This journal is about my experiences in China during the summer of 2008 just before the Olympic Games. We traveled all over the country and had an amazing adventure.
June 16 - Beijing Zoo
One of the main reasons I wanted to go to China this year was to see the pandas at the Beijing Zoo. Apparently there are pandas all over the world in zoos, had I known that before I went I guess I could have saved thousands of dollars. Oh well. I wanted to see the real thing, not that the others aren't real.
Before going to China I looked on google earth and mapped out where the different things we wanted to see were. The Beijing Zoo looked like it was about 1.5 miles from where we were staying. Not really knowing where the Zoo was exactly, we decided we'd walk there. I knew it was east, but never seeing a clear sky and being able to see the sun made it difficult to know which way to walk.
Luckily we had a map, in chinese, and we guessed which way to go.
Along our walk we saw the usual things you'd expect to see on a busy street in any city. Clothing stores selling the latest fashions, athletic apparel stores, street vendors selling things I assume people consider food, and of course, a porn shop. Apparently the chinese like porn, because this wasn't the only store I saw. The best one's are the one's that sell one thing on one side, and then the other side it's all porn. Whatever.
So we continue walking, and it being early in the morning we decided we'd stop and get some donuts from a bakery. Actually we ended up getting a pastry of some kind, but it was still good. We walked down some road alongside the highway, wondering if we're going to have to cross over it to get to the zoo and wondering where the zoo was exactly.
After about 30 minutes of walking we finally see a sign that says "Beijing Zoo." So we just kept going in the direction the sign was pointing. What we thought was about a mile and a half was actually about 3.5 miles and instead of taking 20 minutes like we were thinking it took about an hour.
We got there around 10 AM, and it was pretty crowded outside at the gate. Still new to China, at this point we didn't understand how you are supposed to get in line. For those of you that don't know, the art of lining up consists of picking out the shortest line, then walking in front of everybody that has been standing there in the hot sun for 15 minutes and pushing your way to the window. At least this is how it seemed everyone else was doing it. So I decided that must be the way it works.
After pushing our way to the front we got our tickets. It was pretty cheap, like all attractions in China. Which was pretty cool, I didn't have to spend as much money. You had to pay a little extra to see the panda exhibit, but it was like $1 and that's all I really cared to see anyway. I can see the boring animals at home.
Once we got in we immediately made our way to the Panda Exhibit, which of course was pretty crowded. They actually had a few things inside and a few things outside. So that helped spread the crowds out a little bit I think. This was after the earthquake in Chengdu obviously, so alot of the pandas from that region had been brought to Beijing. So there was a lot more pandas to see.
They also had a little exhibit set up explaining what took place at the panda sanctuary that had been destroyed, and all of its successes, and what they hoped to do to rebuild it. A lot of pandas have been born there, so I think it is important that they get something like that up and running again soon.
Because we were also planning on seeing the Summer Palace, we decided we could have about 3 1/2 hours at the zoo. We ended up staying about 2 hours at the panda exhibit. The only other animals I really cared to see were the tigers and maybe some monkeys. So after seeing the pandas and buying some souvenirs we went to see the big cats. This area didn't look very appealing, and of course it smelled bad. It was an indoor building with different cats in small cages, about 15 feet by 20 feet, at most.
Most of the animals in there just layed around. But the leopards actually paced back and forth in their cage looking at all the people taking their pictures. Probably wanting to kill them. A few times they would start huffing really loudly, and everyone would come running over to see them. I don't know if they just had a hairball or what, but it made for some good pictures. There was a small lion that seemed to like walking around too, and it also made growling noises. After about 20 minutes of that we went outside where there were more cats, but these cats got to walk around in a fake jungle. One tiger in particular, I have pictures of it, was actually nice enough to pose for some pictures. Otherwise, he did nothing but walk around. I think it might have peed a few times also.

