| Submitted by: Timothy M W Eyre, United Kingdom |
| Submission Date: 03 February 2005 |
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I bought a short wave radio here for Y65, a good buy. You can get radio Moscow all over northern China, but the BBC broadcasts in Chinese most of the time, at least on the band I had. To get into Wangcheng park Y1, Tai Chi in early morning. Frienship Hotel is a bit tatty around the edges. Bus to Longmen caves (no. 60) Y1.3, half an hour, Y15FEC to get in. Cross almost traffic-free bridge and along river bank at end of caves to get a panoramic view/photo. There is an interesting and working christian church 20 mins back up the road to Luoyang, they are very friendly and I heard some great Chinese Christian music being sung by a congregation of about three hundred and being played on traditional Chinese instruments; great! Easy to spot by the cross on the front. I waited through 1.5 hours of Chinese-language sermon waiting for it to start again while they plied me with tea. The bus back to Luoyang goes past here. Good bus to Zhengzhou is Y20, Y11 for bombshell, which I took. It takes about four hours, but we hit a huge traffic snarl. They herded us off the bus and I soon lost the other people on the bus amongst the hundreds of identical (to me) people. Once past the snarl-up I waved down another bus going in the same direction and they only asked for half the mark-up between the cheap and luxury buses (the journey was about half over by this time)! It seems that at least sometimes it's possible to break bus journeys like you can on the trains. Zhongquan Mansions have no English or Pinyin sign, so it's tricky to find despite being right next to the bus station and absolutely huge. An unpleasant single room was Y20. Shopping plazas around the monument are a good place to find out about small-town Chinese capitalism. Xi Dajie and Dong Dajie have some interesting traditional Chinese musical instruments on sale. Y3 to get into the museum which was ok, Mao statue is best bit, though. Got a SW radio for Y65 and can get VOA, Radio Moscow (particulaly in Inner Mongolia) and BBC. Remarkable number of smart restaurants here, though I've no idea whether the food is any good or not. Bus to Kaifeng Y5.5, crowded and you can't get a ticket on the bus. Bianliang hotel ok, got Y10 room, single with no bathroom or matress. The Taoist Temple costs Y1 for entry. To get to Qufu by bus is simple but involves three buses; first go to Jining, Y19.60, then to Yanzhou, Y5 or so then Qufu. Start early to get to Qufu before dark. The hotel called Confucius Mansions is no longer near the Confucius Temple but on the Yanzhou road. It's quite pricey; Y70 for a bed in a triple, so I went accros the road to a Chinese Hotel with the letters 'PJ' at the front, just accross the road. A bed in their best double was a meagre Y20, sharing a bathroom with the room next door. I was roused in the middle of the night here, by an official who wanted to see my passport! Entrance to Confucius forest Y6 (very good), temple Y10 (not so good, I found it lacked any atmosphere.) Lots of shopping to do here, and this was abpout the only place I visited in China where you get serious hassle to buy things. I only saw one other Westerner all the three days I was here. There is a bus to Beijing that leaves daily at 1pm and costs Y51.50. The only disadvantage was that we arrived in Beijing at 4.30am at no place in particular whatsoever. This was quite disorientating! A taxi to the tube station was Y11 and there is a bus stop near the terminal. Qianyuan Hotel still the main hotel, Y30.6 a night in 4 bed dorm. They don't seem to know who's in or out in this place and they're still pretty surly. Y75 for double/triple. Bike rental still Y3. Got ripped off on black market here! Another hint is not to change the morning after an overnight bus ordeal. Entrance to Forbidden City an outrageous Y45fec, which does include the cassette tour with Roger Moore, which IS worth taking. OPens at 8.30am to 5pm, arrive early to avoid the huge crowds. Takes 2 hours by bike to Summer Palace (Y25fec) which is even packed out when it rains. Getting lost on your way is pretty certain. There is a blue map book of