 2 blocks too far.
Kapucinska turns into Europska avenue. Turn left past the park on Franje Kuhaca (or you could go through the park). Follow the road around until you get to the hostel which will be on your right just before a restaurant.
You could also catch the tram. Just jump on any one going in that direction and get off at the park.
Get the Latest Survive Travel Books FREE! Click Here to Get Them.
Market to Hostel Tufna in the Old Town
Getting to the Osijek Market
From Hostel Tufna, go through the park and head towards town (West on Europska Avenija). Turn let on Dragutina Neumana. You see it.
From the Train Station, head north on Stjepana Radica. You’ll see it on your right just past the 2nd park.
The market has lots of fresh fruit and veg, as well as random’garage sale’ type stuff… like a swap meet
Eat the Food
The restaurant across the road from the Hostel Tufna is a good place to eat Croatian food at reasonable prices.
Icecream is good and cheap.
Next Stop…
Go to Bizojek to hunt down the Hot Springs
Tip: To find the best accommodation, compare Hostelbookers.com and HotelTravel.com and to find the cheapest flights use CheapOair.com
August 8, 2014
How to Get a Free Tour of Istanbul
If you fly Turkish airlines and have a significant layover time, you can get a free day tour in Istanbul. They have various tours at different times of the day, but most start at 0900 and end either at 1500 or 1800. Some start at noon. Most of them do similar things.
There’s cats all over the city in Instanbul
Our time in Istanbul was a layover on the way from Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan to Zagreb, Croatia. We took a 0900 – 1500 tour. The bus to town is about 50 minutes and they give you a nice Turkish style breakfast .Then we walked to the attractions. All tickets and meals were paid for my Turkish Airlines, as well as an English speaking guide.
To get on the tour, talk to the Turkish airlines transfer desk instead of going to the transfer lounge. They will tell you what to do.
Get the Latest Survive Travel Books FREE! Click Here to Get Them.We saw the Blue Mosque, Hippodrome, German Fountain, Serpentine Column, Oblesik of Theodosius, Hagia Sophia Museum and the Underground Cistern. Then we had a nice Turkish style lunch and back to the airport.
It was a bit rushed but a good day tour, especially for free. I’m not a fan of tours, but it was a million times better than sitting at the airport. If you have the time I recommend it.
Note: You may need to get a visa in order to enter Turkey to take the tour. Visas can be bought on entry and from the airport. They said $30 but I’m Australian and the cost was $70usd.
Tip: To find the best accommodation, compare Hostelbookers.com and HotelTravel.com and to find the cheapest flights use CheapOair.com
August 5, 2014
Survive Traveling Around Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
To get to Bishkek from Osh get a minivan to Kara Suu. It costs 30soms. Walk towards the market past the mosque. Just past the mosque on your left is a bus station and just past that is where the minivans are. Just listen or ask for Kara Soo (you can show people the words above in Russian). You will be dropped off at the market. Pay the driver and just say Bishkek to him and he’ll point you to the sleeper vans. There are many vans there, just look around for the sleeper vans and haggle a price. We paid 800som per person, but we did not haggle.
They left at about 1700, stopped for dinner on the way and arrived in Bishkek at the Dordoi market at about 0600. From there, catch a bus to town which costs about 12soms, depending on which bus you catch.
Catching Buses in Bishkek
Map from Ala-To Square to Sabyrbek’s Guest House
The bus system in Bishkek is not very tourist friendly. There are not many timetables so you kind of have to guess the route and fare. Sometimes you give the money as you board, and sometimes as you leave, and the fare is not standard i.e. it depends where you are going. Some of the bus drivers can speak simple English so if you tell them where you are going they will tell you the fare. Bus drivers can give change.
Where to Sleep in Bishkek
We stayed at Sabyrbek’s Guest House as recommended on Wikitravel.org/en/Bishkek. It’s not flash, but is comfortable enough, and the owner and her niece are very nice people.
Get the Latest Survive Travel Books FREE! Click Here to Get Them.It’s a great location… once you find it. Use the GPS on your smartphone or take a look at the map (pictured) to walk there from Ala-Too Square. There is a little cable on the outside of the big shed door that you can pull to lift the handle ‘lock’ on the other side, which will let you open the door. It’s a simple and clever makeshift lock.
Buses that go near there are the 10, 4, 213, 110, 35, 210, 195, 213.
Impressions of Bishkek
Parks in Bishkek Kyrgyzstan
We basically just caught buses around and walked around it. There ares a lot of monuments, water fountains and parks running through it. I enjoyed Osh more just because I like smaller places.
Next Stop…
Tip: To find the best accommodation, compare Hostelbookers.com and HotelTravel.com and to find the cheapest flights use CheapOair.com
August 3, 2014
Survive Traveling Around Osh, Kyrgyzstan
We flew into Osh Airport (OSS) straight from Guangzhou and spent 2 nights there. There is no foreign exchange at the airport (as far as I could tell) but there are ATM’s that accept visa, master-card and union-pay (which is useful if you have a Chinese bank account).