We also checked out the elephants, not really on purpose, they just happened to be where we were walking. Elephants are ok, but they always smell horrible. These elephants, like the other animals, just paced around in circles. What an exciting life. We saw some bears. They looked like grizzly bears, just different. I don't know how to explain it, and I didn't take any pictures, since I had already taken about 60 of the pandas, I didn't want to run out of pictures on my memory card after only a week. Somehow I took 1,400 pictures in 4 days at Shanghai, and 5 days in Beijing.
The interesting thing about the bears was that people were feeding them. They were feeding them junk food, right next to a sign that said "don't feed the bears.
Chinese people. They're nice people, and have a fascinating culture, but they don't follow directions very well. Which I found interesting since it's a communist country. I thought everyone would be really orderly and obedient. It was much different then I thought it would be. We didn't stay very long at the bears, partly because I see bears in the wild, and that's better, but also because I didn't want to be around in case someone showed up and people started getting in trouble for feeding the bears.
At about this time our 3 1/2 hours was just about up and we needed to start heading for the exit to get a taxi to the Summer Palace. On our way out we tried to find the monkey exhibit, but either it had moved or was under construction, because it was nowhere near where the maps said it should be.
The maps were all wrong. I remember one map said the elephants were 400 meters away, it was about 100 feet.
The Beijing Zoo was really cool I thought, even with all the pacing animals and incorrect signs. It was better than any zoo I've been to, and I've been to the San Diego Zoo, Dallas Zoo, Ft. Worth Zoo, Sea World in San Antonio, and the Orlando Zoo. Maybe others too that I just don't remember. I think what made it so good was the fact that it was like a park. It had alot of ponds and trees everywhere. It was the type of place you could just hang out at and if you wanted to go look at animals. We didn't go to the aquarium because of time, but it looked like a nice building and it said they offered some kind of shows. The Chinese are really good at building parks, especially in Beijing. They're much better than the parks in the U.S., at least near me.
So anyway, we left the zoo and headed down the street a little ways and caught a taxi to the Summer Palace. We originally planned on walking to there too, it was way too far for that. About a 20 minute taxi ride. They should have a subway to there now, at least that's how it looked on the maps we saw. I think they were waiting to open those until the Olympics.
June 20 - Luoyang
Jun 20, 2008
June 20 - Luoyang
After spending a few days in Beijing we headed to Luoyang. I am writing this almost a year after the trip, but I think I remember the train from Beijing to Luoyang being about 10 hours, I don't remember. We took a night train so I slept most of the way. The whole purpose of this stop was to see the Longmen Grottoes and Shaolin Temple, the birthplace of Kung Fu.
As we were waiting in the train station in Beijing a man approached us and asked where we were going. We told him we wanted to see the Longmen Grottoes and possibly Shaolin if we had time. He mentioned that he had seen us earlier in the day at Tianamen Square, how he could remember us out of the thousands of people there I have no clue, but whatever.
He informed us that he was living in Louyang and if we wanted we could stay at a place near his house and borrow his car to drive to Shaolin. Apparently the bus goes down back roads and took a long time. I didn't know if this guy was being serious, a stalker, a government spy watching tourists, or what. Either way, he was weird. He asked where we were staying on the train and not wanting to seem rude I hesistated but told him anyway. He said he'd find his seat and then come meet us.
About 20 minutes later or so after talking to this person we boarded the train. Hoping he'd have a bad memory and forget where we were staying we walked really fast to find our seat and leave him behind in the crowd of people rushing to get on the train. After about 10 minutes I figured we were clear and not have to worry about that guy anymore.
Sure enough though, he comes strolling down the aisle and found us. When I saw him approaching I pretended like I was alseep. That failed miserably. He said hello and "woke" me up. I told him I was tired and wanted to get some sleep since it was kinda late. He bought the story and said he wanted to sleep too but let us know he'd be back in the morning when we arrived to tell us it was our stop.
Our chinese people just overly nice or what? I guess being American we don't act that way to strangers so I don't know the answer to that question. So once again, as the train came rolling into the station in Luoyang our little friend was there to greet us. He said he'd help us find a taxi and then take us to the place. Like most stations though there were a lot of people there to meet tourists and ask if they wanted a place to stay.