Beijing for a mere Y6 which has all the hutongs, English and Chinese. It substantially enhanced my week in Beijing. Gondelin Restaurant no longer particulaly good, quite expensive,(Y16-30 a dish) and the service is poor, the food is quite good, though. Pizza Hut nearby is a cheese oasis and as good as the ones in the west. Y30 just to go up Tianamen Gate!. At the Beijing Hotel you can eat breakfast, lunch or dinner (Y30,55,70fec+10% service) from the buffet. The hotel next door is the Grand Hotel and is a member of 'The Leading Hotels Of The World' and so must be the best in Beijing. They won't change traveller's cheques for non-residents. Mao mausoleum open 8-12am, free but you can't take your bag in.. Moscow restaurant is open 11am-1.30pm and 4.30-8pm. Prices are about Y50 for 3 courses + wine.The food is just acceptable and they lack vital Russian dishes, like black bread and vodka. They do sell a lot of coconut juice, however. Museum of the Revolution Y2, but housed an (admittedly very good) exhibition by an artist, not dramatic revolution scenes. A visa extension here cost me Y65 for just over a month. The chap in the office speaks very good English. My bicycle was towed away from outside McDonald's! It had only been haulded around the corner, but the event saw me running around like a headless chicken for half an hour. It nis illegal to park on the road. Temple of Heaven was Y15fec (Y0.25 for locals) and was a little full. Beijing Library has moved to the main road West of the zoo, opposite the Olympic Hotel. Definitely worth talking your way in. It's open 8am-5pm and on to 8pm but all the reading rooms are closed. There is a bike park on the premises. Great Wall was Y35fec in a van taxi booked through Mr. Wang. Y19 entrance,a then a steep, hot climb or Y40fec(!!) for the cable car. We were there for 2.5 hours which wasn't really enough. Ticket for hard sleeper to Datong was obtained without difficulty in foriengner's ticket office. Lama Temple Y5rmb and superb atmosphere, it's near a subway station. Another Y5rmb gets you into a couple of moderatlely interesting exhibitions. Train to Datong Took 8 hours overnight and cost Y71fec. The CITS people have an office at the station and are quite helpful despite trying to plug you into an overpriced joint. I think they may be there to keep you away from the grottier parts of the city. I've been to some grim places, but only Datong ever gave me a nightmare! CITS hostel on grounds of Jung Nang Hotel Y30 for bed in double, quite pleasant with private bathroom and modern formica decor. The LP suggested place further west is currently closed for repairs. Buddhist Caves Y15fec, Huayan Temple Y12fec, Dragon Screen Y1. CITS unreserved hard seat to Hohot was Y34fec in an incredibly overcrowded train; 5.5 hours. No buses seemed to be in evidence. Yincheng Hotel is easy to find and takes about 30mins on foot from the station.Y25fec for bed in spacoius 6 bed dorm, all very clean and elegant, which made a nice change. Hohot is a lovely place. There is a tour company in the grounds called Meixiang Corp. who offer tours to the grasslands which are all-inclusive for Y250fec (7-10 people) or Y600 (1-4 people) for '3 days' i.e. one full day.Inner Mongolia Museum a worthwhile Y3, it has a miniature terracotta army upstairs as well as a a great Jurassic Park type dinosaur skeleton at the back. Zhaojun Hotel v. plush and now has a Yurt Restaurant. Y220rmb to Y400fec for rooms. Easy to pedal out into the countryside on a bke from outside the Yicheng Hotel, Y5+Y100 deposit/ID. Inner Mongolia Hotel Restauraunt still very good and they consistently UNDERcharge! Y27 for a pig out. Bus to Dongsheng leaves at 7.40am, no.185 Y25 6 hours on comfy bus, but no videos. Reference to 'this junction' in the Dongsheng section of the book pretty useless! Quite amazing that errors like this don't happen more often; this is the only one I've ever spotted. To get to the hotel, turn right out of the bus station then 1st left to Yimeng Bingyuan, only Y7.50 for bed in quad. It has no English sign and messy washrooms. Paid Y2 pedicab. My passport spent 4 hours at the police station, as they explained using their list of English phrases! Bike hire outside station