Several 24 hour layovers in Beijing (Jan 2017 / Aug 18)
- While top attractions in Beijing include the Great Wall of China and the Forbidden City, I enjoyed other areas such as 798 Art Zone or Nan Luo Gu Xiang
- I found doing visiting the Great Wall of China and the Forbidden City in the same day quite tiring thus I would recommend doing them separately and I would choose the Great Wall if I do not have enough time
- Download a VPN in case you need google maps or any kind of popular social media
- Metro is a very cheap way of transporting around Beijing, and the most convenient considering the huge traffic within the city center
Main places visited:
- a) Great Wall of China (Mutianyu)
- b) Forbidden City & Tiananmen square
- c) 798 Art Zone
- d) Nan Luo Gu Xiang
a) Great Wall of China (Mutianyu):
- There are several starting points to visit the Great Wall, the "largest cementery in the world" being Mutianyu one of the more convenient, around 70 km far from Beijing (2h drive with traffic)
- Once you reach the starting point, there is a bus included in the entrance price that takes you to the beginning of the Great Wall path
- Once there, you can go to the top either by foot or in cable car paying a bit more
- Going down you can have a toboggan ride which looks very cool (I could not do this as it was closed for maintenance)
- January after Christmas it is quite cold and as a general rule, early morning is a good moment to avoid plenty of tourists
b) Forbidden city & Tiananmen square:
- Several Chinese emperors lived in the Forbidden city, where access to general public was only allowed late 20th century
- I guess it is one of the "must" tourist attractions but I was not impressed maybe because I was quite sharp in time and a bit tired
- Tiananmen square, the "gate of heavenly peace", where political and cultural important events for Chinese history take place, is located nearby:
c) 798 Art Zone:
- I did not expect much on my visit to the 798 Art district, however I liked it a lot
- Unfortunately I went a bit late but I would have liked to enjoy a few hours there at least
- I found galleries & graffities, cafes & restaurants, souvenir and other weird shops
d) Nan Luo Gu Xiang:
- While this area is very touristic, access to cars is not allowed so it is a lovely area to walk by
- In Nan Luo Gu Xiang I visited some of the best considered Hutongs in Beijing, a set of alleys which form part of ancient Chinese cities (Yan Dai Xie Jie street is one of the prettiest and most populars)
- Walking around these streets I found one of the weirdest and shocking things I have ever seen: a family with the kid on a leash (they looked even proud as that might be seen as normal in Beijing)
- Nearby you can visit Qianhai Lake
- Also the traditional Bell & Drum towers, which can be entered for a small fee (20 yuan for 1 tower, 30 for both)
- I did not feel much visiting one of them but you can have some views of the city from a high point
- I had the feeling that Beijing has a lot to offer once I paid less attention to touristic attractions (I guess this can be applied to every single city in the world)
- Hope this post helps :)
24 hours in Adelaide (January 2017)
Top recommendation:
- You can rent a free bike with lock (over 20 locations around the city http://www.bikesa.asn.au/adelaidefreebikes) and go around the city (downtown, green areas, beaches and other points of interest)
Downtown:
- Different spots to enjoy include the Botanic garden, Adelaide Oval stadium, Rundle street or St. Peter's Cathedral
- Botanic garden (free entrance):
- Adelaide Oval stadium (different tours offered but I did not do any):
- Rundle street (packed with restaurants, bars and shop):
- St. Peter's Cathedral:
Outskirts:
- Some points of interest are Glenelg beach or the River Torrens linear trail
- Glenelg beach (there is also direct tram connection from downtown):
- River Torrens linear trail (picnics, lazing in the sun, walking, jogging... check Apex park in google)
Sydney (21st-25th April 2017):
Aim of this post:
- To give an overview of nice places to visit in Sydney and provide tips whenever possible
Places visited:
- Sydney City (21st), Manly (21st), Bondi (22nd, 23rd), Palm beach (23rd), Royal National Park (24th), Blue Mountains (25th)
Sydney City:
- The area is easy to walk, has lovely views of the Opera, Harbour bridge, The Rocks, several gardens, lots of restaurants
- Parking in Sydney is very expensive so we decided not to rent a car but for only the fourth day to visit the Royal National Park
- Definitely recommended to walk around and get lost as much as possible
- Views are great both during the day and during the night
Manly:
- 40 minutes ferry from the City (8 Australlian dollar 1 way), also reachable by 1 hour bus (5 Australian dollars)
- Manly beach is great for surfing, with several options to rent a board (strating 15AUD for 1 hour)
- Besides, the town has full variety of restaurants with affordable sushi options to take away and walking around the coastal area is recommended
- Nearby, by Shelly beach, the snorkeling is amazing. I could see several kinds of marine life and if you are lucky you might even find some small sharks ;). The photo is in Shelly fish however I do not have photos of the fishes (you can find more info in many webs such as http://www.diveplanit.com/dive-site/shelly-beach/)
Bondi:
- One of my favourite places in Sydney is Bondi.
- Only on saturdays you can find Bondi market with food from many countries and live music by the grass
- Bondi beach is great for surfing with several shops renting equipment
- Also there is a cool skate park by the beach where you can enjoy some time
- The walk around the beach has nice graffiti as well
- Also, if the waves are too wild, there is a swimming pool by the sea (entry costs around 6 Australian dollars)
- Lastly, the walk from Bondi to Coogee beach is beautiful
- Here you are some examples of what you can find on the way
Palm beach:
- The afternoon before visiting the Royal National Park I rented a car and visited Palm beach, 1 hour north from the City.
- This area is reachable by bus so no need for car at all. Parking is also very expensive in Palm beach areas but nearby there is free parking
Royal National Park:
- We decided to rent a car for one day and visit the Royal National Park (there is rail connectivity but the stations are quite far from each other, so unless you want to do a trekking for several hours it is better to have your own transport)
- With an entry fee of 12 Australian dollars per vehicle, this park offers a huge amount of possibilities including trekkings, waterfalls, beaches, lovely views...
- The ticket must be visible in the car when parked at all times
- The first photo is a lake next to the information center
- The next photo shows Winifred falls. To reach them you need to park the car and walk 1km
- You can find beautiful beaches all around the coast in this park such as Garie or Wattamolla beaches. Near the Sea Cliff Bridge we found this wild beach with huge stones
- In this place the great coastal drive starts (you can see a bit of the road on the right hand side of the photo)
Blue Mountains:
- Two hours from the City by train (Central to Katoomba direct for just 10 Australian dollars) you can do several treks around the Blue Mountains area with lovely views including important aboriginal mountains, waterfalls and paths across the forest
- From Katoomba station you can find several view points just a few kilometers by foot. Of course there are tours etc but I preferred to discover the place by myself
- Entrance is free
- Here you have a few examples
Featherdale Wildlife Park:
- On the way back from Blue Mountains, and only 40 minutes far from the City, you can visit this wildlife zoo
- The closets train station is Blacktown, 2.5km far
- The ticket cost is 31 Australian dollars but there are several websites which offer tickets cheaper (I paid 18 AUD in the website Bookme)
- The park offers the possibility of seeing more than 50 Australian species including of course koalas (you can have a photo with them for 20 AUD but I did not like the idea), kangaroos, which you can feed and interact with, and many others
- Nevertheless, if you go with the idea of experiencing a safari you will be disappointed, it is a zoo
