# China Trip Report 2014



## Cousin Orville

Prenight 1 - Beijing

Well we arrived!  After a year of planning and anticipating, we've arrived in Beijing.  For those of you that had a chance to follow us on our Jewels of Southeast Asia trip report, I'm going to try to do something similar here in China.  It's my son, Gavin, and me traveling together again.  My wonderful wife is staying home with our younger children.  We'll be here in China until close to the end of June and then turn right around and be with the entire family on the Venice - Barcelona cruise in July.

We arrived 2 nights before the ABD starts to get over jet lag and see some of Beijing.  We got settled in our room and walked around the hotel a bit.  We got in late afternoon and decided to grab an early dinner here in the hotel, the Peninsula, before heading to bed.  I'm a big Peking duck fan, and the hotel has one of the top contenders in Beijing...  Duck was awesome.  My son Gavin gave it a thumbs up.  Overall great dinner.  

Pictures to follow...


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## sayhello

Oh, yay!  I loved your trip report!  Looking forward to this one.  The China trip is still on my Bucket List!

Sayhello


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## Cousin Orville




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## Bobo912

Your wife must be a saint.


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## tufbuf

Bobo912 said:


> Your wife must be a saint.



His wife is a saint!


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## sayhello

Bobo912 said:


> Your wife must be a saint.





tufbuf said:


> His wife is a saint!




Wonderful pics!  Looks like you're off to a great start.  That restaurant looks beautiful!  Your son is getting big!  

Sayhello


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## DisFan10

Hi Cousin Orville,

What a tasty way to start your trip!  I'm looking forward to following your adventure in China.  Please post lots of pics!


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## CaliforniaGirl09

Can't wait to read about your trip. This is high on my list for 2016. Have a fabulous time with your son.


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## Cousin Orville

Prenight 2 - Beijing

4:30 am - Gavin opens the windows for our room overlooking Beijing and proclaims, "good morning, china!" There's no way I'm getting him back to bed.  Thankfully breakfast is served early downstairs in Jing.  Breakfast is a nice buffet with a good mix of western and Asian.  As an aside, it's a day later and I'm typing this at breakfast now.  

At 9:00 we met Jessie our private guide for the next 2 days.  Today we're heading to the Temple of Heaven, Jingshan Park, an old Hutong, and the Lama Temple.  We ended up squeezing in a couple of other things as well.

Jessie and her driver whisked us away to the Temple of Heaven.  There's a large park that's inside the compex where people are exercising, doing tai chi, playing musical instruments, dancing and generally having a good time.  Gavin got into the action and tried some of the exercises and some of the people were nice enough to encourage him to join in their games.  It was a lot of fun.  From there we went up to what I think of as the Temple of Heaven, what the China pavilion in World Showcase is copied from.  I believe it's actually called the Hall of Prayer of Good Harvest inside the larger complex of the Temple of Heaven, or something similar.  It was beautiful.  Of course it reminded Gavin and me of Epcot.  How could it not, but it was great to see the real deal in person.  I was looking around for the circle vision theater but didn't see it.

(Time to take a time out.  About to meet Jessie again today.  Will continue the report later....)


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## Calfan

Very excited to read your trip report. Loved your Southeast Asia TR. China is definitely on our ABD list. I'd be interested in your feedback on pollution/air quality and temps/heat. Those are the two factors that give me pause about this trip, but the itinerary looks fabulous. I was wondering if taking the first trip out of the gate in June might mean a bit less heat than the trips later in the summer.


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## Cousin Orville

Prenight 2 continued...

After the Temple of Heaven, we headed over to Jingshan Park.  It's claim to fame is it's on a big hill which overlooks the Forbidden City.  So, you effectively get the arial view of the Forbidden City.

We then headed over to the Drum Tower and an old Hutong around it.  The Hutong's are old traditional neighborhoods of Beijing.  There are several around the city.  There lots of shopping and a few restaurants.  The Drum Tower (along with the nearby Bell Tower) were responsible for telling the city what time it was. It was a very steep long Stairway to the top.  At the top you find a lot of drums.  I'm not sure this was entirely worth the stop.  Glad I did it, but it's on the "B" list of things to do.

Let's see, after the Hutong and Drum Tower we drove to the Lama Temple - a Tibetan Buddhist temple.  It was beautiful.  We didn't stay too long.  Walking through the temple was beautiful.  It has a the worlds tallest wooden Buddha sculpture, so that was impressive.  

Our last stop was over by the CCTV (Chinese Television) Tower.  It was a personal request of mine to see.  Crazy Modern.  I'll post a picture soon.

We got back around 3pm, had a late lunch over at an Irish Pub of all places near the hotel.  Molly Malone's.  It was ok.  No Raglan Road, but it was ok.  I could probably do Chinese day in, day out, but Gavin needs an occasional break.  We did some swimming and resting prior to dinner.

Uber - my new favorite travel app.  We used it for dinner.  Basically it allows you to call for a private car (rather than a taxi) to pick you up.  You tell uber on your iPhone (or whatever) where you are, where you're going, and you place a cc or paypal on file with Uber and you're all set.  We were heading to Made in China, another famous Peking Duck place.  It took about 5 min for the car to arrive.  uber tells you the driver's name... And you don't pay the driver for anything.  It's auto charged to your uber acct.  It's very cool.  The trip was about $4.50.  Beijing has the occasional dishonest taxis and some drivers really have no clue where the destination is... Uber somewhat manages that as I understand it.  It's offered in many cities.

Made in China was fine.  If you look up enough top Peking duck places, both Made in China and Huang Ting show up.  I personally prefer Huang Ting, and that's at the Peninsula so it's even more convenient.  We walked back down Wangfujing and strolled through the night market where you can buy all sorts of food including weird bugs, and starfish etc.  I asked Jessie if any Chinese eat those things, and she said only the tourists eat them.  Figured.  I'll pass on the scorpions.  I'm trying to cut down...


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## Cousin Orville

Wangfujing in the morning






Temple of Heaven park

























At the top of Jingshan park overlooking the Forbidden City










Inside the Drum Tower





the Bell Tower





Lama Temple















CCTV Tower





Wangfujing in the evening





Apple store on Wangfujing!  I'm home!   I actually did go in and buy the SD card hookup to upload these photos to my iPad (forgot my other one).





Gotta love it










Starfish, really?!  Come on now.  No one eats that...


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## Cousin Orville

Calfan said:


> Very excited to read your trip report. Loved your Southeast Asia TR. China is definitely on our ABD list. I'd be interested in your feedback on pollution/air quality and temps/heat. Those are the two factors that give me pause about this trip, but the itinerary looks fabulous. I was wondering if taking the first trip out of the gate in June might mean a bit less heat than the trips later in the summer.



As far as heat, it's hot now in June.  I'm not sure if it gets hotter in July and Aug.  I would think so.  Due to school and other vacation plans we have during the year, summer is pretty much our only option.  Spring might be better temp wise, but I asked my guide when the worst pollution was and she said during winter and spring.  So, I dunno if there's a fall trip. Haha.  You know the heat is a fair price to pay for me.  We're going to Venice and Greece next month.  I'm sure it's going to be hot there too, but it will be worth it.  The only place I generally won't go during the summer is WDW.  Not going to do it...

Pollution.  A little worse today than yesterday.  We've got a nice room up pretty high, and this morning Gavin noticed it looking out over the city. Very very hazy. I bought 3M masks from Amazon just in case.  Haven't used them, and haven't seen anyone in masks either.  It's not that bad right now.   China is a place I've wanted to go for a while.. And I'm kind of afraid it's just going to get unacceptably worse over the next several years.  For now, it's not great, but it's not a game changer for me.   I wouldn't let it affect your decision on whether you should do a China ABD.  Not yet at least.


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## DisFan10

Great pics, Cousin Orville!

Would you mind posting some pics of the Asian food selections at the Jing breakfast buffet?  We really loved the breakfast buffets there.

Also, are you planning to try any stinky tofu?


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## Calfan

Cousin Orville said:


> As far as heat, it's hot now in June.  I'm not sure if it gets hotter in July and Aug.  I would think so.  Due to school and other vacation plans we have during the year, summer is pretty much our only option.  Spring might be better temp wise, but I asked my guide when the worst pollution was and she said during winter and spring.  So, I dunno if there's a fall trip. Haha.  You know the heat is a fair price to pay for me.  We're going to Venice and Greece next month.  I'm sure it's going to be hot there too, but it will be worth it.  The only place I generally won't go during the summer is WDW.  Not going to do it...
> 
> Pollution.  A little worse today than yesterday.  We've got a nice room up pretty high, and this morning Gavin noticed it looking out over the city. Very very hazy. I bought 3M masks from Amazon just in case.  Haven't used them, and haven't seen anyone in masks either.  It's not that bad right now.   China is a place I've wanted to go for a while.. And I'm kind of afraid it's just going to get unacceptably worse over the next several years.  For now, it's not great, but it's not a game changer for me.   I wouldn't let it affect your decision on whether you should do a China ABD.  Not yet at least.



Thanks for the feedback. Much appreciated. How hot is hot?  Looking forward to more of your trip report.


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## Cousin Orville

Calfan said:


> Thanks for the feedback. Much appreciated. How hot is hot?  Looking forward to more of your trip report.



By mid afternoon it's been getting into the high 80s/low 90s.  Looking at the forecasts, Beijing seems to be the hottest city we're visiting.  Not sure if that's typically or not.


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## Cousin Orville

DisFan10 said:


> Great pics, Cousin Orville!
> 
> Would you mind posting some pics of the Asian food selections at the Jing breakfast buffet?  We really loved the breakfast buffets there.
> 
> Also, are you planning to try any stinky tofu?



What is sticky tofu?  Haven't heard of that.  I'll try to remember to take some pictures of breakfast.


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## DisFan10

Cousin Orville said:


> What is sticky tofu?  Haven't heard of that.  I'll try to remember to take some pictures of breakfast.



Stinky tofu is fermented tofu that is supposed to be quite stinky.  Andrew Zimmern of Bizarre Foods tried to eat some in Beijing and couldn't.  I guess it's an acquired taste...


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## Cousin Orville

DisFan10 said:


> Great pics, Cousin Orville!
> 
> Would you mind posting some pics of the Asian food selections at the Jing breakfast buffet?  We really loved the breakfast buffets there.
> 
> Also, are you planning to try any stinky tofu?



Sorry, I keep forgetting to grab some pictures.  They basically have dumplings, buns, fried rice, fried noodles.  It's not extensive.  The wester selections far outway the Asian options.


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## Cousin Orville

Day 1 Beijing

Today's our first official ABD day.  We're continuing our 2 day private tour at 8am, and plan to meet up with our guides in the afternoon.  Today we're heading to the Summer Palace followed by Beihai park.  The weather's nicer today.  Temperature is down, but still humid.  

The summer palace includes a massive park set upon a lake.  There were many student groups touring around as well and they loved to get pictures with Gavin and me... particularly Gavin.  It happened a bit in Vietnam, but seems much more common here in China.  It took Gavin a bit to get used to... Now I have a mini celebrity on my hands.  In a few more days, he'll probably come up with the idea to start charging for photos.  At the end of the palace, sits a big marble boat constructed a hundred yrs ago.  Obviously it doesn't really float.  It just sits there.  Long story, but essentially it's seen a monumental waste of precious money by the Chinese.  We took a "Dragon" boat back across the lake back to the entrance.  

On the way to Beihai park we were close to the Bird's Nest Olympic stadium, so Jessie, our guide, was nice enough to suggest we make a visit.  Well worth the stop.  (A couple days later ABD stopped at the Birds nest as well, but didn't get near as close or as good a picture).

Beihai park is slightly off the beaten path.  It's high on the list of tripadvisor attractions, but apparently according to Jessie not many westerners go there.  I didn't see any.  But they have one of the three Nine Dragons Screens.  One is in the Forbidden City.  I forget where the other is, but this is the only one that has a front and back.  It's absolutely beautiful.  It was a quick visit, probably took 30 minutes.  If you have a guide driving you around I recommend a quick stop.  As a geeky WDW aside, it is also seen in the Reflections of China movie in Epcot.  In fact the gate you walk through in the China pavilion is copied from a gate found in the Summer Palace.  

By this time it was 12:30.  Jessie would have gladly kept driving us around if we wanted, but Gavin needed a break so we decided to head back to the hotel and meet our ABD guides.  Christian and Steven are our guides.  They're awesome - no surprise.   We rested swam and Gavin wanted some mcdonalds so we walked back over to Wangfujing to grab a happy meal.  I hate mcdonalds - just don't like the food.  Gavin almost never goes there, but I think he just needed some comfort food.  It was a little tricky ordering the happy meal.  I almost ordered a massive family box of chicken fingers... like 10x as big as a happy meal.  They looked the same on the pictures.  Thankfully a local jumped in and helped me out.  

Dinner was a standard ABD intro dinner.  Nothing amazing, but it was of course fun to get everything started and meet fellow adventurers.  Our group is 36 I believe.  At the end of dinner they had a very mini Chinese Peking opera dance group preform for us.  It was a nice touch.  We were exhausted so we went straight to bed after dinner.


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## Cousin Orville

The Summer Palace















The famed Long Corridor in the Summer Palace





Detail of the Long Corridor















The infamous Marble Boat





A view from the Dragon Boat










The Nine Dragon Screen at Beihai park.  Isn't it awesome?!





Gavin proud of his four leaf clover find















The Macua Center near our hotel.  Awesome Portuguese-style tilework





Our welcome dinner


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## DisFan10

That's interesting.  It was the opposite when we were there (much more Asian selections).

By the way, great pics from your second day of private touring.  And I agree - Gavin should charge 10 yuan for each photo!  




Cousin Orville said:


> Sorry, I keep forgetting to grab some pictures.  They basically have dumplings, buns, fried rice, fried noodles.  It's not extensive.  The wester selections far outway the Asian options.


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## sayhello

Wonderful!  The Summer Palace looks really cool!

Is the Nine Dragon Screen painted or mosaic?  It's beautiful!

Sayhello


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## Cousin Orville

Day 2 Beijing

Our first full day.   Today we drove to one of Beijing's Hutongs - the traditional old style neighborhoods.  ABD arranged pedicab tour for us.  And thankfully it was a different Hutong than the one we visited on our own.  Both were very cool.  We all hopped in a pedicab and away we went riding through the narrow streets.  Three activities were arranged for us - Chinese knot making, the Chinese yo-yo, and paper cutting.  We split up so that each group could go into the local homes of each "master".  It was neat - if nothing else just to be able to see inside a Chinese home.  The activities were cool.  I'm not a huge fan of the ABD arts and crafts stuff, but they were fun.  You got a chance to be more immersed with the people, and it's a good balance with the major traditional tourist sites sites. 

Lunch was at the Noble House.  The first of many large, never ending family style Chinese meals.  There's so much food.  Most was very good.  I'm still hoping ABD keeps pushing forward offering better and better food.  I'm not disappointed by any of the meals so far.  They've all been fine (I'm writing this a couple days ahead), but The meals we've done on our own have been a bit better.  However, we're supposed to be hitting a few awesome restaurants later in the trip.  Excited!  After lunch it was back to the hotel for rest.

We rested and swam a bit prior to dinner.  Also headed over to Wangfujing one more time and walked down the alleyways through another street market.  There are two markets on Wangfujing as far as I know.  One is on the same street the Peninsula is and is only a night market serving all sorts of food.  It's probably the more well known street market  The other is right off the middle of the pedestrian Wangfujing.  It also had food stalls but also various other vendors selling sometimes interesting things... Often junk.  But it was fun to walk through.  

For dinner it was a group ABD dinner.  We boarded the coach and headed over to the Central Business District (CBT) to get to the Royal Restaurant.   It was a pretty restaurant.  They served Chinese food family style.  Again, the food never ended.  We also had a demonstration of how to properly serve Chinese tea and were given a sample.  It was a fun dinner.  They also gave everyone the option to dress up like a Chinese emperor.  Gavin looked like the last (child) emperor.  All great fun.  

Pictures to follow...


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## Cousin Orville

Home cooking... Not for us 










Practicing our knots.





The yo yo master





Lunch at the Noble House





Dinner and tea ceremony at the Royal Restaurant


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## DisFan10

Great pics and another very entertaining installment, Cousin Orville!

I think we had the same yo-yo master! LOL


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## Theta

Thank you for the review!  I am glued to it.
Are there any teens on your tour? I am wondering if my teens would enjoy this tour to China.


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## sayhello

More great pics!  I *love* the one of the 2 of you in costume!! 

Sayhello


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## magicgirl

Your pictures brought back so many memories as I was lucky enough to go on a trip to China last year.  It was the most amazing holiday.


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## disneyphx

Thanks for bringing back great memories! China was our first ABD and I loved every minute. I read your trip report before heading to SE Asia last year - enjoyed the report. So I am curious how you compare the two trips in the end.....
Our daughter is blond and was 5 on the China trip - lots and lots of photos were requested -  we figured out mainly by Chinese who are not from big cities.....she was almost mobbed in Shanghai. She  still  talks about it  "it was just because they don't see blonde hair Mom!"


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## Cousin Orville

Day 3 Beijing

Today is the big day! The Great Wall of China.  There's a couple different areas of the wall you can visit outside of Beijing.  We're going to the Mutianyu section of the wall which is farther away, but is much less crowded and is very dramatic with the wall climbing up and down the mountains.  Everyone on the trip was very excited to see one of their "bucket list" items.  It was a steep climb from the bus to the gondola which takes you up the mountain to he wall.  Then another long steep climb of the gondola to reach the top.  Incredible how they must have constructed it.   Walk out a ways and suddenly we're face to face with the wall. You can see it snaking up and down the mountains a long way off.  Christian and Steven took some pictures of us and let us explore a good long while.  No rush.  We walked around the wall, up into the towers.  Some were easier to climb than others, but it was all amazing.  This trip is full of remarkable sites, but certainly this is a highlight.

Afterwards we ate at the Schoolhouse - converted from an old schoolhouse.  Lunch was fine.  Nothing amazing. Pre ordered sandwiches, but well made.  After lunch and driving back to the hotel, we stopped off to see the Olympic stadium - the Bird's Nest.  The bus essentially stopped on the side of the road, we got out and took a pic of the stadium on the other side of the road partially blocked by another building.  The reason I mention it, is if you want to get a better view, you'll need to arrange a visit their on your own.  But it was a view that I think most ppl will be fine with.  After we got back, we rested for a couple hrs before going out to dinner on our own.

Speaking of dinner, tonight we're heading to Capital M.  Thanks Disfan10 for the suggestion.  It's higher end.  Owned by the same group that owns M on the Bund where we will be eating in Shanghai.  Capital M comes up on some pretty cool awards list.  One had it as one of the top 10 restaurants in Asia.   It was an adventure getting there.  I'll preface it by saying it was all worth it, but was an adventure getting there.  I was somewhat prepared for troubles because the reviews on tripadvisor mentioned similar issues.  I had a print off from the restaurant for directions and a map in Chinese to give to the driver.  I tried to use Uber again, but nothing was available, so we opted for a taxi.  The doorman at the peninsula asked where we were eating.  He speaks English well and we've had brief conversations in the past.  He seemed to know the restaurant and told the driver.  I confirmed with the doorman that the taxi driver knew the restaurant and I was assured he did... You can see where this is going.  Well thank goodness for international data plans and google maps.  I could tell he was turning north when he should have turned south.  Eventually he pulled over in a Hutong restaurant.  Definitely not Capital M.  Some guys sitting outside the restaurant came over and pointed to the restaurant showing the international sign for eating.  I showed the taxi driver my iPhone with google maps pulled up and indicated where I wanted to go.  Not here.  It's just south of Tienamen Square, so it should be easy.  In fact considering it's a major restaurant and has a prime location, I'm surprised it's not known by the taxi drivers.  For a moment I thought the driver and the guys outside the taxi were trying to convince us to eat there.  Maybe they were to some degree, but I think it was an honest mistake or miscommunication somewhere down the line. There was no way we were going to exit the cab.  I didn't see any other cabs around.  It would be a pain getting back.  After a couple minutes of looking at my phone and the Capital M print off, the driver eventually figured it out and started heading back in the right direction.  He drove past Tienamen which (history aside) looked amazing, and dropped us off a couple blocks from the restaurant.  Apparently the last block is pedestrian only.  That ended up not being 100% true, but i didn't want to push the issue.  I was happy to be so close.  I was prepared to pay some hefty cab fee, but it ended up being about $4.  Good.  With google maps we walked the rest of the way which took a couple minutes.  There is a major pedestrian area right by the restaurant which is actually pretty cool.  Wish we had gotten there earlier.  It's a reconstructed old Beijing street with complete streetcars.  It was a tiny bit like main st or more buena vista st... with the days gone by trolleys dinging up and down the street.  Unfortunately we were already 20 min late for our reservations so we had to go straight to Capital M.  It took a minute to find (again with the aid of google maps).  Finally we arrived on the third floor and were seated no problem.  They even saved us a table by the window which I requested.  They also have a balcony but it had been raining earlier. Surely it has one of the best views in Beijing.  It overlooks the Southern Gate  just south of Tienamen.  The gate is beautiful lit up at night.  The restaurant was full so reservations are a must.  And it is a bit fancy, but I don't think it's too upscale for kids.  In fact not only were there a few others families with young children, but they actually had a children's menu.  Gavin had chicken fingers, and I had a king prawn app and salted leg of lamb for my entree.  We took a break after dinner and stepped out onto the balcony and took some pictures of the beautifully lit up gate before going back in for a lemon soufflé.  (It wasn't really a soufflé... More of a light creamy almost mouse). Regardless, it was great.  Gavin loved it too.  Going back home was uneventful.  There were taxis right outside the restaurant and we just gave them our hotel card and off we went.  Now would I recommend others to do what we did? I think it depends on your comfort level of traveling.  It's probably not for the novice.  But had I insisted on giving the driver the map from capital m's website in the first place, I don't think we would have had a problem.  I also still think anyone needs an international data plan for their phone if they do really anything away from the group for google maps.  You have that and you're covered.  Awesome awesome meal. I hope m on the Bund is as good. P Oh, we also saw a Chinese man proposing to his girlfriend at the table next to ours as we were being shown our table.  I saw him get down on one knee and hold up the ring as we approached.  So I held Gavin back a bit before getting to our table to not spoil the moment for him.  He had a violinist playing and she said yes.  Everyone clapped.  It was really cool.  We spoke to Steven later about it and he was surprised to hear they were Chinese as Chinese generally do not propose.  Anyway, all things considered it was a great day.  More pictures to come.


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## Cousin Orville

Theta said:


> Thank you for the review!  I am glued to it.
> Are there any teens on your tour? I am wondering if my teens would enjoy this morning.



Thanks for the kind words. There are many teens from 13 up to 18 on our trip.  Everyone seems to be having a great time.    (Gavin told me this deserves a happy face on the beach).  I'm sure your teens would love it.  We're in Chengdu as I type this and so far there's really been a nice variety of activities.


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## Cousin Orville

disneyphx said:


> Thanks for bringing back great memories! China was our first ABD and I loved every minute. I read your trip report before heading to SE Asia last year - enjoyed the report. So I am curious how you compare the two trips in the end.....
> Our daughter is blond and was 5 on the China trip - lots and lots of photos were requested -  we figured out mainly by Chinese who are not from big cities.....she was almost mobbed in Shanghai. She  still  talks about it  "it was just because they don't see blonde hair Mom!"



