I'm heading over to the far East for the first two weeks of April with a mate. Our current plan is LON ->Beijing -> Tokyo -> Osaka/Kyoto -> Hong Kong -> LON. We're keeping the plans a bit loose for now to make sure we've got enough time for interesting/last minute adventures.
I'm looking for suggestions and tips. Anything we should do/look out for?
Posted Jan 29, 2012, 11:59 PM UTC
Yangshuo and the area around it in China. Magnificent!
I liked Kyoto in Japan.
Sounds great. Any specific places you can recommend?
I was in Hong Kong 2 months ago. Check out the ladies market, and take the cable car to the big Buddha.
Cheers! I'm checking them out right now!
Yea the ladies market is the counterfeit street of the world. It has everything. You can haggle your way down REAL low. This lady was trying to sell me something that was $20, and i said no $7. And she nope. So i started walking away and she ran after me to sell it for $7. So if they dont go as low as you want just walk away, and they will chase you.
I was in Beijing too. The food is terrible. It's very salty and spicy, and since i have acid reflux, i was a mess. You have to check out The Great Wall, the largest Adidas store,and the 2008 Olympics.
I'm in Beijing at the minute,go to the park around the temple of heaven at 8 in the morning and people watch. Did that yesterday morning and it's pretty cool, there are people in their 60s playing a hackysack type game with a shuttlecock. Also the metro system is dirt cheap and super easy to use, it's easier than getting taxis.
If you want to go see mao in his mausoleum remember that you must take ID, also it closes at midday.
Lama temple in dongcheng is aslo really cool.
That sounds amazing! Cheers, brilliant tops. Can you think of anything we should watch out for in HK?
I'd recommend staying at J-Hoppers hostels while in Japan, they don't have one in Tokyo but they do in Hiroshima (where you should totally go), Osaka and Kyoto (and a couple of other places, I think). They're really nice, friendly places and they give you a stamp card, so you end up saving a bit of money if you keep staying there.
I'm not usually one for planning, but you'll need it in Kyoto. SO MANY TEMPLES. My favourites were Kinkakuji and Ginkakuji (gold and silver). There was a shrine I really wanted to visit with a long path of torii gates, but I never made it because I misread the map and went to the wrong station, then when I tried to correct myself I got on an express train and missed it... ah man.
Tokyo is one of my favourite cities ever. The best thing you can do really is just walk around. Akihabara was my favourite, and of course Harajuku and Shibuya.
China- it's a shame you only have two weeks! But Beijing is good, there's a LOT to see. I loved the Temple of Heaven- it's actually in a huge park, and if you go in the morning you'll see large groups of old people dancing. I got grabbed by a tiny old lady and we danced for a while and she taught me to count! Assuming you're going to the Great Wall, try to get a tour that takes you to one of the quieter sites. Mine went to Mutianyu which was of course busy, but quiet enough that I got some amazing photos with hardly any people in the way. Also, there's a toboggan slide. Yeah.
Food: sushi bars are pretty cheap in Japan, and delicious! Make sure you try eel. Try bubble tea in Hong Kong and try street food! I often had deep fried spicy chicken on a stick in China and believe me, you can't go wrong. As for meals in China, it seems like people either love or hate the food... I loved it. It's not the best in Beijing but it's still good. If in doubt, order kung pao chicken (gung bao ji ding) or sweet and sour pork (which I can't remember the name for); so different from at home and always good. Szechuan dishes are great too if you like spicy food.
LONG POST, I hope that helped you some. It just made me nostalgic and hungry.
This is brilliant! Loads of great tips, cheers! I'm furiously taking notes right now :-)
Some suggestions for Japan.
In Tokyo:
*Tsukiji Fish Market (go in the morning & have a sushi breakfast)
*Shibuya (See the famous crosswalk from all the movies)
*Harajuku & Meiji Shrine (Kind of a place with lots of young people & the shrine is a cool wooded area in the city)
*Tokyo Tower (get some good views of the city)
In Kyoto:
*Kinkakuji & Ginkakuji
*Fushimi Inari Jinja (the one with all the gates)
*Philosopher's walk (a canal lined with cherry blossom trees)
I would also recommend taking a day to see Nara & the largest bronze Buddha statue in the world. Its kind of like Kyoto, only much smaller. Eat some ramen in Japan. For cheap souvenirs check out the 100 Yen shops. have fun.
Great stuff! Thanks for the suggestions. Nara sounds really interesting. Added to the plans! Cheers
Think about you China visa. If you pass through Beijing you'll then need another to enter from Hong Kong. Can you not re-route to see China overland then Japan? Else, do a loop from Beijing and just treat Hong Kong as a separate destination
In Beijing, I recommend going to the Mutianyu part of the Wall, Forbidden City, 798 Art District, and Summer Palace. I've been to Beijing several times and I love staying at Wangfujing Hostel. Also, eat Beijing Duck and Hot Pot.
April --> cherry blooming season in Japan, which has two sides --> is very pretty, but also a very tourist time, so acommodation will be hard to find in some places and expensive. Perhaps better to plan a bit in advance and have clear your options.
Thanks for the good tip! We'll be arranging accommodation pretty soon actually. We're thinking of staying at a string of AirBnB hosts.