Travelling Trio

China – Guangzhou, Shanghai & Beijing

• By Denise
• October 12, 2015
• No Comments

18 September to 28 September

Guangzhou

After taking the train from Hong Kong we arrived in Guangzhou, China mid morning and straight away we were hit up for a SIM card or how about “change money” and of course a “Taxi to hotel”. The taxi fare a mere 130 Yuan – as it turned out this was an exorbitant fare given our hotel was just 2.9km away and a standard fare would be around 11 yuan!!!! Yikes – welcome to China.

However, here we are in China. I had been warned to take as many screenshots of maps I could before getting to here as they do not allow access to a lot of websites which included Google maps, facebook, even our blog!!! In fact it seems all .com websites are blocked with the exception of just a few.

Our Hotel is just lovely (inside) with the outside of the building looking quite worn and in need of some serious attention. The staff at the Hotel have extremely limited english speaking ability – something we would have to get used to very quickly. It surprised us though that a ‘tourist hotel’ would not have someone who could speak basic english. We are not able to get into google translate so cannot use that app either. Aaargh – the joys of travelling to a non-english speaking country.

The area we are in is close to the Zoo and it is only a short taxi ride to other interesting and vibrant places. The taxi drivers are a bit flippant really, they might stop for you and then again they might not – something else I had been warned about too. Anyways, once you get a taxi – if you have your destination written in Chinese then you will be fine and the price is very cheap. There are opportunists with very basic english who stop by and want to take you in their vehicle to your destination but they also want to charge you more than quadruple the price….

For the first time on our travels our hotels do not provide us with an option to have breakfast so our first outing was to a supermarket for some breakfast provisions. What a mission this turned out to be. First we couldn’t explain what we wanted to our hotel staff, second they didn’t have a map of Guangzhou in english (all Chinese) and third once we did eventually find the supermarket of course everything is written in Chinese. However, after all of that we managed to purchase some NZ butter, bread, strawberry jam, cheerios cereal and milk! Thought we did pretty well actually because cereal is very hard to find although after searching Trip Advisor (one website we can access) we were able to make our way to an international supermarket where we spent over two hours marvelling at foods from around the world. Wine from NZ at over $NZ80 a bottle – eeeek.

Carter and I had loads of fun trying all the samples that were on offer – at the end of every aisle someone was cooking or handing out little ‘tasters’ and we made the most of it. I think Carter “tried” the gyoza (dumplings) four times until told he couldn’t have anymore and gelato icecream about three times! Well worth the effort to get to the supermarket. We were also able to taste all the fruit on offer – they have little containers with apples, mango, pineapple etc cut up into cubes for you to taste. This was wonderful as we got a fill of fruit without having to pay the inflated prices they were asking. Ie Eight apples for $NZ25. Oh, we also found some NZ Manuka Honey – three small 500g jars for $NZ150 – must remind my relations in NZ to send some over here – they would make a fortune.

Walking through the pedestrian only streets is an eye opener for anyone. So so so many people. There are food shops everywhere with the usual McDonalds on just about every street with Starbucks and KFC making the odd appearance too. Hawkers are on the busy street targeting tourists and trying to convince you to visit their shop somewhere down a back alleyway – they can be quite forthright and pushy. The word for No, thank you, is “Buh, cee cee” (sound only – not spelling) so we are becoming really good at using this phrase. Carter has perfected it quickly.

We are finding the general pricing here is not as cheap as we were expecting – in fact it is on a par with NZ. The city is well developed, clean and vibrant – that is until you go to the Qingping Market – a market not for the fainthearted. This is a bustling market with live animals on offer, killed at your request and cut up to your liking. We saw everything from live frogs, turtles, fish, eels, hens, cats, dogs and scorpions to fresh vegetables to everything dried such as seahorses, worms, deer legs, cartilage, thistles, weeds, beans of all shapes and sizes and just about every spice you can think of. This market was a cornucopia of just about everything that could be dried in order to sell. The smell in places was more than I could bear and I had to hold my breath until I got to a slightly better area.

