Beijing Itinerary. Day One

Well hello there travellers of the sarky or not sarky persuasion, all are welcome here. So you've read the before you go blog and you've studied the Beijing survival guide; I'd say it's about time we started exploring the Chinese Capital.

Now some point as you travel this far East, you will experience the time stealing fairies. They will rob you of time whilst in mid air and all of a sudden it will be the next day and you'll be extremely confused and possibly eating breakfast at 2pm. Say what?

Once off the plane you face customs, which is likely to be a doddle, despite the long queues. They don't really want a lengthy conversation in English, so you're unlikely to get the third degree which you might expect at US customs. Beijing airport is huge and depending on where you fly from it is highly likely you'll need to take the shuttle to baggage claim and the exit. 

It's very futuristic, all glass domes and windows and millions of reflective surfaces, you almost feel like you're floating between two worlds. But even all these windows couldn't give us a decent view, the fog had set in.

The easiest and cheapest way to get into the city is the Airport Express. From baggage claim you follow the red arrows on the floor. There are signs in English as well as Chinese characters but sometimes they are a little sporadic, so just watch out for those red arrows and prepare for your first bag scan. You will get used to this as your holiday unfolds.

Waiting for the Airport Express. Another futuristic, doming, reflective place. It's out of this world.

The train is so cheap 25RMB which is around £2.50 for a forty minute journey, though I have to say there is no where to store baggage and so there is slight chaos, with bags everywhere and bags on seats. Seems a bit silly as most people travelling through a major capital, international airport, are likely to have more than a handbag. Just a warning.

 The afternoon fog as we speed from the airport towards Dongzhimen Station.

The train starts at Terminal 3, then flows through Terminal 2, Sanyuanqiao and finally Dongzhimen. The latter two stations have transfers to the subway. In order to reach our accommodation, we had to change the subway using two lines. It is relatively easy to navigate, with signs in English and Chinese and each line with it's own colour, though some of them are quite similar. For more in depth subway advice and ticket information, see The Beijing Survival Guide: http://thesarkytraveller.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/beijing-survival-guide.html

First impressions of the subway. Ahhhhhh! People everywhere. Mega busy. Mega rude. Pushing, shoving, fighting for space. They don't let people off first, it's just a fighting match. Whoever wants it most, wins. But after a couple of journeys, you get the hang of it. It was actually sort of fun in the end. In London, you have to be so polite - of course, not everybody is, but there is a certain etiquette to the tube in London that most people adhere to - but in China you make your own rules. It's like extreme underground travelling. You never know who's gonna barge you or take your legs out with a suitcase. All part of the fun.

As I mentioned in the Beijing survival guide, when using the subway you will be asked to place all bags through a scanner. There are guards at every station manning the various entrances.

Our closest station was Dongsi and just a short walk around the corner, located in the Lishi Hutong was our accommodation for the next five nights: 161 Hostel. http://www.161hotelbeijing.com/
Cheap, cheerful, cosy and considering that dreaded hostel title, very nice. The only slight issue we had was that they had overbooked on double rooms and so when we got there we couldn't have our booked room, we had to have a twin room. But they did carry our luggage up for us; push the beds together and hoover. So we did let them off, eventually. 

Once settled, we were of course knackered from the hefty journey, loss of time (damn fairies) and general travel swirl of sleepiness, but we were determined to make the most of our first night, exploring Hutongs, eating amazing dumplings and finding night markets with gross things to eat. We did all this.

I've mentioned Hutongs a few times. These are a famous part of Beijing's charm. Think Victorian cobbled alleyways and you'll be close to the feature of these warren style labyrinth of narrow interconnecting streets. They give a real flavour of 'old Beijing'. They are still inhabited and small shops, businesses and eateries line the Hutongs as well as many a public convenience. (A lot of the housing in the Hutongs do not have toilets.)

You can spend hours wandering up and down, passing rows of washing hung up to dry in the most bizarre nooks and crannies; passing people playing games or gambling with one another; and street sellers laying out their wares. At night you pass many neon signs indicating certain food, usually lamb skewers, made here. They have a completely different atmosphere to the wide, traffic filled streets beyond them. There is a certain cloaking that happens, a feeling of being encased in something different; that the walls of the Hutong can keep out the noise and traffic and chaos, though the Hutongs in many places can be just as chaotic, especially as bikes and carts and cars are allowed through too.

They are an essential part of exploring Beijing and were a great start for us. So this was our second Hutong. Our hotel was on Lishi Hutong and directly opposite, it becomes Baofang Hutong. This is the one we took. In the distance you can see the red neon sign for lamb skewers.

Once exiting the Hutong, we turned onto the main road; Wangfujing Dajie and followed it North until it became Meishuguan Houjie. Be careful crossing the road here, we risked death a few times in order to cross. Now we were approaching a hidden gem, a Beijing secret which we had incidentally found in the Beijing App: Beijing on a Budget.  https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/beijing-on-a-budget/id440431617?mt=8  The name of the restaurant is Zuo Lin You She. Here the speciality is rectangular dumplings with all manner of fillings. When they look like this what more could you possibly want?

Mmmmmmm dumplings.

They are served with a bowl of millet porridge, which you are given on arrival and is free and refilled if needed. We were handed an English menu, yes they have the menu in English which is phenomenal! Then they ran away and giggled behind the counter, especially when we started taking pictures. Beer is cheap, the dumplings are ridiculously cheap and whilst they keep the door open, so you keep your coat on, it was a very pleasant dining experience.

We chose Pork and Green Beans; Beef and Onion; Spicy Beef and Coriander; and Lamb with Carrot. For each filling chosen, you get three dumplings for 7 RMB, which is £0.70 (70p). Say what? All in all, with a large bottle of beer the meal came to £3.40 (34 RMB). Oh and yes, they do have vegetarian options.

Zuo Lin You She

We then decided to walk to the Donghuamen Night Market, through Beiheyan Dajie Park, which is a thin straight strip of grass and trees in between two roads. We took it South and were parallel to the Forbidden City. This is where you really gain your window into the Chinese culture. People are out walking, exercising, playing card games under dim lights. They are dancing in groups, practising Tai Chi and playing checkers on foldable tables that they take themselves.

The lovely tree lined, almost infinite line of the Beihayan Dajie Park, a corridor of tranquility.

At the Dong'anmen Dajie, there is not only a crossroads but some archaeological remains. If you are heading to the night market, you turn right here and it's a short walk until you hit the stalls of the Donghuamen Night Market, famous for it's treats both savoury and sweet; grotesque and just plain weird. Put it this way, I wasn't going near most of the stalls. I kept a hefty five foot away for fear of things on sticks suddenly waking up to attack me. 

Don't let me put you off though, I am a culinary wimp in terms of sea creatures and bugs. Oh and the scorpion stall, with various types of scorpion on sticks, really freaked me out. Too many legs. Of course they have relatively normal things too, like various types of round dumplings, with all sorts of fillings and meal worms and fried ice cream. So I'm sure you can find something, though it could never live up to those dumplings we just ate.

Continuing along the road we came to Wangfujing Dajie, which was a huge shopping street, with malls and an apple store and more lights and people than we'd seen all night.

Inside one of the malls.

