China Trip report - Adults only May 2018

[calypso726]

Yesterday we flew to Chengdu. We visited Wangjianglou Park to see how the locals do leisure time at the tea house and play mah jong. We also got to see a sugar painting master at work.







We were told that as we travel China and cross off bucket list items, we may come across Chinese tourists traveling who are also crossing off bucket list items. Some have never seen Westerners before and having their picture taken with us is a bucket list item. Well it happened to us. Below are a group of students who approached us and said they were on a field trip and asked if they could take a picture with us. We said sure as long as we could take a picture with them too.



The Ritz Carlton is yet another stunning hotel! This trip is totally spoiling us for hotels!







Today we are off to see Pandas!!!!

 

[Donalyn]

Your report is really making me want to take this trip. I think that the DDs can just stay home (because, well, that would make the trip half the cost!).

 

[calypso726]

PANDAS!!!!!

 

[calypso726]

Your report is really making me want to take this trip. I think that the DDs can just stay home (because, well, that would make the trip half the cost!).

This is well worth it! It is our 10th ABD and while all have been wonderful, this one is giving our first and favorite ABD a run for top spot and we aren’t even done yet. There is absolutely no way I could have planned and managed this all on my own. We have had a number of challenges, sudden flight cancellations, an order of days itinerary change because of the flight change resulting in a hotel change and flight delays etc. you name it. ABD has handled all of these challenges like it’s no big deal and adjusted as we went along. Thanks to that, our trip has not been negatively impacted, nor have we missed out on anything. If we had done this on our own, it would have been one disaster after another and our vacation would have been ruined.

Thanks to ABD everything has been smooth and seamless. Even without any unexpected challenges, I would not have wanted to do this on my own. Finding a western style toilet and toilet paper is a challenge in and of itself!

 

[Mopedmom1]

What a fabulous day. Those pandas are almost as cute as Mr. and Mrs. Calypso!

 

[brewcrew]

China has never been on my list of places to go but you have totally changed my mind! Great trip report and thank you for sharing!

 

[CyndiLouWho]

This is well worth it! It is our 10th ABD and while all have been wonderful, this one is giving our first and favorite ABD a run for top spot and we aren’t even done yet. There is absolutely no way I could have planned and managed this all on my own. We have had a number of challenges, sudden flight cancellations, an order of days itinerary change because of the flight change resulting in a hotel change and flight delays etc. you name it. ABD has handled all of these challenges like it’s no big deal and adjusted as we went along. Thanks to that, our trip has not been negatively impacted, nor have we missed out on anything. If we had done this on our own, it would have been one disaster after another and our vacation would have been ruined.

Thanks to ABD everything has been smooth and seamless. Even without any unexpected challenges, I would not have wanted to do this on my own. Finding a western style toilet and toilet paper is a challenge in and of itself!

We went to China for a totally different reason, but our guides there were also fabulous. One even offered to let us stay at her house when there was a paperwork hold up and we might not be able to travel back to the US on schedule. We stayed at lovely hotels too, although not quite the 5+ star places you’re enjoying.

Looking forward to the rest of your trip!
PS Squatty potties are not that bad but I did learn to always have a pack of travel Kleenex in my pocket, many uses. Lol

 

[aggiedog]

Loving your trip report. We were in China 11 years ago, and have the best picture of dd and a young Chinese child who wanted to take a picture with her. We still debate if it was a girl or boy, as all the "US" cultural clues were confusing. We had a young red-headed girl in our group, and she was stopped everywhere by locals to take pictures.

And yes to no kids in college to change your expenses. We're the opposite, and with four to get thru, including 3 at once in a couple years, my travel budget has been severely curtailed. It's killing me.

 

[2littlestitches]

Thank you so much for sharing the photos and details. We are on this trip later this summer and cannot wait to see all of these things! I really love hearing about the trip from your perspective, and seeing all of the amazing things you've done so far. Thanks again and enjoy the rest of your vacation!!!

