China Travel Guide 3

[heaven_scent102]

oh good at least ndi heavy ang bags ko sa panlamig outfits hehe

[mama squeak!]

^Ako din, balak ko nga handcarry lang dalhin ko. Crossing my fingers makasama ako kay hubby last week of May.

 

[heaven_scent102]

hehe kami may 20kilos baggage allowance ni hubby per person then bring ako 2 LC na travel bag para if ever maka pag shopping kami may extra bag kami for handcarry hehe

[betty]

gusto ko din tong beijing tour....hopefully next year, ipon ipon ulit

question; hindi ba delikado pag mag isa lang pumunta dito? hirap kase ng communication

[eang]

pag di maka communicate in chinese, better to write down all the places you want to go to in chinese ( have someone write it for you) para papakita mo sa taxi driver, kase mahirap magkaintindihan pag ganun. and also the address in chinese. mas ok kuha ka na lang ng tour, para less hassle for you. there are travel tours na 1 day city tour or 2days city tour with great wall.

[mama squeak!]

^^I felt safe in Beijing. Mas safer pa nga feeling ko compared to say Paris or HongKong   You don't see kasi a lot of mga unsavory characters na pakalat-kalat. Well, I didn't see any at the places we went to anyway. As to communication, since the Olympics were held there a few years back there are English signs/translations at most of the tourist sites. Very easy to commute in their subway/metro system. If you're planning to take taxis to go around, ask your hotel to provide you the hotel address card written in Chinese and as eang suggested have them write down the sites you intend to visit in Chinese.

[blooming]

^ maraming street beggars sa wangfujing. 

Some of the negatives I can share about Beijing -

what I hated most is yung mga manggaganchong tour guides and cab drivers. you can see through their $-sign eyes! kaya beware of them.

regarding safety, if Manila is 10% and Singapore 90%, masasabi ko beijing is 70%. may mga nadudukutan din. Though Shanghai and Guangzhou is worse than Beijing, better be safe, especially passports.

expect to see a different culture din - where spitting, shoving (auto push talaga mga elbows nila, natural for them - no offense and don't take it personally), pagsinga ng sipon sa kamay at pagpitik elsewhere, and toilet-squat are just some of the things you would see as part of their way of life.

Have personally witnessed toddlers doing their poop thing in public while parents/grandparents happily watch with their smiles and clapping hands.

[mama squeak!]

^We didn't see any. We went there twice in a row. What we saw were mga police in patrol kaya siguro walang mga beggars that time.

[eang]

For me, safe ang beijing, kung hinde ka lang nga marunong makipag usap mahirapan ka mag commute. Yung Cab drivers na nanloloko, usually they are not licensed, walang metro, private car lang nila, tapos aalukin ka ng pakyaw na rate. just avoid dealing with them, dami naman legit na taxis dun. di mo need makipag negotiate sa mga private cars kase cyempre, mas mataas sisingilin nila kesa dun sa metered taxi with receipt, ang mga tour guides na nanloloko, usually, nasa entrance mismo ng mga sightseeing place, e wag mo na rin sila papansinin. avoid those guides. better research on hiring tour guides with license. dami naman legit na tour guides sa china. sa pinoy exchange , may isang website link dun puro licensed tour guides and their contact num with their rates.

Sa tinagal ko sa beijing ( 1 yr ako nakatira dun dati) . wala pa ko nakitang nadukutan or na snatch, kaya i can vouch for the safety of this city. di nga sila pwede mag dala ng knife, kahit small pocket knife. so wala halos crime, if ever, may nag aaway lang, yun lang pinaka na witness ko. pero walang barilan,. or saksakan. Yung sinasabi mong beggars , they are scavengers around wangfujing, mga walang makain yun, parang palaboy na kumukuha ng mga food na tinapon na or di kinain. pero they are not all over the city like dito sa metro manila. naka concentrate lang sila dun sa wangfujing.

[mama squeak!]

^ maraming street beggars sa wangfujing. 

Some of the negatives I can share about Beijing -

what I hated most is yung mga manggaganchong tour guides and cab drivers. you can see through their $-sign eyes! kaya beware of them.

regarding safety, if Manila is 10% and Singapore 90%, masasabi ko beijing is 70%. may mga nadudukutan din. Though Shanghai and Guangzhou is worse than Beijing, better be safe, especially passports.

expect to see a different culture din - where spitting, shoving (auto push talaga mga elbows nila, natural for them - no offense and don't take it personally), pagsinga ng sipon sa kamay at pagpitik elsewhere, and toilet-squat are just some of the things you would see as part of their way of life.