I'm sure I'll give a comparison at the end since there's several similarities and I'm sure many people will be looking and considering both.... Long flights, Asia, 12 days.  Big ticket items to see like the Great Wall and Ankor Wat.  So far I'm having a blast here in China and feel that they're both equally fun, but full of amazing differences.


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## Cousin Orville




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## DisFan10

You're very welcome, Cousin Orville!  I'm glad you enjoyed Capital M, but what an ordeal getting there!  It probably wasn't funny for you at the time, but your story made me laugh.  I guess you now know how an Amazing Race team feels when they get a clueless taxi driver.  

Great pics at the Great Wall!  Did you guys learn how to make noodles at the Schoolhouse?


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## Calfan

Love the Great Wall pics.  Gave me goosebumps.  This trip is definitely making its way back to the top of my must-do ABD list.


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## Cousin Orville

DisFan10 said:


> You're very welcome, Cousin Orville!  I'm glad you enjoyed Capital M, but what an ordeal getting there!  It probably wasn't funny for you at the time, but your story made me laugh.  I guess you now know how an Amazing Race team feels when they get a clueless taxi driver.
> 
> Great pics at the Great Wall!  Did you guys learn how to make noodles at the Schoolhouse?



Haha! It was exactly like a scene out of amazing race except I was lucky enough to have google maps on my phone.

We did not see the noodle making experience.... Next time.


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## Cousin Orville

Day 4 Beijing to Chengdu

So today we leave Beijing, but not before visiting another bucket list site - the Forbidden City and Tienamen Square.  This trip is jam packed with places I've been longing to see including these two.  We started off in the morning in Tienamen Square.  This is very close to the 25th anniversary so it was interesting to be here today.  If you do go on this trip I recommend reading up on 20th century Chinese history.  It's a little complicated with its rise of the Communitst party, occupation during WWII, civil war, significant issues in the 50's and 60's, and eventual transition to this balance of communism and capitalism.   However, it helps give perspective of what's going on today.   Anyway... Security was very tight.  The normal entrance into the square ABD takes suddenly closed and we were told to (semi) rush down to the next entrance before it closed.  It was open, but you had to enter through security.  Some people had to have bags checked.  Some had to drink from their water bottles to prove they're safe.  Once we got in it was fine.  There were lots of soldiers and police officers (obvious and not obvious). But otherwise as long as you were not doing anything crazy it was nice place to walk around.  There were many tourists looking around - mostly other Chinese.  There were few if any other Westerners.  We walked through the square down to the other side towards Mao's portrait and the Forbidden City. 

The Forbidden City was spectacular and immense.  We walked through all the major courtyards passing by buildings of increasing importance.  You can tell the importance by the number of mini mythical creatures resting on the corners of the roofs.  5 for accessory imperial personal, 7 for the empress and 9 (the most powerful number) for the emperor.  All the roofs are golden to symbolize the emperor's direct ties to the heavens.  It's an impressive home.  In the forbidden city is another 9 Dragon screen.  There 3 Nine Dragon Screens (Beihai Park, Forbidden City, and one in another city).  The two we had a chance to see were beautiful, but the Beihai Park screen was the best.  It's actually has two sides (front/back) and the ceramic work is more polished.  Anyway, the Forbidden City is gorgeous and has been another highlight.  By the way today was beautiful.  It rained a bit last night... Not bad, but it must have "washes away" the pollution haze.  Temperature has been pretty good too.

For lunch we went to a local restaurant and had another family style Chinese meal.  This included Peking duck.  Not quite up there with Made in China or Huang Ting, but still tasty.  After lunch was the flight the Chengdu.

Once in Chengdu, we went straight to dinner.  Chengdu is the capital of Szechuan province know for their spicy food.  I was still full from lunch, but sampled most of what was offered.  At the end of dinner Christian passed around the tongue numbing peppers for anyone who wanted to try.  Sounds spicy hot right?  That's what I thought.  Basically you put these small peppers under your tongue and a minute later your tongue starts to tingle and go a little numb.  Reminded me of pop rocks.  Not exactly the same, but much closer to that than some ridiculously hot pepper.  Most everyone over 10yo tried it.

We finally arrived at the Ritz Carlton in Chengdu.  It's atop a high rise building..  Floors 23-41.  The hotel is beautiful.  All marble floors imported from Italy or so we were told.  The rooms are amazing.  Wifi relability was mixed.  The views from the room were awesome.  You could see the lit up bustling city below with all the other high rises with their own light show.  One of the buildings had a light show that looked like rain was falling down its sides.  Another had multicolors dancing around.  Another had large lit up Chinese characters scrolling down the side.  Gavin was dying to go swim, so we went to the pool.  Like the rooms, it overlooked beautiful lit up Chengdu.  The one weird thing is they require you where a swim cap.  They have washed swim caps you can borrow... But still annoying.  The swim was really cool though.

Pictures coming up next...


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## Cousin Orville

The Nine Dragon Screen










Carving the Peking Duck





Arriving in Chengdu


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## sayhello

Wow!  The view from your hotel room is just amazing!!!  Did you get any video of the light shows?  

You're definitely bumping this trip back up to the top of my "must do" list!

Sayhello


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## DisFan10

Great pics, Cousin Orville!  I'm surprised to see that Beijing actually has days with clear and sunny skies.

I love reading your descriptive and detailed posts.  Do you take notes during the day?

Also, can you post a pic of your Adventure Guides?  Thanks!


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## minniebeth

Following along on your trip report--
What an amazing trip! Thanks so much for taking the time to share it!


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## Cousin Orville

DisFan10 said:


> Great pics, Cousin Orville!  I'm surprised to see that Beijing actually has days with clear and sunny skies.
> 
> I love reading your descriptive and detailed posts.  Do you take notes during the day?
> 
> Also, can you post a pic of your Adventure Guides?  Thanks!



On page 2, post 25 third picture down is Christian in the pedicab taking a picture of me.  The girl with him I believe was a brief step on guide to help translate just for the Hutong when we split up into smaller groups.  

Steven is pictured on this page (3rd pg) post 39, second picture leading us through Tienamen Sq.

I know it's cliche to say this on this ABD forum, but the Christian and Steven have been awesome.  I'm sure any tour group cam take you to china, but only Adventures by Disney has ABD guides.  Considering the difficulty and odds of becoming an ABD guide in Disney, these guys are like the Top Guns of Disney cast members.

Disfan, yeah day was surprising blue and you could see clouds!  And I do take brief notes, but just about the order and times we did things.  The rest I rely from my pictures and what I remember.  I'm only a few days ahead now in Guilin.. So it's not too difficult.


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## Cousin Orville

sayhello said:


> Wow!  The view from your hotel room is just amazing!!!  Did you get any video of the light shows?
> 
> You're definitely bumping this trip back up to the top of my "must do" list!
> 
> Sayhello



I always forget video.  I even got a bigger SS card for my camera to encourage me to take more video..  But it doesn't work.


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## sayhello

Cousin Orville said:


> I always forget video.  I even got a bigger SS card for my camera to encourage me to take more video..  But it doesn't work.


  We'll get you to do video yet!  

Sayhello


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## basas

Great trip report!

I was really hoping to do the China trip last year, but as a solo traveler the cost was simply too much. Maybe one day... 

Thanks for all the photos!


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## calypso726

Wonderful trip report! 

We are torn between this one and South Africa for our next "big ABD" trip in 2016/17? Loving the pictures and your descriptions! Thank you for posting. I'll be following along.


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## Cousin Orville

basas said:


> Great trip report!
> 
> I was really hoping to do the China trip last year, but as a solo traveler the cost was simply too much. Maybe one day...
> 
> Thanks for all the photos!



Thanks!  What's the solo additional price now a days?  40-50%?  I'm doing the Backstage magic this December solo but I can't remember what the price difference was.  Certainly not as significant doing a solo trip 12 day trip.


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## Cousin Orville

calypso726 said:


> Wonderful trip report!
> 
> We are torn between this one and South Africa for our next "big ABD" trip in 2016/17? Loving the pictures and your descriptions! Thank you for posting. I'll be following along.



Thanks.  Yes I'd love to do South Africa, but I don't think Gavin is ready for the back to back early mornings.  We're going to do Australia next.


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## alagille

How old is Gavin? We have 8&5 now, ready for first ABD next month in Arizona. Just wondering about kid touring stamina.


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## Cousin Orville

alagille said:


> How old is Gavin? We have 8&5 now, ready for first ABD next month in Arizona. Just wondering about kid touring stamina.



9.  We stared when he was 7 in France although he traveled with us (non ABD before that).  I think it just depends on personality.  Out of France, SE Asia, and China, I haven't seen children younger than 7 or 8, but I would imagine domestic ABDs would have more young children.


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## sayhello

Cousin Orville said:


> Thanks!  What's the solo additional price now a days?  40-50%?  I'm doing the Backstage magic this December solo but I can't remember what the price difference was.  Certainly not as significant doing a solo trip 12 day trip.


The single supplement for ABD still seems to be 40% of the per person double occupancy price.  That's been the percentage since I started doing ABDs in 2008.  Proportionately much cheaper than solo cruising in that respect, which is an extra 100% of the per person double occupancy price (less port fees).  That has changed considerably since 2010, when it was about 55%.

Sayhello


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## Cousin Orville

sayhello said:


> The single supplement for ABD still seems to be 40% of the per person double occupancy price.  That's been the percentage since I started doing ABDs in 2008.  Proportionately much cheaper than solo cruising in that respect, which is an extra 100% of the per person double occupancy price (less port fees).  That has changed considerably since 2010, when it was about 55%.
> 
> Sayhello



That's completely understandable as you're occupying a full room but in all other aspects you're just one person.  For cruising I guess it all comes down to the market.  There are only so many rooms, and if a solo traveler doesn't want to pay full price, they can find a family that does.

I guess I'll go out on a limb and say I think ABD China is still worth it traveling solo (regarding the $ supplement) particularly for a woman (regarding safety).  I don't think China is as easily navigatable especially if you want to go to Chengdu, Xi'an and Guilin, which are absolutely worth visiting.  The language barrier is steep.  Very few few people outside of the hotel speak English.  Less than any other country I've visited come to think of it.  I'm sure solo traveling can be done, but it may come with some unwanted stress.  I'm sitting here in the Guilin Shangri La about to go to the airport about to catch a flight to Shanghai.  My stress = 0.  If our flight is late or (knock in wood) cancelled which seems to happen more often in china, my stress will still be 0.  Well maybe it would be a 1, but I'm a worrier.


----------



## Cousin Orville

Day 5 Chengdu

Today was panda day.   Breakfast was a large buffet similar to the Peninsula's except even better.  Plus, being up on the 25th floor there was a great view over Chengdu.

We headed to the Panda Research Station.  There's a big LCD screen outside the gates showing Kung Fu Panda.  We teased Christian about wanting to stay and watch the (dreamworks) movie.  The Research park was prettier than I excepted.  We walked through the park to view 5 pandas grouped together munching on bamboo and playing around.  It was very cool to see so many together.  I've seen a couple over in San Diego, but this was a lot more impressive.  We were close to them as well.  The ABD group then split up.  We we're given the option earlier on in the trip to hold the pandas.  The guides discuss it privately with the heads of each house to minimize disappointment or pressure from children because it's quite expensive.  2000rmd per person.  About $322.  About half the group opted to do it and half didn't.  Gavin and I did it.  They gave us a lanyard and a time to return at which point we walked around and saw 2 more pandas.  Apparently there were 10 in total that some people saw.  Our time had come for holding the pandas.  An assistant took us around as a small group and discussed how they prepare the panda's food.  They took us in another room and discussed taking care of baby pandas with videos and pictures.  Then we went into the room where we could see others holding the pandas.  You have to first put on blue gowns, shoe coverings, and plastic gloves to protect the pandas.  I held the pandas first to convince Gavin they were perfectly safe.  Then the attendants had Gavin join me so we could sit together.  Then got the chance to sit with the panda himself.  The panda just sits there eating bamboo occasionally moving around slight to see what's going on.  The attendants are taking pictures like paparazzi.   It was really an amazing experience and I recommend it.  I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would.  If you want to do it be sure to bring cash.  No credit cards allowed.  And of course bring your camera.  They give you a nicely framed photo and some other swag.  We walked around a bit more and hit the gift shop.

After we got back to the hotel we had an optional Kung fu show.  It was lots of fun.  Everyone had a chance to practice some moves with and without the stick.  They had some challenges and announced a few winners.  Gavin won one of the stick fighting challenges where he swirled the stick around his sides like a baton.  He was very excited.  Then they posed us with the masters for some fun photos.  Each family was posed differently.  A lot of them were very cool.

Afterwards, Gavin and I walked down a couple blocks to the Starbucks where Gavin and I got a snack and I picked up a Chengdu mug.

That night dinner was paid for by ABD but was on your own.  It was at the buffet restaurant Spices at the Ritz.  I'm normally not a buffet fan, but it was very good.  They had lots of different cuisines.  We finished up dinner and met in the lobby to go to an evening Tea House and see a face changing opera... Both popular in Chengdu.  When looking at the activities before the trip this was not necessarily something I was particularly excited about, but it was really great.  Pictures will better show how everything is set up, but essentially it's a very traditional looking outdoor theater.  There you sit next to a side table with tea.  Then while sipping tea we watched a variety show.  Masters of puppetry, traditional Chinese musical instruments, shadow puppets, and the face changing opera performed in different acts.  It was a pleasant surprise how amazing all the acts were and generally how relaxing and pleasant the night was.  There was a nice breeze blowing  through as well.  You also had the option to get a body massage either before the show or during the show.  You sit there off to the side where you can still see the show well and get your massage.  I did this and it was nice - a tiny bit rough.  It was a bit different from what I'm typically used to (a Swedish massage) but still good.  Some felt it was a little rough, but I think most enjoyed it.  You can also get an ear massage famous in Chengdu.  They massage your ears and clean them out essentially.  I did the body massage, but not the ear massage.  Several on the group did the ear massage and liked it.  It was a late night and the next day would prove to be a very early morning...  Overall I really enjoyed our time in Chengdu.


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## Cousin Orville




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## sayhello

I would never do China on my own!  When I go (maybe 2016?) I will definitely go with ABD!

Chengdu sounds like one of the highlights to me!    I'd just have to hold the pandas!  And I've heard amazing things about the face changing operas.  

Wonderful pics!  Makes me want to get on a plane and go now!  

Sayhello


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## DisFan10

Great pics as usual, Cousin Orville!  Aren't those pandas just TOO cute??

Besides the Great Wall, I think the highlight of the trip for us was holding the panda cub.  I'm glad you decided to splurge and do it too.  I mean, where else in the world can you hold a real live panda, right??  I recall paying about $150 USD, so they've doubled the fee since we went.  But then, we didn't get a framed photo or other swag.

A little off-topic, but I noticed that the China AbD now has a "multi-generational" departure in addition to the "Adults Only" trips.  I guess this means that only families with kids and grandparents can book that departure. I'm not sure how they would handle all of the connecting room requests on THAT departure...


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## Cousin Orville

DisFan10 said:


> Great pics as usual, Cousin Orville!  Aren't those pandas just TOO cute??
> 
> Besides the Great Wall, I think the highlight of the trip for us was holding the panda cub.  I'm glad you decided to splurge and do it too.  I mean, where else in the world can you hold a real live panda, right??  I recall paying about $150 USD, so they've doubled the fee since we went.  But then, we didn't get a framed photo or other swag.
> 
> A little off-topic, but I noticed that the China AbD now has a "multi-generational" departure in addition to the "Adults Only" trips.  I guess this means that only families with kids and grandparents can book that departure. I'm not sure how they would handle all of the connecting room requests on THAT departure...



Yes the fees have gone up considerably!  I think it was around 1200 last year.  Still no shortage of guests signing up to hold the cuddly pandas.  They say the money goes to research and the pandas.  The facilities are quite nice, so I'm willing to believe it.

I'm not quite sure what the difference between "normal" ABD's abd multi generational ABD's. The existing trips are already well set up for multigenerational guests...


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## alagille

Cousin Orville said:


> 9.  We stared when he was 7 in France although he traveled with us (non ABD before that).  I think it just depends on personality.  Out of France, SE Asia, and China, I haven't seen children younger than 7 or 8, but I would imagine domestic ABDs would have more young children.




Love seeing your trip report. Am trying to convince dh that he REALLY does want to go to Australia but all he keeps saying is "it's 20 hours on a plane..."   How do you and your son handle the flight times. I think I'd physically have to tranquilize one or more of the boys. If I could just GET them there, it would be a blast.


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## Cousin Orville

alagille said:


> Love seeing your trip report. Am trying to convince dh that he REALLY does want to go to Australia but all he keeps saying is "it's 20 hours on a plane..."   How do you and your son handle the flight times. I think I'd physically have to tranquilize one or more of the boys. If I could just GET them there, it would be a blast.



Try not to think about the plane ride.  It's not as bad as it seems.  Get to your destination a couple days early to relax.  My son brings his iPad and he's fine.  It's a long trip, but it's worth it.


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## tsgirl

Wow! So happy to be able to follow along with you. Gavin has gotten so big since France! Once your trip is all done, I'd love to hear your overall review of the food. I know we discussed the ABD food choices when we were on the same trip.


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## Theta

Thanks so much for the daily reports.  They are great.  We are thoroughly enjoying the pictures.  We too are between China and southeast Asia tour.  I will be glued to your comparison when the time comes.


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## Cousin Orville

tsgirl said:


> Wow! So happy to be able to follow along with you. Gavin has gotten so big since France! Once your trip is all done, I'd love to hear your overall review of the food. I know we discussed the ABD food choices when we were on the same trip.



Yep... I still think ABD needs to place more emphasis on higher quality restaurants, but overall I think the SE Asia and China adventures are better than France was 2 yrs ago.  I'll keep reviewing them.


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## carpenta

tsgirl said:


> Wow! So happy to be able to follow along with you. Gavin has gotten so big since France! Once your trip is all done, I'd love to hear your overall review of the food. I know we discussed the ABD food choices when we were on the same trip.



 We travel both with ABD as well as another similar company and ABD could not compete with the food choices offered by the competition.......For the high price you pay I do wish ABD would "up" their food quality offerings. I love your review(s) Cousin Orville but I was disappointed that ABD did not speak of the up charge for the Panda holding before the tour. 300+ bucks is a lot for us and I would feel a lot of pressure if our daughter wanted to sit. A thought would be to discuss the offering the night before and break up the group accordingly. But keep up the great work and thanks again.


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## Cousin Orville

carpenta said:


> We travel both with ABD as well as another similar company and ABD could not compete with the food choices offered by the competition.......For the high price you pay I do wish ABD would "up" their food quality offerings. I love your review(s) Cousin Orville but I was disappointed that ABD did not speak of the up charge for the Panda holding before the tour. 300+ bucks is a lot for us and I would feel a lot of pressure if our daughter wanted to sit. A thought would be to discuss the offering the night before and break up the group accordingly. But keep up the great work and thanks again.



They can't.  Disney is a member of the zoological association that does not allow this holding of pandas activity.  So they're not allowed to advertise it.  You won't see it in any marketing.  But you're going to the panda research center and they know people want to take part, so (to paraphrase what someone else said in another china trip report) they take off their Disney hat and tell only the adults of this option secretly.  This was on the first full day, and they let us know the price then.  Obviously nothing they can do about how much the center charges.  You pay the Panda center directly.  And even if you opt not to do it, you still see lots if not more pandas.  Half did it.  Half didn't.  I didn't see anyone disappointed either way.  At least one family let their younger children do it on their own.  The major activity of course is just seeing the pandas.  Holding one is a relatively short (yet cool) extra activity.

Food quality wise... It's a bit hit or miss.  I haven't written about xi'an yet... And I'll rip them one for that, but otherwise I'd rank our dinners good to excellent.  For me the issue is more of the sit down dinners should be very good to excellent rather than just good.  In France 2 yrs ago,  I'd rank it mediocre to good.  Memory is slipping, but I don't remember anything excellent.  Anyway, that's a soapbox I'm sure I'll get on again, before this trip report is done.  Suffice it to say for now, I've happy with our meals in china, but there is room for them to improve.  

What ABD's were you on that you thought the meals were not as good as they should have been?


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## Cousin Orville

tsgirl said:


> Wow! So happy to be able to follow along with you. Gavin has gotten so big since France! Once your trip is all done, I'd love to hear your overall review of the food. I know we discussed the ABD food choices when we were on the same trip.



Absolutely.  I'll let you know.  Good to hear from you.


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## Cousin Orville

Day 6 Chengdu to Guilin via Xi'an

Today is unlike any other day on any other Adventure by Disney as far as I know.  We are flying out of Chengdu, stopping in Xi'an to see the Terra Cotta Warriors and then flying to Guilin in the same day.  So this will be a long day.  We woke up early to grab breakfast and then headed to the airport.  We said good bye to our step on guide and flew to Xi'an.  The flight was an 1 hour and 10 minutes.  We arrived in Xi'an around 9:15am and met our next, brief step on guide, Yale ("don't call me Harvard").  We headed to lunch at a nice hotel.  And this is where it went down hill briefly.

It was a 4 course lunch with a choice of fish, chicken, or lasagna.  So problem #1 is why are we having a 4 course lunch especially on a day like today?  I'm into nice meals, but there's a time and place for them.  When we're flying from Chengdu to Xi'an to see the Terra Cotta Warriors and then on the Guilin, this is not the day for a leisurely paced meal.  Problem #2 is it took even longer than expected.   It was obvious the restaurant was unprepared for us.  We preordered our entrée earlier.  The salad, soup, and desert was all the same.   Yet it took 2 hours for the meal averaging 30 minutes between each course.  There was one waitress (rarely I saw one other guy) and our two wonderful guides and the step on guides were working hard serving us our plates which should not be their responsibility.  The restaurant clearly forgot we were coming.  Problem #3 is the food was just ok.   For a restaurant presenting itself as a slightly higher end restaurant with a multi course lunch, the food just didn't hold up.  Honestly, I understand it takes time for ABD to find a new restaurant that meets Disney standards of cleanliness and can accommodate up to 40 ppl, but there has to be something better in all of Xi'an.  ABD needs to take their budget for this meal, split it, and apply some to a quicker, less fancy, better tasting restaurant that appreciates the business and the rest to increase quality at one of the in Beijing restaurants.  In Beijing, they should do the first meal in the Royal restaurant (that was very good), and the second night go to a higher quality restaurant - maybe Capital M.  Anyway back to Xi'an.  Thank God for Christian and Steven.  If it weren't for these two saints, we'd probably still be there waiting for our crummy food.

I was worried we wouldn't have much time with the Terra Cotta Warriors.  But we had plenty of time.  They took us into Pit 1 and it was incredible.  This was the archaeological discovery ( in the 1970's) of the century.  Easily another ridiculous highlight of the trip and well worth the energy to go to Xi'an just for the day.  The guides took us around to the side where we could get great family pictures.  They were awesome in politely moving other visitors away so we could get a good shot.  Steven really spent some quality time in answering Gavin's endless supply of questions.  He basically walked Gavin around and explained everything.  Christian has done the same .... Amazing guides.  Each of the soldiers is unique and there are 6000 of them.  Only a couple thousand have been reconstructed so far.  You can see where the archeologist are working on the others... And you can see were more are buried yet to be unearthed.  We went to Pit 2, also very large, but it doesn't have a lot of reconstructed soldiers yet, and Pit 3 - the smaller command center has officers and horses.  They also have areas where you can get up close to see the warriors behind glass.  It was amazing.  We did get plenty of time there to walk around on our own.  Afterwards we met up at the shop... (I bought a couple of nice soldiers and a coffee table book signed by one of the farmers who discovered them in the 70s) and the guides bought ice cream for us.

