Live from Enchanted China!

[BriarRose59]

My daughter and I are on the June 14-26 Enchanted China trip. I will try to post daily to let you know what we are doing.

Day One
Our stay in Tokyo Disney has been wonderful, but we are now ready to start our China adventure. We flew from Tokyo to Beijing on Japan Airlines. They are wonderful! I let them know about my daughter’s fish allergy before we left and they had special meals prepared for her on both the LAX to Tokyo and Tokyo to Beijing flights. The flight attendants were very friendly and helpful and the plane was nice and clean. We were given health questionnaires while on board that we had to fill out before disembarking the plane. We arrived in Beijing at about 1:30 pm and had to wait while the quarantine officials came on board to check everyone’s temperature. We were off the plane at roughly 1:50. We had to pass through a quarantine area where the questionnaires that we filled out on board were reviewed. After we passed through that area, we went through immigration services, then rode a tram over to the main terminal where we picked up our luggage. We were met by an ABD rep right outside customs who put us in a towncar that drove us to The China World Hotel. All in all, it took about an hour from landing to getting in the car.

The hotel is beautiful and the rooms are a generous size. We met Heidi and Huan, our guides, along with the other guest in the lobby around 5:30 pm for a quick ice-breaker, then we were off to the Meiweizhen Royal Restaurant for dinner. The traditional costumes worn by the staff and the restaurant itself were beautiful. We were treated to a traditional tea ceremony before dinner. Dinner was served family style and was delicious. We had mushroom soup along with duck, pork, beef, chicken, prawns and tofu, all served in different ways. Fried rice was also served. If you wanted soft drinks, they were available. After dinner there was an opportunity to dress in the traditional robes and hat . We passed on this but several from our group chose to participate. This seems to be a friendly group and I look forward to getting to know them all better as the days go by. We are headed to bed for a good night’s sleep. More tomorrow!

 

[sayhello]

Whee! Looking forward to more of your report! Enjoy!!

Sayhello

 

[kristilew]

Have a wonderful time! Can't wait to hear more!

 

[Missin'Disney]

Wow. How exciting. Thanks for the live report...looking forward to reading more!!

 

[BriarRose59]

Day 2
Our day started with an excellent breakfast buffet in our hotel. They even offered cooked to order omelets and waffles! We met Huan in the lobby at 8:15 a.m. and were off to Tienanmen Square and the Forbidden City by bus. We were told not to pay any attention to the vendors which was hard to do since they came right up to you trying to sell their wares. After pictures in Tienanmen Square we went inside the Forbidden City. It is such a large and beautiful place. There were lots of people but we managed to get some great photos. The colors and textures are amazing. There wasn’t enough time to see everything, but Huan tried to let us see as much as possible. One piece of advice, when the guides suggest a bathroom, take advantage of it because there may be only a Turkish style toilet available later. Also, drink plenty of water. ABD provides water and snacks for you. We had almonds, granola bars and bananas. Make sure you take something before you leave the bus. There are vendors inside, but you don’t always have time to stand in line. The Chinese people seem to be enamored of blond people. We saw some of the Chinese people taking picture of the blonds in our group. At one point, a lady came over to my daughter and me (not blond) and asked to have her picture taken with us. We said okay. It was quite interesting. We loved the Imperial Garden. The strange looking rock and cypress trees made for an interesting contrast. There was a book store in this area and we had a few minutes to shop. My daughter picked up a book of 11 postcards for 30 yuan which is roughly $4.50.

From the Forbidden City we rode our bus to lunch at Dasanyuan Restaurant. Once again it was served family style and there was way too much food! Most of it tasted great, but we couldn’t eat everything and felt bad about so much waste. We had about 20 minutes after lunch so we strolled around the lake that was beside the restaurant. We didn’t get back to the hotel until 2:30 so we decided to shower and rest before dinner. We had to meet in the lobby at 5:30. A few of the families went back out. I know one went to the Temple of Heaven and one went to the silk market.

Tonight was our welcome dinner. Huan said if we wanted to dress for dinner, tonight was the night. We met at 5:30 and were take into one of the ballrooms at the hotel. We made some souvenirs to take home. It was a lot of fun! Dinner again was very good. It was a plated meal with a more western style. There was a surprise after dinner but I won’t tell for those of you who are going on the trip!

We had a change of guide today. Heidi had to leave,so Brian took her place. He had been on the Enchanted China trip that left Beijing last week, so he was in Shanghai. The gentleman he had been working with on that tour took it over and Brian came to take over our trip. He is very nice and I think he will do well with our group.