Some lady said we could stay at her hotel, it was right across the street, so that was convenient and they had tours to the Grottoes and could help us get tickets to Shaolin. Seemed good, but again I didn't want to seem like we were being rude to our new friend. The guy was insisting the area wasn't safe and we should go with him instead. After being ripped off over and over in Beijing and Shanghai I didn't know if he had some scheme to make money off of us also, take us somewhere where we'd be sold as sex slaves, or if he was legitimately this nice.
To get out of the mess we found ourselves in we told him to give us his number, directions to his house, and if we didn't like the hotel being offered we'd come find him. We had no intention of doing that of course.
So we followed our savior, some lady, who turned out to be a nutcase also to our hotel. The hotel was actually pretty nice, it seemed very americanized with the layout, kinda reminded me of a Days Inn or Motel 6. The room they showed us seemed big, had a tv, nice air conditioner, good location, and it was only 40 RMB a person per night. Plus there was a grocery store right around the corner and some other restaurant that looked good. Can't beat that really.
We told the lady that we wanted to go see the Grottoes and she named a price, it sounded good so we told her we'd go take showers, get some food, then meet up with her in about an hour or so. A little bit late she came driving in in a mini van, a very small mini van. The kind you see all over China.
I forget the brand, it starts with a J. They're interesting to say the least, and with this person driving it became a whole lot more interesting.
Unknown to us, this seemed to be a private tour, just me and my brother...at least to start. A few minutes into the trip someone called the driver. I don't know if they were yelling at each other or if they just talk this loud on a regular basis.
We made a little pitstop and picked up some lady. This lady became our official "tour guide". So it's our driver, a tour guide, me, and my brother on our way to the Grottoes. We drive about 10 minutes and stop, nowhere near anything that looks like pictures I've seen of the Grottoes. We tell the ladies, in english, which they don't speak any of, that we want to see the Grottoes.
This panoramaic had the heads chopped off
She then starts pointing at our tickets that say A, B, C options. Then telling us what appears to mean we paid for option B or C, I have no clue. Either way, this wasn't what we wanted to see. It turned out it was an old part of the city wall, every Chinese city has a wall, and every tour takes you to see it, at least the tours we got put on. So we go there, and they charge us some money to enter, even after we paid for the tour, I said I didn't want to see it and didn't want to pay. Needless to say I ended up paying and ended up seeing it. The "tour guide" made us give her the money so she could buy the tickets, she came in with us, and didn't pay a thing. I'm thinking part of what we paid paid her way in as well. This is where her tour guide duties ended.
Some young girl showed us around, I don't know what we saw, or what we were looking at, I just shook my head and smiled.
It was not that bad, and at least I saw more of the city then I had planned.
During the tour the lady with us left. She went across the street and seemed to be shopping for clothes or something with her driver friend. After this stop we went somewhere else, I really don't remember what it was, but again I remember thinking I didn't care to see it. So after that stop we went to the Grottoes. Again the lady insisted on paying for the tickets herself and told us to stay back. Again I think trying to rip us off. Whatever, after a week in China I was used to it. She told us we had 2 hours to see the Grottoes and then meet her back at her van.
The Grottoes were very cool. There were some small little statues and carvings in the rocks and the hike around was pretty neat.
Lots of people, and like most of China lots of steps. Apparently the Grottoes were carved by Buddhist Monks thousands of years ago, or hundreds of years ago, depending on the carvings. There were 5 or 6 really big ones, the ones you always see pictures of. Very neat. I can't imagine how they were able to create these things or why they'd think to in the first place. Either way, if you're in the area and going from Beijing to Xi'an, Luoyang is a good stopping point.
Part of the Grottoes are on one side of a river, and the rest are on another. We bought the ticket that allowed us to see both sides, although the second side wasn't nearly as crowded or as cool. As we crossed a bridge to see the other side two little old ladies decided they wanted us to have some small buddha statues.