After taking the chill off a little in the mall we started to head back to the hotel. As it turns out we had worked ourselves round to being only around 20 minutes walk from the hostel, so we walked back, passing a laser choir concert at St Joseph's Church and people playing keepy uppy with massive shuttle cock type things. Illuminating. 

We bought fruit from a street seller and water from a local shop, as you can't drink the tap water! Can't believe I didn't mention that in the survival guides. Oops. Anyhoo, you can't drink the water, but you'll know that from your own research and general knowledge, and so bottled water is essential. Then we called it a night.

Join me next time for our second day in Beijing, where we tackle the alien egg, countless security scans, climb our first of many structures and brave the biggest public square in the world. Oh and we also take in a show of the martial arts persuasion. 

Until then. 

The Sarky Traveller

Beijing Survival Guide

So you've done the research, you've applied for and successfully received your Visa and it's time to head to China. Even if you don't fly directly to Beijing, at some point you might pass through and you should, it's an amazing place full of thousands of years of history, as well as cutting edge modern technology and architecture. There are bountiful parks full of greenery and lakes, tree lined streets and bustling hutongs. But for an outsider there are a lot of cultural and custom differences that are useful to know in advance. So here is a survival guide to China's capital and the chaotic beauty that resides within and around it's 21,000,000 inhabitants.

Subway/Metro/Underground

Whatever you call it, those delightful trains that run under the ground can be very useful to get across the city and are ridiculously cheap. You are likely to use them to get from the airport train to your accommodation, so they are possibly one of the first things you'll see and use. Here are some useful things to know before you travel.

• First of all, whilst navigating a new underground layout can be tricky, Beijing has all its transport signs in English as well as Chinese characters. But I would advise you to have on hand the Chinese characters of where you are going, just in case you need to ask for directions. 

• Secondly, you will be expected to adhere to the security checks at every station. They have an x-ray machine and any bag -  bigger than a small handbag -  must go through the machine. 

• You are not permitted to carry lighters on the Metro or in any museums or tourist sites, so if you are a smoker, consider this. At every tourist site there is a box full of discarded lighters.    

• Tickets for the Metro are 2CNY (roughly 20p) a journey, no matter if it is 1 stop or from one end of the line to the other. You can get a one way ticket from the machines, which have a handy English button with help and translations. Or you can buy what is essentially like an Oyster card in London, where you can top up as and when needed and you just touch in and touch out. These are a little more complicated to buy purely because you can't buy them from the machine. But they are likely to be mentioned in your guide book along with the Chinese characters. Just go to a manned ticket booth and point at the relevant characters in the book and they will sort you out a card. For more information on the Beijing Smart Card and prices and how to use it,visit:  http://www.travelchinaguide.com/cityguides/beijing/transportation/smart-card.htm You can even get a refund of your deposit when you leave. 

• Now finally, you must have your wits about you. If you think London, New York, Japan etc are tough going, try Beijing. There are so many people all competing for that extra inch of space and there are no courtesies to one another. And I would actually watch out for the elderly, they have more feist that the younger ones. Being forcefully shoved out of the way by a tiny old lady is rather eye opening. They don't wait for people to get off the train first, so there's already a crazy fight for leaving the train, never mind getting on. Now being a nice polite girl, brought up to respect elders and let people out first and to not push and shove, you can imagine my need to adjust. And once you do adjust I can guarantee you'll be shoving along with the best of them.     

• They will try and step in front of you, as they see you are a tourist and think you probably won't argue otherwise. But stand your ground where you can and wag a finger, say no and you'll get by. It's definitely somewhere to bring your razor sharp elbows and a little bit of assertion. 

• Oh, and one last thing, when changing lines, you can often be in for a long walk, along with a hundred other people, so be patient and follow the crowds. You definitely won't get lost on the way but you might get tripped.      

Staring/Photographs

Anyone not of Chinese or Asian descent must expect to be glared at and I mean open mouthed, catching flies sort of staring. It can be a bit creepy and unsettling at first but especially if you travel out of tourist season, where there are less and less westerners, you will be subject to the look over, several times a minute. And lo and behold you have blonde hair, or ginger hair, you will probably be repeatedly stopped for photographs.

Sometimes it can make you feel a bit paranoid, like maybe there's something on my face or my hair's gone crazy or something, but it's highly likely the thing they are staring at is your face. Not something on it. Just the fact that you look different. Some of them seem scared and might look a couple of times and then run off. Others will likely wave a greeting or flash a smile and a Ni hao.

There were days when it annoyed me and days when it didn't but when you live in a city that is renowned for its autonomy and practically has a law against making eye contact, it can take a little bit of getting used to. After all they are just curious about you, as you are curious about them and their country, which is presumably why you're there in the first place.

Pedestrian Crossings/Roads/Signals/Death

As a pedestrian in Beijing you really do have to take charge of your life because no one else is going to look out for it, not even the little green man. The green man does not mean cross the road, it means, ideally you could cross but actually you will need to dodge three buses, seventeen bicycles and a taxi in order to take three steps.

You may think I'm exaggerating but no. I grew up following the green cross code, I teach that to the kids I've worked with as well as having to educate my Italian partner the rules of safe road crossing etiquette. But this really was a shambles. Even the locals who obviously knew the system - what system - were verging on near death experiences with every crossing.

Basically you wait for that green man and then you have to watch every single direction - sometimes there are four or five different roads converging - and take a few steps, then stop for a bicycle or two, then keep going as much as you can, hope that car doesn't plough you down and then make it to the other side on some sort of danger high.

I'm not trying to be negative or put anyone off, but this is how it is and it took me a few days to get used to it,  but eventually I found it hilarious. I mean, how are there not more accidents? We saw some pretty close calls but not even a collision or anything. So it may be a messed up system but as long as you don't expect it to be a perfect system you should eventually make it to the other side in one piece. 

Bikes

According to Katie Melua there are five million bicycles in Beijing and to be fair, I don't doubt it, in fact I think there's probably more. But what Melua failed to inform us is that the vast majority of them are electric, soundless and gunning to knock you down. Honestly Melua, give us all the information next time.

They come on the pavements too, despite the crazy network of cycle paths alongside the roads and get right up close behind you before beeping. You really do need eyes everywhere. In your temples would be good, in the back of your head and some sort of movement sensors would be useful too.

They are a rather feisty lot though and when it comes to taking on cars and buses, they just go for it. Everyone beeps at each other because they want the right of way. The streets of Beijing are noisy and bombarded with bells and horns. There are no restrictions on horn use. You beep for everything and anything. There is a sort of 'every person for themself' rule, which in a country of a billion people, you can sort of understand but it does seem to create traffic and people chaos.

Often Pedestrians have to share the cycle paths so just watch out and listen for the relevant beep.

Toilets

Now this is a very important one, especially for the ladies. The vast majority of toilets, even in super touristy areas are squatty toilets. It's not fun or pretty but you will have to use them.

• Always carry a toilet roll or pack of tissues with you because most of the squatty toilets have one loo roll dispenser before you go in and they are almost always empty.     

• If they have a disabled toilet then that will likely be a standard western toilet, but you might have to queue for it.   

• In the hutongs there are toilets every hundred metres or so due to most of the housing in the hutongs, not having their own bathroom facilities. So you are never very far from a public toilet.  

• The squatting process will become mildly less harrowing as the holiday progresses. 