Overall the weather is warm here and it is quite hazy. I took a Claritin today because my allergies seemed to be giving me trouble. It helped. Please make sure to bring a hat and sunscreen for those that are doing this trip. Also, a lot of Chinese use umbrellas to keep the sun off of themselves. My daughter and I bought umbrellas while at Tokyo Disney so we are planning on using them tomorrow at the Great Wall. Oh my gosh, I am going to the Great Wall of China tomorrow!

 

[logan&tylersmama]

sounds like you are having a wonderful time - sounds like a trip of a lifetime.
jennifer

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Looking forward to hearing more about your trip!

 

[2GirlsMama]

Hi Briar Rose!
Thanks so much for all your updates. It sounds like you are having a wonderful time. I hope you enjoyed the Great Wall.

Are there many kids on your trip?

Do you know if there is access to Blogger in China now?

Do you feel rushed, or do you have time to look at things?

Do you have any tips for other things we should bring to China?

The blonde hair thing amazed me on both of our trips. I had many requests for pictures on both trips. (And my hair isn't really "blonde", my hair stylist works hard to get it to be this color !

We leave on June 26 for China. Your updates are very valuable.

Have a great time!

 

[BriarRose59]

Day 3
Today we rode our bus for about 2 hours to a place along the Great Wall that was less crowded. We stopped right before we reached the wall for a restroom break at the restaurant where we will be having lunch—The Schoolhouse at Mutianyu. There was a very nice bathroom here. After our quick stop we arrived at the Great Wall. We had to walk from the bus up a very steep hill to reach the cable car. There was a flea market type set up going up the hill so be prepared! They all seem to want to sell you something It had started to sprinkle before we got off of the bus so Brian pulled out the ABD ponchos for us. I only tell you this in case you are planning on packing a poncho. I don’t want to ruin a surprise but this is something you don’t need to pack. They are clear and very light weight. It’s not something that is going to last for years, but they will be fine for the next 10 days. What can I say about the Great Wall. It was beyond my expectations. The area is breathtaking and I wish we could have spent more time there. We only got to spend about 30 minutes on top because a thunderstorm was coming in and Brian was worried about lightening. We rode the cable car back down and made our way to the bus in the pouring rain. By the time we got to the Schoolhouse it was only a light rain so it didn’t last long.
Lunch at the Schoolhouse was delicious. We were given the choice between a vegetable sandwich or a grilled chicken sandwich. My daughter had the vegetable one. It was served on whole wheat bread and contained grilled eggplant and bell peppers. I chose the grilled chicken and it was served on a very interesting corn bread. It was like regular bread only made with cornmeal. French fries were served as well. We had a choice of brownie or vanilla, chocolate or strawberry ice cream for dessert. After lunch we split into 2 groups. One went to see a glass blowing demonstration while the other watched a noodle making demonstration. Luckily the only one we were able to actually participate in was the noodle making. The kids had a ball and ended up covering Huan with flour. Of course, a little got on them too.
After our return to the hotel at around 4:30, the rest of the day and evening were our own. My daughter and I decided to have Peking duck and attend the Night Market. Huan suggested and made reservations at a very nice restaurant for us. We went by cab, which is a very cheap mode of transportation here. It was around a 20 minute cab ride and only cost about $2.50. The duck was fabulous and the restaurant was beautiful. They spoke limited English but it was enough to get by. We rode another cab to the Night Market. Oh my gosh, I couldn’t believe what I saw people eating! There were starfish and urchins at the first vendor. We saw raw squid, various meats, crab, sea horses, vegetables, and lots of fruit. Everything was on a skewer. The fish and meats were cooked in hot grease when you ordered them. We chose a skewer of candy coated fruit. I hope we don’t regret it later! We rode a taxi back to the hotel. Huan had written out instructions to the cab drivers on hotel cards. She also included her telephone number in case there was a problem. That was good thing too because the driver to the Night Market couldn’t read Huan’s handwriting so he called her to see exactly where we wanted to go. It’s back to the room to pack now. Luggage pick up is at 7:00 am tomorrow morning. We have our pedicab tour of a hutong here in Beijing tomorrow before we fly to Chengdu. Wan an! (Good night!)

2GirlsMama, I'll try to answer your questions tomorrow.

 

[BriarRose59]

2GirlsMama:

The kids range from 10-15 on this trip. Nine of the 28 people on the trip are in that group. There are two 18 yo's on the trip also which is nice for my DD. Brian said the other group he was with had more young children.

I don't have an account on Blogger, but I was able to get to the log-in page. We post to Facebook without any problems. I am uploading my photos to Flickr everyday also.

