My Trip to China

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And Reza, I was actually not far from you on this trip. On October 30, I hired a driver for the day and we drove from the Kashgar airport to Karakul Lake, which is 330 km from the China-Pakistan border. I didn't even know those countries bordered.

I know that's still relatively far, but certainly a lot closer to you than where I am right now on W. 44th St.

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I've only been to Hong Kong. I've always wanted to go to China. My biggest concern about it, really, is that I've been told that VERY, VERY few people in the mainland speak or understand English so being part of a tour group (or being shown around by someone who knows the place) is a must so asking for directions is almost always out of the question.

A good guide book can really help and sometimes you really don't need to be part of an expensive tour group. However, if you can afford one that's ofcourse icing on the cake.......although I usually feel too restricted in a tour group.

I also want to see China (and Russia, Austria & Spain) before I die !!

I think Reza probably echoes my sentiments here, but I do not advise a tour group. You don't have the freedom that should come with traveling. I was told by so many people that I shouldn't go unless I was on a tour group. It actually made my first several nights unpleasant as I was quite scared. But after a few days, it was all fine. I managed every day. Some days there was some struggle in communicating, but it was part of the journey... and I always got to where I wanted to go. Since coming back I have looked at tour itineraries and think the time frame they give you in some places is ludicrous. One tour allowed for something like two hours at the Forbidden City and two hours at the Summer Palace. You might as well skip it. You want to be able to get lost there. You want to be able to take your time. I wouldn't take a tour to China. I took a tour for the day to the Great Wall and I deeply regret it. I would have wanted to spend more time there, but I was rushed because the group left at 1:40.

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I stayed in hostels. I am a young 'un and that didn't bother me. Besides, I was there alone so hostels were affordable and allowed me to meet other travelers. At the hostels I stayed in, there was ALWAYS internet access and there were computers in the common area to use. Wi-Fi is ubiquitous. Even at the airport, they give you a code to use Wi-Fi while you are waiting for your plane. Some of the Chinese don't have a computer, so there are internet cafes throughout and many of them are 24 hours. The Lonely Planet tour book tells you where to find these.

I don't even own a computer (when I post here I steal minutes away from my employees mostly). I'm just not dependent on it like the rest of the world is. But I did buy an iPad just for the trip so I could have 3G access (I didn't even know what 3G was because I apparently live under a rock away from the technological world - I even use that old invention called a telephone). Internet was not a problem in the least.

Food was absolutely delicious. There were several oddly named dishes - Turtle with Nutrition, Chicken Livers Maked by Ourselves, Roast an Enema (I think they were going for Roasted Anemone), The Officials Make Bricks, even Doing It in the Small and Taking It in the Rear were dishes. I accidentally ordered Taking It in the Rear (I was pointing to it and telling them they should probably change the translation because I thought more people would order it then), and it was chicken. You will see all parts of the animal on menus - lungs, kidneys, turtles and pigeons come with their heads attached, as do fish. I was in one restaurant in Hangzhou where they didn't have a menu, but rather you had to go into a room where all the dishes were prepared already and point to the dish you wanted. In there was a shark's head cut in half and full of blood, and it caught me off guard when its eye started to move and it literally jumped a few inches off of its bed of ice and moved. It did this a few times and I screamed the first time and everyone looked at me. This is apparently a common sight to the Chinese, but I unintentionally made a scene.

The best meal for me was Peking Duck made at Quanjude Restaurant in Beijing. This is the restaurant that invented Peking Duck and it is an experience. The staff is all dressed in uniform and they bring the duck to you tableside to carve. The carving is a ceremonious presentation. They carve the breast meat with skin into filets and you put them into pancakes (we call them Moo Shu pancakes in NY, perhaps this is a standard thing - I just know that in China no one heard of Moo Shu pancakes, but then again I only saw the word "wonton" once in my month there) with scallions and a sweet sauce. Before they carve the meat into filets, they take a strip of skin down the middle of the breast and put that aside along with a bone that has meat around it - I wish I knew what part of the duck that bone came from - and that is put on a separate plate for you to enjoy. You conclude the meal with duck broth. It was amazing. The meal comes to 133 RMB which is a little over 20 USD.

The second best meal was hotpot in Chongqing at Cygnet. I had never done hotpot before but it's delicious. You boil meat and vegetables in a pot that is put on the table with its own burner. Cygnet is a landmark restaurant and the meal was 84 RMB which is about 15 USD.

I thought the food in general was delicious. The Uighur food in Xinjiang province was among my favorite. The only exotic things I had were abalone and goose, which most wouldn't even consider adventurous. But I could have eaten crickets, cocoons, silkworms, sheep penis and testicles... all kinds of things.

I spoke not a word of English. I had to use body language. If I was an actor, it would have been a great class for me to take. I would act out flying airplanes, boats on rivers and all kinds of ridiculous things. In Beijing, enough people spoke English to get me through it. In Shanghai, I didn't encounter people who didn't speak English - it is basically a Western city. The Bund is full of Western architecture.

Fire away!

[Reza]

I've only been to Hong Kong. I've always wanted to go to China. My biggest concern about it, really, is that I've been told that VERY, VERY few people in the mainland speak or understand English so being part of a tour group (or being shown around by someone who knows the place) is a must so asking for directions is almost always out of the question.

A good guide book can really help and sometimes you really don't need to be part of an expensive tour group. However, if you can afford one that's ofcourse icing on the cake.......although I usually feel too restricted in a tour group.

I also want to see China (and Russia, Austria & Spain) before I die !!



Edited By Reza on 1291440464

[anonymous1980]

I've only been to Hong Kong. I've always wanted to go to China. My biggest concern about it, really, is that I've been told that VERY, VERY few people in the mainland speak or understand English so being part of a tour group (or being shown around by someone who knows the place) is a must so asking for directions is almost always out of the question.

[Big Magilla]

Sounds like you had a great time.

I had two brothers who traveled to China on business (late 90s, early 00s). They had no complaints, which for them was tantamount to a ringing endorsement.

How was the food?

[OscarGuy]

My only real concern would be internet access. I know that China is very strict on access. I can't be without the internet for any length of time, so I wonder were hotels for tourists permitted to use internet unfettered?

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I am always so negligent to post in here. I hope to make that a successful New Year's Resolution in 2011. Anyway, I had the privilege of being away for 32 days in China and I just returned November 28. No one I know was interested in coming with me, and I asked many people. I made it clear that people could come for a week or however long they would like, but I was told by everyone I know that they were either "scared" or "uninterested." I was surprised at hearing this. I don't know if it is the Communist thing, or if it is the fact that they use Eastern toilets, or a notion that the country is dirty, but no one would come with me, leaving me to travel alone for the first time in my life. Other than some Caribbean islands and brief trips to Niagara Falls/Toronto, I haven't even left the US before.

I'd love to post about my experiences but the post would be too long for most to bear. It was a fascinating journey. I started in Xinjiang Province, then was off to Gansu/Qinghai Provinces, Xian, Chongqing, Jiuzhaigou, Tibet, Beijing, and finally Shanghai and some cities/towns in the vicinity of Shanghai (Yangzhou, Nanjing, Tangkou, Hangzhou, and Suzhou).

I just want to offer myself to people who are thinking of going and who might have preconceived notions about the country that might lead them to not going. Most of the people I know who refused to go would actually have had a wonderful time there. I am hoping my photos will convince my friends they made a mistake.

So there you have it. You can either post questions here or PM me and if anyone needs any help planning a trip there or has questions about when/where to go or food or what have you, I'd love to be of assistance.

Happy Holidays everyone...