We then headed back to the airport and on to Guilin.  Dinner was a boxed sandwich we could take on the plane.  And that's totally fine as far as I'm concerned.  Today's lunch, no.  A boxed lunch due to traveling and inaccessible clean restaurants is totally understandable.  I got tuna.  It was good.  The flight was 1hr 45min.  We got in after dark and headed to our hotel, the Shangri La.  Very nice hotel.  I sent off some laundry which came back nice and neat the next day.  We had a lovely room.  The evening was too dark to see outside, but that would all change tomorrow morning.

Lunch aside, it was a great day and I'm thankful ABD took us on this amazing race style day to stop off in Xi'an and see the Warriors.


----------



## Cousin Orville




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## DisFan10

Wow, great pics Cousin Orville!  Those terra cotta warriors are amazing.  I've heard that the gift shop sells full-size terra cotta warriors.  Did you happen to notice what the price is for something like that?

I totally agree with you about the restaurant experience in Xian.  AbD needs to review their meal arrangements on this particular day and adjust accordingly.  I wonder if previous departures experienced the same problem with slow service and mediocre food at this restaurant.  If they did, I'm surprised AbD hasn't made any changes.


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## pxlbarrel

Wonderful trip report.  It's bringing back fantastic memories from our ABD trip 2 years ago.  The order of stuff in Beijing seems to have been changed but still the same good stuff....same yoyo master too!!!

Funny you mention the food in X'ian.  I have to say that the meals were very hit and miss. LOL  What we got in X'ian, 2 years ago, were sandwiches from Starbucks.    And later on, our lunches in Guilin were tuna sandwiches and then one meal was a very dry chicken sandwich.  My issue was the fast food nature of some of the meals that wasn't even on par with ... umm... fast food restaurants.  Maybe enough people complained and that's why you got a sit down hot meal.   Ooops...sorry!!!!

We love Stephen!!!!!!  He shadowed our group.  Say hello for me (the sister of the guy who had to go to every Hooters in China ... he'll know ...)  Our group nicknamed him Jackie Chan.    He helped me walk down a section of Great Wall that I was a little scared about ... about falling off the edge to my death (I have a thing with heights).

Man, I need to go on another ABD.  Some day ... some day.... good times.


----------



## Cousin Orville

DisFan10 said:


> Wow, great pics Cousin Orville!  Those terra cotta warriors are amazing.  I've heard that the gift shop sells full-size terra cotta warriors.  Did you happen to notice what the price is for something like that?
> 
> I totally agree with you about the restaurant experience in Xian.  AbD needs to review their meal arrangements on this particular day and adjust accordingly.  I wonder if previous departures experienced the same problem with slow service and mediocre food at this restaurant.  If they did, I'm surprised AbD hasn't made any changes.



They do have the huge full sized warriors.  They will ship them, but no idea how much.  Thousands I'm sure.   Apparently the quality of the warriors you buy at the official shop is much higher than the ones you see being sold in the markets.


----------



## Cousin Orville

pxlbarrel said:


> Wonderful trip report.  It's bringing back fantastic memories from our ABD trip 2 years ago.  The order of stuff in Beijing seems to have been changed but still the same good stuff....same yoyo master too!!!
> 
> Funny you mention the food in X'ian.  I have to say that the meals were very hit and miss. LOL  What we got in X'ian, 2 years ago, were sandwiches from Starbucks.    And later on, our lunches in Guilin were tuna sandwiches and then one meal was a very dry chicken sandwich.  My issue was the fast food nature of some of the meals that wasn't even on par with ... umm... fast food restaurants.  Maybe enough people complained and that's why you got a sit down hot meal.   Ooops...sorry!!!!
> 
> We love Stephen!!!!!!  He shadowed our group.  Say hello for me (the sister of the guy who had to go to every Hooters in China ... he'll know ...)  Our group nicknamed him Jackie Chan.    He helped me walk down a section of Great Wall that I was a little scared about ... about falling off the edge to my death (I have a thing with heights).
> 
> Man, I need to go on another ABD.  Some day ... some day.... good times.



I remember reading your trip report.  It was actually very influential in my decision to do the China ABD.  I was planning on mentioning it in an upcoming post.

That's interesting about the xi'an change.  I guess they need a middle ground... For example the restaurants we went to when we first arrived in Hanoi and later Luang Prabang were not as fancy but I think the food was better, and it was more efficient.  And I'm guessing it was cheaper.  I think ABD is trying...  They just need to keep working at it.  As an aside their hotel changes have been very impressive recently.. At least china,  the recently added the ritz in Chengdu which was amazing and next year they're changing to the Peninsula in Hong Kong which is arguably the best hotel I'm the city.   I'm jealous.  I just think they need to work on some of the meals.  I could be in the minority but I'd rather pay more for better food.  We do have a couple of outstanding meals coming up though.


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## sayhello

Fabulous, Kevin!  I must admit, the Terra Cotta soldiers would be my main reason for going to China!  The whole idea just fascinates me!  Great pictures.  (The itinerary did not originally include the Terra Cotta soldiers, and I really didn't consider the trip until they added it!)  

I think ABD does better when they stick to local mom-and-pop restaurants.  In Greece, almost all of our lunches and dinners were at local tavernas, and although the dishes became a bit repetitive, nobody I know of complained because there was always a large selection, and it was all delicious!  Definitely the best food I've had on an ABD.  I do think it's the biggest area for improvement that they have.

Sayhello


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## pxlbarrel

Cousin Orville said:


> I remember reading your trip report.  It was actually very influential in my decision to do the China ABD.  I was planning on mentioning it in an upcoming post.
> 
> That's interesting about the xi'an change.  I guess they need a middle ground... For example the restaurants we went to when we first arrived in Hanoi and later Luang Prabang were not as fancy but I think the food was better, and it was more efficient.  And I'm guessing it was cheaper.  I think ABD is trying...  They just need to keep working at it.  As an aside their hotel changes have been very impressive recently.. At least china,  the recently added the ritz in Chengdu which was amazing and next year they're changing to the Peninsula in Hong Kong which is arguably the best hotel I'm the city.   I'm jealous.  I just think they need to work on some of the meals.  I could be in the minority but I'd rather pay more for better food.  We do have a couple of outstanding meals coming up though.



I think the best meal is yet to come ... Shanghai .. dumplings...mmmmmm... I enjoyed that one VERY MUCH. LOL

I saw that the Peninsula is now the hotel in Hong Kong for upcoming trips.  I mentioned this to my dad and his eyes grew big.  (He's from HK so the Peninsula is a big thing to him...)  But we had such a great hotel room at the Shangri-la with the view of the harbour and I reminded him of that AND the fact that the Peninsula is soooo old, you never know with old hotels.   LOL Well, I tried to make him feel better. hahahahaha

The thing about the food is they are trying very hard to find places in China that won't make us sick.  They send the guides there in advance to scout out the restaurant kitchens and I think they're very much paranoid about the hygiene.  I'm grateful for that but at the same time, in China, I'd rather have the local food than a tuna sandwich.  (I still joke with our guide about the tuna sandwiches...)

BTW, my highlight was the pandas.  No way, no how was anything going to stop me from holding one.


----------



## pxlbarrel

BTW, could you post another photo of Stephen? My mom would love to see how he's doing these days. LOL


----------



## DisFan10

Cousin Orville, I was wondering... did you get to actually hold the panda cub in your lap?  Or were you only allowed to sit next to the panda?

Also, who is that gentleman taking a nap in your last pic?  Was he your motorcoach driver? LOL


----------



## Cousin Orville

DisFan10 said:


> Cousin Orville, I was wondering... did you get to actually hold the panda cub in your lap?  Or were you only allowed to sit next to the panda?
> 
> Also, who is that gentleman taking a nap in your last pic?  Was he your motorcoach driver? LOL



No we just sat beside him.  Right before I sat down,  a handler picked up the previous panda and carried him away.  A few minutes later a new panda came out.  For both pandas, everyone I saw was sitting next to them.  I didn't see anyone hold them in their laps.  Don't know if that's new policy or if ours were too heavy.  Still a great experience.

He was someone taking a nap outside the terra cotta museum shop.  Maybe someone's driver.  Whoever he was, it looked like he was having a nice nap.

Also someone asked about the weather on this trip.  Other than the hot first couple of days in Beijing, the weather has been pretty good.


----------



## loop

Thank you for sharing your trip report here. China is on my list of countries I'd like to visit, and your posts (thanks for posting such great pictures!) are making it harder for me to wait. It looks like you and your son are having a blast.


----------



## Cousin Orville

Day 7 Guilin

As you all know, once you've decided to take an ABD tour, it's often a tough choice to pick which one.  We probably had 3 or 4 top itineraries in the running and certainly China was one of them.  But if there was one thing that tipped the scale for us, it some pictures from pxlbarrel's trip report a couple of years ago.  Particularly her pictures from Guilin and the Gumdrop Mountains.  That was something I had never heard of before and unlike anything I had ever seen.

The night before it was raining a bit and it was very humid, although the temperature was fine.  I think everyone was a little concerned we'd see the mountains.  Our local guide assured us it was not necessarily a bad thing.  Guilin after the rain is the best time to see the Li River.  As long as it the rain does stop.  Our local guide said she say a little prayer for us.  So that morning we opened our curtain to find.... Lots and lots of condensation outside the window and a strong fog or mist.  Through all that you could make out the closer mountains and they did look pretty.  Hopefully the mist will rise a bit.

We headed down to breakfast.  Another great buffet.  They had a rice noodle station (popular in this area) and many western options.  Today I stuck with eggs and bacon.  We then met in the lobby to board the bus to the Li River. 

We lucked out because the river water level was high from recent rain so we had to begin our trip a spot farther away from the typical starting point.  This means that we'd see more of the river.  The current was faster so I'm guessing it wasn't any more time on the boat.  We boarded a boat all to ourselves.  Down the river we would pass other boats that were very full.  We had lots of freedom to move around from one side of the boat to the other.  The drizzle had pretty much stopped.  The mist had thinned out just enough and the Gum Drop mountains were amazing.  They did not disappoint one bit.  It's like an impressionistic Chinese landscape painting come to life.  One of the most beautiful places I've ever been.  The cruise seemed close to 3 hours.  We brought on our boxed lunches.  The crew typically cooks food for the passengers, but the water they use is questionable, so Disney plays it safe.  The food was fine.  I had tuna again.  Towards the end of the trip, they also served snake wine.  I tried it in Vietnam.  It was nasty there; it was nasty here.  But I tried it.

After disembarking we walked through the crazy riverside bazaar to our next meeting point - a relatively quieter market.  The guides gave us each 20rmd (about $3) and were tasked to bargain for a white elephant gift.  So we hunted up and down the the market stalls for that perfect gift.  I found a calligrapher who agreed to write Adventures by Disney in Chinese on a fan.  It was actually really well done.  I was quite proud of my find.  I ended up buying a second one for myself.  Gavin found a Chinese knot.. One of those tassel things that you might find hanging from a rear view mirror or tacked to a wall.  He still had 5 left over so he bought some small toy to add to it.  A few of the kids did something similar.  Christian later would open and pull out each bag's content.  "But wait.... there's more..."  Too funny.  Afterwards we headed back to the hotel and rested a bit before dinner.

Dinner was an outdoor BBQ by the pool.  It was ok.  Nothing great.  They had a few skewers of pork and some other things that may have been more local, but mostly it was pork chops, and chicken as I remember.  Pretty devoid of anything really great or local.  A good example of a BBQ done right was last years Luang Prabang poolside BBQ.  They had lots old local options and the food was very good if not great.  This one was meh... I don't think anyone would otherwise pay for it if they were eating on their own.   The atmosphere was nice, and it was at the end of an adventurous day so it was great to sit back and relax with everyone.  Just wish the food would have been awesome instead of just ok.

After dinner we had our white elephant gift exchange.  So much fun.  I think it's a great idea on these longer ABD's with marketplaces where you can buy cheap throwaway gifts.  I opened up a bag and got some of those Chinese marble balls you spin around in your hand for a stress relief, but someone stole them.  I  picked out another bag and got a local made little stuffed horse.  Looked more South American than Chinese but it was neat.  I tied it to my carry on luggage.  Gavin stole what was supposed to be a gag gift... A little squishy light up Minion from Despicable Me.  He loved it and thankfully no one stole it.  

Later that night was Jr Adventurer night.  We watched Mulan.  I stayed and watched along with a couple of other adults as well.

It was a perfect day with the mountains in the mist and very light drizzle.  I wish all future adventurers the same luck we had, but I'm sure it's beautiful and different in bright sunny skies and even in the pouring rain.


----------



## Cousin Orville

On the back of the 20 yuan note are the mountains in the background from the Li River

























Our beautiful greeter at the Shangri La dressed in a traditional minority consume


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## DisFan10

Another great installment and pics, Cousin Orville!

We really enjoyed the Li River cruise too.  The scenery and mountains are beautiful.  It was a warm sunny day for us, but the mist adds a different dimension to the scenery.  Did you guys disembark in the town of Yangshou to shop?

Your BBQ dinner buffet didn't sound very appetizing.  I think Disney should offer more ala carte dinner options on the tour.  These buffets can get tired and boring after awhile, especially when the selections aren't very good.  And I HOPE that was pork or chicken skewers!  When we ate at a restaurant in Yangshou, they actually had DOG meat on the menu!  We were shocked and sickened, so we ordered only vegetarian dishes...


----------



## sayhello

Wow, Kevin!  I so have to agree with you, that pxlbarrel's photos of the Gumdrop mountains in Guilin is one of the images that keeps this trip towards the top of my list!  I'd never heard of them before, either!    Now if I can just get over my hesitancy about the flight and the weather...

The mountains with the mists looks similar (but much more spectacular) to the Misty Fjords in Alaska.  They, also, look much better after a rain, with the tops shrouded in mist.  Very cool.

Just gorgeous!

Sayhello


----------



## winsteadc

I am traveling with the July 6th group to China. Was wondering how much US dollars I should get converted to Chinese Yuan. Any suggestions?


----------



## DisFan10

Cousin Orville said:


> No we just sat beside him.  Right before I sat down,  a handler picked up the previous panda and carried him away.  A few minutes later a new panda came out.  For both pandas, everyone I saw was sitting next to them.  I didn't see anyone hold them in their laps.  Don't know if that's new policy or if ours were too heavy.  Still a great experience.
> 
> He was someone taking a nap outside the terra cotta museum shop.  Maybe someone's driver.  Whoever he was, it looked like he was having a nice nap.
> 
> Also someone asked about the weather on this trip.  Other than the hot first couple of days in Beijing, the weather has been pretty good.




I think it's probably a new policy due to safety concerns (guests being bitten or scratched by the pandas).  One of our fellow Adventurers was bitten by the panda while he was holding it in his lap.  The bite did not draw blood, but you could see the imprint of the panda's teeth on his forearm.  At first we thought he was kidding, but then he showed us the "love bite".


----------



## Calfan

With every installment of your trip report I read, I get more and more excited to do this trip at some point (maybe 2016).  I was blown away by your pics of the Great Wall. Then came the pandas, the Terracotta Warriors and the Gumdrop Mountains.  Just wow!  I agree that the mountains looks very cool in the mist.  I will be sad when your trip is over and there is no more trip report to read


----------



## Cousin Orville

winsteadc said:


> I am traveling with the July 6th group to China. Was wondering how much US dollars I should get converted to Chinese Yuan. Any suggestions?



I think that depends on your travel preferences.  A lot of people prefer to withdraw money from ATMs once you're in china for a better rate than an American bank.  I've never compared the rates, so I can't comment on that.  I was more paranoid traveling as a solo parent so I got most of the yuan that I expected to need.  I got 6000 yuan because I knew from other's trip reports I wanted to hold the pandas and I had a 2 day Beijing private tour booked.  I still had to pull more yuan out of an ATM.  It was no problem.  I want to say I withdrew 1000rmd.  I forget what the daily limit is.  There is an ATM a block away from the peninsula hotel in Beijing.  At the very least I would bring 500-1000 with you just to hold you over until you can get to an ATM.


----------



## pxlbarrel

One of the things I enjoyed the most on our tour was the white elephant gift exchange.  I laughed so hard during it.  LOL It had nothing to do with China except the gifts were so bad...yet it was so fun.  Odd how some things stick in your memory.    DIdn't anybody get a rubber chicken???

It was rainy when we went on the river cruise too...I think that's how it's always. 

Great photos...makes me wanna go back!!!!!!


----------



## Cousin Orville

pxlbarrel said:


> One of the things I enjoyed the most on our tour was the white elephant gift exchange.  I laughed so hard during it.  LOL It had nothing to do with China except the gifts were so bad...yet it was so fun.  Odd how some things stick in your memory.    DIdn't anybody get a rubber chicken???
> 
> It was rainy when we went on the river cruise too...I think that's how it's always.
> 
> Great photos...makes me wanna go back!!!!!!



Rainy is just perfect for Guilin as far as I'm concerned!  Yes there were some rubber chickens.... When people would hold up their gifts for a possible steal, they'd honk those chickens...hilarious.


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## engle

We were on the May 11 ABD China trip and our meal in Xi'an was a disaster too...we ended up in a banquet room with the worlds slowest service. I was sure this was going to be fixed this time around but I bet this is the last time it is bad!! Thanks for the trip report...reliving our trip...I miss China.


----------



## sayhello

engle said:


> We were on the May 11 ABD China trip and our meal in Xi'an was a disaster too...we ended up in a banquet room with the worlds slowest service. I was sure this was going to be fixed this time around but I bet this is the last time it is bad!! Thanks for the trip report...reliving our trip...I miss China.


How was the weather in May?

Sayhello


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## CA2FL

engle said:


> We were on the May 11 ABD China trip and our meal in Xi'an was a disaster too...we ended up in a banquet room with the worlds slowest service. I was sure this was going to be fixed this time around but I bet this is the last time it is bad!! Thanks for the trip report...reliving our trip...I miss China.



I was just going to post the same comment as my friend, engle!  I don't think there is a lot to choose from in Xi'an but I am sure ABD will figure it out.  I LOVE seeing these fantastic pictures and reliving our May trip!


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## sayhello

CA2FL said:


> I was just going to post the same comment as my friend, engle!  I don't think there is a lot to choose from in Xi'an but I am sure ABD will figure it out.  I LOVE seeing these fantastic pictures and reliving our May trip!


Welcome to the ABD Forum, CA2FL!

So, I'll ask you, also.    How was the weather in May?  I really like to travel in May, and I'm definitely eyeing this trip for 2016.

Sayhello


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## engle

sayhello said:


> Welcome to the ABD Forum, CA2FL!
> 
> So, I'll ask you, also.    How was the weather in May?  I really like to travel in May, and I'm definitely eyeing this trip for 2016.
> 
> Sayhello



The weather in May ranged from 50 degrees the first 2 days we were there to mid 80's with moderate humidity most if the rest of the trip. I really compared it to spring in the Midwest....cool to hot and humid. The only really terrible day for weather was Hong Kong....omg....soooooooo humid....we were puddles.


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## sayhello

engle said:


> The weather in May ranged from 50 degrees the first 2 days we were there to mid 80's with moderate humidity most if the rest of the trip. I really compared it to spring in the Midwest....cool to hot and humid. The only really terrible day for weather was Hong Kong....omg....soooooooo humid....we were puddles.


Thanks, engle!  I really do want to do this trip, but the flight, the weather & the pollution kind of scare me.  But I really think I *need* to do it!

Sayhello


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## Cousin Orville

sayhello said:


> Thanks, engle!  I really do want to do this trip, but the flight, the weather & the pollution kind of scare me.  But I really think I *need* to do it!
> 
> Sayhello



I think these things are worse when you're thinking about them beforehand, but of course everyone's different.  The pollution is the most unique thing to china, because it is worse than most anywhere else and it's hard to know what to expect.  I guess I was expecting pea soup, but it wasn't near that bad.  Maybe during other times of the year.  I brought 3M masks with me, and ended up tossing them to make room for souvenirs.  Certainly the trip is well worth the effort.


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## Cousin Orville

Day 8 Guilin to Shanghai

Like Chengdu before it, Guilin was a brief stop, but I didn't have a strong desire to stick around.  Chengdu, Xi'an, and Guilin all pretty much have one single major attraction.  I'm not sure what you would do if you stayed longer.  I'd rather keep moving and see 'A' list attractions.  

We had breakfast again in the main dining room.  Today I tried the rice noodles.  The cook preparing them did not speak English so I motioned to her to fix mine just like the man in front of me. I added some chives and spicy pepper sauce just as he did.  It was delicious, but spicy.  We had a brief optional tai chi exercise pool side by a local master.  Afterwards, we met in the lobby and headed out to the airport for our flight to Shanghai.

Driving into Shanghai was very different from anything so far.  Wealth for one.  The amount of beautiful office and apartment buildings seemed far more than in Beijing or Chengdu.  The amount of exotic cars and other luxury cars on the highways.  Beijing and Chengdu had their fair share, but not to the level of Shanghai.  Architecture was very different too.  Shanghai used to be home thousands of French, British, and Americans before WWII.  You can see the French and British styles especially around the hotel and park we visited the next day.  The Huangpu River cuts through Shanghai.  The side of the river our hotel is on is the Bund - a string of riverside buildings from the 20s and 30s.  Very Art Deco and European.  On the other side of the river, the Pudong, is a 21st century skyline like no place on earth.  It is absolutely incredible.  20 years ago there was literally nothing there but rice fields.

We checked into the Peninsula which has the ideal spot on the Bund.  You can walk down the Bund or cross the street and walk along the waterfront.  The hotel is beautiful and is perhaps the nicest hotel I've stayed in.  It's evokes a 1930s Art Deco, European charm.  When we arrived I believe high tea was being served in the lobby.  Everyone working there is so nice, and the service standards are so high.  We were taken to a conference room on the top floor where we were given a quick PowerPoint presentation of how to work the electronics in the room from the mood lighting, to the curtains, to the lady's nail dryer to the valet box, to the free international call VOIP button....  The rooms were beautiful.  Since it was just Gavin and me we were given a single room.  Families with more than two I think had a designating connecting rooms/suites.  Not sure.  Our room was lovely complete with a gorgeous bathroom and dressing room.  I'm ready to redecorate my bathroom.  Haha!

We had a couple hours free so Gavin and I walked up to the Bund.  This was another big moment for me.  It was still daylight, but amazing.  Gavin was still a celebrity.  A few people stopped him and asked for photos.  He obliged.