Have personally witnessed toddlers doing their poop thing in public while parents/grandparents happily watch with their smiles and clapping hands.

One has to learn to take the negative with the positive  One is exposed to different cultures and that's what makes things interesting. It will broaden your horizon. That's what travelling is all about.   

[blooming]

^^ oo nga! bawal ang knives!  kahit lighters, bawal.

I have experienced losing kasi my wallet na in China, pero not in Beijing, kaya lagi akong bantay sa bag ko.  Pero baka nga mas safe ang Beijing compared to other places in China.  Iba lang ang impression ko.  Mas in control kasi siguro ang central government sa Beijing.  I witnessed people being arrested, with no questions asked. simply because nanggugulo lang sila sa may Tiananmen square.

^^ sis, nabanggit mo lang din yung nag-aaway. Oo, kakatakot!  palaaway nga din mga tao dun. parang laging maiinit ang ulo.

[eang]

yes according to a taxi driver we met, ang mga chinese people daw ang pinaka hot tempered na tao all over the world. mabilis makipag away. kahit anung bagay pag aawayan. pero siguro nga dahil capital ng china, kaya mas walang crime dun, super strict, maski sa area surrounding tiananmen, naka alert ang security, may mga xray scanners pa for bags, under the tunnel.. bago maka akyat sa square. and sa dami ng pulis dun, you'll really feel secure.

[blooming]

^ sis, how come I don't feel secure pag nakakakita ako ng pulis sa Manila. The more silang nakakalat, mas lalong nakakatakot!

sorry OT...

[mama squeak!]

@eang , would you know which is the best Hutong area to visit there? Are there any near Quianmen St? I'll be back in Beijing this May and hubby and I would like to visit some of the Hutongs.

[eang]

mama squeak, here's a list of famous hutongs in beijing city.
http://www.travelchinaguide.com/cityguides/beijing/hutong/famous.htm

marami na ring hutong, na renovate na, konti na lang yung unrestored and original untouched.
We went to nanluoguxiang, maraming shops, parang di mo na ma feel na hutong. you can haggle with a rickshaw driver, para ikot ka nya sa mga famous courtyards, like the former residence of soong sister. maganda makapasok ka sa courtyard , very interesting yung courtyards, nasa hutong tour yun.

[pinkk]

why do i feel like ang layo ng beijing airport going to the city? i estimated it to be around 45mins-1 hr? or im just tired? that was year 2006.
Tia

[mama squeak!]

^^Thanks eang! That's the same website I was looking at di lang ako makapili which one to go to. Since hubby and I will be going to Qianmen st. I was wondering if meron nearby para the whole day na kami dun mag-iikot. Where's nanluoguxiang? Do you still remember what is the nearest metro stop? We'll be taking the subway lang to go around.

 

[mama squeak!]

@pinkk - sis, baka pagod ka lang or ma-trapik when you went. I'm assuming you took a car or bus? Mabilis na ngayon by subway. They also have an Airport Express train just like in Hongkong. Maraming improvement since the Olympics was held there in 2008. Hubby's crew hotel is near the airport and it takes us around 15 minutes lang from his hotel to the city by subway.

[pinkk]

@pinkk - sis, baka pagod ka lang or ma-trapik when you went. I'm assuming you took a car or bus? Mabilis na ngayon by subway. They also have an Airport Express train just like in Hongkong. Maraming improvement since the Olympics was held there in 2008. Hubby's crew hotel is near the airport and it takes us around 15 minutes lang from his hotel to the city by subway.

@Mama Squeak, appreciate your inputs, thank you so much, mabilis talaga ang development sa China, grabeeh! haayy! iba talaga ang patriotism ng China gov't.

[mama squeak!]

Will be leaving na on Tuesday! Hope the weather is just comfy and not too hot. Hubby and I will be going this time to the Summer Palace which is readily accessible by their subway (line 4). Then will be visiting the hutongs at the Goulodajie area and will check out the Xidan area instead of Wangfujing.