China Trip report - Adults only May 2018

[CaliKris]

Awesome photos! Loving your trip report. And the sky is blue in Beijing. It definitely was not when we were there. Looks like the pollution is not bad at all.

 

[calypso726]

Love your photos! Brings back great memories of our ABD China trip. I have never felt anything like the stifling humidity in HK. I think Mystic Manor is one of the best Disney rides in any of the parks. Hopefully, you will get to ride again. Our group was disappointed the wait was only 30 minutes because the line was air conditioned. LOL!

Love the Peninsula! It is amazing. This trip really spoils you with the hotels.

Thank you! It was definitely our favorite ride and we did get to ride it quite a few times. Of course, I fell in love with Albert the monkey since he travels the world. Our local guide Daisy and I were discussing our mutual love for Albert and that was when we both discovered that we share the same Chinese zodiac sign ... monkey

It certainly does spoil you for the hotels!

Bruce will hopefully be your local guide in HK. He was for us. He wasn't the driver. He really was so knowledgeable about HK, very personable and a wonderful guide!

Sayhello

He was and we loved him! He was fantastic!!! We miss him already.

I just love the Peninsula in HK as well as the one in Shanghai. I found a beautiful book in the HK Peninsula shop that covers the history of both hotels. It’s sitting on my coffee table now.

If you have a chance, say hi to Daisy from Kate and Kevin!

Daisy says Hi! I will have to check out the shop here or at Shanghai and see if they have the book. Lovely hotels!

I'm enjoying readying along. Sounds like you are off to a great start.

LOVE the HK and Shanghai Peninsula hotels. They are both extraordinary.

I did get some nice collector pins at both parks.

Thank you! We are having a blast already. Oh I didn’t think to look for pins. I felt lucky enough to have snagged the last 2 Albert plushes hidden in the back for me and @DizDragonfly The next day we went back and I was able to convince the staff to sell me the display case ones too since we had a couple of friends on FB that wanted one.

Looks like you are having a great time! I am glad you got Bruce for a local guide. We really enjoyed his stories of life in HK and how expensive it is to live there. Keep the updates coming (if you can). This trip is pretty much go, go, go. I found myself dozing off whenever I got the chance

Yes, he was wonderful. It is go, go, go already and I am trying to keep up. So I am posting more in chunks as I get a moment. For some reason every time I try to post pics directly from my phone I get a file too large message. So I’ve been screen shotting my pics and cropping to get them to post. No idea what the look like in full size. If anyone knows a better and easier way, please chime in and share.

Yikes this reminds me of my first trip to China, and the only time I have felt really sick from the heat. I had to lie down on a park bench in Shanghai to avoid falling over. I was much more careful about staying hydrated after that.

I’ve been doing pretty good about drinking water. I did have one glass of wine with dinner which was OYO last night. Big mistake. Dehydrated me within no time and I woke up with a splitting headache So, I’m here chatting with you all waiting for the Advil, water and coffee to kick in.

I think this was about the time I was in the Chicago airport, wondering why my fancy credit cards were not getting me access to any lounges, and consoling myself with a protein bar and diet coke from the news stand. I have got to improve my game!

We got your back over on the “I love credit cards” thread on the Budget Board. We have been able to some really amazing, fun and crazy things thanks to the credit card travel hacking game.

Following! We are doing the same (adults only) trip next May! Great to know they will take you to HKDL as that is our plan as well, doing a prenignt at Disneyland Hotel. Hope you are having a magical time!!!!

We certainly are and you will definitely enjoy your trip! Yes, they will pick you up from the airport and take you to HDKL. Due to miscommunication with a vacationista, we thought we had to make our way to the Peninsula on our own. Which we were totally fine with doing. Heck, we were thrilled that they took us to HDKL from the airport to begin with. Much to my surprise, when our guide, Ralph, realized we had not been picked up by Bruce and we took an Uber to the Peninsula he asked us to please let him know how much the Uber was so we could be reimbursed. I thought that was a very nice gesture.

The Peninsula in Beijing looks gorgeous but sad that they aren’t doing rosewood anymore. That was the groups fave hotel on our trip and the restaurant was my fave. Hope you guys will get to check it out.