Dinner was at M on the Bund.  In Beijing we ate at its sister, Capital M.  This was equally great,  we dressed up a bit.  And had a choice of salmon or steak.  I chose steak and several of us ordered glasses of wine.  It was an excellent dinner,  high marks for ABD.  And the view from the balcony which overlooked the Bund was amazing.  You could set your gaze across the Huangpu River over to Pudong the greatest lit up skyline in the world.  It was arranged and delivered perfectly by ABD.  Granted it was a set menu... Understandable, but all things considered probably the best meal and overall restaurant experience I've had on an Adventures by Disney.   They need to duplicate this as best they can in Beijing.  That's what's missing.  In Saigon, we had a dinner in Cirrus - a beautiful high end restaurant overlooking the city and the Saigon River for 2nd night I believe.  That's what Disney needs in Beijing.

After dinner Gavin and I walked with others down the waterfront.  In stead of going straight to our hotel, we made a detour a couple blocks away.  We turned down Nanjing Rd in front of the famous Peace hotel and walked a couple blocks down to pedestrian Nanjing Rd, the busiest shopping district in China.  Very famous and touristy.  They have everything from fake LV to real LV and everything in between.  We went for the lights and to check it off my list.  Is it worth it?  Eh, probably not for most, but I've heard of it for a while and would have been disappointed if I didn't see it in person.  On the way back to the hotel we stopped into the Peace Hotel - the most famous hotel in Shanghai.  It was beautifully decorated.  I heard it was considered the finest example of an Art Deco hotel in the world in the 30s.  It's still beautiful.  Long day.  We had a great sleep.  Perfect hotel and perfect dinner, ABD.  Well done.


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## Cousin Orville

One last view from our Guilin room





The Peninsula Shanghai















Our first view across the Huangpu to the Pudong










View of the Bund.  Our hotel is a few feet away at the end of the Bund.  Awesome location!





Celebrity Gavin















Just a cool door.





From the rooftop of M on the Bund















Walking back to the hotel...





Detour down Nanjing Road...










Inside the famous Peace Hotel a block down from the Peninsula


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## engle

sayhello said:


> Thanks, engle!  I really do want to do this trip, but the flight, the weather & the pollution kind of scare me.  But I really think I *need* to do it!
> 
> Sayhello



We didn't notice the pollution at all....really....we live out in the country and I was sure I would notice it but did not. The flight there is nothing and the flight back is only moderately painful, mostly because you are tired and ready to be home. As fat as the weather, I would definitely do the early May trip as it is the most temperate.


----------



## sayhello

engle said:


> We didn't notice the pollution at all....really....we live out in the country and I was sure I would notice it but did not. The flight there is nothing and the flight back is only moderately painful, mostly because you are tired and ready to be home. As fat as the weather, I would definitely do the early May trip as it is the most temperate.


Thanks!  All of that is good to hear!  What airline did you fly to China?  What route did they take?

Sorry for hijacking your thread, Cousin Orville!

Sayhello


----------



## CA2FL

Cousin Orville said:


> I think these things are worse when you're thinking about them beforehand, but of course everyone's different.  The pollution is the most unique thing to china, because it is worse than most anywhere else and it's hard to know what to expect.  I guess I was expecting pea soup, but it wasn't near that bad.  Maybe during other times of the year.  I brought 3M masks with me, and ended up tossing them to make room for souvenirs.  Certainly the trip is well worth the effort.



I agree.  We were advised by friends and our doctor to bring masks but there wasn't a day anywhere near having to use them.  I used to live in Southern California and none of our days were near the amount of pollution we had in SoCal back in the late 80's.  I certainly have seen photos of terrible smog in China so I guess it really depends on time of year.  We were lucky that it would rain late night and early morning before/after we were touring around so it probably helped clear the air.


----------



## DisFan10

Amazing photos, Cousin Orville, especially the night-time shots on the Bund!

I'm glad you enjoyed "M on the Bund" as much as Capital M.  I agree with your thoughts that AbD needs to select better restaurants in Beijing. 

The Peninsula Shanghai looks beautiful and very high-tech.  Since AbD seems to be favoring the Peninsula and Shangri-La brands, it would be nice if they chose this new Shangri-La at the Shard in London for their London & Paris trip.  The view from the rooms look amazing. 

http://www.shangri-la.com/london/shangrila/


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## CA2FL

Cousin Orville said:


> ...We checked into the Peninsula which has the ideal spot on the Bund.  You can walk down the Bund or cross the street and walk along the waterfront.  The hotel is beautiful and is perhaps the nicest hotel I've stayed in.  It's evokes a 1930s Art Deco, European charm.  When we arrived I believe high tea was being served in the lobby.  Everyone working there is so nice, and the service standards are so high.  We were taken to a conference room on the top floor where we were given a quick PowerPoint presentation of how to work the electronics in the room from the mood lighting, to the curtains, to the lady's nail dryer to the valet box, to the free international call VOIP button....  The rooms were beautiful.  Since it was just Gavin and me we were given a single room.  Families with more than two I think had a designating connecting rooms/suites.  Not sure.  Our room was lovely complete with a gorgeous bathroom and dressing room.  I'm ready to redecorate my bathroom.  Haha!



Best hotel of the tour!  (Ritz Carlton in Chengdu is #2)  We love the "Spa Mode" in the bathroom...lights dim, mood music on. When we stayed there, Vladimir Putin was also staying and there was A LOT of extra security.  We had to go through metal detectors each time we re-entered the hotel and they had bomb sniffing dog teams sniff through our rooms.  It added a lot of extra excitement to our stay.  FYI - We spoke with one of the managers there who was brought in to open the hotel from Hong Kong. He told us the _Beijing _Peninsula will be going through a renovation to modernize and also increase the size of the rooms to become more like the Shanghai version.


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## sayhello

CA2FL said:


> I agree.  We were advised by friends and our doctor to bring masks but there wasn't a day anywhere near having to use them.  I used to live in Southern California and none of our days were near the amount of pollution we had in SoCal back in the late 80's.  I certainly have seen photos of terrible smog in China so I guess it really depends on time of year.  We were lucky that it would rain late night and early morning before/after we were touring around so it probably helped clear the air.


That's good to know!  I grew up in Southern California, and was there in the late 80's.  Not pretty, but I survived it 

Sayhello


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## sayhello

Cousin Orville said:


> I think these things are worse when you're thinking about them beforehand, but of course everyone's different.  The pollution is the most unique thing to china, because it is worse than most anywhere else and it's hard to know what to expect.  I guess I was expecting pea soup, but it wasn't near that bad.  Maybe during other times of the year.  I brought 3M masks with me, and ended up tossing them to make room for souvenirs.  Certainly the trip is well worth the effort.


Thanks, Kevin!  That really is good to know.  It's solidly on my list now for 2016.  !!!

OMG, the Penninsula Hotel looks AMAZING!!!!  How beautiful is that room!  The whole area is phenomenal.  Great photos!

Yep, definitely on the list for 2016!

Sayhello


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## pxlbarrel

The Shanghai Peninsula was my favourite hotel.  I knew I was going to like it before we got to the room because we had to have a tutorial in the hotel boardroom on how to use the room.


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## Cousin Orville

sayhello said:


> Thanks!  All of that is good to hear!  What airline did you fly to China?  What route did they take?
> 
> Sorry for hijacking your thread, Cousin Orville!
> 
> Sayhello



We took united through Chicago.  It flew west over the pacific.  I spoke with someone who connected through Detroit and they went East over the Atlantic.  I thought that was interesting since the cities are so close to one another.


----------



## Cousin Orville

DisFan10 said:


> Amazing photos, Cousin Orville, especially the night-time shots on the Bund!
> 
> I'm glad you enjoyed "M on the Bund" as much as Capital M.  I agree with your thoughts that AbD needs to select better restaurants in Beijing.
> 
> The Peninsula Shanghai looks beautiful and very high-tech.  Since AbD seems to be favoring the Peninsula and Shangri-La brands, it would be nice if they chose this new Shangri-La at the Shard in London for their London & Paris trip.  The view from the rooms look amazing.
> 
> http://www.shangri-la.com/london/shangrila/



ABD's choices of hotels seems to be improving bit by bit.  I like the Peninsula group better than the Shangri La group but both are great.  There's also a Peninsula I believe in London and Paris, and I know there's a Shangri La in Paris, as I've been there.  Those would be quite a step up from the Hotel Napoleon they use in Paris for their Northern France Trip.  I think they've done very well with hotel choices for the 2 Asia trips.  The Peninsula Shangahai and Ritz Chengdu being the 2 standouts in China and the Metropole in Hanoi (one of the 3 best in all SE Asia) and Sofitel Siem Reap in Cambodia.   Plus they're adding the Peninsula Hong Kong which is very impressive.  If they can change around their schedule and spend an entire day in Shanghai Disney (just more time in Shanghai), and they are staying at the Peninsula Hong Kong, I would repeat this trip.

Part of me wonders if they are increasing the quality of the hotels for their Asia trips because they're are more affordable in China and SE Asia compared to their European counterparts, or whether there's more financial flexibility with the 12 day trips.  But then they added the Ritz in Vienna on their new trip so maybe they're increasing the quality in Europe too.  Right or wrong, I have friends who are not into ABD that would probably give it a serious look if they stayed in top hotels in the major European cities they hit.


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## Cousin Orville

CA2FL said:


> Best hotel of the tour!  (Ritz Carlton in Chengdu is #2)  We love the "Spa Mode" in the bathroom...lights dim, mood music on. When we stayed there, Vladimir Putin was also staying and there was A LOT of extra security.  We had to go through metal detectors each time we re-entered the hotel and they had bomb sniffing dog teams sniff through our rooms.  It added a lot of extra excitement to our stay.  FYI - We spoke with one of the managers there who was brought in to open the hotel from Hong Kong. He told us the _Beijing _Peninsula will be going through a renovation to modernize and also increase the size of the rooms to become more like the Shanghai version.



I think had heard that about Putin in Chengdu.  That was real recent, right?  Natalie Portman was at our hotel in Shanghai.  Sadly did not see her.


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## DisFan10

I agree with your assessment of the hotels in China and SE Asia. Those are all great hotels.  We wanted to stay longer at the Metropole Hanoi and the Sofitel in Siem Reap!  We wouldn't mind doing the China AbD again.

However, it looks like AbD has taken 2 steps forward but one step back with their hotel selections in China.  While they've added the iconic Peninsula Hong Kong, they've dropped the Peninsula Beijing for the Regent.  Not sure why, but it's a bit disappointing...





Cousin Orville said:


> ABD's choices of hotels seems to be improving bit by bit.  I like the Peninsula group better than the Shangri La group but both are great.  There's also a Peninsula I believe in London and Paris, and I know there's a Shangri La in Paris, as I've been there.  Those would be quite a step up from the Hotel Napoleon they use in Paris for their Northern France Trip.  I think they've done very well with hotel choices for the 2 Asia trips.  The Peninsula Shangahai and Ritz Chengdu being the 2 standouts in China and the Metropole in Hanoi (one of the 3 best in all SE Asia) and Sofitel Siem Reap in Cambodia.   Plus they're adding the Peninsula Hong Kong which is very impressive.  If they can change around their schedule and spend an entire day in Shanghai Disney (just more time in Shanghai), and they are staying at the Peninsula Hong Kong, I would repeat this trip.
> 
> Part of me wonders if they are increasing the quality of the hotels for their Asia trips because they're are more affordable in China and SE Asia compared to their European counterparts, or whether there's more financial flexibility with the 12 day trips.  But then they added the Ritz in Vienna on their new trip so maybe they're increasing the quality in Europe too.  Right or wrong, I have friends who are not into ABD that would probably give it a serious look if they stayed in top hotels in the major European cities they hit.


----------



## Cousin Orville

DisFan10 said:


> I agree with your assessment of the hotels in China and SE Asia. Those are all great hotels.  We wanted to stay longer at the Metropole Hanoi and the Sofitel in Siem Reap!  We wouldn't mind doing the China AbD again.
> 
> However, it looks like AbD has taken 2 steps forward but one step back with their hotel selections in China.  While they've added the iconic Peninsula Hong Kong, they've dropped the Peninsula Beijing for the Regent.  Not sure why, but it's a bit disappointing...



I remember seeing the Regent.  It's a block farther down from Wangfujing St.  Not too too bad.  I believe the Regent had the Aston Martin Dealership on the first floor, so it's certainly not the Motel 6.  Haha.  If I HAD to trade the Peninsula Beijing for the Regent to get the Peninsula Hong Kong, I think that's a good move.  I think if they could get a high end meal in Beijing and lose the hotel catering, I'd give it my absolute blessing .    ABD are you listening?

The one downside to losing the Pen Beijing, is losing the option of eating at Huang Ting on your own, which is still my favorite Peking Duck.  You could still go there, just slightly less convenient.


----------



## Cousin Orville

Day 9 Shanghai

Breakfast was in the beautiful lobby.  Very Downton Abby-esque.  Tea served in silver with real tea strainers.  The server confirmed I wanted English Breakfast tea.  Freshly squeezed orange and pineapple juice.  It was awesome.  I don't know if I've had freshly squeezed pineapple juice outside of Hawaii.  Gavin who is normally a fan of pineapple juice wasn't sure what to make of a couple of floating microscopic black  particles from the pineapple so he wouldn't touch it.  He was cool with the pulpy orange juice though.  We ordered blueberry pancakes off the menu and walked up to select a number of tasty pastries  which were all amazing - best breakfast on the trip so far.

We headed out to as a group to Fuxing Park to learn sword tai chi and fan tai chi.  Both were a lot of fun.  I preferred the swords.  Other local retirees were doing other exercises such as yo-yo spinning, ball room dancing, etc.

After the Park we went to Yu Gardens which is a traditional Chinese garden hundreds of years old.  They had beautiful Chinese buildings, streams, bridges and rock work.  Adjacent to the gardens is old Shanghai.  Lots of shopping options. Steven recommended an official govt store for the purchasing of jade and jewelry.  He offered to go with me to help pick out a jade piece and interpret with the workers who did not speak English.  Steven was great about showing me high quality jade versus other pieces and we found something I liked a lot and he helped me buy it.  Afterwards we walked around and grabbed a muffin for Gavin to hold him over until our early dinner tonight.  We also went to a store where an artist was drawing peoples names with beautiful colorful little animals and shapes in place of letters.  For example a letter G might be a dragon and an I might be a tall Mountain.  It was really lovely and relatively inexpensive.  I still had some time, so I went back into the govt shop and purchased a larger size piece of art on the top floor.  It was beautiful and depicted the Li River painted with water colors on rice paper.  Kind of impressionistic.  They're shipping it to my house.  Here's hoping it makes it (fingers crossed). 

We then took a drive under the river to the Pudong.  Our guides gave us a spontaneous tour of the 21st century city.  We were going to go up to an observatory, but it was a bit overcast.  The 2nd tallest building in the world is now in Shangahi technically to be completed next year, but it looked pretty close to completion.  Several other major buildings of the world are also in Shanghai.  We then headed back to the hotel where Gavin and I relaxed before going over to starbucks on the bund for a change of scenery.  Picked up a mug.

We went to an early dinner at Din Tai Fung famous for its Dim Sum.  It was awesome and indeed was another excellent meal.  ABD is on a roll now.  Great, great choice, ABD.  I loved everything I ate.  After dinner we went to an acrobatic show which aside from seeing the skyline is the top rated activity in Tripadvisor's Sanghai.  It was unbelievable.  Sort of like Cirque du Soleir but more intimate.  Very theatrical with incredible talent.  Live music.  Each act was truly remarkable.  We then made our way back to the hotel. It was a bit late after 10p.  I repacked the suitcases quickly (thank goodness for packing cubes), opened the bed side drawer with a plethora of electrical and USB outlets to plug in my phone, pushed a couple bedside buttons to get the lights and curtains set to my pleasing and hit the hay.


----------



## Cousin Orville

pxlbarrel said:


> We love Stephen!!!!!!  He shadowed our group.  Say hello for me (the sister of the guy who had to go to every Hooters in China ... he'll know ...)  Our group nicknamed him Jackie Chan.    He helped me walk down a section of Great Wall that I was a little scared about ... about falling off the edge to my death (I have a thing with heights).



I showed Steven a picture of him from your trip report.  He was very surprised I found it.  I showed him the website - Disboards.com.  He said he knew this website.  So, Steven, if you see this - HI!   He was funny. He remembered your brother's name, but now I've forgotten.  Said he looked like the last emperor, Puyi.  He said he was excited to find Hooters in Beijing, but then disappointed to find out they dress more conservatively than their American counterpart. Haha!  Too funny.


----------



## Cousin Orville

The new...





and the old.





Fuxing Park (pronounced Fu-shing)






























Haha!  How great are these guys?!















Now in the Yu Gardens...

























Back in old Shanghai for shopping





He's working on my DD's name - Claire.  They're really pretty especially in person.  I bought 3 for 200rmd ($32) each framed.





The painting I bought.  The guy that hopefully is correctly shipping it to me. 
Govt store so I should be good.





They were very nice at the store.  Gavin was invited to tea while I filled out the shipping information.  Good tea.





2nd tallest building in the world.  Apparently China is working on the tallest elsewhere.  The first kilometer tall building.





I prefer this one back on the Bund





Outside the restaurant





Era, the acrobatic show theater

Sorry no pics allowed inside the Acrobatic show.  It's funny, if you try, the usher comes down and shines this huge, brightly illuminated signs that says "no photos". I need one of those for Pirates of the Caribbean.


----------



## engle

sayhello said:


> Thanks!  All of that is good to hear!  What airline did you fly to China?  What route did they take?
> 
> Sorry for hijacking your thread, Cousin Orville!
> 
> Sayhello



We flew non stop both ways from Chicago to beijing 13.5 hours and then Hong Kong to Chicago 15 hours....the jet lag going home was worse by far....I think non stop if you can is the way to go...it certainly cuts down on travel time which is already so looooong.


----------



## pxlbarrel

Cousin Orville said:


> I showed Steven a picture of him from your trip report.  He was very surprised I found it.  I showed him the website - Disboards.com.  He said he knew this website.  So, Steven, if you see this - HI!   He was funny. He remembered your brother's name, but now I've forgotten.  Said he looked like the last emperor, Puyi.  He said he was excited to find Hooters in Beijing, but then disappointed to find out they dress more conservatively than their American counterpart. Haha!  Too funny.



LoL. Hahaha. I'll tell my brother.  You know, take away the fancy hotels and ABD would still be the best because if the guides.


----------



## pxlbarrel

We flew nonstop from Toronto to Beijing (going west).  I managed to upgrade our family to executive first on Air Canada.  We flew back from HK non stop in economy.  

It was worth the upgrade. Lol. The last time I had flown such a long distance, I got sick and it lasted for almost the entire trip (3 weeks) so I was determined that I would arrive rested and healthy.      Coming back I didn't care as much. Lol.


----------



## lost*in*cyberspace

carpenta said:


> We travel both with ABD as well as another similar company and ABD could not compete with the food choices offered by the competition.......For the high price you pay I do wish ABD would "up" their food quality offerings. I love your review(s) Cousin Orville but I was disappointed that ABD did not speak of the up charge for the Panda holding before the tour. 300+ bucks is a lot for us and I would feel a lot of pressure if our daughter wanted to sit. A thought would be to discuss the offering the night before and break up the group accordingly. But keep up the great work and thanks again.



Disney may not mention the charge for sitting next to a panda, but if you do any research on this topic, the charge is frequently mentioned.


----------



## Cousin Orville

pxlbarrel said:


> LoL. Hahaha. I'll tell my brother.  You know, take away the fancy hotels and ABD would still be the best because if the guides.



Agree 100%.  We're actually finishing up my 2 postdays in Hong Kong.  We fly out tomorrow morning.  Gavin and I have been fighting the ABD guide withdrawal with Steven and Christopher and the rest of the group.  You really form an emotional bond with these guys.  Sometimes you're a little sad when you leave Walt Disney World, Disneyland, or a Cruise.  Usually I think you're sad because you're not ready to leave that PLACE.  That can be very real and important, but I think ABD transcends that.  When you finish and ABD you're sad because you miss the PEOPLE.  That is the X Factor that is difficult to explain to those who haven't taken an ABD.


----------



## BrennaM

Thanks so much for your trip reports!  Well I'm kinda torn whether to thank you or curse you!!  I don't know which trip I want to do more now....China or Cambodia.  Actually I had never even considered the Cambodia one until I saw your report on it.

Have fun on the rest of your trip!!  I look forward to reading about it.


----------



## hilarys

Kevin,

Thanks for doing such a great trip report.  Like many others, this adventure has risen on my list of things to consider for 2016.  So many places to see in the world and not enough vacation time!  

Hilary (will be in Prague one week from today!)


----------



## distravel

Kevin,

Thanks for the wonderful trip report! Love the photos. We hope to go to China with ABD in two years for our 30th anniversary. Your wife is a saint.  Hopefully your entire family can repeat this trip when your little ones are old enough.

Kathy


----------



## DisFan10

Another great installment and photos, Cousin Orville!  Your report and photos brought back wonderful memories of the trip.

It was cool to see the same couple who taught us fan dancing and sword tai chi in Fuxing Park still doing this 6 years later.

I think we ate dozens of those delicious dumplings at Tin Dai Fung! LOL  We also really enjoyed the ERA show.  The finale was amazing and the special surprise afterwards was cool too.    

Regarding the change of hotels in Beijing, a previous post mentioned that the Peninsula Beijing will be undergoing renovations, so maybe AbD decided to find another hotel during that period.  And like you said, the Regent isn't exactly a budget hotel, so everything's good...


----------



## sayhello

Cousin Orville said:


> We took united through Chicago.  It flew west over the pacific.  I spoke with someone who connected through Detroit and they went East over the Atlantic.  I thought that was interesting since the cities are so close to one another.


I wonder where the "cutoff point" is where it's more efficient to go East vs. West?   I'll have to do some research on that!



engle said:


> We flew non stop both ways from Chicago to beijing 13.5 hours and then Hong Kong to Chicago 15 hours....the jet lag going home was worse by far....I think non stop if you can is the way to go...it certainly cuts down on travel time which is already so looooong.


Nonstop from Chicago!  Yipes!  But I agree, I'd rather load onto the plane once, and just *be* there, rather than having to get off, run around the airport, re-board, etc.  



pxlbarrel said:


> We flew nonstop from Toronto to Beijing (going west).  I managed to upgrade our family to executive first on Air Canada.  We flew back from HK non stop in economy.
> 
> It was worth the upgrade. Lol. The last time I had flown such a long distance, I got sick and it lasted for almost the entire trip (3 weeks) so I was determined that I would arrive rested and healthy.      Coming back I didn't care as much. Lol.


Oh, I'll have to look into this. I've flown to Europe from Toronto before; it's an easy transfer from Columbus. Hm....



pxlbarrel said:


> LoL. Hahaha. I'll tell my brother.  You know,  take away the fancy hotels and ABD would still be the best because if  the guides.


ABSOLUTELY!!!  The Guides are, to me, the best thing about ABD, period!  



Cousin Orville said:


> Agree 100%.  We're actually finishing up my 2 postdays in Hong Kong.  We fly out tomorrow morning.  Gavin and I have been fighting the ABD guide withdrawal with Steven and Christopher and the rest of the group.  You really form an emotional bond with these guys.  Sometimes you're a little sad when you leave Walt Disney World, Disneyland, or a Cruise.  Usually I think you're sad because you're not ready to leave that PLACE.  That can be very real and important, but I think ABD transcends that.  When you finish and ABD you're sad because you miss the PEOPLE.  That is the X Factor that is difficult to explain to those who haven't taken an ABD.


