Flight CA
China Package Tour Schedules
Guys, guys! China tour packages are a tight fit! Daily Morning call 6.00a.m. or if you are lucky- 6.30a.m. Have breakfast and it is off for sight-seeing at 8.00a.m. sharp! No delays! Whole day affair- you get to return to the hotel only after dinner, normally after 10.00p.m.!! And the next day, the same punishing pace!But the beauty of the place, and the novelty! the excitement has us up, well ahead of the wake up call, exhausted or not! 
First day, We went straight from the airport -quick breakfast and then off -to places of interest....sorry there is only time for a quick touch up in the "ladies, & gents'. if you have your touch up kit with you.(clean, with doors!!, so do not believe those horror stories!!)......Marie? sorry lah! everything packed away...so hair disarrayed,.... face - not fit for public viewing... breath ??? take a guess....and it was off to the Forbidden city....Tienanmen square etc...etc....Boy! the biting sun! and before long, her hair was like mud cake, sticking to her head! But who cares?? You may looked washed out in the photos, and stink a little..but boy! what an immensely thrilling experience, what a strange, marvellously out of the world feeling! BUT of course, that joyous feeling would have been heightened if they had allowed us to check into the hotel first, have a refreshing bath, before the tour begins! But this is the China tours, too many places to see, no time for all that! It is standard procedure, so we were told.
Hotels
Hmmmm...pretty good for the price .....New hotel Jiang Qiao International Hotel apartment was lovely, clean and comfortable with good food and their rose gardens was charming, real charming!
Holiday Inn Express was a thumbs up as well, the beautiful lake and colourful fishes....great stuff!!. In addition, this hotel is right in the middle of the city-Chinatown shopping area...MC Donald's, KFC..etc...etc...
Food
This Package comes with plenty of food. Breakfast at the hotels. Other meals out....Each lunch and dinner comes with nine to ten dishes. But food-Beijing style is really not every one's cup of tea........vegetables are fine but the meat.....bland, very bland...and if you hate pork, ...best pack along some instant noodles...plenty of fatty fat meat pieces...aiyaa..yah!! There is pork in practically every dish, except for the Veg, veg and thank God for those dishes!!Chicken is nothing like what we have here!! ?? It could just be their preferred way of cooking that we foreign visitors don't know how to appreciate. Lamb?? ah! the real stuff, only they use it for their steam boat meals and those who cannot stomach the taste nor the smell.....sorry lah! Marie?? It's ok, ok !! ..... That's the trouble with those who comes from food paradises like us Malaysians...and before long, we were craving for nasi lemak!! Like the tour guide says, if you like the food, eat more..if you don't , make sure you at least fill up your stomachs...( they were very generous with their rice and Chinese tea) cos! you would need the stamina to walk..miles and miles..Shopping
Plenty of things to buy and they do make it a point to stop at famous shopping places for you to lighten your pockets....Word of advice...do not buy everything in one place, there are more than enough stops to buy your souvenirs and any thing that catches your fancy and there is plenty, be assured...etc.....Remember there is the commission thing and tour guides are experts at turning you into cash dispensing machines. You buy more than you first intented.....but think-if they do not bring you to those spots, you would never know how to get there.. in the first place.... that is, if you were a first timer like this writer! So just be thankful, smile and go along with the flow, only .....be wise enough to hold on to your purse, real tight, use your head instead of your heart...
And she loves the crystal and pearl factories...silk...it was a triple wow!China, being China, there were always the traditional Chinese herbal and pharmaceutical centres -GMP to booth! And they have physicians on stand by to read your pulse and .....recommend cures...and out your money flies again...Agressive sales pitch too. By the way, if the tour guide tells you, you will be treated to a free reflexology etc..etc....guys nothing is free! The Free was actually Pretty Expensive!! And of course, they have humongous shopping complexes, catering specially for fake -branded goods ..boy! they do look quality and like the genuine stuff and at a fraction of the cost! But be pre-warned, their opening prices are killers!! You won't go very far wrong if you knock down prices like what Malaysians -do for Petaling Street. But shopping was real fun and addictive! Wish she was loaded at that time, but thank God, she, Marie kept her credit card on local mode. You do have a tendency to get carried away...Amazingly lovely! So lovely, she wish she had the time and the resources to stay on and drink in the incredible beauty...the Summer Palace, the beautiful lakes, the mountains and the hills.. The view from the Great wall of China! Even at the level she stopped, it was breathtaking!! The steps up the Great Wall was steeped, you wonder, how soldiers of ancient times could run up and down without tripping and falling over, and how on earth did they manage to build that wall in the first place??Truly, a great wonder!
One of the places she fell in love with, was the Temple of Heaven , one of the architectural wonders of the world , constructed entirely of wood and without use of any nails, believe it or not!!
The Qingyi Garden, or the Summer Palace was extra-ordinary.....Despite the heat, the summer palace was cool, breezy,., and despite the thousands who throng the grounds, there was this incredible feeling of calm and peace.....wow! Many trees in the garden were 200 or 300 years old!!
So many, many other wondrous and delightful places....too many pages to fill....She could write a whole book!!
Mostly mandarin speaking, though they try to speak as much of English as their command of the language permits. Loved the way they speak English, pronunciation -precise but You will enjoy the trip more , if you know some Mandarin, so either you join a 100% English tour or go pick up some Mandarin!
Additional Tours
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Yup! they pulled that "trick or treat" on us...but what the yell,, or hell...we went so far, might as well pay a little more to see more places....If you do not want that happening, square it out with your travel agent before you even buy the tour package...But no complaints there, worth the while...
Wangfujing Street.Cockroaches, or scorpions, worms, baby snakes, anyone???Yucks! The smell was enough to drive this writer crazy but people were jostling with one another to buy those delicacies!!
Overall
Minus the minor irritations here and there the whole trip was Exquisite, Memorable and Incredible. She felt so blessed. Would she go to China on another package tour??Definitely Yes!!, but this time its the spring or autumn tours - no more scorching heat, and the swarming local crowds on summer holidays!!!! Wiser now, she would reach out for the cool, fresh air- scenic wonders where nature glorifies , the astounding beauty of God's creation. See ya China, be back soon!
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