These were not something I particularly wanted to carry around and neither did my brother, but the ladies didn't seem to mind that. This bridge was probably half a mile in length, they followed us all the way across. Chinese people will do anything for money, weird since it's a communist country, yet they are the most capitalistic people I've ever seen. These buddha's come in a set of five, you see them everywhere. I believe they started out trying to sell one set for 20 RMB, rip off! Which is what I kept telling them. Of course the price kept dropping, and dropping, and dropping. I'm pretty sure they didn't even care to make money off of these things, they just were tired of holding them.
There was a Chinese family in front of us as we walked across the bridge, and they could speak English because they were laughing at us about what we were saying.
They also said they were sorry that we were being harrassed. I told the little old ladies to sell them to the Chinese family, but they didn't seem to understand. At one point one of the ladies stuck her buddha's in my bag, I guess trying to force me to buy them. I took them out and put them on the ground and kept walking. They did the same to my brother, he not being a jerk like me finally gave in. I don't know if it was out of pity or just tired of being harrassed. He ended up buying 20 buddha's, so 4 packs for 10 RMB. Again, I don't think they wanted money, they just wanted to dump their buddha's off on someone else.
Needless to say, this was not the last time little old ladies followed us around trying to sell us stuff we didn't want only to have us give in and buy the junk.
So I put three random pictures together. It turned out pretty well.
After seeing the Grottoes we made our way back to the van. The lady seemed to be gone, so we did a little shopping. We found some really cool paintings of Peony Flowers, supposedly they are the city flower of Luoyang. It was a scroll painting that we ended up giving to our parents. The price was very good, about 80 RMB and it was a rather large painting at about 5 feet long and 3 feet wide. While we were doing our shopping we saw a cute little girl playing outside. She was wearing a dress and running around on the street and petting a dog. She then walked over to the middle of the road, squatted, and peed all over the ground. Fantastic! Then she got up and started playing again like this wasn't some unusual thing to do.
The next day we went to Shaolin and again were tricked into going to a few stops along our route we didn't care to see.
After we got back we spent the night in our hotel room in the air condition. It had been a very hot day. We spent about 4 hours watching some show on tv that involved people doing an obstacle course. They make fun of it in America, it's called MXC, but to see the original was much better. If you go to China, you'll know the show. It's great. We also watched the 12 Girl Band perform. They're pretty good, and pretty hot. Our train to Xi'an was leaving that night around 11 pm, so we had some time to waste.
That pretty much sums up our trip to Luoyang and the Longmen Grottoes! If you ever get the chance you should definately go!
June 28 - Sanjiang
Jun 28, 2008
June 28 - Sanjiang ''Bridges Without Nails''
After spending 4 nights and 3 days on the President No. 1 Yangtze River Cruise from Chongqing to Yichang we caught a train to Sanjiang. We actually got pretty lucky arriving at the station when we did. There was only one train headed that direction and it was leaving in 10 minutes. This sort of thing happened to us alot along the trip. It made me think of The Amazing Race and how everything just seemed to work out perfectly whenever we needed it to.
Anyway, we bought tickets on a Hard Sleeper, it was cheaper and the time before when we did this from Luoyang to Xian it seemed ok. Big mistake that was.
It saved us alot of money making this decision, at least it seemed that way. Maybe 40 RMB, about $5-$6. It was probably at least 100 degrees outside this afternoon and there was no air conditioner on the train.
Probably the hottest and most uncomfortable i've ever been. But being the great traveler i am it didn't affect me too much, i fell asleep in about 10 minutes. My brother on the other hand spent the entire 10 hour ride fanning himself off. He later said i looked like i was dead. He didn't know how it was possible anyone could sleep on that train.
So after the great train ride we arrive in a little station outside of Sanjiang around 2 in the morning.
I think we were the only 2 people to get off here. Right away a lady comes running up to us and asked if we needed a place to sleep.
