Travel experiences across the world
Today was a bit of a weird day, because our flight back home -from where I’m typing these lines- departs at midnight. It’s the only direct flight there is! So on the one hand we had to do that annoying thing where you check out of the hotel and leave your luggage but then have… Continue reading The French Concession, Jing’an Temple
Suzhou day trip time!! I’ve been looking forward to this day trip! This morning was a bit of a high-wire time, because I had to leave the hotel, get on the metro to Shanghai Railway Station, book tickets on the high speed train to Suzhou on my phone while on the metro -and there are… Continue reading Suzhou, Pudong
So here’s where we’re at with trying to plan a trip in the year 2026: both my Lonely Planet and DK guides extol the virtues of the Shanghai Museum, the iconic museum shaped like the famous bronze cauldron in its collection. Neither of them (their newest editions, mind you) even mention the existence of the… Continue reading Shanghai Museum East, Tianzifang, Xintiandi
Today’s first order of business was simple enough: walk the length of East Nanjing Road to the Bund! Our hotel is ideally situated for this task, right on People’s Square, so just walking out onto the street and turning a left set us right on the very beginning of East Nanjing Road, Shanghai’s main commercial… Continue reading Nanjing Road, The Bund, Yuyuan Garden
Wuhou Shrine We had one last morning in Chengdu before our 3PM flight to Shanghai, so I wanted to find something to do that wouldn’t take too long and, preferably, wouldn’t require us to cross the city center, so as not to end up stuck in traffic on the way back. So I settled on… Continue reading Wuhou Shrine, arrival in Shanghai
I couldn’t have wished for better weather today, by which I mean it was around 23°C and cloudy. The ideal weather to be out and about! Today’s first plan was to spend Sunday morning in the park… in People’s Park! I think every Chinese city has a People’s Park or People’s Square, and Chengdu’s is… Continue reading People’s Park, Wenshu Monastery, Panda Base
Our first full day in Chengdu began, surprisingly, with rain! A gloomy, misty rain that seemed imported from the Basque Country. That didn’t bother me in the slightest, not just because nostalgia and climate change have made me appreciate rain when it comes, but because my plan for the morning was to hop on a… Continue reading Chengdu Museum, Kuanzhai Alley
This morning we bid farewell to a gloomy Xian and took the train to our next destination: the capital of Sichuan, the city of pandas, the Mecca of spicy food: Chengdu! The train journey was pretty much the same as the one to Xian (it is, in fact, the same line): about one hour’s ride… Continue reading Train to Chengdu, Taikoo Li
Today’s top priority was the visit to the Terracotta Warriors in the afternoon, so in order to save up some energy for that I made a lightweight plan for the morning: a visit to Daci’en Temple, home to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda (not to be confused with the Small Wild Goose Pagoda, which is… Continue reading Big Wild Goose Pagoda, The Terracotta Warriors
Day One of Two in Xian and I am SPENT. By the end of this trip they’ll have to roll me onto the plane with a wheelbarrow! Today’s plan was to visit the old town of Xian, that is, the square area within the old city walls, and leave the famous Terracotta Army for tomorrow.… Continue reading Xian Old City