I also agree!  The Adventure Guides really add *SO* much to the experience.  And I find that the caliber of people who take ABD's is generally pretty special, too.  I've started doing more of my on-my-own exploring during *pre-days*, and only doing post-days if they're through ABD.  Otherwise I go home after the ABD.  You start shlepping your own stuff, and trying to figure out where to eat, and say "Where are my Adventure Guides???"



hilarys said:


> Kevin,
> 
> Thanks for doing such a great trip report.  Like many others, this adventure has risen on my list of things to consider for 2016.  *So many places to see in the world and not enough vacation time!  *
> 
> Hilary (will be in Prague one week from today!)


Amen to that!  

Looking forward to your Report on Central Europe!   

Sayhello


----------



## CA2FL

We flew Delta from Orlando to Detroit and from Detroit, the plane took the polar route Northwest to Beijing (13 hours).  Coming home was longer...Hong Kong-Narita, Narita-JFK, JFK-MCO...Loooonnnnggggg time but the lay flat beds and Delta Lounges helped!


----------



## CA2FL

DisFan10 said:


> ...Regarding the change of hotels in Beijing, a previous post mentioned that the Peninsula Beijing will be undergoing renovations, so maybe AbD decided to find another hotel during that period.  And like you said, the Regent isn't exactly a budget hotel, so everything's good...



That's what I gathered about the hotel change as well when the manager at the _Shanghai_ Peninsula told us about Beijing's upcoming renovations.   The Regent is a just a block away AND it sits on top of the subway station so it will be easier for pre-stay (or free time) subway rides.


----------



## tgeorge

Just like everyone else I would like to thank you for this amazing trip report! It's fascinating to read about everything you've seen and done. Just like everyone has stated this is now high on the list of trips to do. Can't wait to read your future report on Australia....that is the one place I can talk my husband into going so I won't be solo. However, I'm now seriously considering china in 2016 and putting Italy off for the next trip.


----------



## pxlbarrel

I think the Beijing Peninsula needed renovations.  Out of all the hotels we stayed in on that trip, the Beijing Peninsula was the least spectacular.  It was actually kind of ordinary. Mind you, ordinary for an ABD trip is still miles above what we usually stay in. hahahaha


----------



## Cousin Orville

Day 10 Shanghai to Hong Kong

Last night we were given the option for this morning.  We could go to the Shanghai museum or sleep in.  I did neither.  . I woke up early, but Gavin was still sleeping.  So I caught up on my notes and emails.  We had a nice relaxing breakfast in the beautiful Peninsula lobby again.  Gavin caught up on some iPad Minion Mayhem and again I worked a bit more on my trip report.  We walked out on the Bund one more time and went back to catch up with everyone else to head to the airport.  It sounded like those who went to the museum enjoyed it, but they only had an hour there.  

We caught the maglev train to the airport.  It's one of three in the world and the only high speed one traveling at a constant 300 km/h.  The ride only took 8 min. It was cool, but at 1.2 billion $ to construct, it hasn't been able to turn a profit yet since it was constructed.  I doubt anymore high speed maglevs will be built again anytime soon.

Leaving Shanghai was disappointing,  I really love this city and would have liked another day at least.  I'm very curious to see what ABD does with it's China adventure when Shanghai Disney opens late next year.  There's no time to fit it in as the itinerary currently stands.  It would be nice to have a full day there.  Paris now has the option for a DLP add on.  In HK Disneyland they spend a few hrs there, but being at the end of the trip you have the option of doing a post day to go again.  So I hope they either spend an entire day there (rather than just a few hrs) or perhaps completely reshape the China trip and start or end in Shanghai.  I think an adventure that incorporates Shanghai Disney would sell very well.  The park sounds like nothing we've ever seen.

Our flight to Hong Kong took off an hour late.  It didn't affect us too much.  We got into Hong Kong and checked in.  This hotel is not quite as nice as some of the others.  However it has the best view.  You're looking right out on Victoria Harbor.  It was difficult to appreciate that as the windows were smeared over.  I thought they were incredibly dirty, but in actuality it was because it was so cold in the room and so humid outside.  Eventually the window cleared up.  You can look across and see all the buildings lit up on Hong Kong Island.  The hotel is on the Kowloon side, which is a peninsula attached to mainland China.  Kowloon, Hong Kong Island, the New Territories, and some other islands make up "Hong Kong".   We did have a pot of hot tea waiting for us along with some Mickey Mouse cookies.  That was a nice touch.  As mentioned before next year they are switching to the Peninsula in Hong Kong.  That's a major step up.  I'm shocked and impressed.  In case I forget to mention later, we visited the Peninsula briefly a couple days later.  The lobby looks just as nice if not nicer than the Peninsula Shanghai.

We went out across the street to get a Hong Kong Starbucks mug.  Gavin was really too tired to even stop to eat anywhere.  So, we went back inside and up to the room.  We thought about room service, but elected to just go to bed instead.  I think most people with older kids walked around HK a bit and ate.


----------



## Cousin Orville

Breakfast in Shanghai










It's bright outside.  Forgot our sunglasses.










Cool elevators in the hotel





The Maglev to take us to Shanghai Pudong International Airport















We arrived at the Shangri La in Hong Kong





Out our window to the right





Out our window to the left


----------



## pxlbarrel

LOL, I went to that same Starbucks to buy a HK mug.


----------



## sayhello

Wow, that view from your room in HK is something!  Beautiful!

Sayhello


----------



## DisFan10

Cousin Orville, was Day 10 basically a travel day without any planned activities?

The Shangri-La Hong Kong looks very nice with great views.  We stayed at the Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel which was actually a better option since we were able to spend the afternoon and evening in the park.

Yes, it will be very interesting to see how AbD revises the China itinerary once Shanghai Disneyland opens.  We were told that AbD dropped the theme parks from the China and London/Paris itineraries because they didn't want guests to think that these trips were about seeing Mickey & Minnie.  They want these trips to be educational and fun, just not with the mouse...


----------



## paddles

Kevin - your trip report is great and China looks amazing. Its definitely on my list of places to go.

I have to ask....how do you swing so many vacation days?  I take about 3-4 weeks off a year and I'm typically the one in the office who actually takes the most!  

I'd love to have 7 weeks off like Europeans, and the entire month of August off!

Anyway, I'm extremely jealous. I would book several more trips a year if I could get the time off


----------



## Cousin Orville

DisFan10 said:


> Cousin Orville, was Day 10 basically a travel day without any planned activities? ...



Essentially yes.  You could go to the museum or relax in shanghai.  We got to the hotel in HK around 7:30.  Rest of the night was free.  All of the other travel days still had morning and/or evening activities.


----------



## Cousin Orville

paddles said:


> Kevin - your trip report is great and China looks amazing. Its definitely on my list of places to go.
> 
> I have to ask....how do you swing so many vacation days?  I take about 3-4 weeks off a year and I'm typically the one in the office who actually takes the most!
> 
> I'd love to have 7 weeks off like Europeans, and the entire month of August off!
> 
> Anyway, I'm extremely jealous. I would book several more trips a year if I could get the time off



I work with another doctor who can cover our patients.  I'm very lucky I have the coworkers I have.


----------



## Cousin Orville

DisFan10 said:


> Cousin Orville, was Day 10 basically a travel day without any planned activities?
> 
> The Shangri-La Hong Kong looks very nice with great views.  We stayed at the Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel which was actually a better option since we were able to spend the afternoon and evening in the park.
> 
> Yes, it will be very interesting to see how AbD revises the China itinerary once Shanghai Disneyland opens.  We were told that AbD dropped the theme parks from the China and London/Paris itineraries because they didn't want guests to think that these trips were about seeing Mickey & Minnie.  They want these trips to be educational and fun, just not with the mouse...



It was a 40 min subway ride to HKDL.  Not too bad as the park didn't open until 10a anyway.  I think I prefer staying in Kowloon to be able to do things up there, but then you'll see we did go to DL often.  Gavin and I walked over to the DL Resort to have lunch one day.  Very nice.  Reminded me of the Grand Floridian.

I really hope ABD does include a full day in Shanghai Disney in the future.  Unlike Paris, Tokyo, or even HK, I think it's less realistic to create your own trip to Shanghai.  ABD would probably be my best chance of seeing the park.


----------



## Melissy

Beautiful pictures. Thank you for sharing and taking the time to do so.


----------



## Cousin Orville

Day 11 (Part 1) Hong Kong

Other than last night, today is really the only scheduled day in Hong Kong.  Most flights back to the US leave in the morning.  So, if you're going on this trip consider whether you want to add any postdays in Hong Kong.  I think it's a good idea to add a couple days.  If you really wanted to do most of the major sites including going over to Macau, 4-5 would be necessary.  We're staying 2 extra days.  Having said that, we did see quite a lot of Hong Kong today.

The day started early, 8:30a and finished late 10p.  As usual breakfast was prior to meeting in the lobby.  Breakfast was very good.  Not as outstanding as in Shanghai, but it had lots of variety.  In fact there was probably more options here than anywhere else.  In addition to the usual items, they also had Japanese and maybe Indian selections.

We met in the lobby and hopped on the bus to go to Stanley Market a little ways away over on Hong Kong Island.  The bus took one of the many tunnels over to the island.  Stanley Market is one of several markets in Hong Kong.  The 2 others popular ones are Temple Street and Ladies Market, both close to the hotel.  After Stanley and many ones before, I was street marketed out.  They all sell similar things, but apparently have a little different feel about them.  The ones closer to the hotel are more popular at night I believe.  I still had on my shopping list some chops (the Chinese stamps carved with your name that act like a seal or signature).  Plus Gavin's wanted to shop around as well.  I found my chop shop and also picked up a silk scarf for my DW.  Gavin found an electronic shop that sold all sorts of cool things.  He ended up buying 2 lasers. A cheap one that ended up being complete junk (you could barely see it) and a very high quality one with all sorts of filters that can be placed to refract the laser into all sorts of different patterns.  It was actually kind of cool.  We were interviewed by some elementary school children that were practicing their English.  It was very cute.

After Stanley Market we drove up to Victoria Peak, the highest point on Hong Kong island.  I've been here 20 years ago when I was in my teens, but don't remember much about it.  It was a lovely view.  I'm sure a lot more buildings have been constructed since my last visit.  We took some photos, and ate lunch on the peak.  The food was very good.  It was at a restaurant converted from the tram operators house.  It was a beautiful spot.  We had the choice of a hamburger, chicken or vegetarian curry.  Many people got the curry including me.  Kids also had the choice of spaghetti which Gavin had.  Lunch was very tasty and was a good choice.

Afterwards we took the tram ride down from Victoria Peak - a must do in a Hong Kong.  It was short but a lovely view.  From the tram we boarded the Star Ferry - another must while in Hong Kong.  We took the ferry back over to the Kowloon side where our bus was waiting for us.  It started raining just before boarding the ferry.  Thankfully the hardest rain was while we were crossing the harbor.  Next stop - Disneyland.  We arrived at Disneyland probably around 3-3:30.

{After writing this up, I see I need to break this very long, fun day into two halves.  Once I get my photos uploaded and ready, I'll post the 2nd part}


----------



## *WDW*Groupie*

I am enjoying your trip report immensely.  Thank you for sharing your experiences and pictures and taking the time to do so.  The hotels look amazing!!

Reading this has me seriously thinking about booking the trip for next June, especially since my dd studies Mandarin in school!!  The only thing stopping me is I have to determine ds's graduation date from college before I book it!

We are leaving for the August 2nd Central Europe ABD on July 29th.  So excited !!


----------



## Cousin Orville

The road down to Stanley Market





Stanley Market 

























The view from Victoria Peak










The little restaurant we ate at with the red roof















View for me tram ride down





Star Ferry in the rain





Off the Ferry and back on the Kowloon side


----------



## Cousin Orville

*WDW*Groupie* said:


> I am enjoying your trip report immensely.  Thank you for sharing your experiences and pictures and taking the time to do so.  The hotels look amazing!!
> 
> Reading this has me seriously thinking about booking the trip for next June, especially since my dd studies Mandarin in school!!  The only thing stopping me is I have to determine ds's graduation date from college before I book it!
> 
> We are leaving for the August 2nd Central Europe ABD on July 29th.  So excited !!



A China ABD would be perfect!  Report back on your Central Europe trip.  It sounds amazing.  We're planning a future trip to Prague and Vienna, but sadly not on an a ABD as we'll have my younger kids with us.  Never been there -  it looks really great.  I've been looking at the ABD itinerary to steal ideas


----------



## DisFan10

Thanks for another entertaining installment and great pics, Cousin Orville!

Stanley Market is definitely a good place to spend money on touristy stuff.  You could fill up a whole suitcase with merchandise.  It's a good thing there was a luggage shop there.  Was that cute little dog for sale too? LOL

We ate at the same restaurant on Victoria Peak.  I think it was called The Peak Restaurant?  Their hamburger and fries were delicious and a nice change from all of the Chinese food.

I was meaning to ask... when you were in Shanghai, did you go up to the observation deck of the Shanghai World Financial Tower?


----------



## Cousin Orville

DisFan10 said:


> Thanks for another entertaining installment and great pics, Cousin Orville!
> 
> Stanley Market is definitely a good place to spend money on touristy stuff.  You could fill up a whole suitcase with merchandise.  It's a good thing there was a luggage shop there.  Was that cute little dog for sale too? LOL
> 
> We ate at the same restaurant on Victoria Peak.  I think it was called The Peak Restaurant?  Their hamburger and fries were delicious and a nice change from all of the Chinese food.
> 
> I was meaning to ask... when you were in Shanghai, did you go up to the observation deck of the Shanghai World Financial Tower?



I think you're right about the restaurant.  It was a good break from the Chinese food.

We did not have a chance to go up to the observation tower. It was too overcast.  So they did a bus tour of Pudong instead.


----------



## pxlbarrel

ohhh, does your ABD tour end at DL with the farewell dinner at DL????  

I wish ours had done that ... instead, it ended at the Shangrila and the last afternoon was a free one. 

I am anxiously awaiting news on Shanghai Disney (saving my airline points relgiiously for that trip...).  I am actually hoping that they do a Disney Cruise in Asia and include Shanghai Disney as an excursion. LOL  If I had to dream ... that would be it.


----------



## Cousin Orville

pxlbarrel said:


> ohhh, does your ABD tour end at DL with the farewell dinner at DL????
> 
> I wish ours had done that ... instead, it ended at the Shangrila and the last afternoon was a free one.
> 
> I am anxiously awaiting news on Shanghai Disney (saving my airline points relgiiously for that trip...).  I am actually hoping that they do a Disney Cruise in Asia and include Shanghai Disney as an excursion. LOL  If I had to dream ... that would be it.



Yes, we ended our ABD in HKDL!  It was very cool.  Report and pics coming soon.

I think Shanghai might be the most expensive park ever built.  Right now the price tag is north of $5 Billion.  DisneySea used to be the most expensive park at $4 Billion.  It's going to be incredible.  I would love a DCL cruise there.  I think you and I might be the only ones, but if they offered it, we'd be there.


----------



## winsteadc

Hi Kevin,

My niece who will be traveling to China with us insists that she take her laptop along. (She wants to post pictures to friends as the trip progresses) I am concerned about carrying that around on the trip and what to do with it while we are out during the day. Do many people take their laptops on these types of trips?


----------



## Cousin Orville

winsteadc said:


> Hi Kevin,
> 
> My niece who will be traveling to China with us insists that she take her laptop along. (She wants to post pictures to friends as the trip progresses) I am concerned about carrying that around on the trip and what to do with it while we are out during the day. Do many people take their laptops on these types of trips?



A few people (mostly teens) had laptops.  I saw them out on the planes.  I don't know what they did with them during the day.  I don't think the safes were big enough to accommodate them.  So, you'd have to just trust the maids, or carry them with you and probably leave them on the bus when you're out walking around.  I don't know if it's an option, but when I travel I carry my iPad Mini with me for lightweight and small size convenience.  You can get an adapter to load your pictures from an SD card to the iPad.  Let me know if you want any more info.  That's what I've used to post this trip report.

There is wifi everywhere but keep in mind you will need a VPN to upload photos to Facebook, twitter, google, gmail, and many other sites due to the Great Firewall of China.  In fact even if the site isn't blocked, internet without a vpn is slow due to the Chinese monitoring (I presume).  I got my vpn before I left from Express VPN (https://www.express-vpn.com) for my iPhone and iPad.  Worked well.  Occasionally you get kicked off the VPN, and occasionally I had to restart the iPhone, but it works.  There are free options as well that I did not try.


----------



## Cousin Orville

Day 11 (Part 2) Hong Kong Disneyland

Now it was what we were all waiting on - Hong Kong Disneyland!  I've been to WDW and Disneyland.  I went to Disneyland Paris last year, and I've been to Tokyo Disneyland many years ago, but not Tokyo DisneySea.  So this was a major highlight for me.  I was particularly excited to see Mystic Manor - their version of the Haunted Mansion.  Mystic Manor has a trackless ride system.  So, all the ride vehicles are independently operated.  The ride itself is a brand new story created by Imagineering - the first for a slow moving dark ride in a long time.  I was very excited to see it.

The ride over to HKDL was about 30-40 min.  We talked about how funny HKDL just has that Disney look.  The green wrought iron gates and fences.  The very well controlled landscaping.  Even though we hadn't been here before it has that familiar Disney style.  It reminds me of seeing the Disney Magic pop up in Dover or Barcelona.  You're in this foreign land full of new unfamiliar experiences and suddenly hey there's Disney!  We got out and took some pictures at the HK Disneyland sign, and then they issued us our tickets and some fast passes.  There's only two rides that have Fastpass - Winnie the Pooh and Space Mountain, but the park really wasn't too crowded so lines weren't bad at all.  We arrived around 3:30 and were given 3 hrs of free time to roam around on our own. 

Gavin and I headed down a somewhat familiar Main Street.  It was definitely a different styling than WDW.  I'm not as familiar with Disneyland even though I've been there a few times.  I think it was closer to Disneyland's Main Street, but still a bit different.  Of course there's Sleeping Beauty's Castle off at the end which was beautiful.  A couple of things struck me as odd.  One, there are no tracks on Main Street, and the street is all brick which is beautiful.  I believe Paris was like this as well.  Correct me if I'm wrong.  Another difference was the windows don't have the names honoring previously imagineers, etc.  Most are just blank windows.  It looked odd or unfinished.  But the whole street is picturesque.  The entire left side is one continuous emporium and the right has the confectionary and bakery.  It was a very similar set up to what most of us are familiar with.  The Sleeping Beauty Castle choice is really perfect because it is set in front of a mountain.  Very neat.  If they had built a larger castle, the relationship between the castle and mountain would have been unbalanced.  We headed left through Adventureland towards Mystic Point.  It's a little unusual layout that is best seen with a map.  

We walked on through Grizzly Gulch which is essentially Frontierland, and on to Mystic Point.  Mystic Point is an area which houses Mystic Manor, a similarly themed restaurant and a little park with optical illusions you can take photos in.  It's essentially built by a turn of the century British Colonial adventurer - Lord Henry Mystic (I'm working off memory, so I could have the name wrong.  I believe the initials HM are a reference to Haunted Mansion.). 30 min wait.  Longest we had to wait all day.  The queue takes you inside the Manor where you can check out the artifacts he and his sidekick monkey Alfred have found.  The queue takes you into a stretching room preshow of sorts - video explaining everything,  then onto the vehicles.  As I said trackless - very cool.  4 ride vehicles take off at the same time, but they all move in different directions.  Sometimes you're all in the same room together and sometimes you separate.  Very creative.  You start off in the room where a new music box has been delivered.  Alfred, against orders of Lord Mystic, opens it up to find the music has the power to turn inanimate objects to life.  You progress from room to room - the music room, the armory, the Ancient Greek and Roman halls, the Egyptian room, the Tribal art room and more when things get more and more out of hand with the finally being in the Chinese arts room. It's absolutely amazing.  They used all sorts of moderne special affect.  There's projections, and animatronics.  Everything.  Plus the music flies through the air with a new special affect where it looks like dots of light scattering through midair.  MM is the only ride I believe that has it.  I'm sure I'm not doing it justice, but it's amazing.  Easily now my favorite ride. We rode it maybe 3 times in a row.  (The other wait times were about 10-15 min.)  They also have a nice gift shop that has lots and lots of ride specific merchandise form shirts and pins, to an actual music box.  I picked up a music box (hangs head in geeky shame) and Gavin got a fez like Alfred and Lord Mystic wear.  Also picked up pins and shirts galore.  If you are a Disney parks fan and are considering China, this is a must do.  This is the best ride Disney Imagineers have ever made including Radiator Springs Racers. 

The clock was ticking down to our meeting time, so we went over to Grizzly Gulch.  The other big ride unlike anything in the US is Big Grizzly Mountian.  It's a roller coaster that is kind of a combination of Big Thunder Mountain, Expedition Everest, and Rock n Rollercoaster.  It looks like BTM, but goes backwards at times a la Everest (no spoiler as you see the coaster walking through Grizzly Gulch.  It also takes off like Rock n Roller Coaster mid ride (also can be seen while waking around).  It's my son's new favorite Roller Coaster.  I still prefer Everest because of the theme, but this is a very close 2nd.  He prefers this, because there are no big drops.  The story line is very funny too, and unlike BTM (which I understand in principle) the story here makes sense.  Another great ride.  

We went back to do MM again and then walked through Fantasyland where we decided to use some of our fastpasses at Winnie the Pooh.  It was pretty much the same, but the rain scene was even better.  It looked like rain was falling through the sky all around you.  At that point we only had a few more minutes so we walked over to the Emporium and shopped a bit more.  I found my DW a couple of shirts, but the men's selections weren't very good.

Dinner was at 6:30 at the Plaza Restaurant.  It looked very 19th century American on the outside and very Traditional Chinese on the inside.  We had one last Chinese meal there.  It was good.  Nothing spectacular, but of course the atmosphere and being inside HKDL was very cool.  Dinner finished a few minutes before the fireworks show started so we all walked outside and watched the fireworks.  Not a bad way to finish up the ABD.

Afterward we had our finale.  Not sure if that's a spoiler or not.  Anyway it too was in HKDL.  We left the park well after closing and took the bus home.  Back at the lobby we all said our goodbyes.  As I said before, it's always emotional when the these things end, but it was a great time.  Even though tomorrow is technically Day 12, everyone is pretty much leaving early and so there's nothing really going on.   As a quick comparison, in SE Asia the flights seemed to leave rather late so there was more time to tour around on Day 12.  Not here in HK.  So we said our final good byes to Christian and Steven and to all the other guests.    We will miss them greatly.  They were all amazing people.  I hope we luck out and see some again on an upcoming trip.


----------



## Cousin Orville

Hope you don't mind a lot of HKDL pics...


----------



## Cousin Orville

Big Grizzly Mountain










More of Grizzly Gulch










In the queue for Mystic Manor










Notice anyone special at the opening of Mystic Manor?





Walt and Roy at the opening!















More Mystic Manor queue


----------



## Cousin Orville

Back over to Grizzly Gulch


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## Cousin Orville




----------



## Cousin Orville

And finally...


----------



## DisFan10

Great photos, Cousin Orville!  I also enjoyed reading your very descriptive post of the attractions. It's cute how Gavin gave a thumbs up to everything.