She said it would be 40 RMB for the both of us, about $6. Being 2 AM we had nowhere to go and said yes. She said we could stay at her house and to follow her. Not knowing what was going on I felt uneasy about it at first, but decided i might as well check it out. She took us about 50 yards into an alley where her house was. The area was full of about 10-15 locals sitting around playing cards, remember, this is 2 AM. who is up at 2 AM, outside, without shirts on, playing cards? I guess the chinese.
She takes us through what seemed like a garage turned into a kitchen. Then up some stairs to an empty room with three cot looking beds with a bamboo bed spread. The walls and floors were cement, but it seemed like it would do for the night.
There was a mechanical fan and the lady lit some incense in the room for us, i guess to keep bugs away or to make it smell good? i don't know.
My brother said there was a huge spider under my bed, but i never saw it. Which was good, otherwise I probably wouldn't have slept much. I didn't want that crawling on me at night.
We woke up pretty early in the morning, i think around 8 AM, what seemed late since everyone else seems to wake up around 4 AM.
We came to this area to see the bridges of Sanjiang. They're pretty extravagant and made with no nails, so I figured they'd be worth a look-see. Having no clue if we were actually in Sanjiang or where the bridges could be we decided to walk down to the main street and hike around. Again, having no clue where they were we decided to just pick a direction.
After about 45 minutes of walking around with 60+ pound backpacks in 100+ degree heat we decided we were probably walking the wrong way and should look for a taxi and just find a bus or tain to our next destination and forget the stupid bridges.
We saw plenty of taxis, all of which seemed to be trying to run us over and already full of passengers. So we hiked back 45 minutes to the train station. Did I mention that the road wasn't very flat, I had 60 lbs on my back, and it was scorching heat? We finally made it back to the train station, which seemed closed, but ironically full of people.
This area is where alot of the minority groups live, i'm not sure which one it was, but they didn't seem like they had seen many foreigners before. We sat down in the waiting room after being told that the ticket office would open at 2pm, it was 12pm at this point. A group of about 5 or 6 ladies just turned and stared at us as we took our packs off covered in sweat and sat down. and not pretend stare or glances like you make when you see something interesting.
But staring, not blinking, not talking, just staring. it was a weird feeling. finally some other ladies came in and they started talking to them, and talking very loudly, too loudly. after sitting around for an hour, being stared at, and almost going def we decided to just try to find a taxi and see if we could get someone to take us to either the bridges or the bus station.
Some guy ripped us off, 100 RMB to take us to the bridges and back to the train station. It was an interesting ride, like all taxis in china. There was lots of scenery along the way and lots of honking and swerving, you know, the usual chinese taxi ride.
So we get to the bridge after about 20 minutes. It cost 30 RMB to walk across to the other side to some little village. We got some pictures and looked around for about an hour.
It was an interesting bridge and worth the trip, if you like bridges. so finally we get back in the taxi and he takes us back to the train station. No train in sight, we decided to flag down another taxi and have him take us to the bus station. We later realized that the originally taxi driver had asked us in chinese if we wanted to go to the bus station or train station, but we didn't put two and two together until we discovered we were going back the same way we had just come from.
So we get to the bus station and jump on a bus to Longsheng, which happened to be leaving about 15 minutes after we arrived. Again, good timing on our part. It was a pretty short ride, a couple hours maybe. So now we'd seen Sanjiang and it's bridges, or bridge. There may have been more. I don't know. It was overall an interesting day.
June 29 - Longji Rice Terraces
Jun 29, 2008
June 29 - Longji Rice Terraces
After a short bus ride from Sajiang we arrived in Longsheng, an area known for its rice terraces. As we stepped off the bus we were ambushed by a young lady, probably early 20s and a couple of guys. They were saying something in chinese that we obviously couldn't understand. We told them we wanted to go to the rice terraces which somehow they understood. They began saying "Longji" and pointing to a postcard of the rice terraces. Somehow my brother recognized the world Longji, so we told them that is where we wanted to go. The lady said we could go on a bus and stay at her house. This was the second time someone had said this too us and I still felt weird about saying yes. Since she seemed nice and was willing to help we decided we'd go.
