Shanghai, ChinaWednesday, May 17, 2006 Checked in to Zhongya Hotel close to Shanghai rail station. Shanghai is hopping! ——————————————————————– We took a first class (soft sleeper) train car to Shanghai, which we thought was well worth the extra 50% charge, ($50 USD for hard sleeper, $75 for soft sleeper). With soft sleeper, we only had …
Beijing, ChinaSunday, May 14, 2006 We’ve wrapped up our tour of China with Imaginative Traveler, and are now on our own. We’re staying at the Shengdayuan Hotel in Beijing (phone: 010-68521188, I think). After the tour ended, we returned to the Tiannamen square and the forbidden city to take in the sights without the rains. …
Beijing, China Friday, May 12, 2006 We started our visit to Beijing with a visit to the forbidden city, which was dampened a bit by rains. Friday night we got to see some incredible Chinese acrobatics at the theater. Saturday we got up at the crack of dawn to drive 3 hours to a lesser …
Xi’An, China Xi’An – home of the famous Tera Cotta Warriors
Xiahe, China Rough bus ride to Xiahe – making our way off the Tibetan Plateau after 6 days.
Songpan, China After a death defying 9 hour bus ride along narrow, windy roads, through the mountains, we made it to the Tibetan Plateau, very thankful to have not gone over the edge, nor crashed into an oncoming vehicle or animal. We started in Songpan (at 2800m) for 3 nights, before a more sane bus …
Chendu, China Saturday, April 29, 2006 As we moved West, the towns were supposed to get poorer, but that did not appear to be the case when we reached Chengdu. Chengdu is the richest city in the south-west of China. We were blown away by the wealth. Although the average salary is still quite low, …
Yangshuo, China Yangshuo was a small village near Guilin, which was really our first stay in mainland China. The Scenery was amazing, with rocky outcrops jutting up everywhere, and rice pattys, fish farms and other crops growing in the fields between. It was a fairly touristy town, very well setup (and affordable) for us to …
Guilin, China [empty post]
Guangzhou, China Tuesday, April 25, 2006 We joined a group of 16 others, plus our tour guide Lisa, for a guided tour of mainland China. This was like a vacation from our vacation. We didn’t have to worry about any logistics. Transportation tickets were handed to us as needed. Hotel rooms were ready for us …
Hong Kong, Hong Kong Monday, April 24, 2006 One of our first destinations will be China. We have scheduled a grassroots tour through China, Starting April 24, with an adventure travel company called Imaginative Traveler. The group will be small (18 people max), and they take care of transportation and accommodation logistics, as we travel …
Kowloon, Hong Kong Sunday, April 23, 2006 Newton HotelKowloon www.newtonkln.com Telephone : (852) 2787-2338 Where I stayed Newton Hotel Kowloon – No.66 Boundary Street, Mongkok, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
Kowloon, Hong Kong Wednesday, April 19, 2006 Staying at Caritas Blanchi Lodge, Yau Ma Tei district of Kowloon Peninsula (North of Hong Kong Island). Pretty steep at >$100 CAD/night, but very clean, and quiet. We’ll be here for 3 nights, before moving over to the Newton Hotel Kowloon (where we begin our tour). ————————————— — …
Osaka, JapanTuesday, April 18, 2006 Happy that it stopped raining for a couple of days. After 3 nights in Kobe, we made our way to downtown Osaka, visited their Osaka-Jo (tall caste w/ beautiful gardens & flower show), and floating garden (tall tower overlooking the city), before making our way to the airport hotel, in …
Kobe, JapanSaturday, April15, 2006 For Grant’s birthday, we made a point to be in Kobe so we could enjoy Kobe Beef. When we arrived, we were pleasantly surprised to learn that Kobe is a prime Sake brewing region of Japan, and as such was blessed with many sake breweries within stumbling distance of each other. …
Hiroshima, Japan Quick intro: We took the high speed train from Kyoto to Hiroshima yesterday. Today, we toured the Mazda factory, and then paid a visit to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial museum. Hiroshima is a beautiful city, with many bridges, excellent restaurants, shopping, and over 4000 bars!!! More info to follow… —————————– We took a …
Kyoto, Japan We were so fortunate to have visited Kyoto when we did. We managed to catch the beginning and end of cherry blossom season in Kyoto. Cherry trees lined the streets, parks, temples, and mountain sides of Kyoto. It was beautiful. Within about 5 days of being in Kyoto, the shock of being in …
Osaka, JapanApril 5, 2006 We arrived safely in Japan, at the Kansai airport, near Osaka, on Tuesday (~3:30 pm). The effects of jet lag have been mostly limited to waking up in the middle of the night, ready to start the day (which is very unusual for both of us, who aren’t morning people). So …
Osaka, Japan Arrival in Kyoto: After spending our first jet-lagged night in the outskirts of Osaka (close to the airport), we headed for Kyoto. The train system in Japan is fantastic. From our hotel, we walked a few blocks to the nearest station and within a few minutes had our route planned out, tickets bought …
Calgary, Canada After 3 solid days of driving, we arrived in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, but not without a major challenge. Lesson learned: ALWAYS travel with your vehicle title when you’re traveling cross-border with your vehicle, especially when you’re moving out of the country. We got to spend a nerve-racking 3 hours at the US/Canada border …
Pleasanton, CA The plan was to get on the road first thing Monday morning. But true to the Olecko tradition, we didn’t get moving north until around 4:00 pm (just in time for rush hour). Luckily the rain stayed pretty light the whole way. We almost made it as far as Eugene, Oregon (about 1 …
