China – Maldo Travels

Hong Kong – Scenic Island City

Jean Maldonado — Sun, 15 Sep 2019 10:42:00 +0000

From Beijing, it’s a 3-hour 30-minute flight to Hong Kong. Our flight was scheduled to depart at 3.30 AM so we took a taxi to the airport for 130 RMBRenminbi.'>¹ plus a 10 RMB airport toll. Since there was no traffic, it was a short 40-minute drive to the airport. In these early hours, the airport was very quiet so checking our bags and getting through customs was quick and easy. We landed in Hong Kong at 7 AM and once again went through customs and security quite quickly. There are bus and train options to get from the airport to the city. We connected to the airport WiFi and got an Uber² since we wanted to get into the city quickly. It took about 45 minutes to get to our hostel in Causeway Bay and cost 332 HKDHong Kong Dollar'>³. Our room wasn’t ready yet so we left our bags and set out to explore the city.

The City

We stayed in Hong Kong for 4 days and other than checking out some viewpoints, we explored the city. There’s a very well organized metro system which makes getting around the city quick and easy. The fares depend on how far you’re traveling on the metro and you can check on the machines which can be set to English. We stayed in the Causeway Bay area which is bustling with lots of shops and restaurants. It’s also a short ride on the metro to Central where there are more malls among many skyscrapers. There is also a lively nightlife in Central with many bars and clubs in the area. Central also has ferries to cross the bay or for a day trip to Macau. Ferries to the mainland at Tsim Sha Tsui cost 3.70 HKD. At Tsim Sha Tsui, there’s a nice boardwalk called the Avenue of the Stars which goes along the bay. It’s a good spot to catch the sunset but we decided to catch the sunset at the Sky 100 observation deck in the International Commerce Center building. We bought our tickets for 135 HKD each and found that it’s cheaper to buy online rather than at the ticket office. Back on the Central side, there is also an Observation Wheel at the AIA Vitality Park which costs 20 HKD each. Overall, Hong Kong is a beautiful city that can be explored at your own pace via public transport.

Victoria Peak

This viewpoint is easily accessible via a funicular and its cheaper to buy tickets online. You get great views on the journey up to the peak and once at the destination station, there are several viewpoints. There are also some shops and restaurants there as well as the Madame Tussauds wax museum. From the station, there is another viewpoint along a trail that goes down the mountain which is a short 10-minute walk away. After taking some pictures there, we followed Google Maps for the Victoria Peak viewpoint. We got a bit lost and ended up at Victoria Peak Pavillion which was also a nice viewpoint. We then had to make a bit of a U-turn to get to Victoria Peak. The route is mainly along narrow roads with a couple of cars occasionally passing by. The last 5 minutes of the walk is along a dirt path going through trees and bushes. Once at the top, you get a great view of the city and the bay. The way back down to the station took us about 25 minutes so it’s not that far away.

Suicide Cliff

Another hike to a viewpoint is the infamously named Suicide Cliff. Although the path can be a little treacherous, it’s a fairly straightforward hike up to the viewpoint. There are several trails to the viewpoint and we chose to do a long one starting at City One metro station. We followed the directions on this site and they also have a handy Google Maps route. It’s a scenic hike with several views of the city along the way. From City One, we walked along the road towards Lion Rock Country Park. Once inside the park, there is a dirt trail going through trees. There is a small stream along the way to fill up your water bottle if you have a filter. It was very hot when we went with temperatures reaching 34 degrees. The route goes through Kowloon Peak Viewpoint which has great panoramics of the city. It’s possible to get a taxi/Uber here if you’re not into hikes. From this viewpoint, the route continues into the mountain and there is a warning sign saying it’s not safe. This is when the hike gets more difficult as the trail goes through overgrown grass and bushes. I was wearing shorts and got a couple of cuts from the bushes. Eventually, the trail leads past some antennas of the radio station and arrives at Suicide Cliff. The views of the city’s skyline from here are amazing. Overall, the hike was very tiring taking about 4 hours and 30 minutes to get to the top but with rewarding views. It was then another hour to go down to the main road. We were looking to get an Uber but it was about 5.30 PM now and the traffic was horrendous. So we decided to walk another 30 minutes to Choi Hung metro station to get back to our hostel.