Taxis

Taxis in China are your friends. They are super cheap, although make sure for short journeys within a city, you get a metered cab otherwise they could rip you off. And for longer journeys arrange a price first and remember you can haggle this until you are both happy.

In order to make life easier for yourself, have the Chinese characters available to show to the taxi driver. They will not speak or read English so showing them words without the characters is pointless. Google works beautifully over there and can give you loads of information as well as the Chinese characters for everything. And make sure you get the right guide book with Chinese characters in there too. 

Depending on where you are staying, your hotel may be able to call a taxi for your journey or at least write the characters down for you to help the taxi driver.

Taxi journeys in Beijing start at around 18CNY (£1.80) so they are definitely worth it if you a far from a Metro stop or exhausted from walking.

Hostels

We stayed in a hostel in Beijing, albeit a very nice hostel with private rooms and a lovely little bar/communal area. But having booked a double room we were slightly annoyed to find out that they didn't have any double rooms as some guests had decided to stay longer. Hmmmmm. After an extremely long trip here, that was slightly annoying us and they only told us after we'd paid for the room so we couldn't even ask for a discount.

Just watch out because that happened to us again later in the holiday in another hostel we stayed in. Obviously if you're in a hotel you shouldn't have the same problem. But we did make them come and push the beds together and hoover down the side.

When staying in a hostel or hotel you will be asked for a cash deposit per person on arrival, which is usually 100CNY each. They may let you put it on card but they prefer a cash deposit, which is returned on departure, as long as you don't wreck the place.

Attractions/Tourist Sites

There are strict bag searches and bag scans at most tourist sites, museums and attractions. Your belongings will be x-rayed a lot. Certain places don't allow you to take your bags in and you have to pay for bag drops. These usually have a time limit on them but don't fret, English translations are given outside the ticket booths and entrances and there is usually at least one member of staff that knows some English.

When carrying liquids, you may be asked to drink them to prove it is just water or tea and not something harmful or hazardous.

There are some days when museums or sites are closed. This is often a Monday, but doesn't apply to every attraction. Check out the opening times for each place you want to visit and plan accordingly to avoid disappointment.

Shopping/Markets/Bartering/Hassle

Okay, now I am very much of the, 'leave me alone I don't want to be hassled when shopping' attitude, so I knew China would rattle me a little. Mostly they will try and entice you once and if you say no and move away you are fine. However, sometimes you will end up with someone following you, offering you bags or watches or shoes. You just have to be firm and do a little ignoring. But I have to say, in Beijing it wasn't too bad at all.

Now in terms of haggling and bartering, I am no good at it but travelling with someone who is, will be helpful. Take a small notepad with you or have a smart phone or calculator, so you can show each other quantities and decide upon the best price. Sometimes the stuff was so cheap it just felt wrong to barter.

In some of the tea shops you will sometimes be followed around the shop, trailed by a shop assistant who wants to explain things to you and basically make a sale. But when you look around, they do it to the Chinese people too, so it's not just a tourist thing, it's actually how they make a sale.

Food and Restaurants

Finally on the survival guide today is food. Of course it's one of the things you will need every day and in China you want to sample the best stuff but not spend a fortune. This is easily done!

Now what we found in China was that often restaurants can look pretty shoddy from outside but that inside the food is incredible and cheap and so freakin' good. So don't be put off by an ugly looking window front or a run down shack, they probably have the best food, it's just no frills.

I often chose places that had photographs up of the food because I figured even if the menu was just characters, which some are, then at least we could point to something. This worked pretty well.

When you are seated, they hand you a menu and then they stay by the table whilst you order. At first we thought it was weird but it happens everywhere, even in bars to order drinks. So don't be put off, again it's just their custom.

Some places expect you to pay before you eat, some afterwards, but basically if they shove a piece of paper under your nose with a number on it, they want you to pay.

Beer is cheap over there and usually comes in massive bottles, good to share. Desserts aren't really big over there and their sweet things aren't particularly sweet. Most of their milk products are actually soy and you won't find a lot of dairy and very little cheese. But in Beijing they do have a fabulous soy yoghurt that they sell in insulated containers in shops, shacks and by the side of the road. It's yummy and a Beijing delicacy. Highly recommended.

Almost finished......

I know I said finally, with the food, but I just remembered the spitting. They spit a lot. They hawk it up and spit it out and the sound is disgusting and the act is disgusting but it is something that is pretty much expected over there. So you just have to try and not show your disgust every time it happens, otherwise you'll walk around with a grossed out look the whole time. I actually found older people doing it a lot more than younger people.

Now I hope I haven't put anyone off, I mean yes there are a lot of customs and cultural differences but that is why you explore the world, to see things from other perspectives and to see how other people live and work. Beijing is a fantastic city and I will show you just how fantastic through the itinerary blogs, coming up shortly. These were just things that I though were useful to know before you travel because unless you speak the language a little extra help can go a long way.

I'll be back next time with Day 1 of our Beijing trip, with pictures and links and useful apps to guide you to the best places in Beijing and to get the most out of your time there.

Until then.......

The Sarky Traveller

China Survival Guide: Before You Go

Happy New Year travellers.

It's 2014 and time for the next chapter in your travelling lives. Where to next? Revisit somewhere? Try something new? Can't decide? Well, if you've ever thought about China, the next ream of blogs may just give you that nudge in the right direction.

November 2013 was our flight to Beijing and our second trip to Asia (2011, Japan). This years blogs will detail not only what we have done but hidden gems and places tourists don't usually venture to. Hopefully I'll shine a light on some things you don't already know about China and I'll be giving survival guides to each of the cities we visited as well as to transport and facilities.

Our trip may have begun on the 1st November but the journey to China started many months before...........

Before You Go

China is not a country you just book and go to. It takes research and planning and there are certain hoops that you must jump through before you can take the trip, not least of all the Visa, but I will come back to that.

Now, I flew from London, UK and am a UK citizen but I will try as best I can to provide information relevant to as many countries as I can, or specific details for countries not experiencing the same rules as the UK.

So the first things you are going to need are possible dates and some money for tickets. Purchase your air travel well in advance -  if you can - as they can be ridiculously cheap for the distance you are travelling. We booked in January for November and got tickets to Beijing and back from Shanghai for £500 return. Bargain! Yes it was a long time to wait but at least we knew our flights were booked and it gave us loads of time to plan and research and save for spends and accommodation.

As for dates; we were originally going to travel in October but found there were a significant amount of Chinese holidays at this time and it would have been pointless as attractions and tourist sites would have been closed or on reduced hours, due to every Chinese person being on holiday. It is better to travel outside of these dates to ensure you get the full experience. For details on 2014, 2015 and 2016 dates check out:
http://www.travelchinaguide.com/essential/holidays/calendar.htm There are significant spring holidays too and if you can I would probably avoid travelling in the height of Summer, due to not only excessive heat but also the smog which could put a sweaty, oppressive dampener on your holiday. Granted I have never travelled at any other time in China but November was great in terms of being between 20 and 5 degrees centigrade and mostly sunny. There was barely any rain and a few really hot days.
http://www.travelchinaguide.com/essential/when-to-come.htm  This page gives you more information on the best times to travel to China.