I heard amazing things about the Rosewood! It looks stunning in photos. I am not at all disappointed though. This Peninsula blows the one in HK out of the water. I could spend all day here just exploring the different areas. The design, artwork and small touches everywhere are a feast for the eye. It reminds me of everything I love about Disney. Attention to detail and pleasing to the senses. When we walked in the restaurant last night for dinner on our own, my jaw hit the floor. It’s just so beautiful! I need a thesaurus to explain adequately. LOL

OMG, amazing!
I hope they have forks at the restaurants too. I'm not well versed in Chinese food/ Chopstix as I'm not a fan

Hahaha! They do! At one place, I got chop sticks and DH, who is Vietnamese, was given a fork. He was like, are you kidding me? Fortunately, I’m pretty good with either. Nothing is getting in between me and food.

That's great to hear praise on the Beijing Peninsula's rooms. Before the renovation, I thought the location was great being near Wangfujing and the lobby was gorgeous, but the rooms were small and dated.

Really! These rooms are very spacious! We have a large walk in closet, a living room area, really nice sized bedroom and very large bathroom with 2 sinks on opposite sides!

Thank you for doing another trip report and sharing your beautiful photos. The airline photos made me realize that I need to get on board with this travel hacking business before planning any trips with long haul flights.

I am looking forward to the next installment.

You’re welcome and thank you for following along with me! Travel hacking is the best hobby ever! The Budget Board has a thread, “I love credit cards” with lots of super nice and helpful people. Everyone really enjoys helping out the newcomers.

Very cool pictures of Tiananmen and Forbidden City. Thankfully no protesters being dragged away kicking and screaming as on our China ABD last year during the Congressional meeting. "Let's keep moving!"

OMG! That would have totally freaked me out. It was somewhat intimidating just be standing there. I’m old enough to remember.

Awesome photos! Loving your trip report. And the sky is blue in Beijing. It definitely was not when we were there. Looks like the pollution is not bad at all.

Thank you! When we landed on the flight that reminded me of why I travel hack the sky was a hazy orangish color and looked radio active still not as bad as I expected. I’ve seen some scary pics on FB. I thought it would be awful when we got outside but it wasn’t, much to my surprise.

I did bring respirators with me but haven’t had to use them so far. That said, I have had to use my inhaler (I’m asthmatic) each day a couple of times since we got to Beijing. Back home, I might use it a few times year. Generally, a sudden weather change or at work while conducting an OSHA audit at a company that has really bad housekeeping issues or a high levels of air particulates. Now, if I visit Arizona or Las Vegas in the summer, I’d be sucking on the inhaler a few times a day too.

I do not think the air quality or lack thereof would affect anyone who has no respiratory issues. No one else in our group seems to be having any serious issues. As an asthmatic, I would not hesitate for a second to recommend this trip to another asthmatic. I just want to be clear on that. Me and my inhaler in Beijing are no different than me and my inhaler in Arizona during the summer.

The weather and sky were absolutely lovely! We were super lucky and there was an awesome breeze.

 

[Cousin Orville]

Really! These rooms are very spacious! We have a large walk in closet, a living room area, really nice sized bedroom and very large bathroom with 2 sinks on opposite sides!

I think it was Daisy who told us the Peninsula gutted all the old rooms and combined 2 into 1 new room.

 

[Albort]

Beijing version of Tinder. Parents of unmarried offspring past a certain age gather at the Temple of Heaven park. Round 1: They lay out the profile of their kids. Round 2: If there is a promising profile, begin discussions and pull out the phone for pics. Round 3: Set up the blind date. Round 4: Kids’ reaction - swipe left. Round 5: Unmarried parents of unmarried kids wind up swiping right and living happily ever after

Seriously, this was a super cool thing to see and experience in terms of cultural differences.

did u find the international section?

 

[calypso726]

This morning we spent time in the home of a local Chinese family. They taught us the art of paper cutting, knot tying and calligraphy. It is all much harder than it looks! I was surprised and charmed by the chirping of the pet crickets! We were treated to a pedicab ride afterwards which was fun!

 

[calypso726]

We saw and climbed the Great Wall of China!!! This was such an amazing experience! I cannot believe how incredibly lucky we got. There are now shuttle buses that take us up towards the gondola a good way, cutting down on the uphill trek. The weather was outstanding! It wasn’t too hot and there was a breeze. The sky was clear and blue and there was hardly anyone there! I am still in awe that we got to have this experience! Wow! I honestly have no words.