Yes, we are rushed in some places. We could have used an hour on our own at the Forbidden City and at the Great Wall. I think we could have stayed at the Wall a little longer if not for the storm. When you are part of a group tour this is to be expected. You have time on your own in Beijing so you could go back to see something at greater length later, but you would have to pay another entrance fee.

Two things I can tell you not to bring are toothbrushes and toothpaste. The Shangri-La hotels provide good toothbrushes and Colgate toothpaste. We are on our second hotel and they have provided both of those items. Also, someone mentioned soap. They offer both shower gel and bar soap. There is no need to bring your own. Each hotel also provides robes and slippers. There is complimentary bottled water in our room and on the bus. The shampoo and conditioner are of good quality also.

I printed out sheets of address labels for family and friends and it has helped with the speed of doing the postcards in every city. We purchased a box of 10 postcards at our Beijing hotel for around $4.50 and bought postage along with the cards. We purchased a box of 10 postcards for about the same price at the panda facility today and they had stamps at different desk.

Make sure you bring sunscreen and a hat and/or umbrella. You will not look out of place if you bring an umbrella for the sun. Lots of Chinese women use umbrellas instead of hats.

I asked Brian today if he was leading the trip at the end of this month and he said that he and Daisy would be doing that trip so you'll get to meet him. He is a great guide! We love Huan but I have heard great things about Daisy so you'll be in good hands.

One more thing I would strongly suggest if you are bringing a computer: download Skype! We "call" every day and talk with my DH at home and DD21 who is away at college this summer. We can conference call and talk to them both at the same time. My DD21 has a camera on her computer and we have one on the netbook so we can also video conference. My DM does not have a computer so I call her on her land line using Skype for .02 per minute as opposed to $1.99 per minute on my cell phone. Each of the hotels we stay in has free broadband except the Hilton. They charge so I'll get what I need to do finished within the 24 hours I have paid for. If you have an iPhone please go to the AT&T website and go over the iPhone tips for international travel. You need to turn off your data roaming while you are out of the States. Also, you can receive text messages for free, but it costs .50 to send them from your phone. That is true of any AT&T phone, not just the iPhone.

Let me know if you have any more questions.

 

[BriarRose59]

Day 4
The bellman is right on time at 7 a.m. to pick up our bags. We go downstairs to have breakfast before we had out to the hutong. The bus picks us up at 8:00 a.m. to begin our adventure today: pedicabbin’ the hutong. We split up into 2 groups since there isn’t enough room in the ladies’ homes that we are visiting today to fit all of us at one time. We are in Huan’s group. She leads us to a group of pedicabs and we hop in and take off! We ride through the “streets” of the hutong and are amazed at the number of people you can fit into such a small place. Our first stop is a home where a lady teaches us about the art of knot tying. It was great fun and she had also prepared tea for us. She had a mama cat and 2 kittens so the kids enjoyed seeing them. Our second stop was a small park area where a gentleman taught us about the Chinese yoyo. We drew quite an audience as the Chinese who were strolling around the lake stopped to watch us attempt the yoyo. The yoyo master gave a short demonstration and did some amazing things with the yoyo. We hopped back into the pedicab for our last stop, where a lady taught us about the art of paper cutting. This morning has been my favorite so far. I loved visiting the people’s homes and actually talking with the local people. We ate lunch at Noble House. It was served family style and as usual there was too much food, but it was delicious! They have some beautiful antique furniture here. Be sure to ask to see it.
We head to the airport after lunch. Our luggage is waiting for us at the airport. We have to check in individually with our luggage. Once that is complete we go through security and on to the gate. We flew on Sichuan Airlines. The flight was an hour late, but everyone sat and talked and the time passed quickly. The flight was good and they served a meal in-flight. It was about a 2-2 ½ hour flight. We arrived in Chengdu about 6:30 p.m. and claimed our luggage. The luggage was then gathered for transfer to our hotel while we were whisked away on a bus to dinner at another wonderful restaurant. Dinner was served family style and a lot of it was too spicy for me to eat. Several of the group, however, really enjoyed it. The items that were not spicy were excellent. We noticed that it was very hazy here and were told this was a normal occurrence. Its not pollution, its moisture in the air because we are in a basin type area here. We were also surprised by the number of high-end car dealerships here. We saw Rolls-Royce, Bentley and Lamborghini on the ride to the hotel. We are staying at the Shangri-La Chengdu and it is absolutely beautiful. Tomorrow is panda day!

 

[knewton64]

nice to catch up on all things ABD as you are also updating your tr.
TOO COOL .