So moving on, we were lucky enough to book our very cheap flights with Turkish airlines, which incidentally were voted the best airline in Europe for about four years in a row and are freakin' awesome! http://www.turkishairlines.com/en-cn/ They fly from a number of countries and cities with Istanbul as a major hub and changing point. Obviously look around for the best deal at the time, for you. Websites such as: http://www.opodo.com/ and http://www.expedia.co.uk are fantastic for comparing prices of airlines and offer special deals. There is also an expedia site for the US www.expedia.com Check out other airline sites as well, as they often have sales or special offers. And if you want to fly direct, Air China offer flights to and from thirty countries around the world. http://www.airchina.com/ But if you want to do something like, come back from a different airport, or change in a particular place, then the comparison style sites seem much easier to do that from.

Okay, enough about flights. So you've booked them, you've got your dates, you're excited and starting to research and what you are most likely to discover is that you need a visa to visit.http://www.visamapper.com/ This is a fabulous site where you add your nationality and it maps all the places in the world that you would need to buy a visa to travel to, and those which you don't. Very cool. Now depending on where you hail from there are various different ways of filling out the forms and getting the whole process moving. Some countries are able to compile the form online, whereas others you have to contact the Chinese embassy within your country and it can also be done by postal service.

The fees of the visa vary from country to country, for instance, my partner in travel and life paid less than me because he's an Italian passport holder. The fees can also depend on the country you are making the application from. And some countries have to make an application but actually don't pay for it, though these are few: Albania, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Herzegovina, Maldives, Micronesia, Pakistan and Slovakia.

This process definitely needs research on your part but there are few useful websites that I will link below that not only cover UK and US regulations but also Australia, most of Western Europe and a few Asian countries.

http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/visas/   For US visa applications.

http://www.travelchinaguide.com/embassy/visa.htm   For general visa application queries and information.

http://www.visaforchina.org  Now this is the one you will use if applying for your visa in the UK. But you can change the site and language as it covers 15 Countries: Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, The Netherlands, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, UK.

I must clarify here that these visas only cover entrance into the People's Republic of China (PRC). If you wish to travel to Hong Kong, Macao or Taiwan then you must obtain a double or multiple entrance visa, as even a day trip to Hong Kong would constitute leaving the PRC and you wouldn't be able to re-enter until you had sorted out the relevant visa. Now here's where US citizenship comes in handy, as if you are coming from the US your fee is the same whether purchasing a single entry, double entry or multiple entry visa; which gives you that flexibility to explore a bit further. Everyone else would have to pay more for double or multiple.

We went for the single entrance as we only had 16 days to do as much as we could over there and whilst Hong Kong would have been amazing, you not only need an additional entry to China in order to get back in, but you need to apply for a visa for Hong Kong too.

The visa can seem like a daunting task but there are guides to filling it in online - if of course that is an option for you. They do want quite a lot of information from you, like where you are staying and what you do for a living and what your parents do. If you are moving around in China then they need to know all your accommodations. It is particularly thorough but you only have to get your visa a month in advance of you going and it only takes them about five working days to process it.

For the fifteen countries mentioned along with the UK, you fill in the form online http://www.visaforchina.org/
which is the Chinese Visa Application Service Centre (CVASC) and then within your country there will be at least one, sometimes four or five centres where you can travel to for the actual visa interview. Obviously this could be slightly annoying if you don't live near any of the centres, in which case they do offer a postal service, which takes a little longer and costs more, but if you are lucky enough to be in travelling distance of a CVASC then once you have checked your application a million times, or maybe three or four, just to be on the safe side,  you print it all out and make an appointment time for your centre.

Just want to interject here that if you are single or in a relationship but not married each of you has to do a separate visa form. If you a married you do one between you. And here is me presuming that you are travelling with someone. Of course you may not be and you are a braver traveller than me.

Now when you have made your appointment, and if using the London branch I would advise an early one,  because it gets really busy and there are lots of appointments scheduled at the same time. When you arrive you are given a number and must wait. When you receive your confirmation of your appointment, please check the date as my partner presumed it was the following Monday. We went for 9am and then it was actually the week after. Wasted journey. You also need to have a photocopy of your passport with you. This wasn't clear to us online - it may have been updated since - but it was on signs in the CVASC. If you forget, don't worry there are photocopying facilities downstairs in the London branch but I can't speak for other centres. So a quick photocopy before you leave would just make things a whole lot easier and smoother for you.

Please, please, please make sure you don't need to travel anywhere within at least a week as they will take your passport, along with your application form and details of your accommodation. We were taking some internal flights too but they didn't seem too interested in those details. Once they have conducted the interview they give you a slip with a date to return for your passport and hopefully - fingers crossed - your accepted visa. Of course this only makes sense if you live within travelling distance as you have to make at least two trips, three if you mess up the date of the interview.

Then you pay for the visa when you pick it up, and unfortunately even if they reject the application, you still have to pay. You can pay card or cash, though cash payments have been withdrawn for US citizens. The visa will appear as a paper addition to your passport on one of the pages and will state the date issued, the date it expires and how long it is for. Visas for UK citizens and I think most of the rest of the world are valid for three months, but once you are in are only valid for thirty days. Make a note of where it is in your passport, as you will need to show it a lot and they don't like to wait around while you faff with the pages.

So I think I covered everything visa wise. Now for your research and decisions on where you want to go and how you expect to travel there. China is massive! So ridiculously massive that train journeys can take weeks. But never fear, Air China do cheap internal flights, though they do sometimes cancel them or change the times. I wouldn't advise driving, unless you really don't value your life, and taxis and subway fares are so cheap that shorter journeys can be easily done even on a strict budget.

If you are travelling off the beaten path, then personal guides may be necessary and could be quite costly. There are also options of guided tours with a group, which I'm sure can be arranged with a travel agent or online.....I have never done this myself. But if you want to just explore, yourselves, and make the most of your time over there, with the flexibility to create your own itinerary and change it as and when needed, then here are some survival tips:

Research where you want to go. There are plenty of sites to help you make your decisions. Obviously speaking or reading Mandarin would help you no end as you will find the most in depth information in Chinese, but this is unlikely for most tourists. 

http://www.cnto.org/ This is great for English speaking users.
http://www.travelchinaguide.com/tourism/ This is also a great comprehensive guide to all things China.

Apologies these are both for English speakers but wherever you are in the world, if you google or bing or search for Chinese Tourism then you will pull up the pages for your country.

Now, speaking of google, it was essential for us at times, because whilst it is rarely used in China - as they have their own search engines - it still has a ridiculous amount of information, such as bus times, travel information and maps. A smart phone is a useful tool to have over there but your data roaming is likely to cost a small fortune. There are some free wifi spots available but you can't really rely on it. If you have access to a techy person, as I am lucky enough to have, then they might suggest a small mifi device which creates a wifi network that you can access with the data provided by a sim card. Now the only problem is that in order to have a Chinese compatible sim card, you need to be registered with the Chinese government, which you would have to do once in China. If you do however, buy one online at ebay like we did, they will block your sim after four days as it is unregistered. We then had to go buy a sim and register which took the best part of an hour.

If this is sounding like way too much of a ball ache then don't worry, I agree. But it was invaluable to us at certain times. Saying that though, everywhere we stayed had wifi in the rooms or at least in the communal areas, so you can check out stuff in your accommodation.