 

Toilets – my dicky knee is not helpful in this country I can tell you. Almost all public toilets are a hole in the ground with the stench of urine surrounding the whole area and you get the feeling that the walls are dirty too. So you have to carefully squat and with a sore knee this is not the easiest thing to do. I try to avoid this as best I can by making sure I use Hotel and Mall toilets where possible. In these places they usually have at least one western toilet available. Those squats I was doing before I left NZ with my personal trainer Naomi, certainly helped but not enough!!! I should have worked harder….. Oh, and they don’t supply toilet paper either – you must always take your own supply and this gets put in a bin – NOT down the toilet. Interesting ay, but I understand the logic.

 

Ok, so after three days of wandering the streets of Guangzhou and visiting various different areas we are off to Shanghai by a fast overnight sleeper train – another exciting new experience.

It was time to check out from our very comfortable accommodation which had a nice hot shower, good beds albeit a bit hard, and great air con to try our hand at getting around the train system. The cost per night for us at Guangzhou HC Inn was 288 Yuan (approx $NZ72 per night).

We decided to tackle the metro system as we had time up our sleeves and it would be cheaper than paying a taxi for a trip which could take well over an hour!  We set off in the drizzle with our bags in tow making our way to Zoo Metro Station. By the way, this is the first lot of rain since we left NZ to warrant wearing our rain jackets!! We had passed Zoo station on our walking travels so knew it was the closest station to our accommodation. You know what, all the apprehension about working out the subway system that I felt beforehand was wasted – it was a piece of cake. It was just like the London Underground only the names were all in Chinese. I had also lived in Japan for a year so was well used to the train system with foreign names too. So, after paying 18 Yuan (approx $NZ4.50) Dave, Carter and I were on the underground. We had to go just four stations before having to change to a different train line and then travel about 15 stations. We got to the Guangshou South Railway Station well ahead of time so just had to do the ‘waiting game’ until time to board our fast train to Shanghai.

Unfortunately the toilets at this station were the same as everywhere else – stinky and dirty and yes, more squatting. Not that you need to know that really…

We were excited to get on the overnight sleeper train and had visions of us having a cabin to ourselves and being able to relax with our gear on one bed and us on the remaining three. Our gear is getting large and heavy so being able to offload this is a great relief. However, just as we thought this was going to happen a fourth person entered the cabin and yes, he had a ticket for the downstairs bed so Dave and Carter got the top and I got to share the bottom with our new friend for the next 12 hours or so. We had a laugh together when I checked with him that we were going to the same destination ie Shanghai and that we hadn’t got onto the wrong train somewhere. Our friend has no english and of course my Chinese is limited to hello, yes, no and thank you so our conversation was fairly short.

The beds were great, long enough that my toes didn’t touch the end and warm enough as we could control the temperature of the cabin. We had a TV which only played Chinese programmes and we had a water jug. After about 30minutes of travel the hostesses arrived with a box of goodies for us to eat during our journey. This was awesome as we knew we would be peckish some time throughout the night.

How can I forget – we managed to see the results of the AB’s first game against Argentina in the Rugby World Cup. It seems they had a bit of a tussle for the first game – let’s hope that’s the only tough game they get! Wouldn’t it be awesome if we are there when they win the Cup. Ooooh the excitement is building. Just need to collect our tickets from the NZ Embassy!!! Yes, the Embassy – our tickets first went by international courier from England to NZ and we then had to authorise our friend Jan to collect them and then re-send them back to England for us. I have had confirmation from the Embassy that our tickets have arrived so am feeling slightly relieved but this means a quick dash into the London CBD as soon as we arrive to collect them and then off to Cardiff to watch the first couple of games. We have managed to get accommodation in London due to this slight change of plan and we got it through Airbnb right next to Wembley Stadium. Pity there wasn’t a game there when we arrive!!!

Our overnight trip on the Fast Train was amazing – we didn’t feel the stopping and starting from different stations and the beds were good so slept fairly well. Well, as well as can be expected with a snoring companion beside me! Anyways – we arrived in Shanghai early and in bed with Carter still asleep when the cleaners started coming through. Hurried voices and them telling us in their language “Hurry hurry – get out!” Panic stations – we quickly packed – Carter in his socks and taking our bags off the train. We were the last to leave the station and had to go through the emergency exit from that track as we were that late. Ooops!!!