We got on another bus and headed for the rice terraces.
We took this bus about 50 yards and then stopped. The lady told us to get off, and confused we followed her. We hopped onto another bus instead, I read that this is common in China. They apparently don't like taking half empty buses on longer trips. Since we hadn't paid yet I didn't mind, otherwise I might have thought they were just trying to take our money. This next bus went up a mountain rode for about 30 minutes picking people up and dropping people off along the way. We finally came to a stop where the lady again told us to get off the bus, where we immediately jumped onto another. On this bus we had to pay an extra fee to enter the rice terraces, it was 50 RMB. We took this bus for another 25 minutes or so. There was some really nice scenery along the way. It seemed like a good area to go hiking if you get the chance, but there weren't necessarily any trails.
I have been working with the wonderful professionals at Adventure Life for many years and keep coming back because of the friendly, courteous, professional expertise I always receive. I've looked for travel agencies here at home but nothing compares to the service I receive with Adventure Life.
Chris Robinson
15 hours ago
Very prompt replies and very knowledgeable
Christine Guthrie
2 days ago
We had the most incredible trip to Antarctica! Plus, we got a fantastic deal (especially considering how expensive expeditions are) and a free cabin upgrade. Prior to our trip, Michelle and Erin took great care of us and made sure we were good to go. Every element of the trip went smoothly with no surprises. Our ship, Ocean Albatross, was beautiful. The cabin was spacious and had everything we needed. The laundry service was cheap and fast (so there was no need to overpack). The food was great. The atmosphere was comfortable and casual (our style). And best of all, the staff and crew were so kind, accommodating and friendly. The guides and expedition leader were all amazing. We did so many shore landings and zodiac cruises, each one unique. There was no shortage of wildlife! We traveled with our 10 year-old son who had the time of his life. There were several other tweens/teens onboard. The guests were mostly a combination of families and solo travelers, mostly from the US. Overall, our trip was spectacular, a truly unforgettable trip of a lifetime!
Chrissy Howard
3 days ago
Tilly has been quickly responsive to my texts and emails.
Paula Thompson
4 days ago
I love working with the travel coordinators as they are helpful, friendly, and provide the information with the committed timeframe.
Mary Klaus
5 days ago
I have been working with the wonderful professionals at Adventure Life for many years and keep coming back because of the friendly, courteous, professional expertise I always receive. I've looked for travel agencies here at home but nothing compares to the service I receive with Adventure Life.
Chris Robinson
15 hours ago
Very prompt replies and very knowledgeable
Christine Guthrie
2 days ago
We had the most incredible trip to Antarctica! Plus, we got a fantastic deal (especially considering how expensive expeditions are) and a free cabin upgrade. Prior to our trip, Michelle and Erin took great care of us and made sure we were good to go. Every element of the trip went smoothly with no surprises. Our ship, Ocean Albatross, was beautiful. The cabin was spacious and had everything we needed. The laundry service was cheap and fast (so there was no need to overpack). The food was great. The atmosphere was comfortable and casual (our style). And best of all, the staff and crew were so kind, accommodating and friendly. The guides and expedition leader were all amazing. We did so many shore landings and zodiac cruises, each one unique. There was no shortage of wildlife! We traveled with our 10 year-old son who had the time of his life. There were several other tweens/teens onboard. The guests were mostly a combination of families and solo travelers, mostly from the US. Overall, our trip was spectacular, a truly unforgettable trip of a lifetime!
Chrissy Howard
3 days ago
Tilly has been quickly responsive to my texts and emails.
Paula Thompson
4 days ago
I love working with the travel coordinators as they are helpful, friendly, and provide the information with the committed timeframe.
Mary Klaus
5 days ago
I have been working with the wonderful professionals at Adventure Life for many years and keep coming back because of the friendly, courteous, professional expertise I always receive. I've looked for travel agencies here at home but nothing compares to the service I receive with Adventure Life.
We use cookies to give you the best experience on our website. Continue browsing the site if you're ok with this. For more info, please see our privacy policy.