Absolutely essential, is a guide book, of some description, preferably with all the sites written in Chinese characters, because you never know when a phone will malfunction, or the battery will die. And, they usually come with various maps and useful information. Don't buy buy a guide that doesn't have translations in Chinese Characters because it will be useless if you want to ask directions or tell a taxi driver where you want to go. If you have the characters there, all you have to do is point to them and they will help you. Most people will understand nothing except Chinese so the easier you can make it for them, the easier you make it for yourself. 

There are a couple of amazing apps available for tourists with menus translated and things explained from a person actually living and working in China. We used these loads, especially in Beijing and found some top restaurants and tips for the city. Both are available on IOS (any apple product) but those of you with android may be able to find something similar. Apologies, I don't even have a smart phone, so I can't comment further - I know I live in the dark ages.

China Explorer is a free app, recently updated and compatible with IOS 4.3 or later. It is available at the itunes store. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/china-explorer-a-travel-guide/id490161062?mt=8

Beijing on a Budget is exactly what it says. It's about doing Beijing without bankrupting yourself and it is really great. Another free app, this gives you insight from someone who lives and works in the City; the best places to stay, eat, drink and visit. This app was invaluable. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/beijing-on-a-budget/id440431617?mt=8

Now to currency. We were under the delusion that you couldn't get currency until you were over in China. We later found out that you could but the rates in the UK weren't great. So we decided to wait. I would advise to get some of your currency changed before you go, or to look around for some deals if exchanging a large amount of currency because if you do it at the airport, even in China they charge you about £6/60 RMB. In order to get the best rates whilst in China, you should go to the Bank of China where they will exchange your money and in certain branches can guarantee an English speaking person on the counter, but not everywhere. It is a lengthy process. So if you want speed and don't mind the transaction fee you could do an airport exchange, or you could just change it all before you go for peace of mind and knowing that you don't have to waste any time out of your holiday.

Now, with all these things in mind, your itinerary set, hotels booked and a number of days/weeks to explore, it's time to delve in to China. China seems a world apart for most people outside of it, a secret well hidden, and outsiders only ever get a glimpse of that world, the glimpse they want you to see. Visiting China was an eye opener to this other world and a huge one at that. The customs, the culture, the language, the sheer volume of people and traffic, the food, the beauty, the architecture; whilst often alien, was also bold, at times archaic, sometimes boisterous and rude, and sometimes utterly charming. It's not just a holiday, it's an experience.

Wow, I realise I just sounded like one of those tacky travel adverts but it's true. This is unlikely to be a relaxing chilled out holiday, it's about exploration; it's about being the odd one out; it's about not fully understanding what is happening and it's about history and cultural significances that may never have crossed your mind before. Above all it's a learning holiday.

China is a place often passed on due to the language barrier or the cost of a flight or being far away or being too different for westerners. But I can assure you that I only knew how to say hello in Mandarin and I got by -  granted, with the help of my travel buddy, our guide books, apps, google and decent research. But don't rule it out. If you are on a budget, as we were, then China is a fabulous destination. Food, accommodation and travel are so cheap once you're there; you won't believe what you get for your money. And in terms of seeing something really different, surprising and truly memorable, you would struggle to top China.

So, join me next time when I'll be giving you a survival guide to Beijing; covering toilets, public transport, pedestrian crossings, traffic, electric bikes and much much more.

Until then.......

The Sarky Traveller

Christmas Markets and Festive Travel Survival

Hello from The Sarky Traveller

Been back from China around 3 weeks and still not really back on track. The travel journal is written, the photos have been stored on the external hard drive and souvenirs have been distributed. But the blogs are no where near ready. It's going to be a new year start for the China blogs, with survival guides for each of the cities we visited. Cultural differences that might leave westerners flumoxed will be explained and as usual top tips, the best in cultural and historical sights and amazing places to stay and eat will be revealed.

So to tide you over before the new year exploration of china, I figured a nice edition on Christmas markets, travel and general survival of the festive season was in order.

Now, living in London there are of course lots of Christmas themed markets, craft fairs, events and festivities. Some of them run through the whole month of December and others are weekend or day specific. There will be events spread all over London in different boroughs and areas, so if you are a resident check out your local borough website. For those visiting from around the country or further afield, here's some of the best to keep you going in London:

Southbank Markets and Food Festivals: Running from mid November through to Christmas Eve, the Southbank Markets bring Germany to the Thames. With around 80 stalls filled with gifts, food and drink, it's a beautiful walk along the river and not only that but you're in the heart of the South Bank for museums, galleries and theatres. The markets are open till late every day (Sun-Fri till 9pm. Sat till 10pm) so you can have a jaunt after work, pre or post theatre, or plan the day there and sample the delights of Christmas on the Thames.

In addition to the 6 week festivities are a number of food events. The Chocolate Festival at Southbank is on from Friday 13th Decemeber till Sunday 15th December with artisan chocolatiers, chocolate themed gifts and demonstrations. Bring your sweet teeth and enjoy!

Also the Real Food Christmas Market starting on the 19th till the 22nd behind Royal Festival Hall is a treat for festive foodies. There are food gifts to buy as well as edible treats for on the go such as mince pies and the obligatory mulled wine.

For more information on Southbank and the Winter Festival 2013 check out their website and plan a trip.
http://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whatson/festivals-series/the-winter-festival
There are links on the site to all the festivals and markets I've mentioned above.

Okay moving on. Also in London is the huge and getting huger by the year, Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park. Expect queues, especially on weekends, but it really has become a staple of London Christmas over the past few years. With an ice rink, roller coaster, rides, games, stalls, food, entertainment and a certain atmosphere that really makes even those with bah humbug for a motto, sink into that festive feeling. The Winter Wonderland is a great way to wile away a few hours, be it after work or at the weekend, or of course during the day if you don't work or have some holidays free. Open late and into the new year, don't worry if you miss it before Christmas you can still keep the spirit going into the early days of January.

I would suggest booking in advance for the ice rink and take plenty of cash with you, though they do have a few ATMs scattered around. Facilities are good with toilets regularly spaced; plenty of food and drink with some bars and restaurants having inside seating to escape the cold. For tickets and more details visit the event website: http://www.hydeparkwinterwonderland.com/

Now to a couple of slightly less well known Christmas events in London and some newbies. There have been various pop-up events around town and there are more to come:

Snowy Fingers Vintage Market which is actually on tomorrow (Tues 10th). Think Christmas jumpers, old school baking and lots of retro treats. Venue: Round Chapel. Transport: Nearest Tube/Train Hackney Central/Hackney Downs.

Join the first Christmas market at Berwick Street Market in Soho. Eat, drink and be merry, whilst shopping the finest in independent fashion and gifts. Hop along anytime as it kicked off yesterday and goes on until the 24th.

Then there's the Finnish Pop up at The Finnish Institute near Holburn. Sample Finnish delicacies as well as hand made gifts and traditional glassware. Check it out.

Of course there is much more going on, I can't mention it all, so check out timeout for their rundown of the best in Christmas events and find something in your area to your taste. http://www.timeout.com/london/shopping/christmas-markets-and-fairs-in-london

Finally for London I will finish up with Handmade at the O2, which is actually number 2 on timeout's list of Christmas Markets and where I will be heading at the weekend with the parentals who are coming to visit.
In the O2 arena with over 60,000 guests expected over three days, it's all about crafts and it's all about the O2. With 100's of stalls, work shops and demonstrations, gifts, fashion, accessories, decorations, food and drink and lovely long opening hours 1pm-8.30pm (Fri and Sun) and 12pm-8.30pm (Sat), Handmade at the O2 is bound to be a great day in fabulous surroundings.