We really enjoyed HKDL too, with its smaller crowds and amazing rides.  The attention to detail at Mystic Manor is amazing.  We had dinner at the Plaza Inn too.  The food was very good.

I see that it was raining when you were there.  Was it also very humid and warm?


----------



## Cousin Orville

DisFan10 said:


> I see that it was raining when you were there.  Was it also very humid and warm?



Oh, yeah.  The rain wasn't too bad, but it was very humid.  Day 11 wasn't too hot, but our post days were very hot.  Temperatures reached 88-90, but the heat index was in the high 90's.


----------



## DisFan10

Cousin Orville said:


> Oh, yeah.  The rain wasn't too bad, but it was very humid.  Day 11 wasn't too hot, but our post days were very hot.  Temperatures reached 88-90, but the heat index was in the high 90's.



WoW, that's _almost_ as hot & humid as Laos!

By the way, which HKDL Resort restaurant did you have lunch at?  Was it the Enchanted Garden buffet restaurant?


----------



## Cousin Orville

DisFan10 said:


> WoW, that's _almost_ as hot & humid as Laos!
> 
> By the way, which HKDL Resort restaurant did you have lunch at?  Was it the Enchanted Garden buffet restaurant?



Walt's Cafe. That was on our last day on our own in HKDL.


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## mbferruggia

Thank you Cousin Orville for an amazing trip report on China.  Loved all the photos.


----------



## Cousin Orville

Day 12 Hong Kong

Well this morning was kind of depressing to be honest.  Its technically the last day of the adventure, but it was pretty much over.  Just about everyone, including the guides had early flights to catch.  So we didnt expect to see anyone.  Hanging around the terminal city after an ABD is finished has its plusses and minuses.  The same really applies to the European cruises weve done as well.  At least for us.  We stayed once a few days in London after a DCL cruise and once in Barcelona.  We did fun things, dont get me wrong, but its kind of a downer getting finished with a big organized trip like that.  Part of me just wants to go home.  As I mentioned in a previous post, I think ABDs are even more difficult, because you miss all your travel companions and guides.  Overall, Im glad we had a chance to stick around Honk Kong a couple more days, but it was a little sad, especially today.

We went down for breakfast and didnt see anyone we recognized.  Gavin had toast.  I had a waffle.  We discussed over breakfast what we wanted to do today.  Suddenly, Steven came by.  It was a pleasant surprise.  He was flying out soon, but we had a nice conversation.  Ever the ABD guide he talked about some fun things to do in Hong Kong.  Sorry, Steven, I never got around to seeing all the little Pandas.   We said our goodbyes and Gavin and I were together again on our own as we started the trip.  Gavin and I decided to go back to Disneyland.  We had really only seen half the park last night, and I wanted to go back on Mystic Manor.

The iPhone has a great MTR subway app.  And it navigated us perfectly from the station right by our hotel to HKDL.  Getting a ticket was pretty user friendly.  I ended up making the mistake in selecting Sunny Bay as our final destination rather than Disneyland.  Sunny Bay is the station you get off to catch the Disneyland train and theres a fee for that train.  So when we finally got to HKDL my ticket was rejected by the exit booth and I had to undergo the walk of shame to the help desk.   The DL train is pretty cool.  It has Mickey handle bars and Mickey windows.  It was kind of cool to see a Disneyfied subway/train.

We bought 2 day tickets on the chance we may go again tomorrow.  The price wasnt too much more.  We headed over to Tomorrowland for Space Mountain.  Much smoother than the WDW version.  Rode Buzz Lightyear before heading to Fantasyland.  Philharmagic was incredibly popular.  It was a packed theater.  Sadly, they arent any better in Hong Kong at moving all the way to the end of the row filling all available spaces.  Gavin and I had to walk around to the other side of the theater to get to some open seats.  We hit Small World.  Nicely different from the US versions.  Afterwards we went back to Grizzly Gulch and Mystic Point to ride Gavin and my favorites.  We ate over at Mystic Manor.  The ride continues in theme at least to their adjacent counter service restaurant.  There are multiple rooms from which to choose to eat.  Russia, Morocco & Egypt (which somewhat appropriate is partially outdoors without A/C), India, and China.  We chose India.  There are neat pictures, artifacts and even letters from Lord Mystic.  Pretty cool if you take the time to read a few.

I really like HK Disneyland.  Its small yes, but it packs a punch with Mystic Manor and Big Grizzly Mountain - easily two of Disneys best rides anywhere.  I love the mountains in the background.  Love the bricked Main Street.  I checked my pictures and Paris does indeed have a bricked Main Street with rails.  HKDLs brick has a prettier color and I like the fact that theres no rails.  I wish they would brick WDWs, but Id imagine that would be difficult to do considering traffic flow.  They had live entertainment as well including an awesome piano player on Main Street.  Comparing it to Paris, I like HK more, although the weather is better in Paris.  It was hot and humid today.  Gavin and I took a page out of the Asian playbook and bought a Mystic Manor sun umbrella.  I think we were the only Westerners walking around with an umbrella.  It helped a bit.  

After lunch we headed back to the hotel and rested for a couple of hours.  Dinnertime rolled around and we decided to eat in the hotel.  Theres a restaurant, Angelinas in the Shangri La that was awesome.  Its fine dining Italian.  Im not sure it if it has a Michelin star, but Id imagine its close.  Its ranked 11th on HKs trip advisor out of 4,000.  I chose the pre fixe menu.  It was a cool menu, because you had the option of picking 3, 4, or 5 courses.  Traveling with Gavin I just chose 3 for time although I could have easily handled more.   You could choose any of the courses as well.  The menu had 5 or 6 courses each with 2 options as I remember.  I chose the Shrimp tempura and grapefruit sauce.  Odd combo but very good.   Next was a ravioli with octopus.  And last was a John Dory.  Gavin chose to order off the menu, because thats how he rolls, and chose pasta carbonara for which he gave two thumbs up.  We ate at 6 because we wanted to finish before the 8pm laser light show in Victoria Harbor.  We were the only ones in the restaurant.  The Maitre D came by and talked with us for while.  I think he was bored, but he was very professional.  He was from Venice and we talked about going to Venice soon.  He had never been into Mainland China, so we chatted all about our trip as well.

We walked out to the Avenue of the Stars - a promenade overlooking Victoria Harbor.  This is HKs version of Hollywoods Walk of Fame.  They have HK actors' and directors' handprints and some fun statues.  We found our spot for watching the Symphony of Lights show.  Not quite as impressive as I was hoping, but we enjoyed it.  Afterward we walked around and found a park for Gavin to burn off the last bit of energy he had before turning in for the night.


----------



## Cousin Orville

Hope you don't mind more HKDL photos...





Gavin and Steven





Gavin a bit unsure about the subway at first





Tsim Sha Tsui -> Lai King -> Sunny Bay -> Disneyland





Catch the train at Sunny Bay to Disneyland!





check out the windows!

























Inside Space Mountain


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## Cousin Orville

There must be a party in Its a Small World










Talk about some lesser known references - Clopin.  I was impressed Gavin knew what movie this was from.





Their version of Push





The Jungle Cruise with Trazans treehouse behind it.  One of the few rides we didnt do.  Too hot for that.





Another lesser known reference


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## Cousin Orville

Day 12 continued















Russia










Morocco





Egypt


















































Sadly the Paddy Wagon was out of service


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## Cousin Orville

Gavin unsure about the amuse bouche - ended up liking it





view from our table





Tempura Shrimp





Ravioli

Sorry I ate the John Dory too fast…. no pic















On Avenue of the Stars


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## DisFan10

Great photos, Cousin Orville!

I know that condition you described well.  The "AbD post-trip depression" followed by the "AbD post-trip withdrawal".  It's an addiction, really... The only known remedy is to book another AbD as soon as possible!  Which I see you've done already.  Just what the doctor ordered. 

I'm surprised that none of your fellow Adventurers stayed any extra days in Hong Kong.  There's so much to see and do and eat!

It looks like you enjoyed a beautiful sunny day at HKDL.  You can't tell from the pics that it was that hot and humid...

That Disneyland train is awewome!  I think WDW should do something similar with their WDW buses.


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## pxlbarrel

Did you go to Toy Storyland?

Jungle Cruise is unique there ... there are 3 lines ... one for Catonese, one for Mandarin and the other one for English.  The English one is usually the shortest and unfortunately, the untrained Chinese Disney fan, hops into it without realizing you really need to understand the language in this ride. LOL  I remember being on it and seeing a few blank stares at the really bad jokes.


----------



## Cousin Orville

DisFan10 said:


> It looks like you enjoyed a beautiful sunny day at HKDL.  You can't tell from the pics that it was that hot and humid...








On the train going back to the hotel.  That's the sweaty and tired thumbs up


----------



## Cousin Orville

DisFan10 said:


> I'm surprised that none of your fellow Adventurers stayed any extra days in Hong Kong.  There's so much to see and do and eat!



One other family stayed as well for 5 days.  This was the first ABD that we stayed for post days.  Because it ended in Hong Kong, I think it was a good idea.  It gave us some more time in HK Disneyland which we both enjoyed and more time walking around the city.

This was the first ABD we had stayed for post days after the trip, but I think it's helpful here in Hong Kong due to the limited ABD touring time in the trip.  ABD excels at taking you to the small towns or more out of the way cities and coordinating transportation and activities.  It's not quite as good at the big cities at the beginning or end of a trip.  For example, we didn't see much of Paris where the France ABD ends.  Also, we didn't see much of Saigon where the SE Asia ABD begins.  That's fine with me though, because you have the option of making the total trip longer if you want by adding the pre or post days.

For my trip next year, they only stop in Sydney for a couple of days, but it's in the middle of the trip.  So I'm trying to decide if it's worth flying to Sydney before or after the trip and for how long.  Logistically that's not quite as easy as say just staying at the same hotel in Hong Kong.


----------



## DisFan10

Cousin Orville said:


> On the train going back to the hotel.  That's the sweaty and tired thumbs up



Very cute... LOL


----------



## DisFan10

Cousin Orville said:


> One other family stayed as well for 5 days.  This was the first ABD that we stayed for post days.  Because it ended in Hong Kong, I think it was a good idea.  It gave us some more time in HK Disneyland which we both enjoyed and more time walking around the city.
> 
> This was the first ABD we had stayed for post days after the trip, but I think it's helpful here in Hong Kong due to the limited ABD touring time in the trip.  ABD excels at taking you to the small towns or more out of the way cities and coordinating transportation and activities.  It's not quite as good at the big cities at the beginning or end of a trip.  For example, we didn't see much of Paris where the France ABD ends.  Also, we didn't see much of Saigon where the SE Asia ABD begins.  That's fine with me though, because you have the option of making the total trip longer if you want by adding the pre or post days.
> 
> For my trip next year, they only stop in Sydney for a couple of days, but it's in the middle of the trip.  So I'm trying to decide if it's worth flying to Sydney before or after the trip and for how long.  Logistically that's not quite as easy as say just staying at the same hotel in Hong Kong.



I totally agree with your reasoning.  We've always done pre-days and I think we've done post-days on about half of our trips.

Are you planning to fit Melbourne in somewhere during the trip?


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## Cousin Orville

DisFan10 said:


> Are you planning to fit Melbourne in somewhere during the trip?



Haven't really thought about it.  Should I?


----------



## pixiepirate

Cousin Orville, really enjoying your trip report.  I'm looking forward to hearing about your Australia trip as we have just booked the Oct 2015 tour.  How did you go about booking your private tour in Beijing?


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## Cousin Orville

pixiepirate said:


> Cousin Orville, really enjoying your trip report.  I'm looking forward to hearing about your Australia trip as we have just booked the Oct 2015 tour.  How did you go about booking your private tour in Beijing?



I found her on trip advisor.  Her name is Jessie.  She was great.


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## DisFan10

Cousin Orville said:


> Haven't really thought about it.  Should I?



I think you should.  You're already Down Under and it's a great city for foodies.  When Anthony Bourdain was there, he famously declared, "I'd rather eat in Melbourne than Paris".

http://www.visitmelbourne.com/


----------



## Cousin Orville

DisFan10 said:


> I think you should.  You're already Down Under and it's a great city for foodies.  When Anthony Bourdain was there, he famously declared, "I'd rather eat in Melbourne than Paris".
> 
> http://www.visitmelbourne.com/



Thanks!  I'll look at that.


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## Cousin Orville

Postday 1 Hong Kong

We had a very similar routine today.  We slept in again, went down for breakfast, and talked about what we wanted to do today.  Gavin wanted to go back to Disneyland again.  I figured he would which is why I gambled on the 2 day tickets yesterday.  So now that were subway pros in Hong Kong we headed down with no problem and arrived shortly after 10am opening.  I know Ive posted a ridiculous number of pictures of the parks already so Ill throw in just a few selected pictures this time.

We went straight to Grizzly Gulch and Mystic Point and spent about 2 hours going back and forth between our favorite rides and lands.  For lunch we went over to the Disneyland Hotel and ate at Walts cafe.  It was ok.  Nothing life changing.  Gavin didnt like his meal and the manager noticed and offered to make him anything.  Gavin asked for spaghetti and the manager very nicely obliged.  The spaghetti was a hit.  We walked around the inside of the resort a bit and went back to the shuttle bus to go back to the park.  There was a teenage boy in a wheelchair in front of us in line to the bus.  Dad had to help him out of the wheel chair and onto the bus.  The bus was not an easy entry style like in WDW.  Its a coach with one narrow entrance and stairs.  I felt bad for them.  After they struggled up into the bus, dad had to come back down to fold up the wheelchair and place it under the bus.  I wonder why Disney doesn't have anything more accommodating for its shuttle bus.  Hong Kong itself has more busses than you can believe.  Theyre all over the place and many are easy entry/no stairs.  I dont know why Disney cant fix this obvious problem.

We returned to the park entrance but went straight to the train and headed back to Kowloon.  We went back to our normal subway station, but instead of going to our hotel we went to the Hong Kong History Museum.  A nice indoor air conditioned activity.  It had high ratings on trip advisor, and it turned out to be a great museum.  It went through the entire history of HK from the ancient dynasties to the British occupation through WWII and the return to China.    There were lots of recreated scenes you could walk through such as a fishing village, a pre WWII city street in HK, a 1930s home, 1950s shops, and many many more.  It was really cool.

After the museum we rested at resort.  Then for dinner we went over to Nathan Road to walk around.  Nathan road is known for its big neon signs advertising businesses and restaurants.  They're everywhere.  Gavin found a spaghetti restaurant he wanted to go to.  It was upstairs and you couldnt see inside from the street.  I was very skeptical, but decided to give it a try.  It was packed inside.  Lots of locals.. Or at least I think they were locals.  The food was very good.  Gavin and I shared a large pizza.  

We walked around a bit more.  We went into the Peninsula which is very close to the Shangri La.  The Peninsula is a beautiful hotel.  Prettier than even the Shanghai version.  Im very jealous of those taking next years tour!  You're in for a treat.

We headed back to the hotel.  Gavin wanted to make sure we got to bed early so wed wake up on time for the flight home tomorrow.  He went to bed while I worked on my trip reports and packed up everything.  Our suitcases are now packed full of dirty clothes and souvenirs.  The sign of a wonderful trip


----------



## Cousin Orville

A reconstructed 1950’s tea house.  Looks like a 1950’s American soda fountain… except for the tea





Lots of couples getting their pictures taken by the harbor






























Valet at the Peninsula


----------



## tgeorge

Cousin Orville....I agree with DisFan10. You should definitely think about Melbourne. My graduate school PI is from Melbourne and we have friends from Melbourne. It sounds like a great location and a place you guys would probably really enjoy


----------



## DisFan10

Another great installment and photos, Cousin Orville!

It looks like you had a full day of fun activities.  Did you miss having the Adventure Guides around to handle all the logistics? 

The Hong Kong History Museum looks like a very interesting place to visit.  Where was that display of Transformers Pandas located?

I like that pic of Gavin duplicating the Bayon Temple face-to-face.  Was that near the Jungle Cruise?

The Peninsula Hong Kong looks beautiful.  Were those the hotel's Rolls Royces?


----------



## sayhello

Kevin, thanks *so* much for an amazing trip report!  You can never post too many pictures, especially of a Disney Park I haven't been to!    It looks like you two really had a fabulous adventure, and I have seriously placed this on the top of my list for 2016.  

Please, when you get the chance, put a link to this fabulous report on the Trip Report Sticky!

Sayhello


----------



## distravel

tgeorge said:


> Cousin Orville....I agree with DisFan10. You should definitely think about Melbourne. My graduate school PI is from Melbourne and we have friends from Melbourne. It sounds like a great location and a place you guys would probably really enjoy



Cousin Orville,

We went on the Australia ABD in 2011 before the change in itinerary that includes Tasmania. The trip was fantastic!! We went to Melbourne and Kangaroo Island  on our own after the ABD ended. The highlight of the Melbourne leg of our trip was a tour to Phillips Island to watch the penguins return from the ocean at dusk and scurry across the beach to their nests. If you do decide to go to Melbourne this would be a great side trip.

Kangaroo Island is a great place to see kangaroos, koalas, seal lions & seals in the "wild". The scenery there is beautiful. Tasmania probably includes a lot of nature and local animals similar to Kangaroo Island.

Thanks for the wonderful trip report on China.

Kathy


----------



## Cousin Orville

DisFan10 said:


> Another great installment and photos, Cousin Orville!
> 
> It looks like you had a full day of fun activities.  Did you miss having the Adventure Guides around to handle all the logistics?
> 
> The Hong Kong History Museum looks like a very interesting place to visit.  Where was that display of Transformers Pandas located?
> 
> I like that pic of Gavin duplicating the Bayon Temple face-to-face.  Was that near the Jungle Cruise?
> 
> The Peninsula Hong Kong looks beautiful.  Were those the hotel's Rolls Royces?



I missed the guides, but it was nice to have a couple days at the end to sleep in and kind of do something that maybe other people wouldn't want to do like go to HKDL a couple of mornings in a row.  On the other hand, it's nice to have organize activities that I would frankly be too lazy to organize on my own.  I considered taking one of the open air nighttime bus tours of HK, but was too lazy to figure out where and when to catch it so we ended up walking around.  The guides would have been great in that situation!

The Pandas were right around Nathan Road.  We just stumbled upon them.  Very cool!

Yep we couldn't resist duplicating the Bayon Temp pose.    Just after you cross the bridge from the hub to Adventureland, it's on your left.

I'm sure those were the hotels RR's.  Someone else's Lamborghini parked right up front.  They parked all the poor people's Aston Martins and Porsches on the sides. Haha!


----------



## Cousin Orville

distravel said:


> Cousin Orville,
> 
> We went on the Australia ABD in 2011 before the change in itinerary that includes Tasmania. The trip was fantastic!! We went to Melbourne and Kangaroo Island  on our own after the ABD ended. The highlight of the Melbourne leg of our trip was a tour to Phillips Island to watch the penguins return from the ocean at dusk and scurry across the beach to their nests. If you do decide to go to Melbourne this would be a great side trip.
> 
> Kangaroo Island is a great place to see kangaroos, koalas, seal lions & seals in the "wild". The scenery there is beautiful. Tasmania probably includes a lot of nature and local animals similar to Kangaroo Island.
> 
> Thanks for the wonderful trip report on China.
> 
> Kathy



How did you get from Melbourne to Kangaroo Island.  Did you do it as a day trip?  It looks kind of far.


----------



## Cousin Orville

Postday 2 - Hong Kong

I’m going to break my routine of putting the daily photos after the trip report.  Sorry, the pictures of our last day are kind of boring...





One more pic from our room.  There’s a lot of construction going on around the waterfront too.  I think next year’s Peninsula choice should avoid that.





Spent the last of our HK$ on a travel umbrella.  Pretty cool one too.  You can push a button to not only open it, but close it as well.  





Waiting for the long plane ride home.  Ran into an add for Ephesus.  We’ll actually be there soon.





So, with my credit card I get a supposed priority boarding for United flights.  Ha!  Look at that line!  And we were in the middle of the line.  It was probably a shorter line for the NON priority boarding.





Setting up camp for the next 14 hrs to San Francisco.  Business Class seats would be sooo nice right about now.  I may have to bite the bullet and look into that for Australia.


----------



## distravel

Cousin Orville said:


> How did you get from Melbourne to Kangaroo Island.  Did you do it as a day trip?  It looks kind of far.



We flew from Melbourne to Adelaide then took a smaller plane to Kangaroo Island and stayed for two nights. You can also take a ferry across.

Before Tasmania was added to the Australia ABD the trip was only 9 days so we added on Melbourne and Kangaroo Island to extend the trip to two weeks. It looks like there are a lot of nature adventures and opportunities to see animals since the addition of Tasmania. I would love to repeat this trip one day and explore Tasmania. Australia is so beautiful I am sure you and your son will have a wonderful experience. 

I don't know if your son has any interest in Astronomy but it may be worthwhile to read about the view of the stars from the southern hemisphere. The night sky at Ayers Rock is so clear. You will see so many stars and a spectacular view of the Milky Way.


----------



## Cousin Orville

distravel said:


> I don't know if your son has any interest in Astronomy but it may be worthwhile to read about the view of the stars from the southern hemisphere. The night sky at Ayers Rock is so clear. You will see so many stars and a spectacular view of the Milky Way.



Great! Thanks for the tip!


----------



## Cousin Orville

Postday 2 - Hong Kong

Today we fly home.  Our flight was around 11:30 am.  Bags to be taken down at 8 and driver pickup at 8:30 as arranged by ABD.  While going to breakfast I noticed one of our fellow adventurers, Peter sitting in a corner by himself.  We hadn’t seen anyone, other than Steven, since our last night together.  So, it was a nice surprise.  We chatted for a bit.  He was going with his family over to Macau for the day.  I had strongly considered doing that as well, but with just a couple of post days, decided against it.  It was a pleasure seeing him for a bit.  Gavin and I were both sad and excited to be leaving.  The drive to the airport was uneventful.  As was check in/ security/ etc.  We shopped around for a bit.  I texted last min souvenir choices back home for opinions.  My DW, Kate, really wanted a cool travel umbrella so that depleted the rest of our HK$.

Flight home was also uneventful.  Gavin does very well flying long distances now.  As do I, but certainly I was eyeing the business class cabin.  Looks pretty nice.  I may have look into miles or something for Australia.   China is a long flight.  Australia must feel like your living in the plane long term.  United didn’t have in-seat entertainment or A/C plugs to plug in your iPad.  Can you believe that?!  13.5 hrs?!  Thankfully I did some research ahead of time and planned for this with battery packs and loaded iPads, but still.  In 2014, that’s ridiculous.

Now that I’m home I’ve had some time to reflect.  I know many have asked about this trip in comparison to Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia.  They’re both amazing trips.  You really can’t go wrong with either.  China is a bit more amazing race style where you are squeezing in an extra flight and city.  And China has no laid back days like SE Asia has (such as Hoi An).  But there are more bucket list sites in China (Forbidden City, Great Wall, Pandas, Terracotta Warriors, Shanghai night skyline, Gumdrop Mountains).  SE Asia, probably has more variety of cities from the big the Capitalistic Saigon, to the traditional Hanoi, to the Hawaii like Hoi An, to the jungles of Laos and Cambodia.  In China, other than Guilin, all of the cities are huge.  They do vary a lot in their style and atmosphere.