We really did have a good experience on the train though and are now looking forward to our bullet train to Beijing in a few days.

 

Shanghai

Our accommodation in Shanghai is a City International Hostel and it is the best accommodation we have had thus far. Great air con, good shower, plenty of space and amazing beds! They welcomed us to our room at 8.00am which was a lot earlier than they usually do so that was fantastic. Water is cheaper here at the hostel too at only $NZ50c for a 500ml bottle instead of the $NZ2 we were paying in Guangzhou.

Since we were now ‘experts’ on the subway we decided to head straight to the action in the middle of town. Arriving at the closest stations from our accommodation (just 500m walk) to no-one who could speak english. However, the ticket vending machines had an english version so we purchased our one-way tickets into the city. One very kind young Chinese man tried to assist us (he could speak broken english) and told us that we would have to purchase one way tickets for each part of our trip – this we found out later not to be the case. Another kind young Chinese man approached us at the next station and said Yes – we could purchase a one day ticket so we headed to the ticket counter to organise this. As we are in Shanghai for three days I still asked the question of the ticket lady to find out that actually we can purchase a three day ticket for 45 Yuan – $NZ11 which will take you anywhere on the subway. Brilliant – we were very pleased and purchased these. We have now been going from station to station and using the interchange where required to change lines – all with ease. Carter has mastered the system too!!! Here’s a picture of some of the subway map – I think you will agree that Carter is clever to have sorted this out so quickly!

 

The Bund

Dave recalls going to the Bund some 25 years ago when he first visited Shanghai so that was our first stop. He was amazed however at just how much had changed – so many high buildings and the Bund had actually been raised high above the river. Here are some pictures.

 

A postcard view of the Bund at night gives the area an eerie glow.

We wandered along the Bund taking in the scenery and enjoying the buzz which was surrounding us with many Chinese and tourists doing the same. I spotted the only Tourist Information Place in China (well it feels like that as there is no information about them anywhere) and dropped in for some information as to what to see and do in our three days. First was a trip up the tallest building (some 492m high and 100 stories) to take in the bird’s eye view and do the skywalk over glass – just like the Auckland Sky Tower only quite a lot higher. The World Financial Centre held the Guinness Book of Records for the world’s highest observatory in 2009. Goodness knows how many others have surpassed that record now. In fact there is a neighbouring building still under construction which is much higher than the World Financial Centre so who knows where the challenge to be the highest will stop.

Here’s our picture taken on the 94th floor!

After that breathtaking view it was time for shopping and it is just mind boggling how many shops and plazas and malls there are dotted everywhere. Oh, and the people – well there are just soooooo many…. Here’s a picture of some lining up in the rain for “mooncakes” – they are a small round pastry made with different fillings and are really nice but to line up for these in the rain doesn’t make sense. I was listening to the news on the TV and they said that every Chinese wanted these mooncakes as they were a specialty and given the long lines there were many being sold on the black market for twice and three times the price.

Oh by the way, I forgot to mention, the man at the tourist information office could only provide us with a Chinese map of Shanghai so this didn’t help much. He kindly pointed out a couple of interesting sights – like the tallest building and the area to find the ‘wholesale market’ and the ‘fake market’.

Off to find the wholesale market which when we arrived at the appointed station was nowhere to be found. In fact the closest thing we found was a very small and old plumbing shop….Feeling disappointed we stopped in at a coffee shop to use their toilet. Not wanting to just use the toilet we purchased two iced chocolates and a mocha for approximately $NZ25. So, really it cost us $25 to use the blinky toilet. Worth it for me though as it was a western toilet!!!

Next stop to the fake market subway station and instead of finding fake products here we found the real deal. Yes, we saw Rolex and Omega watches for just $NZ25k each and places such as Marks & Spencer and some very plush malls and plazas. However, one of those plush malls had a supermarket on the lower ground floor which had some cereal – we have been struggling to find cereal for Carter and I and so this was just wonderful. We will have a brilliant breakfast tomorrow! Dave had already found his oats and dried fruit some days ago so he has been enjoying this each morning!

