Station Info Hi Lee,
No to be fair it wasn't that bad (especially after travelling through the streets of Hanoi later onour trip!). Glad we didn't go third class though.
I think second class is ok if you don't mind harder beds and more people.
I believe we departed from Beijing West station (not sure Bejing East goes to Xi'an). The transport in the parts of Chine we travelled were altogether very good.
Happy Travelling.
Cheers
Andy
Minibus. Hi Katy,
Yes the Minibus was very easy to sort out. All the guesthouses had boads outside showing the prices. Best thing is to ask around.
Happy travelling
Thank you! My wife and I are heading to Siem Reap in a couple of days, and after Angkor Wat we are going to do your trip almost verbatim. We are in the start of the second hour and your blog was extremely helpful. Thank you so much for the info! (And yes, we will watch the dolphins.)
going soon hi there, me and my girlfriend are planning on going to china next year traveling and looking into the over night train from beijing to xi'an. is it really that mental with the stampedes?? i knew its busy but not like that. any tips on what train station to use and the price of it all??
thanks
April 2009 Stay at Sim's Hostel, Chengdu My friend, Shawn from Sydney, Australia and i from Kuala Lumpur stayed at Sim's Cosy Garden Hostel, Chengdu from 3 to 7 April 2009. We enjoyed the service. The room rate was reasonable. Its food served was good. But above all, the proprietor, Mr. Sim, is a great guy - he really cares for his guests' comfort and wellbeing while staying at his hostel. I highly recommend this hostel,
KC Leong
http://desktopmemory.info I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don't know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.
Betty
http://desktopmemory.info
Nice blog! Hey there:)
Im in the middle of my research and found your blog on Hong Kong quite randomly :P
Im actually a student from Hong Kong and I'm glad that you have enjoyed your stay in HK. The pictures you took were lovely and reminds me of my home :D (Im currently studying in Bath, UK)
Anyway, hope you'll have fun in Thailand and Vietnam, Thailand is truely a great place for good food and shopping bargains!!! :D
Ken
feb 12th we must apologise for not reading your blogs more often but we now seem to be going back in time. it's now feb 12th and we are all very cold here. maggy and me are going off to sicily on sunday for half term and leaving Dunc, amy and everyone else behind.
Still soundsa fantastic trip. i have now given in my notice as from the summer and so once Amy is established somewhere next year we may be following you.
hope you are both keeping well.
See you when you get back .lots of love B, D, j, and A. xxx
Belated Happy New Year Hi Claire and Andy
Belated Happy new year !!! sounds like you are still having fun, it is great to read about your travels... enjoy the rest of your trip . Anna x
LIFE IN THE TUB Liked the pictures of the monkeys
Andy has got much older could not tell which was the best side of him.
Surprised he didn't get in the tub.
great photos keep them coming
Love
MUM and DADDY
xxxxx
Happy New Year Hi guys....Happy New Year!
Your pictures of the Snow Monkeys look amazing!! Looks like you are having a fab time.
Sending you hugs
Kelly and Paul xx
Toilet humour There's nothing wrong with a bit of squatting - the French have been at it for years !
"When one is in Egypt, one should delve deeply into its treasures. "
Hi there it's Anna just here to say I hope you both had a lovely Christmas and by the looks of the video you sent us you've had a marvelous time on new years eve. I also hope that you enjoy the rest of your traveling around the WORLD and liked all of your Christmas presents!!
love from Anna
Message from Altrincham Just got back from our trips to Essex and Monmouthshire(for a wedding) absolutely shattered but had lots of fun.
Christmas pudding with Custard!!!! Are you becoming a Northerner in your travels?
Sounds like you are having soooo much fun. Look after each other. will write a longer blog when i have a few moments.Love Bernie, dunc, Joe and amy
Great blog Hello new travel friends
We are guessing you may not have relocated to our Tung Trang hotel today??
Thanks for the mention in your blog.....makes us sound like right old duffers, only joking. We leave for Sapa on Saturday so may bump into you around Hanoi.
Cheers Caroline and Martin.
P.S Remember CHILL You are not on a tick list......
Merry Xmas Hey both! Happy Christmas! Hope you are having a great day with christmas pud and custard!!!
All is well here, looking forward to a week or so off, to eat drink and be merry!
Chat soon!
Px
ps I can't believe there is a mcdonalds tee-shirt in the background of your pictures! They get every where!
Take care!
Merry Christmas It's great to see you guys are having a good time and enjoying the different cultures. Glad to see you've getting the hang of the G9 now, you'll be able to sell the pictures when you get back ;-)
Wishing you a Merry Christmas and Bright New Year!
yeah - it's banned in Hong Kong, i.e. you get fined and Shanghai hardly saw any spitting. However Hong Kong and Shanghai are about as westernised as it gets. The other places in China we visited were like chalk and cheese to HK and Shanghai. Interestingly enough its rude to eat walking along in Japan as well as blowing your nose in public. Every culture has there habits and pet hates.
Well we finally did it.... thought about it... talked about it... thought some more.... then sold the house..... rented for a bit then... thought a bit more... finally we are doing it... heading off around the world... please keep checking our blog as we travel and feel free to add comments or send us a message.
Love
Andy & Claire
Here is our itinerary (as it currently stands anyway!)
24 Nov 2008 London to Beijing (China) (Via Hong Kong)
10 Dec 2008 Shanghai (China) to Tokyo (Japan)
18 Dec 2008 Tokyo (Japan) to Hong Kong (China)
23 Dec 2008 Hong Kong (China) ... full info
Chris
non-member comment
Same trip
Hi guys, will be diong the same trip from SR so will let you know how helpful you were when we get there! cc.