Just got back from Enchanted China!

[CBEB]

What a fantastic trip! If you're considering this itinerary and have any questions, please ask! Our guides where James and Steven - just the best!

 

[Kez250]

i have a couple of ?'s for you - we leave on the 9th for our trip there and i'm starting to think about packing and stuff. one of my concerns is over or under packing, because of the luggage restriction on the internal flights i was thinking of getting laundry done partway through. when do you think it would be possible to get it done? need to make sure that i have enough till then

money - did you take usd with you and exchange or did you use the atm machines, was it easy to get money in all the places or should you get more in beijing.

bugs - did you need a lot of repellent?

did you arrive the day the adventure started or before - we are arriving the day before and i'm wondering what to do and see before the adventure starts

and if there are any other tips or advice you can give, that would be fabulous

am glad you enjoyed it, i'm getting really excited

 

[sayhello]

What a fantastic trip! If you're considering this itinerary and have any questions, please ask! Our guides where James and Steven - just the best!

Welcome back! So glad you had a great trip. Are you going to do a trip report? Or at least post pictures? I love living this trip vicariously!

Sayhello

 

[CBEB]

i have a couple of ?'s for you - we leave on the 9th for our trip there and i'm starting to think about packing and stuff. one of my concerns is over or under packing, because of the luggage restriction on the internal flights i was thinking of getting laundry done partway through. when do you think it would be possible to get it done? need to make sure that i have enough till then

While the internal flights technically had restrictions, no one EVER saw/questioned our carry-ons and The Mouse magically covered any overage charges . We did stick to a single checked back for each of us, but the Guides always offered additional luggage tags if you added checked bags along the way. We packed an extra "fold up" bag and did start to check it about half way through.

We primarily just brought shorts and t-shirts. Really only one dinner in Shanghai were we dressed up even a little bit. For this, I had a sun dress and "nice" flipflops. One BIG help since we were constantly moving hotels - we used the packing cubes to organize our suitcases and make it really easy to pack/unpack quickly and keep things reasonably neat and organized.

I did laundry in Guilin - but just did it in my room, didn't use the hotel. That was about Day 6-7. I did it as soon as we arrived to allow time to dry before the next move.

money - did you take usd with you and exchange or did you use the atm machines, was it easy to get money in all the places or should you get more in beijing.

We took about $100 in China money and $50 in Hong Kong money. From there, we relied on ATMs for additional cash - they are everywhere and the Guides will point you to the best ones. It was easy to get money in each city.

bugs - did you need a lot of repellent?

We took bug repellant, but never used it. Can't remember where, but one of the places had a few (very few though) mosquitos.

did you arrive the day the adventure started or before - we are arriving the day before and i'm wondering what to do and see before the adventure starts

Definitely arrived the day before and very glad we did. It really let us get rested and start the adventure fresh.


Have a most WONDERFUL trip. Say Hi to James from Charlie,Liz and Lizzie!

 

[CBEB]

Welcome back! So glad you had a great trip. Are you going to do a trip report? Or at least post pictures? I love living this trip vicariously!

Sayhello

Probably not going to do a trip report.... but will try to get some pictures posted in the next couple of day!

 

[Kez250]

thanks for the info/advice - i'll be sure to say hi from you all

 

[deckes]

thanks for the info/advice - i'll be sure to say hi from you all

We got back a week and a half ago. Had laundry done in Chengdu and Guillin hotels. If you can hold out have it done in Guillin. It was half the price. We brought clothes for 7 days. Just t-shirts & shorts and a little dressier outfit for Shanghai restaurant. My son & husband wore dress shorts and polos and were fine (nothing too fancy but dressier than day clothes). There was an atm to the right as soon as we came out with baggage. You are going to have such a good time.

 

[deckes]

thanks for the info/advice - i'll be sure to say hi from you all

Also we arrived the day before and went to see the Summer Palace & Temple of Heaven the morning & early afternoon of Day 1. We used a private tour guide from The China Guide which was actually recommended to us from disboards. They were amazing & we arranged it all online. You set your own itinerary. For a private car, driver & English speaking guide, lunch & admission to both places it was only around $300 for all 4 of us. They picked us up at the hotel at 8am and would return at 4:30 before the welcome dinner. We got done early & were back by 2. It was well worth it. After seeing how crowded these places got I was glad we had the guide.

 

[pxlbarrel]

Welcome back!! Was wondering about you guys. I heard a typhoon was hitting Hong Kong!

What was the highlight of the trip for you? Mine was the pandas!

 

[CBEB]

Welcome back!! Was wondering about you guys. I heard a typhoon was hitting Hong Kong!

What was the highlight of the trip for you? Mine was the pandas!

Oh most definitely the pandas was the favorite for DD15 and I (especially getting to hold one!). DH was most fascinated with the Great Wall.

We got to HK just a few hours after the typhoon. A lot of tree limbs down from the winds but it was just rainy by the time we got there.