And not only that but of course you are in the heart of entertainment land with countless bars, restaurants, a cinema, music venues and the British Music Experience right under the same roof. And incidentally when you buy a ticket for the Handmade Christmas event for £5 (though they do place a handling fee or something to make it £6.50 each) you can actually visit the British Music Experience for only £2 each, instead of the usual £13. So you really can make a whole day of it at the O2 and know that you are inside escaping  possible bad weather and chill.

It's only on this weekend starting Friday 13th at 1pm and going through till Sunday 15th at 8.30pm. So get your tickets whilst you can and buy something Handmade for Christmas. http://www.handmadechristmas.co.uk/

Okay, so if you're not in London this festive time what about heading to Manchester or Birmingham or York or Edinburgh. There is a huge selection of well established Christmas Markets and Festivals up and down the country, some bigger than others and some ever increasing. www.visitbritain.com

Every time I visit the Manchester markets (as I did a couple of weeks back) they seem to have added an extra street or square of shops and activities. In fact, only being slightly biased as I used to live there, the Manchester markets are just fab! Taking you on a lovely walking tour of the city centre, snaking through streets and squares and leading you to Albert Square and the impressive Town Hall, where the large twinkly Santa awaits, there are staples of the market that have been there for years but there are always new stalls and ideas, gifts and food. Incidentally it is the 15th Anniversary of the Manchester Markets this year so go check them out if you're in the North or can easily get there by train/car. http://www.manchester.gov.uk/info/500241/

Again they have been up and running since mid November and will be there till around 22nd December and are open till late most days (8/8/30pm) closing a little earlier on Sundays (7/7.30pm.) If you do visit and wind up at Albert Square, take a peek inside the Town Hall as they now have a cafe in the sculpture hall and also Afflecks Palace, the world famous alternative institution of Manchester has a pop up market in there too. http://www.afflecks.com/ And you can take tours of the Town Hall now, which I would have loved to do when I lived there.

If driving there, there are tonnes of car parks just out of the centre and by that I mean literally 5 minutes walk to the markets/Arndale Centre (main shopping centre) and they are ridiculously well priced and manned. So well worth it, rather than going for a NCP or multi storey car park. Prices start from around £1.50 at the weekend for all day up to £3/4 during the week. Though if you plan to be there longer than 6pm you may need to look around as some car parks close at 6pm. (Head towards the centre of town and they are all sign posted.)

Oh and check out the newest little square on the border of Salford and Manchester, in plain sight of the markets and incorporating a lovely bridge, market stalls, an amphitheatre and fountains that do a beautiful night time performance. It's Greengate Square and it's wonderful! http://www.visitsalford.info/greengatesquare.htm  We stayed to watch the fountains and their light show for some time. Bellagio eat your heart out, this is fountains Salford style. Brilliant!

If you can, please explore the UK and see something new as well as taking in a Christmas market or festival of some kind. The UK has a lot to offer with vibrant cities, bustling markets and huge heart so go and support your local town/city, or take a trip, explore somewhere new.

Now briefly because I have already waffled on for quite some time, I will give you a few tips and survival techniques for travelling at Christmas as it can be the ultimate ball ache of the the festive period.

Expect cancellations to services both train and plane. Expect queues, expect high ticket prices and no where to put your luggage. 

So: Book early. Obvious but still a classic. If you know those tickets go on sale three months before but you only book two weeks before you will be lucky to find something affordable, unless of course I am blogging to a load of rich people, although they probably wouldn't be taking the train in the first place.

Also sticking with trains, find out about planned engineering works as they usually go on before and after Christmas and into the new year and can be ridiculously disruptive. I once had a supposed three hour journey to London for New year which became about an 8 hour, bus, train, bus, train and final bus journey, which got me there about five hours before midnight. So to avoid these things, check ahead and be aware. You may have to alter your plans by a day or so but it will give you a much nicer journey.

Also between Christmas and new year there are reduced services with some train services cancelling all services or just operating a one an hour service. And if you can avoid travelling on bank holidays then I would advise it because they are usually rammed and quite often over subscribed so you have people and luggage everywhere and it is not fun.

If taking the train I would advise taking at least one book, bottle of water, snacks and perhaps something to listen to or watch. You never know when your train could be delayed, lose power or have to be diverted. Also in terms of luggage, the big luggage racks are taken up very swiftly as they can only fit on about four cases, so if you can manage with one or two smaller bags that fit in the above seat storage you will have piece of mind and also a free aisle.

Most things completely shut down on Christmas Day and very little goes on Boxing Day but it's often Christmas Eve you have to watch out. Bus, train and tube services finish earlier than usual and that can leave you stranded with only taxi as a possibility and they are double time on Christmas Eve. I've been duped by this before. Check out your local transport site or town site and you'll be able to find out how long your bus and train services are in operation around the festive time.

Well, I think that's the main survival aspects covered. Be prepared, just like the scouts. Find out what is happening and expect the worst. Take additional snacks and drinks on journeys, especially trains and buses and provide yourself with some form of entertainment, be it books, notepads, cards, tablets or computers, phones and ipods, because delays can be lengthy and tiredness/boredom will kick in.

All that said, you could have a lovely travel experience. There could be no delays and everything could run smoothly, but this is Britain and we are not optimists as a whole. Enjoy the run up to Christmas and all it's twinkling, jingling chaos and if you can check out some local festivals or markets then go for it. Support the UK. It's ace!

Keep travelling and until next time......Merry Christmas!

2 Days In Boston, Massachussetts: The final days of The New England Road Trip

And so from California to Nevada to Arizona to California (again) to Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont. Our state hopping; Halloween encompassing; West coast to East coast road trip extravaganza was coming to an end. What felt like two months away had actually been around 14 days and sadly there were only two left. But on the plus side we had two days in a wonderfully autumnal sunny Boston. http://www.cityofboston.gov/visitors/        http://www.bostonusa.com/

We used airbnb for our accommodation as the hotels in Boston were pretty pricey. You can get great deals on airbnb and it's a service we've been using since 2009 and our first trip to the states. Highly recommended, especially for large cities where hotels and other accommodation are likely to bankrupt you.
Saying that though, we've used it in tiny European towns and cities and stayed in some incredible places. So basically, try airbnb if you haven't already. It's great! This page takes you straight to the Boston pages of airbnb and you can see there is plenty to satisfy every budget. https://www.airbnb.co.uk/s/Boston--MA

We were kindly offered breakfast at our accommodation (bagels, juice, coffee and fruit) in Somerville, just NE of Cambridge, setting us up nicely for a tour of Harvard at 10am. Now we were told by our host that parking should be fine but once again it took us several times driving round the block to find a parking space and then we didn't have enough coinage, so it was running into shops to buy chewing gum ($0.35 how cheap!) and various bars of chocolate and stuff, just to give us enough time on the meter for our tour. Unfortunately, by the time we'd faffed around with that we had about 6 minutes to run to the tour. And we made it just as the tour guide was introducing himself. Phew! Parking in Boston is not fun!