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

@calypso726 I totally agree about your statement about the logistics of the trip. We had a few internal flights delayed for a few hours. The delays were in smaller cities and the airports were person-to-person crowded in the boarding area (we had to sit on the floor). Communication from the airline was in Mandarin so we did not understand what was being said. I am not certain we would have made our flights were it not for the guides who rounded up all of us (some left the boarding area and went upstairs to find seating) and got everyone on the flight. When we landed in Chengdu it was late and the restaurant had already closed. The Ritz Carleton re-opened it for ABD so that we could eat -- the entire buffet and all the stations (including make-your-own pizza). It was quite impressive. The guides also gave cash to us in the airport terminal to buy food / snacks due to the delay.

This is not a trip that I would attempt on my own. ABD really does an excellent job with the logistics.

As an aside you are not missing anything weather-wise at home! The hurricane season started early -- we had the outer bands of Alberto hit us with massive amounts of rain Saturday and Sunday!

I am really enjoying reading your trip report. Thanks so much for sharing

 

[OhanaCuz]

When we landed in Chengdu it was late and the restaurant had already closed. The Ritz Carleton re-opened it for ABD so that we could eat -- the entire buffet and all the stations (including make-your-own pizza). It was quite impressive.

That is incredible. I'm adding this to a list of things I'll use to convince a penny-pinching relative about the benefits of ABD!

 

[calypso726]

What a fabulous day. Those pandas are almost as cute as Mr. and Mrs. Calypso!

Aaawww thank you

China has never been on my list of places to go but you have totally changed my mind! Great trip report and thank you for sharing!

Thank you and you are very welcome!

You know, China was never really on my top spot of places to visit either. At least not until I experienced an ABD trip. Dusty, an ABD guide that has been with ABD from the beginning said it was one of his two favorite trips. The developer of the China trip also developed the Scotland one which has always been my favorite. EVERY single person who had been on the China trip that I had spoke to said it was their favorite or tied for favorite trip. It was a combination of all of that put China with ABD as a must do for me. South Africa is the other that has the same street cred but that has always been on my bucket list.

We went to China for a totally different reason, but our guides there were also fabulous. One even offered to let us stay at her house when there was a paperwork hold up and we might not be able to travel back to the US on schedule. We stayed at lovely hotels too, although not quite the 5+ star places you’re enjoying.

Looking forward to the rest of your trip!
PS Squatty potties are not that bad but I did learn to always have a pack of travel Kleenex in my pocket, many uses. Lol

The ABD guides always have tissues and “the bathroom bag” which contains toilet paper. I did use a squatty once, just to cross if off the list of things to do in China. Let’s just say while you are squatting if the lighting is good, you can see evidence that the entire area around you is not splash proof in any way, shape or form.

Loving your trip report. We were in China 11 years ago, and have the best picture of dd and a young Chinese child who wanted to take a picture with her. We still debate if it was a girl or boy, as all the "US" cultural clues were confusing. We had a young red-headed girl in our group, and she was stopped everywhere by locals to take pictures.

And yes to no kids in college to change your expenses. We're the opposite, and with four to get thru, including 3 at once in a couple years, my travel budget has been severely curtailed. It's killing me.

Thank you! I was charmed by the idea of the local tourists getting pictures taken with the foreign visitors as a thing to do.

Ouch! Well there is always help and travel hacking advice on the Budget Board’s “I love credit cards” thread to make the travel budget constraints less painful.

Thank you so much for sharing the photos and details. We are on this trip later this summer and cannot wait to see all of these things! I really love hearing about the trip from your perspective, and seeing all of the amazing things you've done so far. Thanks again and enjoy the rest of your vacation!!!

You’re welcome and you are going to love it!!! One thing I haven’t mentioned is the food! We are perpetually stuffed with fantastic food!!!

