Dawn and Kristen Go To China – An 18 Day Mother/Daughter Bonding Experience in the Far East
September 2016
After packing and grabbing a quick breakfast, we had just four short hours left to savor Shanghai before having to head to the airport. My mom, who has never been away from my dad this long in their forty-five years of marriage, wanted to make sure she came home with a nice authentic gift for …
In true Mayer fashion, we always feel the need to fit EVERYTHING in, so we got up early and hopped a train to Suzhou. This town, famous for its gardens and waterways, lies an hour west of Shanghai and has earned the nickname “Venice of the East.” We wanted to see Suzhou and at least …
In our travels throughout China, we’ve flown Chinese airlines connecting cities, we’ve taken the bus and now it’s time to figure out the train. The Hangzhou East Railway station was beautiful… Very clean and high tech. The modern architecture is really eye-catching and contrasts with the stark, older buildings. With the help of a nice …
The rain is back and the weather forecast looks worse than yesterday, so we relaxed a bit and took our time leaving the hotel. We decided to head over to the Four Seasons because we had read that their Hangzhou hotel is one of the top in China. Like every Four Seasons property, everything from …
So if you’re tired and need a good wake-up, the adrenaline of almost missing a flight in a foreign country where you can’t communicate will do the trick. We were twenty minutes later getting ourselves out of the hotel in the morning and then had trouble getting a cab. So much for not drawing extra …
Welcome to the Beijing sightseeing express. Please make sure you’ve had your coffee. You’re going to need it even just reading about our last day in Beijing. This was the opposite of a relaxing day on vacation. Instead, it was a jammed-packed, run all over the city, non-stop Tuesday… But when a flight cancellation cuts …
This day is finally here!! An opportunity to see the Great Wall of China with my very own eyes and step foot on one of the Seven Wonders of the World. I can’t remember how long I’ve been waiting for this experience, but it was definitely early on in my desire to travel the world. …
We finally touched down in Beijing… Fourteen hours after we were supposed to, but we’re here!! The airport is about an hour outside the city so we jumped on the subway to avoid the traffic congestion. Our hotel is beautiful… and clean. We are in heaven after last night’s experience. And we have a room …
Sometime between Saturday, September 10th and Sunday September 11th I’m not quite sure where Saturday night ended and Sunday morning started… The lines are a little blurred, as are my eyes from lack of sleep. Listen to this fiasco… We were in the airport waiting for our flight to Beijing and our 8:45 boarding time …
We booked a private guide to see the Terracotta Warriors because we thought it would be a lot more meaningful to understand the history and significance from a knowledgable local. Our guide Rocky, with a driver, picked us up and gave us some background information on Xi’an as we drove to our first destination, the …