The tours are free, which is awesome and at 10am on a Saturday, not too early. Of course stumbling around Harvard and it's grounds is quite special, especially when you graduated from a Northern England University where your building was an old soap factory with windows that fell out on students. Yes this was a tad prettier but it was still a bit like Cambridge and Oxford for me; almost fictitious, like you can't really go there to study because it's too pretty. But of course people do go and they do study and lots of celebrities have been there and it has to be one of the most famous Universities in the world, let alone the US.

Our tour guide was a third year and was confident and outgoing and he had that wonderful American gift of the gab. I always feel like a bumbling idiot, like I live up to all the eccentric British stereotypes. I can't help it, I just appear guarded and uptight and shy. Still he was great and took us first to Old Harvard Yard. Think loads of red brick buildings, beautiful trees lining the pathways and statues that lie.

Massachusetts Hall

Harvard Hall

 First years had to stay on campus. Oh no. However would they cope in such amazing surroundings?

 Hollis Building

University Hall with the statue of John Harvard outside. (We'll come back to that later.)

We were then walked over to the Science Centre where we found out loads of interesting things like, you can get a grant for a winter coat if you come from out of state and are not used to the brutal East Coast winters. There are five of the largest lecture theatres on campus in there. And presumably lots of other things but I want you to go too, so I won't spoil it for you. 

Anyhoo from there it was a short walk to Memorial Hall which houses the first year dining hall: Annenburg Hall, several rehearsal spaces and a theatre. All in this rather spectacular building: http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~memhall/

 

Only first years are allowed to dine there. Other year groups are not even allowed in. It's all very secret society. No, but really it's to encourage social interaction and allow the first years to bond in their own place and make that transition into college life slightly easier. Needless to say, we weren't allowed in.

We strolled past Cambridge Fire Headquarters and back into Harvard Yard this time on the other side of University Hall, passing such gems as Memorial Church, which interestingly has services in every denomination.

 Memorial Church with it's large tower and pointy spire.

 Our tour guide dispelling myths about what was filmed here and what wasn't: cough cough, Social Network.

Then turning our backs on the church, we found the columns and steps of Widener Library. This is named after a guy who died on the Titanic trying to rescue some books. Now, I'm sorry but I would have tried to save myself instead of the books but anyway he has a Library named after him now, so I guess it's all good.
The tour guide told us that a lot of the Library is underground and you go into the stacks and the lights only go on as you move. Creepy. He also said there are some pretty ancient texts in there. If you want to know more about the Library and it's treasures, check out the site: http://hcl.harvard.edu/libraries/widener/

Widener Library

I

 I love this shot of Memorial Church from the Library. 

Then we just had enough time to wander back through to The Old Yard past John Harvard's statue which incidentally had been vandalised with green paint over night -  a student prank - and was currently being jet washed off. 

This statues lies for many reasons but I will let you find those out for yourself. I will however urge you not to rub his golden toe....apparently it is the sight of public urination. Yes even Harvardians pee outside.

We were keeping it educational today and once back in the car with about 4 minutes to spare on the parking, we shot off to MIT taking a scenic drive along the Charles River. 

Looking out to Downtown. You can see the golden dome of the State House.

The Maclaurin Building, otherwise known as Building 10

Welcome to MIT - The Massachussetts Institute of Technology, complete with obligatory scaffolding. It really does follow us around the world. No less spectacular though. And for those fans of NCIS you may find yourself squealing, 'McGee went here.' I didn't do that at all. No. Not me.

We had a wander in the main building but there was some sort of event on so we couldn't get far. Still it was impressive to look at and again one of those fictitious places that you hear about in film and television all the time. Nice to see in the flesh. There are student led tours of MIT as well but they seem to be weekdays so we missed out there. More information here: http://web.mit.edu/institute-events/events/tour.html

Building 2

We managed a walk through part of Building 7 and then crossed over to find the numbers man and Grapefruit Building. 

Building 7 of The Infinite Corridor.

The Numbers Man

 The Kresge Auditorium AKA The Grapefruit Building.

Then it was back in the car for a brief drive into town for lunch at the highest restaurant in Boston. But first:

A Berklee College of Music drive by.

And some steamy vents. No it doesn't just happen in New York.

And so to lunch at Top of the Hub@ Prudential Building. Now amazingly you can park underneath in the multi story car park and you get a discount if you buy anything, including lunch, which meant hassle free parking for a change. Yes! We had to sign in as visitors and take a special lift to the 52nd floor. The lunch menu was really reasonable. For around $15 you can have a main course and they're not small. Of course for dinner it is more pricey but for lunch with scintillating views it was well worth it.  http://www.topofthehub.net/

 Looking down on Logan Airport watching the planes take off. Pretty spectacular.

Chicken flat bread pizza. Yum yum!

You can however not take in a meal and simply take the lift to the 50th floor for Boston's only 360 degree observation platform. But it will cost you around $15 per person, so you might as well hold out for lunch and have a flat bread. Believe me it was great and you ended up two floors higher. Still if you want to just zoom on up there in the lift here's more information: http://www.prudentialcenter.com/shop/shop_detail.php?id=64

 

Anyhoo don't forget to validate your parking! After lunch we headed back down in the lift and had a quick look in the Prudential Mall. http://www.prudentialcenter.com/ There's all sorts of shops and places to eat down there and then you can exit onto Boylston Street which leads you into many touristic sights and heads through to Downtown. 

Looking back on the Prudential from Boylston Street.

I think what I personally wasn't expecting from Boston was for it to be so big. The buildings; the streets; everything was huge. I guess I thought it would be on a smaller scale to cities such as New York and LA, which it still is but compared to most of the cities we visited in New England, this is the giant. With some of the world's most prestigious universities and a Downtown steeped in important US history it is hardly a small place and many of it's attractions and tourist spots are quite spread out. 

A look down Boylston Street towards New Old South Church.

We headed in to New Old South Church with it's tower almost competing with the sky scrapers and it's breathtaking interior. This church is free to go in and have a look around and is definitely worth a short time for an explore. 

In Copley Square you get a great view of the church from the other side, as well as the Library and Trinity Church. Also on Copley Square is Boston Tkts. Just like in New York and London you can queue up and get discounted tickets for that days performances. If you don't already have plans for the evening then check it out. They have a variety of different shows on but we chose a Boston staple: Shear Madness.

The Old New South Church from Copley Square.

Next stop Trinity Church for a self guided tour. You head downstairs to the gift shop area to gain your sticker and pay for your tour. $7 each and you get your own leaflet to guide you round.

Tucked away neatly between all manner of modern buildings and office blocks, Trinity Church looks at home if somewhat out of place. The deep colours and distinctive architecture make sure it doesn't blend into the background and is never forgotten beneath the towering glass giants. There are in fact guided tours available at specific dates and times. If you would prefer that to a self-guided tour then check out their site: http://trinitychurchboston.org/

Directly across the street is the Boston Public Library which is one of those Libraries that makes you think, if our Libraries were like that, we'd live there. So much grandeur and art and sculpture, you feel like you're in a museum or a stately home or something. If only all books had a home like this:

Then it was time to head off back to Prudential, pay our greatly reduced parking and set the sat nav for the North End and more parking payments. (If you are doing a driving holiday like we were, allow for lots of additional dollars for parking, especially when you give up on road side and opt for the simplicity but more expensive multi story car parks.) 