We came across a shop in the basement of one of the stations which was making Candy Art. It is incredible what some people can make with their own hands and skill. Here’s a picture:

It was time to head back to the hostel as I needed to get some washing done, try to update this blog and do some other tasks. Dave and Carter hung out with the some of the hostel guests in the games room and Dave got talking to a kiwi named Chris who had been teaching english in China for the past five years. He was very interesting and to chat to and was able to enlighten Dave about the goings on in China and some of the opportunities there are available.  Carter played on the pool table!

Another great sleep and it was now time to pack up head to the Shanghai Railway Station to catch our bullet train to Beijing. Here is a picture of the 2nd floor departure area of the Station. This was busier and bigger than I had expected and was a hive of activity. We lined up at the appropriate time and there is nothing orderly about queues in this country when it comes to getting on the trains. We were pushed from one leg to the next and people butting in so we have decided we must just look out for ourselves and make sure we get to where we need to be going. If this means we must also push then so be it. It is not a good example for Carter but then we also don’t want to miss our train!!!

Onto the bullet train and it left exactly when scheduled. It was a five hour trip to Beijing with the trains board telling us we were going between 300-305km per hour. Whew! That is fast. It took a while for us to get out of the big city and then it seemed like we were just passing through mini cities but after about two hours we had hit the countryside with vast areas of farmland producing many different crops. It was difficult to make out exactly what the crops were but they seemed to go on forever.

Beijing

We arrived in Beijing late in the evening yet still early enough for us to take the subway to our accommodation. Only problem – we didn’t have the exact directions and we found Beijing doesn’t have as many written signs detailing streets etc. Most of their signs are still in Chinese writing so it is more difficult to work out. After paying an opportunist taxi driver 50 yuan to drive us about 400m we arrived at our Hostel. The Three Legged Frog Hostel right in the centre of Beijing. Perfect location but the Hostel itself needs a really good upgrade in maintenance. However, we have three single beds in a very small room, an ensuite of sorts and an entrance area with a broken TV and lights that are probably equivalent of 40 watts to see and read with!! It will do.

Our first real day in Beijing was an all day walking tour. First stop was Tiananmen Square – while we had a map the roads seemed to be just so much further than the map suggested. What an incredible area the Square is – huge and because I have seen a few documentaries with soldiers parading here I could absolutely feel the presence of the army and imagine them marching perfectly and in sync with each other. Explaining to Carter about the Tiananmen Square massacre many years ago was easier now that we were actually on the Square where it all happened. As we thought we were not able to read or view much about this on the internet so we explained to Carter we would read more about it when we got to England.

 

After the Square it was a long, long, long walk to Behai Park. This is a lake in the middle of Beijing and I thought it would be good to see how they kept it clean and how it was presented. What I didn’t bargain on was the first part of the lake being closed to the public as it is private for the Government. This forbidden area added a good 3km of additional walking. We made it to the public area and had to pay 20 Yuan each to have the pleasure of walking in the park but I guess this was good because there were not too many people in there. Bumper boats, saucer boats with eight people and little four person boats were all using the Lake at a mere 500 Yuan a piece. Eeek – no wonder there were not too many people using the boats there – the Lake is only for the wealthy who can afford it! While the lake is surrounded by beautiful trees and a lovely island in the middle – be careful not to fall in – the water is dirty and does not look at all inviting.

After this we decided to take the subway back as we had been walking for over 4 hours! Our feet were tired and our bodies aching.  Interesting that the people of Beijing are polite on the subway – no pushing like those down in Shanghai and Guangzhou.  This is a pleasant change.

On our way home from the station the smell of freshly roasted duck was haunting us. So I purchased a full duck straight from the cooker – it looked and smelt wonderful. Only, they cut up the neck and head of the duck too and this also went into the bag for me to eat. The roasted duck was hot, tender and a little fatty and just absolutely divine. This would not be the only roasted duck I was going to eat! And all for only 29 Yuan.

 

Trying to organise a tour to the Great Wall and the Olympic Centre was not easy. You would think that most hotels would be keen to assist their guests with arranging tours – but not this one. In fact when we think about it – most of the Chinese staff in the Hotels have not wanted to actually help – it seems to be more of a chore than anything else. Having said that, they did eventually speak to a representative of the tour company for me and we got our tour sorted.