Y4 a day. Minzu Canting is like a Soho dive now, but the food is still good. There's a guy there who tries to play a synth in the evening, so you may want to go early. There is a lot of business development going on there at the moment, the surrounding countryside is absolutely brilliant and there are lots of rough tracks for you cycle on. You should take great care not to get lost! There are very few landmarks here. Bus to Mauseleum Y5.5 &am from station. Y22rmb to get in! Not very good value at all, but the journey there is worth it for the fantastic scenery, and you can see the grasslands out there. You can stay for Y15, but they wouldn't let me stay in a Yurt at the Mausoleum (there are quite a few here) and at the 'tourist camp' (which is free, at least with the Mausoleum ticket) there are no yurts to stay in at all, just very few interesting odds and ends, and a watchtower which you can climb for a sweeping view of the plains. I got a bus back to Dongsheng at 4pm, 2.5hours and very full. Hard seat fare from Hohot to Yinchuan Y60FEC, Hohot station totally uncrowded. Journey takes 15.5hours on the 201, daytime and good scenery. Xinyin Hotel opposite station (tel.66088 66255) Y26 for luxurious double with bath, a bit noisy. Y27 to Zhongwei by bus, 4 hours and rough. It was really miserable weather at this point, positively British! The bus roof leaked, too. Railway Hotel opposite railway station has clean four bed rooms for Y12 a bed. They will hire a bike, too, with Y200 deposit. They told me Y4 for the day and then demanded Y12, I battled for ages, being in one of my rare fighting moods, so it would be an idea to get the contract totally straight!Yellow River Hotel Y80.
Waterwhell directions gave me a gorgeous ride (Y0.5 to cross river) but the water wheel themselves didn't show up. Shapatou Y2 and they demanded Y6. Cycling there highly recommended for those strong of leg. There is a night bus to Lanzhou at 11pm. No sign of the leather rafts, either, but the stroll to the yellow river is very pretty. Train to Lanzhou Y34fec,#43 (no FEC change here, not even at the Bank Of China). The train wasn't overcrowded, but getting a seat is unlikely. Frienship Hotel wanted me to book the whole dorm for Y66fec, a tads unreasonable, so I found a totally unmarked little Chinese hotel in an ally off the road that leads down to the west railway station. Only Y11rmb a night in a double and clean, no form filling at all! Minibus from here to Main Railway Station Y1.
There is a Lanzhou-Jiaguan bus overnight for Y55fec plus mandatory insurance (Y15fec at Jincheng Hotel CITS). It took 18hours and dropped me off right in front of the Jiaguan Hotel. Leaves at 7pm. Jiaguan Hotel charges an outrageous Y30fec for a bed in a spartan triple with a Karaoke bar outside.Fort can be reached by bike (Y1/hour outside hotel) quite easily, parking Y0.2 at fort. Y8 entrance including a ridiculous bank note exhibition. Bus to Dunhuang Y25.5rmb, buy outside hotel evening before. Took 7 hours in a pretty old bus, rough ride. Buses leave here for as far as Hami.Nation Guesthous behind the bus station charges Y12-55. Lots of tourist pricing goes on in Dunhuang itself and getting local price is well-nigh impossible. The people just outside Dunhuang are lovely, though. An ice-cream seller 10kms out of Dunhuang gave me one for free!! It strikes me that it's only the Han Chinese you are forced to deal with that are nasty, with a bit of effort you can meet truly delightful people. Mogao Caves Y45fec, Y5 to get there. Guide provided.I didn't go, but people seemed to think it was worth it. Bike Hire near bus station Y1/hour or Y6/day. Cycle to filmset spectacular and not too hard. The desert around here is firm enough to cycle on, which is one of the best things I have ever done at all. A compass is a good idea to avoid getting lost. Water bottles are not avaliable in Dunhuang, so make sure you bring one with you. Crescent Moon Lake a meagre Y15fec.
Hiking in Dunes is great, strenuous and I was rained off!! Bus to Hami Y30fec, book day before and it takes 9.5hours. |
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| Copyright © - "Timothy M W Eyre" |
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