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China

February 2017
A 26-day adventure by Her and Her Travels Read more
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  • Her and Her TravelsChina
    Day 1

    Arrival

    February 2, 2017 in China ⋅ 🌙 -6 °C

    We have arrived in Beijing! After slipping and smacking my knee while going to board the plane, then finally getting on the plane to find my TV was the only one on the plane that didn't work (so 7ish hours of watching other people watch films). Then we had the momentary panic at Beijing airport because no ATM's were accepting our cards, but soon figured it out and was on our jolly way to find a taxi. On our search we had to avoid the 'dodgey' guy who flashed us a laminated card with (what we soon figured out) was double the price for a taxi from him then the airport service. He tried shouting, animated gestures and following us to persuade us to come with him in a more hidden part of the airport to get a 'taxi' with him. After some repetitive 'nos' and assertive walking, we found the airport taxi service which took us to our hostel quickly and considerably cheaply.

    We explored the area around our hostel a bit, finding the nearest supermarket and pharmacy. We then went for a meal, which was ...a bit overwhelming. We was a bit flustered trying to order a vegetarian dish among all the meat options. Then came the chopsticks...which...well...wasn't our finest hour. We both bumbled and fiddled with the sticks, our noodles slipping and sliding away from our mouths. In the end leaving half our meal and calling it a night.    Read more

  • Her and Her TravelsChina
    Day 2

    Exploring

    February 3, 2017 in China ⋅ ☀️ 3 °C

    Our first full day in Beijing! We had slept and (just about) recovered from the jetlag though our body clock was still adjusting.
    We head out to the many attractions beijing offers...tianmen square, forbidden city and the park which had lakes frozen over (that's how cold it is!).
    The buildings were vast and the designs were colourful and vibrant even amongst all the smog! We walked around taking it all in then to be approached by various people asking to have a picture with us; we obliged, smiled for the camera and did the peace sign which they seemed to like.    Read more

  • Her and Her TravelsChina
    Day 3

    Great Wall of China

    February 4, 2017 in China ⋅ 🌫 7 °C

    Today we went to the great wall of china. It was also our first day using the subway system! Luckily it was fairly straight forward and we managed to get there. The great wall was just what it says on the tin...GREAT! The views from it were stunning...a picture did not do it justice. And though our thighs ached and our feet throbbed from the walk/climb up the great wall, it was worth it. That's to say we did not make it to the top or end (if there is an end) but we did each side north and south and reached as far as our bodies would take us. It was a good day. Plus we experienced the Chinese toilets for the first time which took some leg strength to keep ourselves steady but we came, we squatted, we conquered.Read more

  • Her and Her TravelsChina
    Day 6

    Cold in Harbin

    February 7, 2017 in China ⋅ ⛅ -6 °C

    We travelled to Harbin on our first sleeper train, we opted for the soft sleeper. It was surprisingly quite a pleasant experience despite the long-ness of it with no wifi! We had two others in the compartment with us who were relaxed and no issues at all. When we arrived in harbin we were hit by the bitter cold. Wandering around looking for a taxi we finally jumped in one only to be ripped off once dropped off at our hotel...but we was too tired and cold to dispute the large sum he requested for such a short journey.
    That evening we went out for dinner...now this place was self proclaimed top notch dumpling restaurant. We went for the beef dumpling only to be told they have no beef...then we settled for the 'three fresh' which apparently came with pork and shrimp dumplings only to be told again...that they had run out. We then...hoping...third time lucky asked about the fried dumplings on offer and they said they are not cooking fried dumplings (bare in mind we were only asking for what was on their menu). After three attempts of trying to order dumplings in a dumpling restaurant..out of frustration we just asked for the french fries. Now sitting there with our beers awaiting our chips ..feeling awkward...they served us...Mccain oven chips! Yep folks...Mccain chips on a plate with mayo and ketchup...greasy and undercooked. We ate the chips quick and drank the beer even faster...then left. We were cold and hungry and tired from our long 11 hour journey...we struggled to order in the first place because the language barrier...in the end we went McDonald's and got a big Mac.    Read more

  • Her and Her TravelsChina
    Day 12

    Ice and Snow world

    February 13, 2017 in China ⋅ ⛅ 9 °C

    Harbin was a hard city to navigate, the roads were manic, the beeping was constant and we had some unpleasant experiences in our short time there. However it was all worth it for the ice and snow world which was colourful, majestic, creative and just overall nothing like we had ever seen. The whole place lit up and was made of ice. Ice sculptures stood tall with such detail. Even walking in the snow was nice as we don't get much snow in london.
    Plus on top...we got a free coach to and from the snow world from our hotel....though it was one hell of a... odd ride. There was us and a bunch of other people on the coach, the coach stopped at about two other hotels to pick up various people and all along we had a tour guide. Now on our way back from the snow world, the coach stopped outside a shop and everyone got off accept us. We didn't really know what was going on. Anyway they returned and the coach started driving off...to our suprise the tour guide and a couple other people were still in the shop, he had left without them! One guy who's friend was left started shouting in Chinese at the driver who then pulled off and let the friend off. Can you belive, he didn't go back for them he just left them! And then he stopped again and everyone got off who was left accept us again. He then started to drive off again with just me and katie in the coach, we were confused as we recognised a few people from the hotel we was staying at so thought they would get off with us. At this point I started to panic and sort of froze up not knowing what to do. Luckily he let us off on a road by our hotel. It was nuts! To leave people who were promised a ride to and from their hotel and even worse...to leave the tour guide behind! We was just happy we got back to our hotel as it would of been a nightmare if we got dropped off in an unknown place!    Read more