Next day we were up early and off to the Great Wall but not before going to a Jade production centre (not on the list of things included) to have a person personally walk around with you in the hope that you are going to buy something. It is great but when you are us (not buying) it is a little claustrophobic!

The Great Wall

The Great Wall is aptly named as a “Great Wall” and is high in the mountains. We were told the Wall is approximately 10,000km and there were a great many Chinese who died building it over a period of about 300 years. What we did not realise is that is seems if you were sent to help build the Wall then it was really a death sentence most if not all did not return. They worked you so hard.

I was able to make the first part of the wall quite easily as it was a gradual climb but when it came to almost vertical – this was another story. Here’s a picture taken by Carter – yes I am smiling but really – that’s just a pose – I was absolutely stuffed! I think Carter could have run up at least another one of the sections but Dave and I were happy with just the two. I was worried whether my dickie knee would cope walking down the steps so took this very slowly and made sure I held onto the rail continuously. Man, those Chinese workers must have been stuffed all those years ago – no wonder there was one death for every 5m of wall.

After this our tour took us for lunch and I must say this was superb. We had two Pakistani people with us and as they did not eat meat the restaurant was able to produce some wonderful vegetarian dishes and a chicken one for us! It was then time for another surprise inclusion in the tour – our guide “Emi” said that after walking the Great Wall we needed some relaxation in the form of a foot massage. This is because the Ming Tombs which was supposed to be included were not available. So off to the foot massage place. This took the form of another Government operated business which researches and uses Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and they have many doctors and medical staff working there. It started well. But soon changed to a diagnostic session (Dave and I had asked if they found anything while massaging our feet we would like to know) and we had the full on Doctors and translators telling Dave his issues and also telling me mine. Problem is they were bang on with both of us. To cut a long story short – we spent way too much money on some TCM herbal medicine and after two months Dave will be cured and after three I will be too. Let’s see.

However, I cannot forget to mention the kung fu type actions the Doctor used on Dave and his stomach (although not actually touching his stomach). Apparently Dave’s liver is ‘sleepy’ so the Doctor shot some electricity bolts into his stomach and re-booted his liver by 30%. We know – it all sounds weird – and believe me it is – but I saw this with my own eyes – there were actual sparks between the doctor’s fingers and Dave’s stomach! This of course could be ‘magic’ or ‘sleight of hand’ but it did seem amazing. Hook, line and sinker… I think the saying goes.

Anyways – we will tell you in a few months how we are feeling after this TCM!!

Olympic Stadium – The Bird’s Nest
Wow – the Chinese certainly know how to think of everything. This Olympic Stadium is something else and after getting tickets to the Bird’s Nest right on top of the roof we got the best view of the city and an understanding of the engineering complexities required for this monstrosity of a building. We sat inside the stadium and Carter did some exercise running up and down and through the seating from one end to the other and then back again. It was cool to be able to say to Carter that Val Adams and others would have been standing on the podium – “just over there” and the National Anthem would be playing. He was mesmerised by this information.

The rest of the Olympic complex was spacious, well designed and just a pleasure to be a part of. I hope that Rio next year can do half as much as this, however as yet we don’t have any tickets to the 2016 Olympics – so this might still be my pipe dream!!!

Back to our hotel via the subway and our final day was just a restful one. A quick walk around our local area again – loving the street vendors and their quirky smiles and checking out what they have on offer. The one big thing – actually major thing – is that we just cannot get used to the horrible spitting that the Chinese (both men and women) are renowned for. Yes, we could be walking along and you hear this loud clearing of the throat, then big ‘hokka’ straight onto the ground. We then have to walk past this and if you are not looking you walk straight over it. Absolutely disgusting and I cannot say this enough – it made us sick.

The roasted duck was on the dinner agenda again for our last night in Beijing. Again, it was hot, tasty and delicious all at the same time. It makes me think though – how many ducks must be slaughtered each and every day to satisfy all of our hungry mouths.

Next morning – very early start and there was a very mild mist – just enough for us to have our jackets at the ready but not having to use them. Off to the subway to take us to the second largest airport (so the Chinese information tells us) in the world.

We are off to England! Can’t wait…