Some highlights:
- Taking the bus is slow, frustrating and cramped. Buses apparently have no regulations and regularly pick up random passengers who wait by freeway entrances in an effort to make an extra buck. We wasted almost 2 hours because our bus was trying to pick up passengers.
- Bargaining really is an art. You can even bargain for the hotel room. The place we stayed in the first night made a huge show of how much nicer they were than another place down the street, even saying "We guarantee 24 hour hot water!". Untrue. Yay cold showers.
- The Imperial Summer Villa was breathtaking. It's good to be Emperor.
- Temples everywhere. We only saw two. Turns out nowadays, temples = gift shops.
- Almost got into a fistfight because a taxi driver tried to cheat us out of 1.60 RMB (approximately $0.20).
- Called the local authorities on a breakfast place for trying to cheat us out of 20 RMB (~$2.50)
- Tried Chinese white wine, 8 RMB a bottle (~$1). Only 56% alcohol, but went down like fire. I'll stick to 151.
- Entire trip cost (2 nights): 450 RMB (~$56)
3 comments:
You can also try:
1) Da Tong
Go see the hanging monastary and the Yungang Grottos.
(I also found the peking duck in Da Tong to be better than Beijing)
2) Qu fu / Tai Shan
Birthplace of Confuscious
Climb Tai Shan at night and watch the sun rise from the peak.
Both places are an overnight train away.
You can also try:
1) Da Tong
Go see the hanging monastary and the Yungang Grottos.
(I also found the peking duck in Da Tong to be better than Beijing)
2) Qu fu / Tai Shan
Birthplace of Confuscious
Climb Tai Shan at night and watch the sun rise from the peak.
Both places are an overnight train away.
Go to Shanghai! I took the train there once, it's a long ride, but well worth it. =)
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