Cant wait for Panda Day!

 

[figmentfan2009]

BriarRose

what is your flickr account? I'm dying to get a preview for our upcoming July trip.

 

[sayhello]

I can hardly wait to hear about your day with the Pandas! I've always wanted to do that. I'll tell you, if they permanently add the Terra Cotta Soldiers to this itinerary, it's moving up to the top of my wish list!

Sayhello

 

[figmentfan2009]

I am trying valiantly to understand the 11 pound weight limit on carry ons. How strictly (can you tell) are they sticking to that exact number?

I want to be sure I don't go over but I know I want to carry on my cameras (which between the bunch of them, their batteries and chargers is more than 11 pounds) and my laptop and external hard drive and the laptop charger that is close to 11 pounds.

Do they "weigh" your "personal item" along with your carry on? If I take a purse, maybe I can carry the little cameras (one of which is an olympus waterproof that is on the heavy side) and my hard drive in my purse....

 

[BriarRose59]

I am trying valiantly to understand the 11 pound weight limit on carry ons. How strictly (can you tell) are they sticking to that exact number?

I want to be sure I don't go over but I know I want to carry on my cameras (which between the bunch of them, their batteries and chargers is more than 11 pounds) and my laptop and external hard drive and the laptop charger that is close to 11 pounds.

Do they "weigh" your "personal item" along with your carry on? If I take a purse, maybe I can carry the little cameras (one of which is an olympus waterproof that is on the heavy side) and my hard drive in my purse....

They did not weigh our carry-ons for the first flight. I'll let you know if they do later.

 

[Karyna Gladys]

You're travel agency is really doing a great job organizing all your itinerary. Well, sure you have lot thing to see in China, of course you're right great food. I love Chinese food..

 

[Siliobear]

BriarRose,

Enjoying every word of your trip. We leave in one week and can't wait to share your experiences. How bad is the weather? Thanks for your tips about Claritin, sunscreen and the umbrella. Is it as humid as I feared?

 

[BriarRose59]

BriarRose,

Enjoying every word of your trip. We leave in one week and can't wait to share your experiences. How bad is the weather? Thanks for your tips about Claritin, sunscreen and the umbrella. Is it as humid as I feared?

The weather has been great, not hot at all. I think that is about to end though. We just arrived at HOMA a few minutes ago and it is humid and very warm here. They are expecting 90's tomorrow with high humidity. Oh well, we'll be on the river cruise.

 

[BriarRose59]

Day 5
This morning started with a massive buffet for breakfast at the hotel. I can’t believe how many choices we have! We leave at 8 a.m. for the Panda Breeding Facility and arrive there a little after 9 a.m. We have a talk and slide show about the panda. We then walk to the actual habitats. The pandas are kept in habitats according to their age. They are so cute and fun to watch. They lay around and eat bamboo all day! After viewing 3 different habitats we have the option to hold a panda! The cost is 1000 yuan which comes out to about $150 per person. Apparently this is not always an option, but today we are able to participate. The fee is considered a donation to the facility for further research and upkeep of the pandas and facilities. My DD and I both held a panda and there were employees there to use our camera to photograph the event. It was fantastic! Our next habitat was the red panda. They were a lot more active than the giant panda. We watched them for a while before heading to the gift shop and restrooms. We rode the bus back to the hotel and enjoyed a wonderful lunch at the buffet in the hotel.
We had a stick fighting demonstration at 1:30. An expert gave us an exhibition with a stick and with a sword. We were able to participate and learn how to properly use the stick. It was fun to watch. We have free time after the demonstration. Some are taking advantage of the great pool here while others are resting before the late night tonight. We decided to come back to our room and get caught up on emails, Facebook, etc. and to rest since we will be out later tonight than normal.
We had dinner at the hotel in the huge international buffet. The bus pulled away from the hotel at around 7:15 to go to the Face Changing Opera. It was about a 15-20 minute ride. Once there we were treated to jasmine tea before and during the performance. We used the restroom facility there and once again it was the Turkish style toilets with no paper. The handicap stall was the only western style toilet, but there was still no paper. Make sure to take your own . The opera is outdoors under a canvas tarp so we put on our bug spray as the mosquitoes were out in force. There were several acts prior to the face changing opera and most were very entertaining. The shadow puppet man was fantastic! The face changing opera was really unique and wonderful. Its hard to figure out how they change their masks so quickly. After the opera we ride the bus back to the hotel. We have to have our bags outside our door by 5:00 a.m. in the morning and be in the lobby at 6:00 a.m. for our early flight to Xian. The terra cotta army is tomorrow!