Where to Stay in Osh, Kyrgyzstan
There are a few hotels scattered around, but we stayed in the Stari Gorad as recommended on wikitravel.org/en/Osh. It costs 600som for a double room. There’s no internet and although the lady speaks quite good English, she doesn’t have much information. I would stay there again if I’m ever back in Osh. It’s a good price and good location.
From the airport we caught a taxi. It cost 400som, but I’m sure if you bargained you could get better. If you look around a bit more than we did you can probably get a bus into town. Maybe you can find one of the ones listed below.
Also, I think without the taxi driver, the hotel would have been very difficult to find, in fact, he knew about it and still had a bit of trouble finding it. The directions on wikitravel.com are accurate, but it is still hard to follow, so hopefully these pictures can help out. Click on any photo to make it larger.
Buses 107, 125, 2, 109 and 103 (and probably a few more) go past it.
Where to Get Money Changed in Osh, Kyrgyzstan
They are many currency exchange places in Osh, especially around the market.
From the hotel, go towards the mosque and turn right at the traffic lights. About 30 meters down the road on your left is a currency exchange with the best rates I saw. Also has an internet cafe in front of it. If you keep going down that road there are a lot of internet cafes.
How to Get to the Market in Osh, Kyrgyzstan
Starting from the traffic lights near the mosque, head south (away from the hotel). A couple of blocks down on your right is the market. Well, it’s part of the market. It is huge and stretches on both sides of the river.
How to Get to Sulamain (Too Sacred) Mountain
Simply head west through the market, or even better, just look at it and head towards it. You can walk there from the market in about 15-20 minutes. The entrance fee was only 15som.
Get the Latest Survive Travel Books FREE! Click Here to Get Them.The mountain was a good 1/2 day outing. We started in the morning and ran into a street kid whom was in the internet cafe the day before. He ‘followed us’ around for the day, so we took him to the mountain. We couldn’t communicate but I don’t think he had ever been to the mountain before so it was nice. He was a funny kid. We tried to buy him breakfast but he wouldn’t accept anything.
Take the extra walk up to the caves, you’ll be happy you did.
Note: The featured image (at the top of this post) is of the caves that you can go explore.
The mountain has two entrances, so go in one and walk to the other i.e. no need to walk back the way you came.
Map of the city of Osh. Click to Enlarge.
Getting to the 3 Story Yurt in Osh, Kyrgyzstan
From the mountain entrance; go through the ‘park’ with the water fountain. It is next to the monument and the horse. The cost of entry is 50 soms. Take of your shoes before you enter. Another 50 soms will allow you to dress in the traditional clothing and take photos.
Next Stop…
Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
To get to Bishkek from Osh get a minivan to Kara Suu. It costs 30soms. Walk towards the market past the mosque. Just past the mosque on your left is a bus station and just past that is where the minivans are. Just listen or ask for Kara Suu (you can show people the words above in Russian). You will be dropped off at the market. Pay the driver and just say Bishkek to him and he’ll point you to the sleeper vans. There are many vans there, just look around for the sleeper vans and haggle a price. We paid 800som per person, but we did not haggle.
They left at about 1700, stopped for dinner on the way and arrived in Bishkek at the Dordoi market at about 0600. From there, catch a bus to town which costs about 12soms, depending on which bus you catch.
Tip: To find the best accommodation, compare Hostelbookers.com and HotelTravel.com and to find the cheapest flights use CheapOair.com
July 26, 2014
How to Get to the Kaiping Fortress Towers
The Kaiping Diaolou (开平 碉樓) (Fortress Towers/Watchtowers) are a UNESCO world heritage site, originally constructed during the Qing Dynasty for housing and protection against bandits. Today there are approximately 1800 of the 3000+ Kaiping Fortress towers still standing.
Getting to Kaiping
First you must get to Kaiping 开平. Most people will want to come from Guangzhou. I read on the internet that you can catch a bus from the Fengcun Coach station next to the Kenghou metro station and the journey takes about 2 hours. Cost is about 60rmb.
From Shunde you can get a direct bus to Kaiping. It costs 48rmb and takes 2 to 2.5 hours. It leaves from the bus station in Da Liang, but I think it also goes by the one in Ronggui.
Getting to the Kaiping Fortress Towers.
aka Kaiping Diaolou (开平 碉樓) aka Kaiping Watchtowers
You will get dropped off at the Yi Ci bus station 义祠站 (at least we did). From there catch the #13 towards Jin Ji 金鸡. How far you go is up to you. You can see lots of the towers along this line.
If you go all the way to Jin Ji it will cost 8rmb and takes about an hour, but there isn’t much going on there except a small market down the road from the bus station.
Getting To Chikan
Chikan 赤砍 is a historical town which is nice to walk around. It is about 30minutes from Yi Ci, and costs 3rmb to get there.