 

So the North End is essentially Little Italy and a not so little Italy at that. Red brick buildings, pretty churches, cute restaurants; pastry shops with massive queues. North End is popular for so many reasons, least of all that it encompasses some of the Freedom Trail, has a heavy European flavour, great food and a close proximity to Downtown. 

 And 7 Elevens with massive Italian Sausages.

 Looking down Hanover Street with St Stephen's tower gracefully poking out.

Paul Revere Statue on the Paul Revere Mall heading towards North Church.(Part of The Freedom Trail.)

 

 Inside Old North Church and its interesting box like pews. There are loads of free talks throughout the day as part of The Freedom Trail. We did this a little out of order but it was still interesting and a beautiful church. All this sightseeing was building up an appetite. It was only fair that we sample one of the fabulous cafes for cake and a drink.

 

Visit: www.oldnorth.org

The drive back to the apartment was a pleasant one. Lots of interesting buildings and bridges and time to book a restaurant, change and head out for a night of food, drink and who-done-it murder mystery fun. 

We set off super early for our reservation due to parking panic but then of course found a weird valet system and were then early and they were busy and couldn't seat us. Bostonians, as with most East coasters do eat earlier. Between 5pm and 6pm will be rammed and then after 7pm the place starts to empty. We didn't have to wait too long to be seated but what I noticed was this hustle and bustle and just general people noise. Families, groups, couples, friends, locals, out of towners, tourists. The place was full of anyone and everyone and I think chaotic was a word that covered the feeling. Not in a bad way, just the chaos and hubbub of a busy and popular eating establishment. http://www.jacobwirth.com/ Booking is worthwhile!

Warning: Portions are huge. Starters are the size of main courses. Main courses are super sized, but it's all delicious. So if you've had a busy day of sight seeing or have starved yourself for a the last few hours, you should be able to manage a couple of courses. They had a great beer selection and interesting cocktails on the menu but they will ID you. Our waitress was IDing everyone even those people who were obviously in their late thirties so I didn't feel too bad.

Starters.

Main Courses. Meat loaf and Shepherds Pie

A shared strudel for dessert.

Then with a chilly walk over to the theatre, it was time for Shear Madness a murder mystery show that had been running in Boston for over 30 years. I won't reveal anything other than it's a tiny cast; they are acting from the moment you set foot in; there is some audience participation and it is quite an intimate setting. Check out: http://www.shearmadness.com/ or Tkts when in Boston on Copley Square. 

And now for our final day in Boston before the flight home. All I could think of was the return home. Very depressing when all you want to do is keep exploring. But every good Speed Tourist knows that it has to end sometime. 

So today was reserved for Downtown, primarily the Freedom trail, a staple of Boston Tourism and another State House, though we couldn't go in this one. (Out of the four New England states we visited, we also visited their capitol and state house. Why does that make me giddy?) 

 

We drove straight to a multi storey car park this time, not wanting to faff around with parking on-street and the scrabble for change. Then we emerged around Boston Common to take in the delights of an early November morning. 

Boston Common

The Band Stand

The Massachussetts State House in all it's golden glory.

 

The Freedom Trail starts at the visitor's centre on the Common and takes in 2.5 miles of streets and sights around Downtown and up into North End. There is a red brick line running the pavements for you to follow and it charts the history of America's eventual freedom from British rule and significant events that happened in order for their freedom. Being rather dim at History, I learnt a lot that day. There is also a Black Heritage Trail which starts at the State House and runs up through Beacon Hill. http://www.afroammuseum.org/trail.htm 

I won't give too much away as you can learn all there is to learn for yourself when you go. But I will show a few pictures of the key sites along the way.

 Park Street Church. You have to go upstairs to get to the actual church.

 Follow the red brick line. It won't take you to Oz but it will let you explore the sights of Boston.

 

 Old Granary Burying Ground

King's Chapel. We couldn't go in there was a Christening going on.

The Old State House complete with museum, free talks and an incredible spiral staircase. We learnt about the Boston Massacre by a hilarious speaker. You've got to love that East Coast humour.

Faneuil Hall

Quincy Market, part of Faneuil Hall Marketplace became our last stop on the Freedom trail as we'd already done Old North Church and Paul Revere Mall yesterday. And what great timing; lunch time. Quincy market with North and South Market is a culinary, retail dream. Inside Quincy is food from all over the world along a corridor double parked with stalls from Europe, America, Asia Africa and South America, with fresh food, fish, baked goods and so much choice you'll have to walk up and down at least twice to decide.

 North and South Markets also have a variety of shops and restaurants and lots of little market stalls but all undercover. So even if the weather is bad you can take shelter and a few hours to just wander along, pick up some gifts and eat as much as you can. http://www.faneuilhallmarketplace.com/

The dining area within Quincy and it's beautiful dome.

From there we were only a short walk from The New England Aquarium and we decided to treat ourselves. 

Expect huge queues and when we were there, building works, but they have finished now so you should be fine. As some of the exhibits were closed, they offered everyone tickets to an IMAX show of their choice. So we saw Deep Sea 3D as well as lots of amazing creatures in the aquarium. The Blue penguins were personal favourites as were some of the jellyfish species. http://www.neaq.org/index.php

The little blue penguins.

With exhaustion setting in - understandably so -  and that depression only a last day of holiday can bring, we strolled off to the financial district to lose ourselves amongst the giants and get ridiculously lost on our way back to the multi storey car park. 

 Tips for Boston survival:

• Always have loads of change ready for parking meters. 
• Allow at least an additional half hour for parking faffage. 
• Take a hat, scarf, gloves and a warm coat especially if going in the latter part of the year. 
• Take a big appetite. Portions are huge and delicious so it's difficult to stop. 
• Remember where your car park is, especially when you have a plane to catch.  
• If you're planning to eat out before 7pm, book as it will be rammed. 

We managed to cram quite a lot of the major sights into our two days there but of course there is so much more to see. Watching the Red Sox at Fenway Park would have been awesome, not to mention some of the museums and shopping. But there is only so much you can fit in and sadly that was us done.

16 days of state hopping, city hopping, exploring dams and canyons and valleys, soaking up the sun, hitting the beach, trying our hand at roulette and eating as much as we can for breakfast. We sampled Halloween in Salem, attended a ball, out ran a super storm, visited countless national parks and monuments, drove a ridiculous amount of miles, met some of the friendliest people in the smallest towns to the largest cities and really took a huge chunk out of life in the states.

Now that is speed tourism for you. And even if you read these blogs and think you could never do all that, then take a small piece and stay for longer. Most of the places we've been to you could double the time we were there, if not triple. But taking that little taster of a town or city and knowing that you can come back and still have loads of things to do is a great feeling. And also being able to share this with other people and hopefully give places or shops or experiences a wider audience is the least I can do.

Thank you to everyone that has read one or two or any number of my blogs. Last year's America trip was truly memorable and I still have the scrap book to finish. But at the end of this week we are off for Adventures in Asia 2013 as we take on the colossal China - albeit just a teeny chunk. Expect plenty of blogging when I return and millions of photographs.

Until the next one.....

The Sarky Traveller