Macau – The Vegas of Asia

Jean Maldonado — Thu, 12 Sep 2019 18:59:00 +0000

Ferries leave from the piers at Sheung Wan which is one stop away from Central. When we arrived, there were 2 ticket offices open selling tickets and the Cotai operator was cheaper with tickets at 171 HKD⁴. We saw someone reselling tickets for 150 HKD but only took cash. The ferry was scheduled to leave in 15 minutes at 11.10 AM. Going through security was very quick and we managed to board the ferry on time. The journey takes about an hour and we arrived at the port in Taipa which is next to the airport. Going through customs and security here is also quick and easy. Once at the arrivals hall, we set out looking for tours and an ATM. We met a tour guide offering his services for 150 HKD each. He took us to several casinos using the free bus transportation between casinos. At the casinos, he took us to the areas where they have timed shows. At Wynn Palace, there was a water fountain show like the Bellagio in Las Vegas. You could also tour around the water fountain in a cable car for free.

After visiting a couple of casinos, our guide took us to the historic city center. There are many colonial buildings and pedestrian streets which make for great walks. We walked through Senado Square, St. Dominic’s Church, and the Ruins of St Paul’s. We passed through some markets as well which were good for picking up some cheap souvenirs. We then head to a couple more casinos which include Studio City, The Parisian, and The Venetian. The guide also arranged for us to buy our ferry ticket back to Hong Kong with one of his friends. He got us first-class tickets for 200 HKD and we met up with his friend in the afternoon to pick up the tickets. We were done with our tour at around 7 PM and the guide dropped us off at the port.

Beijing – Experiencing A Different World

Jean Maldonado — Tue, 10 Sep 2019 21:09:00 +0000

It’s a long 10-hour flight from London to Beijing. The airport is huge but getting through customs at Beijing Airport is quick and easy. Once I exited the airport, I tried connecting to the WiFi but it didn’t work for me. I found an information desk to get directions to my hostel which was close to Qianmen. One of the staff spoke English and directed me to the train station where I could buy tickets at the machines. He also handed me a map of the subway and marked the route I had to take. The train station was a short walk away crossing a footbridge. The ticket machines can be set to English but they only took cash so I headed back into the airport to look for an ATM. To get back in there is a security checkpoint everyone has to go through. I found 2 ATMs but they didn’t work for my card so I went to a Currency Exchange office to buy RMB⁵. Once I had cash, I headed back to the train station and bought an Airport Express ticket for 25 RMB. My train was about to leave and there’s another security checkpoint to enter the train station. It didn’t take long to get through and I managed to get on the train before the doors closed. The journey to Dongzhimen station where I had to change to the metro took about 30 minutes. It’s quite easy to follow the signs for the subway lines as they’re in English and also color-coded. There are ticket machines at the barriers but I went to the ticket office since I wasn’t too sure what to buy. A single fare cost 4 RMB and I made my way to the platform. I had to take the Number 2 line which is a circular route and the direction with the next stations is clearly illustrated on the platform. It was about a 20-minute journey on the subway and everything is well organized with the trains arriving on time.

After leaving the station, I tried to follow the screenshot of the map I had to get to my hostel from the train station. However, I quickly got lost so I approached some police officers to try and ask for directions. Most of them didn’t speak English and some were quite rude waving me away. I ended up walking aimlessly for about an hour in 30-degree heat asking police officers. I found a McDonalds and tried to connect to the WiFi but my phone just wouldn’t connect to the internet. I managed to find an offline email that had the hotel address written in Chinese characters which I showed police officers. That’s when I figured they couldn’t read Latin characters⁶ and I was gradually pointed in the right direction. Also, the younger police officers seemed to speak more English than the older generations. After another hour, I managed to find my hostel and got some rest. At the hostel, I managed to connect to the WiFi and found that some of my apps didn’t work as usual. So make sure you download any important info beforehand. In the evening I went for a walk around the area. I was staying on Dashilan street which is a popular commercial street. There were lots of restaurants, bars, and shops on this street and it was quite busy in the evening and night. It’s very well lit up but I wouldn’t wander off into the dark side roads.