@calypso726 I totally agree about your statement about the logistics of the trip. We had a few internal flights delayed for a few hours. The delays were in smaller cities and the airports were person-to-person crowded in the boarding area (we had to sit on the floor). Communication from the airline was in Mandarin so we did not understand what was being said. I am not certain we would have made our flights were it not for the guides who rounded up all of us (some left the boarding area and went upstairs to find seating) and got everyone on the flight. When we landed in Chengdu it was late and the restaurant had already closed. The Ritz Carleton re-opened it for ABD so that we could eat -- the entire buffet and all the stations (including make-your-own pizza). It was quite impressive. The guides also gave cash to us in the airport terminal to buy food / snacks due to the delay.

This is not a trip that I would attempt on my own. ABD really does an excellent job with the logistics.

As an aside you are not missing anything weather-wise at home! The hurricane season started early -- we had the outer bands of Alberto hit us with massive amounts of rain Saturday and Sunday!

I am really enjoying reading your trip report. Thanks so much for sharing

The ongoing joke on our trip has been “Well this is a first.” So many unexpected changes keep popping up but at no moment have we felt any stress. I can tell you if I had planned this trip on my own and in my own country and had to experience every single change and challenge, I’d be at my wit’s end. I cannot imagine dealing with it all in a country on the other side of the world where I don’t speak the language.

Ugh! I had heard about the endless rain and was thinking, but it’s not even June yet!

 

[notaprincess]

We have had a number of challenges, sudden flight cancellations, an order of days itinerary change because of the flight change resulting in a hotel change and flight delays etc. you name it. ABD has handled all of these challenges like it’s no big deal and adjusted as we went along. Thanks to that, our trip has not been negatively impacted, nor have we missed out on anything. If we had done this on our own, it would have been one disaster after another and our vacation would have been ruined.

Thanks to ABD everything has been smooth and seamless. Even without any unexpected challenges, I would not have wanted to do this on my own. Finding a western style toilet and toilet paper is a challenge in and of itself!

The flight and order-of-day-changes must be the way forward from now on. I'm on the Ocobter trip and received 2 mails advising of those.

As for the (for me) toilet issue, I already stocked up on portable potties.

 

[sayhello]

This is well worth it! It is our 10th ABD and while all have been wonderful, this one is giving our first and favorite ABD a run for top spot and we aren’t even done yet. There is absolutely no way I could have planned and managed this all on my own. We have had a number of challenges, sudden flight cancellations, an order of days itinerary change because of the flight change resulting in a hotel change and flight delays etc. you name it. ABD has handled all of these challenges like it’s no big deal and adjusted as we went along. Thanks to that, our trip has not been negatively impacted, nor have we missed out on anything. If we had done this on our own, it would have been one disaster after another and our vacation would have been ruined.

Thanks to ABD everything has been smooth and seamless. Even without any unexpected challenges, I would not have wanted to do this on my own. Finding a western style toilet and toilet paper is a challenge in and of itself!

That is incredible. I'm adding this to a list of things I'll use to convince a penny-pinching relative about the benefits of ABD!

I totally agree here. I think this is a big thing that the folks who say "I can do this cheaper on my own" really don't take into account, because it's one of the "intangibles" that you don't really take into account until it affects you. Besides not being able to speak or even *read* Chinese, I just cannot imagine navigating traveling through China without ABD and their knowledge of the laws, rules and customs of the area. This trip is just too logistically complex to attempt on your own. But then when you add things like cancelled flights and re-arranging travel and accommodations -- the fact that ABD does all that for you, seamlessly, for *NO* extra charge --- how in the world would you do that on your own without losing out on tons of your vacation and spending loads of extra money? It's definitely one of the many reasons I love traveling with ABD!

The flight and order-of-day-changes must be the way forward from now on. I'm on the Ocobter trip and received 2 mails advising of those.

As for the (for me) toilet issue, I already stocked up on portable potties.

Interesting! There were definitely some issues with the order last year; nice to know that a "problem" this year may have led to a better way to do things!

Portable potties???

Sayhello

 

[OKW Lover]

Been enjoying your report very much! Just wondering about your experience getting a China Visa. Those of us that did this trip last October found that to be perhaps the most difficult part of the whole trip.

Also, I may have missed it, but how much time did you get to see HKDL?

