Xi'an's Muslim Quarter

East meets Middle-East. Modern civilization meets legendary silk road. Xi'an, one of the ancient capitals of China, is downright fascinating it can amuse even the jaded long-term traveller.

Entrance to the Great Mosque of Xi'an. Looking very Chinese.

Xi'an: Silk Road's Eastern Terminus

There's more to Xi'an than the Terracotta Warriors. As the eastern terminus of the Silk Road, it keeps a lot of surprises up its sleeve - waiting to be unravelled. This, we discovered on our first day in the city.

Kebabs and Arabic bread sold on the streets of the Muslim Quarter.

Beijing-Xi'an: Into The Falling Snow

Shervin and I celebrated our last hurrah in Beijing at Xiabu Xiabu. Earlier that day we finally visited the Great Wall of China but did not move on to the Ming Tombs because we needed to get ready for our 12-hour train ride to Xi'an.

Drop it like it's hot into the shabu-shabu pot!

Great Wall of China Group Tour: To book or not to book?

It was no ordinary Monday, for that day we fulfilled one of our travel dreams - to tread on the Great Wall of China. Now let me tell you how that day turned out to be a disappointment.

Approaching the most photographed of all walls, Badaling.

Beijing's National Stadium and National Aquatics Center

Beijing boasts not only of old majestic buildings reflecting glorious ancient Chinese culture, but also of modern spanking megastructures that depict China's booming economy. And among these new architecture marvels are Beijing National Stadium and Beijing National Aquatics Center. Both are situated within the Olympic Green, an Olympic Park set up for the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Beijing National Stadium, world's largest steel structure.

Yonghe Temple

Yonghe Temple, also known as "Lama Temple" and "Palace of Peace and Harmony", is probably the most renowned Tibetan Buddhist temple/monastery outside Tibet. It was converted into a lamasery in 1744 after it served as the official residence of Emperor Yongzheng.

An uncrowded part of Yonghegong Dajie, the road where Yonghe Temple sits.

Tian'anmen and Forbidden City

I prepared instant noodles for breakfast while Shervin pored over our Lonely Planet guide. It was already 8:30AM and the mighty sun wasn't out yet. Before slumbering the previous night, we agreed to take a train to Xi'an and spend a couple of nights there before heading to Guangzhou, where our Manila-bound flight departs. To make this happen, we got to buy tickets in advance.

We quickly slurped our hot noodles, left our room, and went to the post office (housed in the same building as our hostel) to exchange our dollar notes. Foreign currency can be changed at post offices, hotels (swanky ones), malls, and some branches of Bank of China. The transaction may take a while. Well, that's what happened to us. There were only two people on queue ahead of Shervin, but each spent 10 minutes with the teller. And when he finally reached the counter, he was told to fill out a form and present his passport and get in line again! It was distressing, but hey, at least we can trust them with our money. Fake yuans are still in circulation.

After wasting 40 precious winter minutes at the post office, we walked out and crossed the footbridge to Beijing Railway Station. Actually, I just had a hunch that ticket counters for intercity trains are stationed there (tickets can also be procured at Beijing West Train Station. My guess was right. We approached the English-speaking counter and inquired about trains to Xi'an, Shaanxi. The schedule seemed right and the fare (¥274) was affordable so we booked two hard sleepers straight away.

We were whipped up, for everything was falling into place. When we got our tickets, we traipsed to the subway. We paid ¥2 (flat fare, unlimited line transfers) for the train, took Line 1 and then switched to Line 2 to get to Tian'anmen East Station. You may also get off Tian'anmen West Station, the Tian'anmen or Gate of Heavenly Peace seem to be equidistant from both on the subway map.

A massive portrait of Mao Zedong displayed at Tian'anmen. Left giant placard says "Long Live the People's Republic of China" and the right, "Long Live the Great Unity of the World's Peoples".
The pack of tourists huddled in front of Tian'anmen was insane that Saturday noon. It was quasi-impossible to get a good, solo shot. Someone will always be right beside you having his or her photo taken as well.

Braving The Beijing Cold

The T98 (Hong Kong - Beijing) 24-hour train arrived at Beijing West Train Station 15 minutes past its ETA. The wall thermometer read 12°C. Tolerable, but it only indicates the temperature inside the cabin. Shervin and I gathered our stuff. I donned four layers of clothing, yet I was still terrified with the cold.

