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Published: April 12th 2017
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Hello, everyone! My name is Paul and I’m a travel enthusiast. I’ve been fond of traveling since 19 years old and I’ve managed to visit lots of countries by this time already. I really wish to share my impressions and memories with you in details, although, I realize well that visiting the place and seeing its highlights with your own eyes is not the same as reading about it. Nonetheless, I’ll still try to make the reviews of my trips as detailed as possible so that you could get ready to your own vacations in the best way possible.
My first post will be about my recent trip to China. I can’t tell why exactly I’ve chosen this country for my introductory post. Maybe, this is because my memories of the trip are still fresh and, maybe, because this country impressed me more than others due to its traditions, unique Asian cuisine that is known all over the world and the locations that differ a lot from traditional European sights.
I visited China two months ago and went there with my close friend, who adores travelling as much as I do. Prior to booking the tickets, though, I tried
to find out as much as I could about it to get ready to all the “surprises” that could potentially wait for me there. Unlike other travelers, who have got used to looking for this info on the web (I have many friends, who share my hobby), I spent much time talking to those people, who have already visited China and have the firsthand knowledge of the location, its lifestyle and traditions. Believe me, this is much more informative as compared to reading about the locations on the web.
To tell the truth, I was very nervous when getting ready for the trip. We couldn’t identify the exact date because of the job problems and, thus, we couldn’t book the tickets on time. Another problem was that both my friend and I dreamed of visiting China for such a long time, but when we finally got this chance, we couldn’t decide what cities and locations exactly we should initially visit. The preparations were quite confusing and stressful, but the result was definitely worth that. Here is my detailed story of our Asian vacation.
Day 1. The Arrival
It’s not a secret that tickets to China are quite expensive,
so, we decided to look for low cost offers and we managed to find suitable tickets in the last possible minute. At first, we planned to start our vacation in Hong Kong, but the price of the tickets and their availability changed our decision and we decided to go to Beijing first. Actually, that was a smart decision. Anyway, Beijing is the capital of China and there is nothing better than starting the exploration of the new location with such a beautiful town.
A piece of advice for you: take your time to choose several hotel addresses, find the maps in advance (preferably, before the trip itself) and make the list of them to know where to go for from the airport. You may be too tired to look for the hotel accommodation after the flight or there may be no vacant rooms left. Anything may happen, so, it makes sense to take care of that earlier to feel on the safe side. Taking into account the fact that we have landed in Beijing in the middle of the night, that was definitely a good decision!
There were lots of signs in the English language that indicated the
right route and provided helpful tips, so, it helped us find the right way to the parking lot. The underground did not work at night as well as the Express. So, we took a taxi and came to the hotel for 126 yuans. The road to the hotel took around one hour. Beijing is large and taxi drivers practice slow rides. I was so excited to come to Beijing that I wanted to see everything at once, but the town was sleeping and it was dark out there. No people in the streets, a few taxis and cars, neon sign boards, magnificent skyscrapers… The first impression was fantastic!
We stayed in Leo Hostel - a small, but quite clean and cozy place, whether there was everything we need to spend a couple of nights. The receptionist spoke English, so, it wasn’t difficult for us to understand each other. The cost of the accommodation was 150 yuans for a double room per night. The hostel was located not far from Tiananmen and the Temple of Heaven, namely, on the W.Dazhalan Street. Quite convenient, I should say.
Having scattered our things around the room, we decided to look for a shop to buy products there. We were really hungry after the flight and it was interesting for us to see, whether there are 24/7 stores in Beijing. It’s interesting that life in Beijing starts at 6AM. That’s why, local cafes start getting ready for the upcoming day at night and we noticed people kneading the dough and cooking traditional Chinese dishes in some cafes that were closed. We were actually surprised to find such a store near our hostel. It seemed like it was specially meant for the tourists. We bought some bread, yoghurts, Chinese noodles and mineral water there and went back to the hotel.
Well, that was our first night in Beijing. I’d, probably, pause my story here, because, if I don’t, you will be too tired to read it to the end. There is so much I’d like to tell you, so, I hope, you’ll read the other stories I’m going to write here soon. Oh, and one more thing! If you’ve been to Beijing and other Chinese cities as well, and there is something you’d like to share, you are welcome to do that in the comments section. The more info - the better!
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