My Time in Hong Kong

Saturday, June 23, 2012

Beijing Trip - Part 3

My last day in Beijing, I decided to take a guided tour. It included a trip to the Badaling part of the Great Wall of China and the Ming Dynasty Tombs. They picked me up at 7:30 am and there were only two other people on the tour, a young guy from Japan and an older man from Italy. Our first stop was the Great Wall, which took about an hour and a half to reach. The Badaling part of the Great Wall is the most visited section of the Great Wall of China, approximately 50 miles northwest of Beijing. This section of the wall was built in 1505 to protect the Chinese from the Mongolians to the north.

When we arrived at the Wall, it wasn't too busy yet. Me and the Japanese guy took the "steep" route. Because of time constraints, we didn't make it all the way to the top, but we were very close. By the time we were close to the top, I was out of breath and sweating profusely. The weather wasn't too bad (about 75 degrees). Luckily, it wasn't blazing hot. It took us about an hour and twenty minutes to get almost to the top and then back to the bottom. When we got to the bottom, there were many more tourists and the smog had obscured much of the wall on the other side. The Great Wall was cool, but for some reason I expected it to be more impactful. It was picturesque, but I expected more.

After the Wall, we headed to the Ming Dynasty Tombs. A total of 13 Ming Dynasty Emperors were buried in this area. At present, you can only visit three of the tombs. The bodies of the emperor's aren't actually in the Tombs- they are buried deep in the mountains surrounding the Tombs. By "Tombs", they mean shrines/temples to the Emperors. This part of the tour was too brief. There wasn't that much to see.

Changling Tomb

In addition to the Wall and Tombs, the tour also consisted of trips to a jade factory, a silk factory and a tea-house. All were interesting to tour, however, after each, you were put into a showroom for an hour and pressured to buy overpriced souvenirs at each. After awhile, this got really annoying. In total, the trips to the souvenir places lasted longer than the actual historical/cultural part.

Jade carver

Jade Showroom

Tea House

Tea House gift shop

Justin

Friday, June 22, 2012

Beijing Trip - Part 2

My second day in Beijing, I woke up relatively early and spent the first half of the day touring the Palace Museum, also known as the Forbidden City. Construction began on the city in 1406 and it was the Chinese imperial palace from the Ming Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty. It was called the Forbidden City, until recently, because no-one could enter or leave the palace without the emperor's permission which. The Forbidden City was declared a World Heritage Site in 1987 and is listed by UNESCO as the largest collection of preserved ancient wooden structures in the world.

Because I was alone and not part of a group, I purchased one of those "automatic" guides to give me an audio tour. It was a good investment, although the device didn't seem to stay on my ear and the neck strap kept coming undone. The Forbidden City was really neat to see. It reminded me how much history China holds and how young the United States is.

Inside the Forbidden City

Pagoda in Imperial Garden

Pagoda built on ugly rock (in Imperial Garden)

In Imperial Garden

After the Forbidden City, I walked north to Jingshan Park (which has an amazing view of the Forbidden City) and back to Beihei Park to see the White Dagoba. Then, I tested the Beijing Metro system and went up to the Olympic Village from the 2008 Olympics. It was all really neat to see. I remember seeing the "Birds Nest" and the "Water Cube" on TV so it was neat to see it in person. It was really smoggy though so the visibility wasn't the best. The Olympic Village was odd, but it looked unused. I think it was built for the Olympics and then just sits there now as a vacant tourist attraction.

View from Jingshan Park (of Forbidden City)

White Dagoba (in Beihei Park)

Beihai Park

White Dagoba

The Birds Nest

The Water Cube

Olympic Tower

Justin

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Last stop: Beijing - Part 1

The last stop of my Asian journey was Beijing. It was actually the first place I flew into, albeit a layover. The whole term I tried to get to Beijing, but it proved difficult. Most of my classmates had already been there so they didn't want to visit. Plus, it required a visa for entry. As the term was coming to a close, I decided to make Beijing the last stop on my journey and then fly back to the US. Because no one wanted to join me, I did this trip alone. I give people who travel alone for an extended period of time a lot of credit. At times, traveling can be so draining and its nice to have other people to share the "drain" and experiences with. I viewed this short trip as a challenge.

I arrived early in the morning (overnight flight) and checked into my hotel. The hotel was exactly as described online, crappy. The carpets were old and ratty and the bed was stiff. It appeared as if the hotel hadn't been renovated in 20 years. I really couldn't complain about the hotel too much though. I knew what I was getting myself into- I read all the reviews about the hotel online. It was relatively cheap and the location was excellent. It was situated right at the northeast corner of the Forbidden City.

After settling in to my room, I spent the rest of the afternoon and evening walking around. First, I walked around the Forbidden City to the south entrance. I didn't go inside because it was late and the Forbidden City closed around 5:00 or so. I decided to save the Forbidden City for Day 2. Then, I continued on to Tiananmen Square and on to Chairman Mao's Mausoleum (you can actually view his body here). Finally, I walked through a touristy section that was filled with old-looking shops and restaurants. Then, I headed to the National Centre for Performing Arts, which looked like a huge water droplet. Finally, I walked north again and went into Beihai Park briefly. I walked for about 5 hours, which wasn't bad considering I arrived on an overnight flight. I ate a quick bite in the bar at the hotel and then watched some Chinese TV (in English) before retiring for the night.

Northeast corner of Forbidden City

Forbidden City Main Gate

In front of Tiananmen

Tiananmen Square

Chairman Mao's Mausoleum

Zhengyang Gate Jianlou

National Centre for Performing Arts. Notice how smoggy it is.

Justin

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Last day in Vietnam: Mekong Delta

Ketan and Nancy left Ho Chi Minh on Sunday for Hong Kong. Jo and I had a couple of days in Ho Chi Minh by ourselves. Monday, we explored the city a bit more, but nothing really noting here. On Tuesday, our last day in Vietnam, we took a tour of the Mekong Delta, which is known as the rice bowl of Vietnam. The tour picked us up early in the morning at our hotel and it took about 2 hours to reach the Mekong Delta.

Upon arrival at the Mekong River, we took a boat cruise to reach a small islet. We stopped at a bee farm where we were able to sip special tea with honey and sample different fruits, while listening to traditional Vietnamese music. Afterwards, we visited a coconut candy factory, where they showed us the process to make coconut candies. They also had a variety of souvenirs made from coconuts and coconut tree wood. Next, we jumped in a rowing boat and rode through the narrow canals of the Mekong Delta. Finally, we enjoyed lunch at a local restaurant and had a couple of hours free time. Jo and I rode chose to spend our free time bikes around the islet, although this proved difficult because the bikes were junky. Then, we headed back to the boat, which we took to the mini bus and headed back Ho Chi Minh City. Below are some pics of our last full day in Vietnam.