Arrival in Beijing. Just 10 seconds after this shot was taken, my smile faded as my skin got introduced to freezing temperature.

My First Hard Sleeper: Hong Kong-Beijing

It was time to say farewell to our gracious Hong Kong hosts Will and Melody, after staying in their pad for three days. They have been more than kind, and treated us (my husband Sherv and I) like family.

On our departure day, early morning, the four of us took a cab to Burd St. to have breakfast at Sang Kee Congee & Noodle. It's a local favorite, reason why it has been around for about 40 years. Noodles are at HK$19 and Congee at HK$21. Order the regular size and it can be shared by two people, making it super affordable. The dishes were served piping hot, and I couldn't believe how the old lady beside me downed a bowl so quick!

I wasn't even finished with my regular-sized Preserved Egg (a.k.a. Century Egg) Congee when Melody invited us to have drinks at her favorite coffee shop before she runs off to work. I felt bad ditching left-over food, but couldn't take another bite anyway because my tongue got scalded after shoving spoons and spoons of congee in my mouth without letting it cool down.

We walked for about 5 minutes and entered a small corner cafe that only had two other customers. I cannot remember which street it sits on nor did I see a signage outside the establishment, but on the menu I read the name C.C. Espresso. I was craving for a decent cup of coffee (I've never had a freshly brewed one in ages), but since my tongue was still numb I ordered iced tea instead. After half an hour of sleepy conversations (okay, so maybe I was the only groggy person) over coffee and tea, Melody excused herself for it was time for work. We bid her our last goodbye.

When she left, we walked out of the cafe and followed Will's path which led us to Ko Shing St. Nearby was a labyrinth of stores selling Chinese herbal medicines. On display were shaved animal horns, starfishes, mushrooms, shark fins and other dried creatures beyond recognition (ugh, deer fetus!). They sparked our curiosity, but made our stomachs churn. Will admitted he has not tried any of them and does not intend to.

Winding, confusing paths because stores sell almost the same merchandise.

Backpacking HK and China: The Lowdown

Without further ado, I hereby unveil the total cost of our Hong Kong and China backpacking trip... drumroll please... P32,665 (per head) for twelve bitter cold Winter days! Honestly, not as cheap as we wanted it to be. But hey, we're talking about the ever pricey Hong Kong, and China whose inexpensive days are long gone - especially in booming cities like Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou.

Our backpacking route around China.
Except for the visa (here's how to apply), the above mentioned cost included everything: 2 plane tickets (Manila-Hong Kong, Guanzhou-Manila), terminal fee (P750), Philippine travel tax (P1,620), 3 hard-sleeper trains (HK-Beijing 24hrs, Beijing-Xi'an 14hrs, Xi'an-Guanzhou 29hrs), accommodations, cab fares, MTR rides, countless bowls of instant Chinese noodles, cups and cups of instant Xiang Yue pearl drinks, a bottle of Harbin Beer (the only alcohol we bought!), souvenirs, and visits/admission fees (and a couple of booked tours) to the following:

Hong Kong
1. Victoria Harbour
2. Tian Tan Buddha
3. Ocean Park
4. Victoria Peak

Beijing
1. Tian'anmen
2. Forbidden City
3. Yonghe Temple (popularly the Lama Temple)
4. Beijing National Stadium (Bird's Nest)
5. Beijing National Aquatics Center (Water Cube)
6. Great Wall of China

Xi'an
1. Bell Tower and Drum Tower
2. Great Mosque of Xi'an
3. Muslim Quarter
4. Terracotta Army Museum

Guangzhou
1. Guangzhou Orchid Garden
2. The Nanyue King's Tomb Museum

Not bad, ei? We could have explored more places in China had it not been -1°C every darn day, and -7°C at night. We were always back at the hostel by 4PM. Such wussies, I know.

Winter is an off-peak season, so most of the accommodations offer a discount. Even admission fees to tourist spots are slashed. Try to sniff your way to shops and restaurants that locals patronize, so you can buy goods at a reasonable price. Even Beijing can be affordable if you're shrewd.

More cheap recommendations coming up as I post my China blogs in the coming days.

TweetShare


This page was viewed times.