Food wise, I have to give it to SE Asia.  The two standouts were the ABD paid for dinners in Hoi An and Hanoi where you get to choose where you eat and you select from a menu.   Even the other restaurants were great to excellent.  Cirrus in Saigon and the pool side barbecue in Laos come to mind.  Other than M on the Bund and the Dim Sum restaurants in Shanghai, I’m not sure there were any major standouts.  The Royal Restaurant with the Tea Ceremony in Beijing was nice.  Lunch and dinner in Hong Kong were good, but not outstandingly good.  I wouldn’t make a point to return to any of those.  ABD China needs to add a higher end restaurant to Beijing.  I suggest they contact Capital M as it is very nice, has a great view, they obviously have a relationship with M on the Bund, and  there’s a fun evening touristy area right beside it.  In Chengdu, they let you eat on your own at the buffet in the Ritz.  It was good.  Again, it didn’t blow my mind away.  I think upgrading to eating at one of the sit down restaurants in the Ritz would have been a better choice (similar to what they do in Hanoi).  Xi’an was a disaster in my book.  I have zero doubt there are great lunch options there.  (Research the top 20 or so restaurants on tripadvisor Xi’an to see who wants the business. Pick a few to visit to check cleanliness and atmosphere.  I’m not sure what’s so difficult.)

Overall, China and SE Asia are pretty equal in my mind.  I strongly recommend both.  And if you’ve concentrated on US or European ABD’s, I highly recommend you giving one of these a try.  Asia is just so cool.  The people are so nice.  The attractions are so different from anything you’ve ever seen.  Is it intimidating? Maybe, but that’s why you’re doing an Adventures by Disney.  I would do either of these ABD’s again.  For me, SE Asia may be more repeatable because a lot of it is just enjoying the atmosphere of the cities and different countries.  It also seemed like there was more time on your own.  China was a little faster paced.  It’s amazing as is, but I’d be more likely to repeat it if there was there was an itinerary change to see some new places.

For those comparing Asian ABD’s, here’s my Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia trip report:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3127801

If you have any questions about either ABD, please let me know here or feel free to message me.  If any of my fellow travelers or guides come across this, Gavin and I miss you all!  I hope you’re doing well.  Please feel free to give everyone your own opinions.  Hope everyone has enjoyed it!  

Kevin


----------



## CA2FL

Cousin Orville - Thanks so much for a great review and helping me relive our trip in May.  Your photos were great and I was able to picture myself right there with you!
For those planning to go in the future, we also had two post tour days.  One added place to visit was "The Big Buddha" at the Po Lin Monastery.   It an easy subway ride away and then a fantastic 20 minute (approximate) clear "glass" gondola ride up the mountain.  Great view on the ride up/down and a nice peaceful visit around the grounds of the monastery.  Very much like a National Park atmosphere.  We combined that with an afternoon visit back to Disneyland.

Thanks again for the trip report.  I'm going to hop over to your SE Asia report now and start dreaming!


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## DisFan10

Cousin Orville, we really enjoyed reading your Trip Report and looking at all of the photos.  Thanks so much for taking the time to do it.

I thought a few your observations were quite humorous, like your suggestion for AbD to find a better restaurant in Xian (it's really not that difficult!) and United's priority boarding situation.  It looks like a lot of other people must have applied for their credit card.  Yes, I think Business Class or higher is the ONLY way to fly!  

Have you been able to access the Adventure Guides' photos online yet?


----------



## Cousin Orville

DisFan10 said:


> Cousin Orville, we really enjoyed reading your Trip Report and looking at all of the photos.  Thanks so much for taking the time to do it.
> 
> I thought a few your observations were quite humorous, like your suggestion for AbD to find a better restaurant in Xian (it's really not that difficult!) and United's priority boarding situation.  It looks like a lot of other people must have applied for their credit card.  Yes, I think Business Class or higher is the ONLY way to fly!
> 
> Have you been able to access the Adventure Guides' photos online yet?



Thanks for the kind words.  I have not tried to access the Guides' photos yet.  I need to.


----------



## JHashi

Hi Kevin,

Thanks for sharing your trip report!!  I enjoyed reading your TR - it was so fun to be able to relive the ABD trip - even though it just ended last week   Great pics too!!  

It was nice meeting you and Gavin   I am definitely hooked on ABD trips nowbut have a feeling that the China trip set the bar pretty high.  Am looking forward to hearing about your Backstage Magic trip as that one is on my "Must Do Soon" list.  

Take care!  Let us know if you're ever on the island!

Jenn


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## alagille

Kevin, I second the kudos! One thing that makes me a bit nervous is the "on your own time". I know everyone is an individual and we all like a certain amount of freedom. My concern having not previously done an ABD is what will I do? I certainly don't want the boys to just hang out in the room and watch TV (I'd kill them!), yet it doesn't seem immediately clear as to how to know WHAT to do. Did you research the days that have free time for options?


----------



## sayhello

alagille said:


> Kevin, I second the kudos! One thing that makes me a bit nervous is the "on your own time". I know everyone is an individual and we all like a certain amount of freedom. My concern having not previously done an ABD is what will I do? I certainly don't want the boys to just hang out in the room and watch TV (I'd kill them!), yet it doesn't seem immediately clear as to how to know WHAT to do. Did you research the days that have free time for options?


The Adventure Guides always have suggestions and directions if you don't know what you want to do.  Our free time in Paris, they suggested I check out the Sacré-Cur (which I loved!) and gave me a map and explicit directions how to get there by Metro.  They gave me several options, and that was the one that sounded best to me.

Sayhello


----------



## Cousin Orville

JHashi said:


> Hi Kevin,
> 
> Thanks for sharing your trip report!!  I enjoyed reading your TR - it was so fun to be able to relive the ABD trip - even though it just ended last week   Great pics too!!
> 
> It was nice meeting you and Gavin   I am definitely hooked on ABD trips nowbut have a feeling that the China trip set the bar pretty high.  Am looking forward to hearing about your Backstage Magic trip as that one is on my "Must Do Soon" list.
> 
> Take care!  Let us know if you're ever on the island!
> 
> Jenn



Thanks!  It was great meeting you too.  Say "hello" to Aulani for me the next time you're there!


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## Cousin Orville

alagille said:


> Kevin, I second the kudos! One thing that makes me a bit nervous is the "on your own time". I know everyone is an individual and we all like a certain amount of freedom. My concern having not previously done an ABD is what will I do? I certainly don't want the boys to just hang out in the room and watch TV (I'd kill them!), yet it doesn't seem immediately clear as to how to know WHAT to do. Did you research the days that have free time for options?



A lot of times you may want the time to relax or go to the pool/spa.  They're busy trips.  But I'm often one to get out and about.  I typically still read up on these places in guide books or look at the activities section on tripadvisor especially for the days with down time and decide what I might want to do.  Then as far as figuring out how to get there, you can decide walk, cab or subway and decide what you think is best for you.  I'm often lazy and just cab it.  If there is just a few hours often I'll rest a bit in the room or swim and go somewhere in walking distance to the hotel.  In China there wasn't a lot of on your own time.  In Beijing we walked down the street to the pedestrian marketplace.  In Chengdu, I use my goal of getting a starbucks mug to get us to walk around a bit and went to a nearby square/park.  In Shanghai, you're right near the Bund and waterfront, so it's super easy.

It really depends on how much free time and what trip you're doing.  Having said that, probably the best resource is to pose the specific questions here on the forum about your trip.  I'm doing the same regarding next year's Australia trip both for the pre days and the free time during the trip.


----------



## figment52

Great report - thank you.  Will you be doing one for your cruise as well?  I also read your SE Asia trip report.  I am looking forward to Australia next year.

I am getting the bug to try one of these now myself.


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## DebMA

I am enjoying reading your report on China-we went a couple years ago and are headed to SE Asia in 6 days. It sounds like they've changed the order of what they do in Beijing and a few of the restaurants too. The ones we were at were very good-excellent. As for this very long day in Xi'an, we had a very different lunch experience. We ate inside the complex at a small tea house. Limited choices, poor service, but much quicker than what you had. Guess they tried something new in hopes of improving lunch but instead made it worse. If it has to be a mediocre meal due to limited choices it would be nice if it at least wasn't dragged out for hours


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## DebMA

Cousin Orville said:


> They do have the huge full sized warriors.  They will ship them, but no idea how much.  Thousands I'm sure.   Apparently the quality of the warriors you buy at the official shop is much higher than the ones you see being sold in the markets.



We purchased a kneeling archer who guards our house. It was about $1500 and "included" shipping which took a few months to arrive. Then we had to pay something like a couple hundred dollars to pick him up at the harbor. Then getting him home had to borrow a truck, crazy hassle. BUT we love "Terra Cotta Tim" and are very happy we made the purchase.


----------



## Cousin Orville

DebMA said:


> We purchased a kneeling archer who guards our house. It was about $1500 and "included" shipping which took a few months to arrive. Then we had to pay something like a couple hundred dollars to pick him up at the harbor. Then getting him home had to borrow a truck, crazy hassle. BUT we love "Terra Cotta Tim" and are very happy we made the purchase.



That's awesome.  You should post a photo!

And yes, I agree, if your going to have a mediocre meal, don't drag it out into multiple long courses.


----------



## Cousin Orville

DebMA said:


> I am enjoying reading your report on China-we went a couple years ago and are headed to SE Asia in 6 days. It sounds like they've changed the order of what they do in Beijing and a few of the restaurants too. The ones we were at were very good-excellent. As for this very long day in Xi'an, we had a very different lunch experience. We ate inside the complex at a small tea house. Limited choices, poor service, but much quicker than what you had. Guess they tried something new in hopes of improving lunch but instead made it worse. If it has to be a mediocre meal due to limited choices it would be nice if it at least wasn't dragged out for hours



Oh and enjoy SE Asia!  You'll love it!


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## Cousin Orville

figment52 said:


> Great report - thank you.  Will you be doing one for your cruise as well?  I also read your SE Asia trip report.  I am looking forward to Australia next year.
> 
> I am getting the bug to try one of these now myself.



I don't think I'll be doing a med cruise report.  It's a little trickier posting photos from the ship with limited internet.  We just boarded the ship yesterday and are ready for a great cruise.  Certainly very different from an Adventures by Disney, but both are fun.  I saw the ABD booth at check in, and was a little bit jealous. .  That would be a fun combo.


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## alagille

Cousin Orville, I gain a little insight from each trip report I read. Just want to thank you for the beautiful photographs, mind expanding virtual touring, and sharing the info on your preferred camera. I was in need of a good little pocket sized "idiot proof" point and shoot since my coolpix finally died. I took your advice (based on the photos) and got the Sony RX-100,M2. OMG! I took photos at my son's swim meet and they were gorgeous! I cannot wait until Arizona/Utah to see the pics. Again, thanks for the recommendation. Donna


----------



## KYDIZFAN

Cousin Orville said:


> Yes, we ended our ABD in HKDL!  It was very cool.  Report and pics coming soon.
> 
> I think Shanghai might be the most expensive park ever built.  Right now the price tag is north of $5 Billion.  DisneySea used to be the most expensive park at $4 Billion.  It's going to be incredible.  I would love a DCL cruise there.  I think you and I might be the only ones, but if they offered it, we'd be there.



Me, My DW and DNiece would be right there with you!


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## benhungto

food in china is amazing! I love it so much but they are too fat


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## petals

great report


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## Cousin Orville

petals said:


> great report



Thanks for taking the time to read it!


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## NashSmartGuy

Thank you so much for a fantastic trip report.  This really helped me in deciding to book the ABD China trip for 2015.  I'm signed up for the September departure, and I can't wait!


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## Cousin Orville

NashSmartGuy said:


> Thank you so much for a fantastic trip report.  This really helped me in deciding to book the ABD China trip for 2015.  I'm signed up for the September departure, and I can't wait!



Thanks for the kind words!  I'm excited for you.  They changed the hotel in Hong Kong to the Peninsula - perhaps the best hotel in Hong Kong.  A very impressive move by ABD.   Are you adding any pre days?


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## sayhello

NashSmartGuy said:


> Thank you so much for a fantastic trip report.  This really helped me in deciding to book the ABD China trip for 2015.  I'm signed up for the September departure, and I can't wait!


If you'd like to post over in the China trip Meets thread, and let me know the date of your trip and the makeup of your traveling party, I can add you to the Roll Call on the first post of that thread.  

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2933875

That trip is definitely on my bucket list.  I'm thinking about it for 2017.

Sayhello


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## anonymousegirl

Thanks Cousin Orville for another great trip report. I was torn between SE Asia and China, plus my non Disney DH wasn't totally on board with ABD. I did get us booked for Peru and I know he will be on board once we do that one. 

So after reading both your reports, we are going to try for China in 2016. As you pointed out, ABD China just has so many of the must sees (Great Wall of China, pandas, Terracotta Warriors etc etc)


----------



## Cousin Orville

anonymousegirl said:


> Thanks Cousin Orville for another great trip report. I was torn between SE Asia and China, plus my non Disney DH wasn't totally on board with ABD. I did get us booked for Peru and I know he will be on board once we do that one.
> 
> So after reading both your reports, we are going to try for China in 2016. As you pointed out, ABD China just has so many of the must sees (Great Wall of China, pandas, Terracotta Warriors etc etc)



Both China and SE Asia are amazing.  It's hard to pick a favorite - you'll just have to do both     Peru is still very high on my list.  I'm 100% convinced your DH will love ABD.  I refuse to believe anyone can go on an ABD and not be instantly addicted.


----------



## NashSmartGuy

Cousin Orville said:


> Thanks for the kind words!  I'm excited for you.  They changed the hotel in Hong Kong to the Peninsula - perhaps the best hotel in Hong Kong.  A very impressive move by ABD.   Are you adding any pre days?



Yes, I've added one pre-day in Beijing.  I thought it would be good to help buffer the jet lag, and you pointed out some good things to see that are not a part of the ABD itinerary, like the Temple of Heaven and the Summer Palace.


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## engle

We used The China Guide for our one full day in Beijing. They were amazing. They took us to Temple of Heaven and Summer Palace as well as for a very authentic lunch. Another suggestion is the Lama Temple...we loved it. You will have some other free times where you can do this as well during the first few days of the trip.


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## NashSmartGuy

Thanks for the suggestion!  I looked at their website, and they look great.  I will probably book something with them for that day before the evening welcome reception.


----------



## engle

NashSmartGuy said:


> Thanks for the suggestion!  I looked at their website, and they look great.  I will probably book something with them for that day before the evening welcome reception.



The day we arrived we just hung out and walked around the area. The night market is close by and totally worth a stop. We used CHINA GUIDE the day of the welcome reception. You have all day so you'll want something to do!!

BTW, the room service at the Penninsula is great!!!


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## anonymousegirl

Cousin Orville said:


> Both China and SE Asia are amazing.  It's hard to pick a favorite - you'll just have to do both     Peru is still very high on my list.  I'm 100% convinced your DH will love ABD.  I refuse to believe anyone can go on an ABD and not be instantly addicted.



Until I read your reports, I was set on doing SE Asia first. But other than a short visit to Hong Kong in 1995, with a day trip to the mainland, I haven't done any China. On that trip I did two weeks in Thailand and someday would like to go back, but my bucket list just keeps growing and growing . . .


----------



## *WDW*Groupie*

Cousin Orville said:


> That's awesome.  You should post a photo!
> 
> And yes, I agree, if your going to have a mediocre meal, don't drag it out into multiple long courses.



Hello Cousin Orville!

We are going to China in summer, 2016 (we were supposed to go this year but dd wanted to wait another year -- she will hopefully be somewhat fluent in Mandarin by then).

Did you research Abercrombie and Kent family tours before you booked ABD?  Their tour has the 3 night cruise down the Yangtze which looks amazing.  Plus the itinerary appears to have more time in the cities, with Hong Kong as an optional add-on at the end (a *must do* for us).

The prices aren't too far off (except for the additional cost of airfare and Hong Kong with Abercrombie).  We LOVE ABD but want to see as much as we can while we are there!

Thoughts?


----------



## Cousin Orville

*WDW*Groupie* said:


> Hello Cousin Orville!
> 
> We are going to China in summer, 2016 (we were supposed to go this year but dd wanted to wait another year -- she will hopefully be somewhat fluent in Mandarin by then).
> 
> Did you research Abercrombie and Kent family tours before you booked ABD?  Their tour has the 3 night cruise down the Yangtze which looks amazing.  Plus the itinerary appears to have more time in the cities, with Hong Kong as an optional add-on at the end (a *must do* for us).
> 
> The prices aren't too far off (except for the additional cost of airfare and Hong Kong with Abercrombie).  We LOVE ABD but want to see as much as we can while we are there!
> 
> Thoughts?



I did not research that specific AK trip but I have looked into the company before.  I looked it up just now and see that the main differences are the omission of Guilin and Hong Kong and the presence of the yangtze cruise.  If there was one selling point of the China ABD it was Guilin.  I really wanted to see the "gumdrop" mountains.  It was amazing and my favorite part of a great trip.  I don't know how that length of the Yangtze compares, but I would choose the ABD because of Guilin.


----------



## NashSmartGuy

Cousin Orville said:


> I did not research that specific AK trip but I have looked into the company before.  I looked it up just now and see that the main differences are the omission of Guilin and Hong Kong and the presence of the yangtze cruise.  If there was one selling point of the China ABD it was Guilin.  I really wanted to see the "gumdrop" mountains.  It was amazing and my favorite part of a great trip.  I don't know how that length of the Yangtze compares, but I would choose the ABD because of Guilin.



That was exactly the same rationale that I used in selecting ABD over other tours.  Alexander + Roberts had a very good private tour itinerary that was quite similar to the ABD for less money.  I ultimately chose ABD because of the addition of Guilin (and Cousin Orville's pictures) and the opportunity to visit Hong Kong Disneyland as a part of the tour.  Also, ABD seemed to add in more extras as a part of the trip that were optional excursions with the other tour companies.  The only downside to the ABD trip (other than cost), was that they don't include actually holding the pandas.  Based upon everything I've read, I'm probably going to fork over the extra money to do that.  It's definitely one of those once in a lifetime things!


----------



## *WDW*Groupie*

Cousin Orville said:


> I did not research that specific AK trip but I have looked into the company before.  I looked it up just now and see that the main differences are the omission of Guilin and Hong Kong and the presence of the yangtze cruise.  If there was one selling point of the China ABD it was Guilin.  I really wanted to see the "gumdrop" mountains.  It was amazing and my favorite part of a great trip.  I don't know how that length of the Yangtze compares, but I would choose the ABD because of Guilin.



Thank you.  Those are great points.  ABD also has a wider selection of dates, so it will probably win us over (the new Rosewood Beijing also looks amazing; I hope they don't change that for 2016!).  Now I just have to wait until the dates for 2016 come out to book!!

Back to reading about Australia for our upcoming trip!


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## Sarabi's Cubs

I really enjoyed your report!  Thanks for all of the detail.  China seems so intimidating to me, and this report really broke it down.

Laurie


----------



## KashasMom

Cousin Orville - thanks for the great report and photos. We are experienced travellers but I just don't have the energy to plan all the logistics for China so it looks like we'll be doing the ABD in 2017. My daughter will have just turned 8 and I know you mentioned about the older kids in the group but were there any kids closer to Gavin's age? I'm not sure whether or not that will matter. 

Looks like you had a lot of rain or rainy days. I may have missed it but...what month did you travel? 

The itinerary for 2017 is different than yours - so we'll miss pre-tour time in Beijing. A little disappointed about that so will see how much we can work in on our free time. The upside is that we'll be able to have extra time in both Disneys (Shanghai & HK). 

Sure hope they've improved on the food since you went.   I'm sure I'll have more questions....Thanks again.


----------



## Cousin Orville

KashasMom said:


> Cousin Orville - thanks for the great report and photos. We are experienced travellers but I just don't have the energy to plan all the logistics for China so it looks like we'll be doing the ABD in 2017. My daughter will have just turned 8 and I know you mentioned about the older kids in the group but were there any kids closer to Gavin's age? I'm not sure whether or not that will matter.
> 
> Looks like you had a lot of rain or rainy days. I may have missed it but...what month did you travel?
> 
> The itinerary for 2017 is different than yours - so we'll miss pre-tour time in Beijing. A little disappointed about that so will see how much we can work in on our free time. The upside is that we'll be able to have extra time in both Disneys (Shanghai & HK).
> 
> Sure hope they've improved on the food since you went.   I'm sure I'll have more questions....Thanks again.




Thanks!  We went in June.  There were other kids Gavin's age.  He was 9 at time.  There was an 8, a 10 and a couple of 11 year olds and so on.

Rain wasn't much of an issue in June.  In Beijing it might have rained in the middle of the night - can't remember now why the smog suddenly cleared up there.  When we got to Guillin it was rainy/misty the night we arrived, but then cleared up just in time for the morning creating a very atmospheric partly cloudy and misty cruise through the Gumdrop Mountains.  And in HK it often rains being tropical.  It wasn't a very heavy rain.  I don't remember ever having an umbrella other than for the oppressive sun in HK.  I wouldn't be too concerned about the weather.  The only down side of June is its hot in some places, particularly HK.  

They have definitely made improvements in both the food and hotels.  Hotels were actually quite nice, but now they're spectacular.  The restaurant in Beijing, Duck de Chine, should be very good.  It's very highly rated for Peking Duck.  It was a place I had considered eating on our own in 2014, but decided on Capital M.   Lunch in Xian also sounds much better.

We really enjoyed China.  We travel a good amount on our own as well.  China is a great place to do an ABD.  My DW and I are actually heading back there in Oct 2017 as well.


----------



## *WDW*Groupie*

Hi Cousin Orville!

I can't believe we leave for Beijing in less than 2 months.  We have our Chinese visas (aren't they pretty?) so we are all set.

I have a few questions for you...did anyone have any gastro issues on the trip?  

Did you ever wear long pants? 

How did much HKD did you bring and how much Yuan?  I prefer to pay mostly in cash so I need to decide how much of each to bring.

Did anyone have any issues with pickpockets?  A dad at my dd's school had his wallet and passport stolen before they left the Beijing airport.  Some locals created a disturbance and when it was over he was missing his valuables.  They watched it over on security tape.  I am usually very careful (money belt and, thanks to SayHello, my PacSafe handbag -- which I struggle to gain entry into!).

Thanks again!  We are so excited (we have already booked our table at Capital M and I have studied the maps of our hotel area in Beijing, to program my "built-in GPS").


----------



## sayhello

*WDW*Groupie* said:


> Hi Cousin Orville!
> 
> I can't believe we leave for Beijing in less than 2 months.  We have our Chinese visas (aren't they pretty?) so we are all set.
> 
> I have a few questions for you...did anyone have any gastro issues on the trip?
> 
> Did you ever wear long pants?
> 
> How did much HKD did you bring and how much Yuan?  I prefer to pay mostly in cash so I need to decide how much of each to bring.
> 
> Did anyone have any issues with pickpockets?  A dad at my dd's school had his wallet and passport stolen before they left the Beijing airport.  Some locals created a disturbance and when it was over he was missing his valuables.  They watched it over on security tape.  I am usually very careful (money belt and, thanks to SayHello, my PacSafe handbag -- which I struggle to gain entry into!).
> 
> Thanks again!  We are so excited (we have already booked our table at Capital M and I have studied the maps of our hotel area in Beijing, to program my "built-in GPS").