I stayed in Beijing for 4 days and had booked tours online beforehand. In the time after the tours, we went about exploring the city. There are many parks and shopping districts in this huge city. In the area we stayed in, we saw that it can get very cramped. Many narrow passageways which only fit one person walking through them lead to houses. We also saw that several communal bathrooms were shared by several residents. On one of the days after a tour, we went to a Kung Fu Show at the Red Theater which I’d highly recommend. The tour dropped us off at the Hongqiao market which was a 20-minute walk from the Red Theater. There was a show at 5.15 PM and we enquired about tickets at the ticket office. However, they were more expensive than the prices we saw online. A tour guide overheard us and offered to help us buy discount tickets for 150 RMB for good seats near the front. We agreed and he made a call for someone to buy online and then picked up the tickets from the ticket office. We were very close to the stage and the show was well worth it. Overall, Beijing was a great experience and it was like stepping into another world where everything is new and different from the world of the West.

Beijing – Forbidden City Tour

Jean Maldonado — Tue, 10 Sep 2019 20:46:24 +0000

One of the Beijing highlights is the ancient palace complex famously known as the Forbidden City. I looked up tours online and decided to go with this one which included the Temple of Heaven and the Summer Palace as well. The tour agency reached out beforehand to get our contact details and then let us know we would be picked up from our hostel at 6.50 AM. After picking up other groups, we headed to the entrance of the Forbidden City arriving at 7.30 AM. At the entrance, there is a security checkpoint and they scan your passport so make sure you take it with you. After getting through security, everyone then gathers by the entrance, waiting until the doors open at 8 AM. Once the doors open, our guide begins to take us through the complex.

We began the tour in the area with the administrative buildings. The guide gives us info on what the purpose would have been of the buildings. He also gave us a history of the site and Imperial China. There are several artifacts throughout the maze-like site and an amazing experience to stand at a place with thousands of years of history. The tour finishes at the other end of the complex in the residential area where the concubines would have been. This is opposite Jingshan Park and we walked along the main road towards our tour bus.

The next stop is the Temple of Heaven, but we first make a stop at a center of Chinese Medicine. Everyone gets a free foot massage while they talk about pressure points and acupuncture. They give some more info on Chinese Medicine and how it’s used in conjunction with western medicine. You also have a chance for a Chinese Medicine doctor to take a look at you if you have any health concerns. It’s also an opportunity to buy any Chinese Medicine products. The visit takes about 45 minutes and we then head to the Temple of Heaven. The guide takes us around the site and the main building is at the center. The guide gives some history on what the site was used for. The site also has some gardens which would have been nice to walk around but 30 minutes into the tour it started raining for us, so we headed back to the tour bus. We then headed to a restaurant for lunch. It was a buffet-style meal and we were finished with lunch at around 12.30 PM.

Next, we head to a pearl store where a sales rep talks about how to identify real pearls. We’re here for about 30 minutes before continuing onto the Summer Palace which is about a 40-minute drive away. Once at the site, the guide gets our tickets and gives us some info on the site. We’re then given about 40 minutes to walk around the site. There’s an option to get another ticket for a boat ride but we chose to walk by the lakeside to the other end of the site. We had quite cloudy weather but we got great views of the garden. We were done at around 2.30 PM and were dropped off in the Qianmen area.

Great Wall of China at Jinshanling

Jean Maldonado — Mon, 09 Sep 2019 22:09:00 +0000

There are many tours for different sections of the Great Wall of China. I was looking for one which included hiking along the wall so I decided to book this tour online. The tour agency emails you to ask for your contact details beforehand and informed us via Whatsapp that our pick-up from the hotel would be at 6.30 AM. The tour bus is quite big with capacity for around 80 people. It was around 8 AM when we were done picking up other groups. It was then a 2-hour drive to Gubei Water Town Hotel and the guide gives some info on the schedule. He also calls out some names to hand out water and some bread if a snack was included in your tour ticket. There was also a quick stop at a gas station for some rest in between. At the hotel, some people get off and stayed in the town for another tour. The rest of us are given some time to use the restroom at the hotel and walk to the river for some pictures. It’s a beautiful small town and it looked like a great place to stay for a night if you have the time.