 

[kerry annette]

This is well worth it! It is our 10th ABD and while all have been wonderful, this one is giving our first and favorite ABD a run for top spot and we aren’t even done yet. There is absolutely no way I could have planned and managed this all on my own. We have had a number of challenges, sudden flight cancellations, an order of days itinerary change because of the flight change resulting in a hotel change and flight delays etc. you name it. ABD has handled all of these challenges like it’s no big deal and adjusted as we went along. Thanks to that, our trip has not been negatively impacted, nor have we missed out on anything. If we had done this on our own, it would have been one disaster after another and our vacation would have been ruined.

Thanks to ABD everything has been smooth and seamless. Even without any unexpected challenges, I would not have wanted to do this on my own. Finding a western style toilet and toilet paper is a challenge in and of itself!

First of all, what an amazing trip report! I've been checking in every day to see what's next. Love it! Gotta ask though, you say this trip is giving your favorite ABD a run for top spot. Which trip is your favorite? It's hard to imagine what could beat it!

 

[Cousin Orville]

When my friend recently went to China their seats on their Beijing-Xian flight were removed. He said it was crazy trying to speak with the airline reps. Fellow passengers were cutting in line or bypassing it all together and going behind the counter. And that was business class.

I agree that ABD’s handling of logistics and those occasional travel issues that pop up is not appreciated as much as it should. Yes, you can do it yourself with a lot more planning and a lot more patience when things don’t go to plan. That’s a valuable service ABD provides.

 

[Cousin Orville]

The pandas look gorgeous. And I loved the Chengdu Ritz! This ABD truly has some of the best hotels. Wangjianglou Park looks really interesting. We didn’t do that on our ABD.

 

[calypso726]

The flight and order-of-day-changes must be the way forward from now on. I'm on the Ocobter trip and received 2 mails advising of those.

As for the (for me) toilet issue, I already stocked up on portable potties.

I assumed this would be a possibility since it seemed to work out better logistically. That was fast!

Been enjoying your report very much! Just wondering about your experience getting a China Visa. Those of us that did this trip last October found that to be perhaps the most difficult part of the whole trip.

Also, I may have missed it, but how much time did you get to see HKDL?

It took us three tries. They are very particular about the photo. But once it was accepted online we got everything back fairly quickly and it is good for 10 years. We used CIBT Visas. They offer a discount with ABD.

We get the afternoon with some FPs and the evening. If you are a Disney parks fan I would ssuggest going at least a day earlier. ABD will take care of transport from the airport to HKDL if you choose to do a pre stay there, which we did. They will also take care of transport from HKDL to the Peninsula.

First of all, what an amazing trip report! I've been checking in every day to see what's next. Love it! Gotta ask though, you say this trip is giving your favorite ABD a run for top spot. Which trip is your favorite? It's hard to imagine what could beat it!

Thank you! My favorite was Scotland which we did the first year they offered the itinerary. To be fair, the current itinerary is vastly different from the itinerary we did. There was something about seeing the stark differences between Isle of Lewis and Isle of Skye, then the hike on the Quiraing which brought tears to my eyes and so many other unexpected things, our amazing group, our fabulous guides and of course it was our first.

When my friend recently went to China their seats on their Beijing-Xian flight were removed. He said it was crazy trying to speak with the airline reps. Fellow passengers were cutting in line or bypassing it all together and going behind the counter. And that was business class.

I agree that ABD’s handling of logistics and those occasional travel issues that pop up is not appreciated as much as it should. Yes, you can do it yourself with a lot more planning and a lot more patience when things don’t go to plan. That’s a valuable service ABD provides.

Could not agree more!

The pandas look gorgeous. And I loved the Chengdu Ritz! This ABD truly has some of the best hotels. Wangjianglou Park looks really interesting. We didn’t do that on our ABD.

I think (not sure) we were able to have this fun experience due to the itinerary change.

 

[DollyM]

ABD will take care of transport from the airport to HKDL if you choose to do a pre stay there, which we did. They will also take care of transport from HKDL to the Peninsula.

On the transport from HKDL to the Peninsula, were you able to specify what time it would take place?