Whoohoo!  Do report back when you're done!   

How far in advance do you have to worry about the Chinese visas?

Sayhell


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## Cousin Orville

*WDW*Groupie* said:


> Hi Cousin Orville!
> 
> I can't believe we leave for Beijing in less than 2 months.  We have our Chinese visas (aren't they pretty?) so we are all set.
> 
> I have a few questions for you...did anyone have any gastro issues on the trip?
> 
> Did you ever wear long pants?
> 
> How did much HKD did you bring and how much Yuan?  I prefer to pay mostly in cash so I need to decide how much of each to bring.
> 
> Did anyone have any issues with pickpockets?  A dad at my dd's school had his wallet and passport stolen before they left the Beijing airport.  Some locals created a disturbance and when it was over he was missing his valuables.  They watched it over on security tape.  I am usually very careful (money belt and, thanks to SayHello, my PacSafe handbag -- which I struggle to gain entry into!).
> 
> Thanks again!  We are so excited (we have already booked our table at Capital M and I have studied the maps of our hotel area in Beijing, to program my "built-in GPS").



I wore shorts everyday.  I wore pants just a couple of nights at the nicer restaurants.

I don't remember how much money I brought.  I brought enough to cover our private guide and the pandas.  Beyond that maybe the equivalent of $100 in Yuan and HK$.  There are ATMs around if you don't want to bring too much.

No issues with pickpockets.  That's actually the first I've heard of issues with pickpockets in China.  I try to be as careful as possible within reason.  Try to get to the area around Capital M early.  It looked like a nice place to stroll around.  If you do, I'd love to hear your thoughts about the area.  We're heading back to China next year and may do Capital M again.  I'm also curious what you think about the Rosewood in Beijing.  It looks like a very nice hotel.

Enjoy China, I'm sure you'll love it.  Incidentally, I met who I guess will be your American ABD guide in China.  We were at Animal Kingdom a few days ago doing the Wild Africa Trek and one of our guides, Paola, had mentioned she was an ABD guide in the summer.  Come to find out she's guiding some of the China trips.  She was very nice of course.  Sounded like Jennae (who guided us in SE Asia) was also guiding one of the first China trips.


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## Cousin Orville

sayhello said:


> Whoohoo!  Do report back when you're done!
> 
> How far in advance do you have to worry about the Chinese visas?
> 
> Sayhell



I think I got my visa about 6 mo in advance.  I don't remember what they suggest or require.


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## sayhello

Cousin Orville said:


> Sounded like Jennae (who guided us in SE Asia) was also guiding one of the first China trips.


Oh, that's highly possible.  She's doing the Danube river cruises for the whole season this summer, but those don't start until July 7th.  I know she loves the China trip, and I keep hoping I'll be able to have her for our trip in 2017...



Cousin Orville said:


> I think I got my visa about 6 mo in advance.  I don't remember what they suggest or require.


Thanks!  I'll mark it on my calendar for 6 months out.  

Sayhello


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## Calfan

sayhello said:


> Oh, that's highly possible.  She's doing the Danube river cruises for the whole season this summer, but those don't start until July 7th.  I know she loves the China trip, and I keep hoping I'll be able to have her for our trip in 2017...
> 
> Thanks!  I'll mark it on my calendar for 6 months out.
> 
> Sayhello



I believe 3 months prior to your entry date into China is the earliest you can submit an application for a Chinese visa.  We just got ours for our trip this summer.  I assume ABD will provide you with the info you need to obtain your visa.  You need a letter of introduction from your tour provider that includes the names and dates of birth of all travelers, as well as an itinerary that shows where you are staying in China.  Thomson provided all of this to us, along with a link to a third party visa service.  We ended up getting ours directly from the Chinese consulate in San Francisco because my husband is going to Ireland BEFORE our China trip and wanted to make sure the visas were processed quickly and he had his passport back ASAP.  FYI that he dropped the applications/passports off at the Chinese consulate on a Tues. and picked them up on Fri. without paying any rush fee.


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## sayhello

Calfan said:


> I believe 3 months prior to your entry date into China is the earliest you can submit an application for a Chinese visa.  We just got ours for our trip this summer.  I assume ABD will provide you with the info you need to obtain your visa.  You need a letter of introduction from your tour provider that includes the names and dates of birth of all travelers, as well as an itinerary that shows where you are staying in China.  Thomson provided all of this to us, along with a link to a third party visa service.  We ended up getting ours directly from the Chinese consulate in San Francisco because my husband is going to Ireland BEFORE our China trip and wanted to make sure the visas were processed quickly and he had his passport back ASAP.  FYI that he dropped the applications/passports off at the Chinese consulate on a Tues. and picked them up on Fri. without paying any rush fee.


Thanks, Calfan.  ABD has already provided me with the letter, they sent it pretty much right after I made the reservation.

That makes me nervous to send them my passport!  I'm going to have to see if there's anywhere around here that I can go to get the Visa.  I have my doubts... Oh, well...

Sayhello


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## Cousin Orville

I checked my visa.  I applied for a 1 year Multiple Entry visa in November of 2013.  It states I could enter before November of 2014 (my ABD was Summer 2014) and stay for up to 60 days.  But I think Calfan is right, for a single entry visa, 3 months before the trip maybe be the earliest you can apply.  The fees and requirements for the multi and single entry visas were the same in 2013.  From what I can find online, I don't think that has changed.


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## RSM

You can get an expedited Chinese Visa.  I've been to China about 50 times over the past 13 year, and have gotten a visa in 2 weeks (expedited for a fee of course).  They are actually now giving out visas 10 years in duration.


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## *WDW*Groupie*

sayhello said:


> Thanks, Calfan.  ABD has already provided me with the letter, they sent it pretty much right after I made the reservation.
> 
> That makes me nervous to send them my passport!  I'm going to have to see if there's anywhere around here that I can go to get the Visa.  I have my doubts... Oh, well...
> 
> Sayhello



I used CIBT Visa and they were amazing.  I had them do a "pre-check" where I scanned all our paperwork in advance of sending the passports.  They sent back an e-mail stating what further information would be required (they needed me to write a letter stating why I reside in the US and am flying out of Toronto and also how and when I would be arriving and departing Toronto before and after the trip). 

I had our passports back in a week without any issues.

I have a friend who applied for visas about a month ago and still doesn't have the passports or visas.  They were told the Chinese Embassy may call to ask questions, though they have no idea what the Chinese Embassy wants to know that isn't on the application.  So I'd definitely apply closer to the 3 month mark.  I'm getting a bit nervous for them even though we are over a month away from our departure.  

We have a multiple entry visa since we are leaving the mainland (to visit HK) and flying back to Shanghai for a few days.  They still consider it leaving China when you leave mainland.


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## *WDW*Groupie*

Cousin Orville said:


> I wore shorts everyday.  I wore pants just a couple of nights at the nicer restaurants.
> 
> No issues with pickpockets.  That's actually the first I've heard of issues with pickpockets in China.  I try to be as careful as possible within reason.  Try to get to the area around Capital M early.  It looked like a nice place to stroll around.  If you do, I'd love to hear your thoughts about the area.  We're heading back to China next year and may do Capital M again.  I'm also curious what you think about the Rosewood in Beijing.  It looks like a very nice hotel.
> 
> Enjoy China, I'm sure you'll love it.  Incidentally, I met who I guess will be your American ABD guide in China.  We were at Animal Kingdom a few days ago doing the Wild Africa Trek and one of our guides, Paola, had mentioned she was an ABD guide in the summer.  Come to find out she's guiding some of the China trips.  She was very nice of course.  Sounded like Jennae (who guided us in SE Asia) was also guiding one of the first China trips.



We will do that!  Our reservation is the night before we join ABD so we should have plenty of time to get there early.  I am going to bring a print out of the map from the Capital M website and make sure the bellman gives it to the driver.  It should help that dd speaks Mandarin quite well, we'll see when we get there.

Did anyone on your tour have gastro issues?  I'm thinking about taking medication just in case.


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## Cousin Orville

*WDW*Groupie* said:


> We will do that!  Our reservation is the night before we join ABD so we should have plenty of time to get there early.  I am going to bring a print out of the map from the Capital M website and make sure the bellman gives it to the driver.  It should help that dd speaks Mandarin quite well, we'll see when we get there.
> 
> Did anyone on your tour have gastro issues?  I'm thinking about taking medication just in case.



Not that I'm aware of.


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## sayhello

*WDW*Groupie* said:


> I used CIBT Visa and they were amazing.  I had them do a "pre-check" where I scanned all our paperwork in advance of sending the passports.  They sent back an e-mail stating what further information would be required (they needed me to write a letter stating why I reside in the US and am flying out of Toronto and also how and when I would be arriving and departing Toronto before and after the trip).
> 
> I had our passports back in a week without any issues.
> 
> I have a friend who applied for visas about a month ago and still doesn't have the passports or visas.  They were told the Chinese Embassy may call to ask questions, though they have no idea what the Chinese Embassy wants to know that isn't on the application.  So I'd definitely apply closer to the 3 month mark.  I'm getting a bit nervous for them even though we are over a month away from our departure.
> 
> We have a multiple entry visa since we are leaving the mainland (to visit HK) and flying back to Shanghai for a few days.  They still consider it leaving China when you leave mainland.


Since the ABD starts in Hong Kong, I'm assuming that means I need a multiple entry Visa?  Or am I mis-understanding?

I will definitely check out CIBT Visa.  That sounds like the way to go!  Do they have a website?  How do you contact them?

Thanks!
Sayhello


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## RSM

You don't need a visa for Hong Kong.  Only mainland China.  So, if you only go from HK to China once, then you could probably get away with a single entry.  That being said, I would recommend a multi-entry visa to be safe.


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## sayhello

RSM said:


> You don't need a visa for Hong Kong.  Only mainland China.  So, if you only go from HK to China once, then you could probably get away with a single entry.  That being said, I would recommend a multi-entry visa to be safe.


Thanks, RSM.  Makes sense!  

Sayhello


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## *WDW*Groupie*

sayhello said:


> Since the ABD starts in Hong Kong, I'm assuming that means I need a multiple entry Visa?  Or am I mis-understanding?
> 
> I will definitely check out CIBT Visa.  That sounds like the way to go!  Do they have a website?  How do you contact them?
> 
> Thanks!
> Sayhello



Yes they have a website.  Strange thing is that you can't start an application on it.  You have to contact them and they will send an application via e-mail.  They are very helpful and I highly recommend them.  They are the company Abercrombie & Kent recommend which is where I obtained their information.



RSM said:


> You don't need a visa for Hong Kong.  Only mainland China.  So, if you only go from HK to China once, then you could probably get away with a single entry.  That being said, I would recommend a multi-entry visa to be safe.



ITA with this.  We need the re-entry Visa since we are technically leaving China for Hong Kong, then going back to Shanghai (so 2 entries to China if you will).  You would be fine with a single entry, but I'd ask CIBT to be safe.


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## sayhello

*WDW*Groupie* said:


> ITA with this.  We need the re-entry Visa since we are technically leaving China for Hong Kong, then going back to Shanghai (so 2 entries to China if you will).  You would be fine with a single entry, but I'd ask CIBT to be safe.


Is the multiple entry more expensive?  Or just more paperwork?

Sayhello


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## Cousin Orville

sayhello said:


> Is the multiple entry more expensive?  Or just more paperwork?
> 
> Sayhello



For US citizens it's all the same (most expensive) price.  ~$140 for any visa (single or multi entry).  For citizens of other countries, I believe a single entry visa is cheaper.  And I think on the application it's a box you check whether you are requesting a single or multi entry.  But someone may want to confirm that.  It's been a couple of years.

I requested a multi entry visa probably for 2 reasons.  1) to get the visa early in my planning stages.  2) to have it just in case.  I don't think I had fully worked out my trip plan at the time.

For next year, I will likely do the same - request the multi entry visa ~6mo prior to the trip.  I have no plan to actually exit and reenter the country though.  I hope it's still possible to do it that way.  In the 3 months immediately before China next year, I'll be in and out of the country and working.  It would make it less stressful if I can secure a visa before then.


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## *WDW*Groupie*

sayhello said:


> Is the multiple entry more expensive?  Or just more paperwork?
> 
> Sayhello



I don't think so.  Like Cousin Orville said I believe it's as easy as checking the box.  However I did include my plane tickets for the flight from Hong Kong to Shanghai (after the ABD tour) and also a copy of our hotel reservation in Shanghai.  I figured it's best to send paperwork for everything I have confirmed (and since they required the names and addresses of each hotel where we'd be staying on our trip -- including the ones with ABD).

Sayhello did you book a date for next year?  I'm so excited for you!


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## sayhello

*WDW*Groupie* said:


> I don't think so.  Like Cousin Orville said I believe it's as easy as checking the box.  However I did include my plane tickets for the flight from Hong Kong to Shanghai (after the ABD tour) and also a copy of our hotel reservation in Shanghai.  I figured it's best to send paperwork for everything I have confirmed (and since they required the names and addresses of each hotel where we'd be staying on our trip -- including the ones with ABD).
> 
> Sayhello did you book a date for next year?  I'm so excited for you!


Yes!  I've booked the June 4, 2017 trip (the same trip as CaliforniaGirl09 and her family!)  I'm really looking forward to it!  I've been eyeing that trip for a while now, and really thought it was about time!  

That makes me think, though, I probably need to have finalized my pre- and post-day hotels before applying for the Visa.  ABD wants a huge amount of money for those pre/post days, and I'm not sure yet if I'm willing to fork out that much for them.    I think I also need to figure out if I can book the same hotels for less myself...

Sayhello


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## *WDW*Groupie*

Cousin Orville, do you recall if the Starbucks app works in China?  I always have funds on my card (app) and find it's a much easier way to pay, especially when traveling!

Did you try any beverages in China?  Did they taste the same?  I tried a drink at a Starbucks in Sydney but it didn't quite taste the same even though the girls insisted they used the same ingredients.


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## KashasMom

Oh no! Got sidetracked this week and looks like I missed the Early Booking Discount. Trip is now $1,500 more than it was a week ago.


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## sayhello

KashasMom said:


> Oh no! Got sidetracked this week and looks like I missed the Early Booking Discount. Trip is now $1,500 more than it was a week ago.




Sayhello


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## Cousin Orville

*WDW*Groupie* said:


> Cousin Orville, do you recall if the Starbucks app works in China?  I always have funds on my card (app) and find it's a much easier way to pay, especially when traveling!
> 
> Did you try any beverages in China?  Did they taste the same?  I tried a drink at a Starbucks in Sydney but it didn't quite taste the same even though the girls insisted they used the same ingredients.



I didn't try the Starbucks app.  I didn't notice a difference in the taste of the drinks, but I also didn't notice a difference in Australia either.  I'm not a huge Starbucks drinker though.  I like their mugs and tumblers more than their coffee.  Btw, my wife accidentally dropped my Australia tumbler today and it broke.   so sad.  Had to order a new one on eBay.


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## *WDW*Groupie*

Cousin Orville said:


> I like their mugs and tumblers more than their coffee.  Btw, my wife accidentally dropped my Australia tumbler today and it broke.   so sad.  Had to order a new one on eBay.



I'm glad that you got one on e-bay.  I hope it's the same.

I don't let people drink out of my Starbucks destination mugs.  They are taboo -- I keep them in a separate cupboard and dh knows not to use them!  I am trying to decide how many to buy in China.  It would weigh my bag down considerably if I bought one in each city.  Maybe just Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai.  

I should use the one I bought in Lexington, KY tomorrow in honor of the derby (it is one of my favorites!).


----------



## Cousin Orville

*WDW*Groupie* said:


> I'm glad that you got one on e-bay.  I hope it's the same.
> 
> I don't let people drink out of my Starbucks destination mugs.  They are taboo -- I keep them in a separate cupboard and dh knows not to use them!  I am trying to decide how many to buy in China.  It would weigh my bag down considerably if I bought one in each city.  Maybe just Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai.
> 
> I should use the one I bought in Lexington, KY tomorrow in honor of the derby (it is one of my favorites!).




Haha...  We use our mugs and tumblers quite a bit.  They're actually quite durable.  But it's definitely pricey to replace them.  The Australia one I bought looks the same and it's sold by a guy in Sydney so hopefully it's not a Chinese knock off .

I bought Beijing, Chengdu (my favorite), and Hong Kong city mugs.  I also bought a Starbucks Shanghai mug, but it's not the classic city design.  It's a different Starbucks style.  Not a big fan.  I also bought tumbles from Hong Kong and Chengdu.  And if that wasn't enough, I wanted to buy a Xian mug at the airport but there wasn't enough time....  So I order one on eBay the next day (while still in China).  How's that for being obsessed?


----------



## anonymousegirl

So excited. DH and I are signed up for China October 9th, adult only, and I called today and it is a guaranteed departure!Interesting note, the rep said 21 adults and one 12 year old! I feel bad for the kid, no one to hang out with! Maybe they changed the departure from adult only and they;ll get some more families signed up.


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## tgeorge

anonymousegirl said:


> So excited. DH and I are signed up for China October 9th, adult only, and I called today and it is a guaranteed departure!Interesting note, the rep said 21 adults and one 12 year old! I feel bad for the kid, no one to hang out with! Maybe they changed the departure from adult only and they;ll get some more families signed up.



Yay! Now you officially don't have to worry  if it is a go or not. So, was it or listed as an adult only departure? I guess I was a little confused by your comment. Just wondering if this is something they are doing now to try to get more people signed up for certain dates.

Have a fantastic time ! It truly does look like an amazing trip.


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## calypso726

anonymousegirl said:


> So excited. DH and I are signed up for China October 9th, adult only, and I called today and it is a guaranteed departure!Interesting note, the rep said 21 adults and one 12 year old! I feel bad for the kid, no one to hang out with! Maybe they changed the departure from adult only and they;ll get some more families signed up.



Glad to hear your trip is a go! So, they changed your adults only departure without telling you???  That's insane! I imagine some of those guests are going to be shocked and seriously pissed off if that is the case. We've done both adult only and family departures so I'd be irritated over the change but not enough to make a huge stink over it. I'd be upset about not being told or given the choice to cancel and re-book due to the change. I have met some folks though, that simply want no part of traveling with children. I can only imagine the firestorm they would cause if they were to use their precious vacation time, spend all that money for an adult only trip, secure flights and then fly halfway around the world only to discover they were traveling with children after making sure they booked an adult only departure. Wow! Color me stunned! We are hoping to do this trip for 2018 and adult only.


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## anonymousegirl

calypso726 said:


> Glad to hear your trip is a go! So, they changed your adults only departure without telling you???  That's insane! I imagine some of those guests are going to be shocked and seriously pissed off if that is the case. We've done both adult only and family departures so I'd be irritated over the change but not enough to make a huge stink over it. I'd be upset about not being told or given the choice to cancel and re-book due to the change. I have met some folks though, that simply want no part of traveling with children. I can only imagine the firestorm they would cause if they were to use their precious vacation time, spend all that money for an adult only trip, secure flights and then fly halfway around the world only to discover they were traveling with children after making sure they booked an adult only departure. Wow! Color me stunned! We are hoping to do this trip for 2018 and adult only.





tgeorge said:


> Yay! Now you officially don't have to worry  if it is a go or not. So, was it or listed as an adult only departure? I guess I was a little confused by your comment. Just wondering if this is something they are doing now to try to get more people signed up for certain dates.
> 
> Have a fantastic time ! It truly does look like an amazing trip.



It was listed as adult only when we signed up. It is now not designated as such. I can live with the change although I was looking forward to seeing the difference between an adult only and a regular family trip. I sure hope they get more kids or that one kid is going to be lonely.

And I agree, we should have been notified of the change--just as a courtesy. 

And we have the old itinerary that does not include Shanghai Disneyland, so we have to do that on our own post-tour.


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## sayhello

anonymousegirl said:


> It was listed as adult only when we signed up. It is now not designated as such. I can live with the change although I was looking forward to seeing the difference between an adult only and a regular family trip. I sure hope they get more kids or that one kid is going to be lonely.
> 
> And I agree, we should have been notified of the change--just as a courtesy.
> 
> And we have the old itinerary that does not include Shanghai Disneyland, so we have to do that on our own post-tour.


If nothing else, I would assume that would be grounds for getting a refund on the trip if you wanted one, or switching to another Adults Only trip with no penalties.  They changed the trip you signed up for.  And didn't notify you.  I wouldn't be happy about that whether I minded kids or not.

Sayhell


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## anonymousegirl

sayhello said:


> If nothing else, I would assume that would be grounds for getting a refund on the trip if you wanted one, or switching to another Adults Only trip with no penalties.  They changed the trip you signed up for.  And didn't notify you.  I wouldn't be happy about that whether I minded kids or not.
> 
> Sayhello


 Well to add insult to injury, I called today and asked about the "old itinerary" versus the "new Itinerary" that includes Shanghai Disneyland. I expected that we would have to do the new park on our own, but the 2017 itineraries offers multiple FastPasses for guests since time in HK Disneyland is so short (a few hours). Nothing for us peons doing 2016.

As for cancelling, we probably won't cancel as we already have a river cruise with friends booked for summer 2017, and already have our air, and the time booked off work for China.


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## *WDW*Groupie*

Our ABD box arrived on Friday!  We leave on June 22nd.  We are very excited for this trip.  It has been a long time coming.  I just have to stay healthy for the next few weeks (I've been plagued with various sports injuries since January which is very unusual for me ).


----------



## Big Boom

*WDW*Groupie* said:


> Our ABD box arrived on Friday!  We leave on June 22nd.  We are very excited for this trip.  It has been a long time coming.  I just have to stay healthy for the next few weeks (I've been plagued with various sports injuries since January which is very unusual for me ).



Is your Welcome Dinner on Sunday, June 25, 2016 in Beijing?


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## *WDW*Groupie*

Big Boom said:


> Is your Welcome Dinner on Sunday, June 25, 2016 in Beijing?



On the 26th; it sounds like it's at the Rosewood.

Any final recommendations?  I have both YMB and HKD.  Wondering if I should watch the Last Emperor....


----------



## anonymousegirl

sayhello said:


> If nothing else, I would assume that would be grounds for getting a refund on the trip if you wanted one, or switching to another Adults Only trip with no penalties.  They changed the trip you signed up for.  And didn't notify you.  I wouldn't be happy about that whether I minded kids or not.
> 
> Sayhell


Well, either we have a nice small group with one 12 year old, or we have a nice big group with lots more kids--either way I am getting excited!!!!!


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## Cousin Orville

*WDW*Groupie* said:


> On the 26th; it sounds like it's at the Rosewood.
> 
> Any final recommendations?  I have both YMB and HKD.  Wondering if I should watch the Last Emperor....



LOL.  I remember watching The Last Emperor before my trip.  It's probably worth a watch.  I actually enjoyed the Empire of the Sun quite a bit more.  There's a number of scenes that take place on the Bund that you see in Shanghai.  You can visit the hotel shown in the first part of the movie.

If you're interested in China's history I recommend this course on mp3 - http://www.thegreatcourses.com/courses/fall-and-rise-of-china.html
Just make sure you buy it on sale.  It touches on ancient history but primarily focuses on the 19th and 20th century which I liked.


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## mongol

Hello everyone, was interesting to read your post.


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