We then get back on the bus and continue for another 30 minutes to Jinshanling arriving at 10.50 AM. The guide then talks about the hike up and asks those who want to take the cable car up to the wall. This was not included in the ticket so he needs to know before buying the tickets. Once that is sorted out, there is a train buggy that takes everyone up to the entrance and cable car station which is a 10-minute ride up. After getting our tickets validated, those who bought cable car tickets head to the station and everyone else hikes up to the wall along the trail. Before setting out on the trail, the guide tells everyone where the meeting point will be after the 3-hour hike. He says we can all walk at our own pace and that he will walk at the end to make sure no one gets left behind. The path to the wall takes about 20 minutes and it is easy to follow. There weren’t many tourists but there was a school trip going up to the wall so it was quite busy. We got to the top of the wall at around 11.40 AM and the views from here were amazing. After taking a couple of pictures we set out on our hike.

The wall goes up and down meandering through the mountain tops. Some of the steps are quite high so it can be quite tiring. There are several towers on the way where you can stop to get some rest in the shade. It was very hot when we went with temperatures reaching around 32 degrees, so make sure you take lots of water. There are many great views along the way as you see the wall stretching for miles into the horizon. Most of the wall in this section has been restored, but there are a few parts that are in ruins and a little tricky to walk through. We arrived at the meeting point at around 2.15 PM and waited for about 15 minutes for the rest of the group to arrive.

We then followed the guide on the trail to the parking lot where the tour bus was waiting for us. This trail was a dirt path going through the trees. There were quite a lot of insects and mosquitos so make sure to take repellant. It took about 30 minutes to get back down and then we got back on the tour bus to head for lunch. They took us to a tourist restaurant nearby for a buffet-style lunch. We were done with lunch at around 4.30 PM and then headed back to Beijing. There was a lot of traffic in the city so we reached the Qianmen area at around 7.30 PM.

Beijing – Full Day City Tour

Jean Maldonado — Sun, 08 Sep 2019 21:43:02 +0000

One of the tours we booked online beforehand was a tour of several sites in the city. The travel agency contacts you a couple of days before the tour to arrange for the pick up from your accommodation. The guide had Whatsapp so we were able to communicate with him without issues. We were picked up at 7 AM from our hostel on the pedestrian Dashilan street. We had to walk to the main road where the tour bus was waiting for us. After picking up some other people, we arrived at Jingshan Park at around 7.40 AM. The tour bus left us at the park entrance and we walked up to the main viewpoint. From here, you get a great view of the Forbidden City. We then headed back down and left the park at around 8.20 AM. The next stop is a short 10-minute drive away to Houhai lake for a rickshaw ride around the Hutongs⁷ in the area. Many were demolished when the city was modernizing but some survive and are now protected. There are several rickshaws lined up by the side of the roads waiting for tourists. The guide paired everyone up and gave the rickshaw driver instructions on where to take us. It was about a 30-minute ride and we went by the scenic lake and through the narrow roads of the residential area. The rickshaw had already been paid for but the guide said they expect a 10 RMB⁸ tip after.

The next stop was the Beijing Zoo which was a 15-minute drive away. We waited for about 5-minutes whilst our guide went to buy our tickets. The zoo is quite big and has lots of animals but our guide said we only had time to see the Pandas. So he took us straight to the area where the Pandas were. There was an indoor section where you could see some pandas behind a glass wall. Going past the indoor section, you get to the outdoor area where there are a couple of pandas lazing about in the shade. They don’t move much and just chill there. There was a young panda who was munching on some leaves and everyone flocked around him to take pictures. It was a quick 30-minute visit before heading back to the tour bus. We then headed to the Olympic Park arriving at around 10.15 AM. The tour bus leaves us at the entrance and we then walk with the guide throughout the complex. He gives us info on the complex and some of the buildings before giving us some time to wander around to take pictures. It was coming up to midday now and it was getting very hot. So we mainly stayed in the shade near the main stadium.

At around 11.15 AM, we left for lunch which was a home-cooked meal at a resident’s house in the Hutongs we visited earlier. The house was decorated with old traditional Chinese furniture and it was a great place for lunch. We were done with lunch at around 12.15 AM and then headed to the Lama Temple. The guide took us throughout the site telling us about its history and how it was originally a palace. We were given some time to roam around to take pictures and were back at the tour bus at 1.30 PM. This was the last tourist destination and we then continue to the shopping stops. First, we go to a textile store where they talk about the process of making their materials and products. The next and final stop is a silk store where we’re shown how the silk is sourced and how their products are made. At the end of the tour, we’re offered to be dropped off at Hongqiao Market or closer to the Qianmen area. We chose the market since the guide told us we could get some cheap souvenirs there.