Chikan, Kaiping, China
Getting to the JinJiang Daliao Cluster of the Kaiping Watch Towers
aka Kaiping Diaolou (开平 碉樓) aka Kaiping Watchtowers
The JinJiangLi Daliao cluster is about 15mins past Chikan. You will go over a long(ish) bridge and then a smaller one. On your right you see the sign for JinJiangLi village, then a sign for the towers. Get off the bus and walk to them. It will probably take about 30 minutes to walk to them, but this is just a guess. I think these are the ones that cost 80rmb to see, but that too is just a guess.
Where to Stay in Kaiping
I guess it is possible to see the Kaiping Fortress Towers as a day trip from Guangzhou, but it’s much more relaxed if you stay a night. We arrived in the afternoon and found a hotel. Looked around Kaping for the rest of the day, then in the morning, checked out and left our baggage at YiCi bus station (about 5-10rmb). Then we spent the day exploring Chikan and the fortress towers, before catching the afternoon bus back to Shunde.
This is the sign you will see
Get the Latest Survive Travel Books FREE! Click Here to Get Them.From the YiCi bus station, catch the #1 or #7 bus to the city. It costs 2rmb. In about 5 or 6 stops, get off at Xing Fu Lu 幸福路.
Walk in the same direction as the bus was going towards the Bank of China. When you see the sign (pictured), turn left at the street before it. You will see the sign down this road. It is a hotel. 100rmb/night is the cheapest room. It had a Chinese toilet inside the shower, but the showers water pressure was awesome. Good location, good price, comfortable hotel and not noisy.
How To Get to the Kaiping Night Market
The bus stop before the hotel stop is Gou Wu Jie Bei 购物街北 and it is a pedestrian street. It’s about a 10 minute walk from the hotel. Late afternoon it becomes a decent night market selling lots of snacks, clothes, electronics, jewelry etc.
Where to go for Massage in Kaiping
If you walk from the hotel to the pedestrian street, on the right hand side of the road is a massage place which advertised 35rmb for a foot massage. We didn’t go here but it seems like a pretty good deal.
Blind Massage in Kaiping
If you go to the pedestrian street and walk all the way to the end, then walk to the river and turn right. Walk a block or two (or maybe 3) past the ABC (Agricultural Bank of China). Keep looking to your right, down the streets, and when you see the sign pictured below, go to it. It is blind massage and costs 50rmb per hour for a full body massage.
Where to Eat in Kaiping
Kaiping has a lot of good and cheap ‘street’ food.
As you walk from the pedestrian street to the hotel, on your right there is a place that sells dumplings/dim sum (yum cha)/bao zi. Delicious and cheap. Next door to that is a noodle house which we didn’t try but looked popular.
Across the road from the Bank of China (near the hotel) there is a noodle place on the corner. As you face it, go to the lady on the right and choose three types of meat and the type of noodle you want. She will give you a peg with a number on it. They will call out your number (in Cantonese) and then they will deliver your noodle soup. It costs 7rmb per bowl.
Going Shopping in Kaiping
Besides the night market, there are a few shopping plazas scattered around Kaiping. Walk around or catch a bus around and you’ll see them. I didn’t go into any of them so can’t really comment.
When you come out of the street that the hotel is on, instead of turning right towards the pedestrian street, turn left. Just up the road is a shopping plaza.
Next Stop…
Back to Shunde (Guangdong, China) to get my passport, then onto Kyrgyzstan
Tip: To find the best accommodation, compare Hostelbookers.com and HotelTravel.com and to find the cheapest flights use CheapOair.com
July 22, 2014
How to Get to the Long Jin Tea Fields. Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
To Get Downtown Hangzhou From the Train Station
From the main train station you can catch Bus 11 to Wulin Guang Chang 武林广场, which is downtown Hangzhou.
To Get from Hangzhou to the Long Jin Tea Fields
Once you are downtown, go to the bus stop in ...
How to Get to the Yunhe Rice Terraces. Lishui, Yunhe, Zhejiang, China.
How to Get to Lishui
You can get to Lihui by train or bus from a number of major cities including Wenzhou and Hangzhou.
We came from Wenzhou, 温州, and since it was only a pit stop for us on the way to Lishui we didn’t explore much except to catch random buses and walk around. Actually it is a a big city with lots ...
How to Get to the Xiapu Mudflats. Beiqi, Xiapu, Fujian, China
How to Get to the Beiqi Xiapu Mudflats
The easiest way is to catch a bus from Fuzhou to Xiapu, from either the north or south bus station.
Fuzhou Bei (North) Zhan 福州北站
South. 南
Xiapu霞蒲
It costs 58 rmb and takes about 2 hours.
Once you get to Xiapu, catch a taxi (or whatever) to Beiqi北歧Mudflats. It takes about 30 minutes. Show the ...
July 20, 2014
Where to Get a Blind Massage in Huizhou, Guangdong, China
How to get from Guangzhou to Huizhou
Get a bus from Guangzhou East Station (bus station is same location as train station) to Huizhou 惠州 65rmb. You’ll be dropped off at nan xian kaeyun zhan 南线 ? 运站
How to Get to ...