  • Her and Her TravelsChina
    Day 12

    Chill time

    February 13, 2017 in China ⋅ ⛅ 9 °C

    After a busy few days in beijing and harbin, we were thankful for the less packed schedule we had planned in xian. We took it more slow, going to see the terracotta warriors. We leisurely strolled around it taking in the vast size of the pits. We also went to see the big wild goose pagoda which showcased a musical water fountain show. The show was good, the water flickered and danced along with the music while the pagoda stood long and tall above it all. We got to see it all as it got darker so the pagoda lit up which made it look even more cool. Apart from these two activities we chilled mainly in the hostel bar and restrurant which was such a lovely needed break. The food was nice, the beer was good and cheap!Read more

  • Her and Her TravelsChina
    Day 13

    PANDAS!

    February 14, 2017 in China ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    We finally arrived at chengdu...after a long 16 hour sleeper train! But Katie was gleaming with excitement for the pandas so it was all worth it. We arrived at the panda base when it opened 7.30am...at first there were no pandas in sight. But not long in and they started waking up and appearing. Small ones...big ones....lone ones...grouped ones...and red pandas...they were all so cute. And to see a panda for real life and not just on TV was a lovely experience. They were so slow in their movement but also very playful (the younger ones anyway). They climbed on each other, tugged at each others fur with their teeth and did what looked like rollie pollies. And watching them eat the bamboo was even cuter, chewing slowly while clawing down more bamboo before even finishing the one they had. It was overall a sweet experience besides having no facilities to eat! We was proper hungry and only managed to get our hands on a mango smoothie. However the smoothie was not what we thought...it was more like a mango sorbet in a bowl and it was sooooo cold and may have been responsible for the cold I caught not long after. Also in chengdu we went to people's park which was an interesting experience. We saw chinese people dancing singing exercising and playing sport and it was all very entertaining to watch.Read more

  • Her and Her TravelsChina
    Day 22

    All of the Lights

    February 23, 2017 in China ⋅ ⛅ 6 °C

    Shanghai was just as we expected. Big city, tall buildings and lots of lights! We visited the bund in both the morning and night. It was definitely much prettier in the night. We took a stroll through yu gardens which had beautiful lakes, big fish and was generally very relaxing. And though we are not massively into musuems we thought we would check out shanghai museum as it was free! It was a big musuem with many floors and many artifacts. Overall it was a good experience and also ate some nice food...we tried the dumplings which were flavoursome.Read more

  • Her and Her TravelsChina
    Day 26

    Big City, Lovely beach

    February 27, 2017 in Hong Kong ⋅ 🌙 16 °C

    We left mainland china for hong kong not knowing what to expect. Would it be similar or different? Well we found it to be pretty different from mainland china...sharing similarities with London actually. Big city, loads of shopping districts like Oxford Street. Much more 'Western' food and much more of a 'western' feel as seemingly has an American influence. We started by visiting the park. It had lovely scenery with lakes and colourful flowers. Was like a painting! Though we got told no selfie sticks when we tried to snap a cute picture of ourselves with a even cuter background. Then that evening we tried authentic chinese at a somewhat questionable setting. It was in what looked like a car park, you wouldnt know it if ya didnt research it first. But the food was good and it was very very busy! We traveled to see the big buddha which was quite the journey weaving in and out and up and down on the bus to get there. But it was good...grand...though very misty! The wandering cows and dogs were cute...so many cows just proper bopping around like nobody's bussiness! And then there was the peak which started of stressful due to lack of money, need for a toilet, long queues and purchasing of wrong tickets. But once we were up on the skyline it was absolutely stunning! The view was nothing like I had seen before. High rise buildings, clusters of greenery and vast blue sea and sky which looked like fresh slates you could walk on. In the evening we also managed to catch the Tottenham v stoke match at an Irish pub though only had the one pint as the price was jaw dropping! Bloody 7 or there's about quid for a carlbergs and about 9 squids for a guiness! And I thought London was bad. Anywhoot we spent our last day on the beach in Hong Kong which was lovely. The weather was the best we had since being here which was good as we had sent our coats and fleece back by this point. The sand was clean clear and soft and the sea was blue and crisp. We got a couple beers in and a tuna sandwich and just chilled. Tommorow we say goodbye to china and hello to Vietnam.Read more

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