 

[Mopedmom1]

That looks amazing! I'm not sure I could sit so nonchalantly on the side of the wall like you did. Was there anything to keep you from tumbling over the edge?

 

[calypso726]

That looks amazing! I'm not sure I could sit so nonchalantly on the side of the wall like you did. Was there anything to keep you from tumbling over the edge?

It was surreal. Nope, not a thing. I just kept my body angled to the side that wouldn’t kill me if I fell.

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

Such an amazing day! I remember it well. Please say hi to Ralph for us! Such an awesome guide as I’m sure you are discovering.

 

[Jess_S]

It was surreal. Nope, not a thing. I just kept my body angled to side that wouldn’t kill me if I fell.

You are much braver than I am. If my family ever goes to China, I will be the one screaming at my son to stay away from the side of the wall. Don't worry. I will let everyone know if I book so that you can pick another date.

You got some great shots of the wall. I particularly love the photo of you and your husband looking through the window.

 

[AmyAnne]

We saw and climbed the Great Wall of China!!! This was such an amazing experience! I cannot believe how incredibly lucky we got. There are now shuttle buses that take us up towards the gondola a good way, cutting down on the uphill trek. The weather was outstanding! It wasn’t too hot and there was a breeze. The sky was clear and blue and there was hardly anyone there! I am still in awe that we got to have this experience! Wow! I honestly have no words.

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Wow. These are awesome pictures. Is this near Beijing?

 

[calypso726]

Such an amazing day! I remember it well. Please say hi to Ralph for us! Such an awesome guide as I’m sure you are discovering.

It was just amazing. I am sure you know but it went beyond what I ever expected. He is fantastic and so is Daisy! I will.

You are much braver than I am. If my family ever goes to China, I will be the one screaming at my son to stay away from the side of the wall. Don't worry. I will let everyone know if I book so that you can pick another date.

You got some great shots of the wall. I particularly love the photo of you and your husband looking through the window.

Hahaha! Thank you. I was pretty pleased with how the pictures came out. That one through the window is my favorite.

Wow. These are awesome pictures. Is this near Beijing?

Thank you. Yes, it is about an hour and half away by coach from our hotel in Beijing.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Yes, it is about an hour and half away by coach from our hotel in Beijing.

We climbed the wall at Badaling. It is awe-inspiring. I was also in awe of the Forbidden City and how huge it is.

Great pics!

 

[tink1970]

I was pretty pleased with how the pictures came out. That one through the window is my favorite.

...because it's awesome!!! I so anticipate getting up in the am (today 545...grr...dogs) and reading your updates. A big THANK YOU for taking the time to bring us along on your trip live.

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

I am glad that you had such good weather for the Great Wall day! It truly is an awe-inspiring experience!

Did you arrange for a private photo shoot? I can't believe there are hardly any people in your pictures- or did you you photoshop them out! You were so lucky!

 

[calypso726]

We climbed the wall at Badaling. It is awe-inspiring. I was also in awe of the Forbidden City and how huge it is.

Great pics!

Yes! I was completely unprepared for the size of the Forbidden City!

...because it's awesome!!! I so anticipate getting up in the am (today 545...grr...dogs) and reading your updates. A big THANK YOU for taking the time to bring us along on your trip live.

Thank you! I know if I waited to get home to do a trip report it would never get done. It’s easier for me to do it as I go and share my thoughts as they happen. I’m glad you are enjoying it!

I am glad that you had such good weather for the Great Wall day! It truly is an awe-inspiring experience!

Did you arrange for a private photo shoot? I can't believe there are hardly any people in your pictures- or did you you photoshop them out! You were so lucky!

No just super lucky. ABD does take us to a less crowded area of the wall. On top of that it was not at all busy the day and time we went. No photo shopping from my phone. If I could I would have edited this photo and posted it. Mr. Calypso’s shoe in the wrong place at the wrong time

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Mr. Calypso’s shoe in the wrong place at the wrong time

 

[Mopedmom1]

LOL'd for real at that picture. (Yes I'm twelve )

 

[hygienist999]

I didn't notice his shoe until you brought it to my attention.

 

[calypso726]

LOL'd for real at that picture. (Yes I'm twelve )

I didn't notice his shoe until you brought it to my attention.

It was the first thing I noticed. Like @Mopedmom1 I am also 12.