Headed to China!!!!

[engle]

I'm on the plane ready to take off for Beijing!! The trip we have been planning for 7 years is finally here!!! I can't wait to report back all of my adventures!!!

 

[Cousin Orville]

Cool! Let us know how it goes! Jennae should be one of your guides and she's awesome. We had her in SE Asia last yr. We'll be on our China ABD in about a month.

 

[HookdonWDW]

We're thinking about signing up for this one next year, so I'll definitely be paying attention. Hope you have a fabulous adventure!

 

[LindseyLou2222]

So exciting!!! Have a great trip!!

 

[sayhello]

Have a FABULOUS trip! Safe travels.

I've heard you will have Jennae as one of your Guides (who has been doing the China trips for years) and that Robyn will be a Shadow Guide to learn the trip. Robyn was one of the Guides for my Med Cruise ABD add-on, and she's great, too!

ENJOY!!!!
Sayhello

 

[engle]

Well we are here. After an un eventful 13 hour flight that was a lot less painful than I thought, we arrived in Beijing to be totally immersed in the culture. We went to a mall down the street from our hotel so My husband could buy a belt. Very little English spoken here! The department store there was very interesting with one floor called supermaket that was all packaged foods like snacks and candies including some interesting bugs and other odd delicacies! We also tackled the ATM machine and explored our very posh hotel. We had a drink at the bar and after several unsuccessful attempts to find a bar with food, we ordered room service, which was probably the best room service food I've ever had, and called it a night. We were both asleep by 9pm which we figured we had been up for 24 hours...and now, at 4:40am we are wide awake! We are headed to the summer palace and temple of heaven today with The China Guide. We meet up with the group at 5:15pm for the first time. We got a welcome letter and a small ABD duffel bag in our room upon arrival.

 

[DawnM]

Yeah! I hope you have a wonderful time. China is a great place to visit.

 

[deckes]

So glad you are going with The China Guide. This was one of the highlights of our trip. The Summer Palace and Temple of Heaven are amazing.

 

[sayhello]

Yay! Glad you're in China mode already! Enjoy Jennae & Robyn! (Robyn is shadowing. I didn't hear who your other Guide is going to be) And say "Hi!" to Lesley for me!

Looking forward to your reports. This trip is definitely on the "Must Do" list!

Sayhello

 

[engle]

Steven is our other guide. Can't wait to meet them all and the other families on this trip!

 

[Cousin Orville]

Glad your trip over went well. I look forward to hearing about your trip. Enjoy your private tour.

 

[engle]

Just returned from our private tour. Both the Summer Palace and and Temple of Heaven were worth the visit. We had Jeff as our guide and he was more than we had hoped for in a guide....friendly, fun, courteous....and ordered lunch to suit our tastes perfectly. I also had my first experience with a non western toilet...yeah, that happened. We did ask to make an un scheduled stop at Starbucks since the coffee as breakfast was....wrong. It tasted salty and like something was wrong with it. We did have breakfast at Jing in the hotel and the food was excellent. So abundant. Lots of choices both familiar and not...well, at least not for breakfast! Relaxing in our room for awhile and plan to meet the guides this afternoon.

 

[Cousin Orville]

Just returned from our private tour. Both the Summer Palace and and Temple of Heaven were worth the visit. We had Jeff as our guide and he was more than we had hoped for in a guide....friendly, fun, courteous....and ordered lunch to suit our tastes perfectly. I also had my first experience with a non western toilet...yeah, that happened. We did ask to make an un scheduled stop at Starbucks since the coffee as breakfast was....wrong. It tasted salty and like something was wrong with it. We did have breakfast at Jing in the hotel and the food was excellent. So abundant. Lots of choices both familiar and not...well, at least not for breakfast! Relaxing in our room for awhile and plan to meet the guides this afternoon.

Did the Temple of Heaven remind you of China in the World Showcase? It will be an unavoidable comparison for me. Haha! Is there a Starbucks in walking distance of the hotel? That would be a life saver Also how does breakfast work at the hotel? Do they serve it just at Jing? And do you just give them your room number? I ask because last year I had totally missed the memo that breakfast was included in our Saigon pre night stays.

 

[engle]

Yes, the Temple of Heaven did remind me of that. It was actually nice. I don't know if there is a Starbucks within walking distance but I will get back to you on that. I understand that the coffee is usually good here so maybe just an off day? I will try again tomorrow! And yes, breakfast is served at Jing and you just give the room number. Don't miss the breakfast....it is lovely.

 

[engle]

Just returned from welcome dinner at Royal Palace. Delicious food and delightful company. Enjoying my time. Went for a swim in the awesome pool here and rested for an hour or so this afternoon. Pedicab tour of the Hutong tomorrow! Looking forward to it.

 

[deckes]

There is a Starbucks in a mall that is just a block from hotel. My daughter and I were very relieved when we found it.

 

[sayhello]

Sounds like you're off to a great start! Enjoy!

Sayhello

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

Yes, enjoy! I can't wait to hear all the details of the trip as it's high on my list of possibles next. We had Jennae for our Ireland ABD in 2007--she's been around a long time and is awesome.

 

[engle]

Had breakfast at Jing again and the coffee was totally normal....must have been a bad pot yesterday. We headed out to the Hutong neighborhood where we went on a pedicab tour of the area. We stopped for chinese yo yo class, knot tying class and paper cutting. Lunch was at Noble House. The food was great, especially the garlic eggplant. And plentiful is an understatement. We had on our own time this afternoon so some of us subway'd it to Lama Temple. Amazing. The monks chanting and the worlds tallest Buddha were the stars of the day. DH and I then went for a 90 minute foot leg and neck massage for about $50 US dollars. It was awesome....so relaxing. We the. Went to the street market where they have bugs in a stick and other lovely delicacies....pictures only. Fun times. Headed to dinner and tomorrow is Great Wall...what I cam to see!

 

[Gina P]

Thank you so much for taking the time to post this!! We are going on the August 3rd trip and it is so exciting to hear all that you are doing! I am going to look into The China Guide and also take a walk over to the mall on our first day. I was concerned about out 13 hour flight... glad to hear it wasn't too bad. This is so helpful! I hope you have an absolutely wonderful time and can't wait to hear more!! Thanks again! Happy Travels!!