Category: QuickTrip

Delhi QuickTrip: Pushkar

Pushkar’s camel fair, which takes place in the fall, is deservedly one of India’s most famous festivals. Derek and I went together in 2003, and Derek again, alone, in 2009. Last weekend, we thought we’d try Pushkar sans fair, and found it a very enjoyable getaway.

To get to Pushkar, we traveled by the Haridwar Ahmedabad Mail, which is scheduled to leave Old Delhi Railway Station at 10:20 PM and arrive in Ajmer at 6:40 AM, though our train ran a bit late. We traveled via 2AC tickets we bought last minute using the tatkal system. We returned to Delhi on the Ajmer Jat Express, which leaves Ajmer at 2:15 PM and arrives at Delhi Cantonment at 9:13 (and New Delhi Railway Station a bit later). If tickets had been available, we would probably have preferred the Shatabdi, which leaves Ajmer at 3:45 PM and arrives at New Delhi Railway Station at 10:40 PM. Those comfortable taking an overnight train back to Delhi could take the Chetak Express, which leaves Ajmer at 10:45 PM and arrives at Delhi’s S Rohilla Station at 5:10 AM.

In Ajmer, we took a quick look at Ajmer’s most famous site before we headed out to Pushkar. A short autorickshaw ride away from the railway station is the famous shrine of Sufi saint Muinuddin Chisti, which is probably the most significant Muslim religious site in India, if not all of South Asia. A place of pilgrimage for centuries, the Ajmer shrine is in some ways a giant version of the Nizamuddin shrine in Delhi, a huge religious site full of living medieval architecture and hundreds of pilgrims. Bags and photography are not allowed–which is a bit annoying–but the energy is incredibly positive and you are likely to hear a bit of Sufi qawwali music. (Before going to the shrine we also went to the Adhai Din ka Jhonpra, a Jain temple-to-mosque conversion dating from the 12th century–but this is optional. In case you decide to go, it is walking distance from the shrine.) From the shrine, we took an autorickshaw direct to Pushkar, which cost 300 rupees. Cheaper, and probably just as fast, would be to go to the bus station and take a proper bus, although that would also require two short autorickshaw rides to/from the bus stations. Returning to Ajmer we took a bus, which was fast, and fun. Early for our train, we had lunch at the local/divey, terrific Medina Hotel across the street from Ajmer’s railway station.

In Pushkar we stayed at the Paramount Palace, in a lovely room with a small balcony overlooking Pushkar, perhaps slightly overpriced at 1000 rupees. Had we booked in advance, we probably would have stayed at Seventh Heaven, which is the most proper/professional of the budget hotels in Pushkar. The Bharapur Palace was also tempting, with its lakeside location.

What is there to see or do in Pushkar? Almost nothing, which makes for a very relaxing weekend indeed. We walked over to see the fairgrounds just outside of town, which were almost entirely empty (since the fair was not on), and did one circuit of Pushkar’s holy lake, where people were bathing (and some guards/priests enforcing the “no shoe” rule in an annoying manner). Pushkar is a huge destination for both tourists and pilgrims, even when the fair is not on, making for good people watching (everything from very colorful Rajputs in marvelous turbans to Israelis with dreads) and shopping. We had kurtas tailored, with special iPhone-sized pockets. We had cokes and pots of chai on our balcony, overlooking the town. We sat eating terrific falafel wraps and watched folks walk down the main bazaar (the town is entirely veg–not even eggs available for breakfast!). Admittedly, some of the relaxingness of the weekend wore away with the long slog back home (which would have been better, I think, had we been on the Shatabdi), but we will certainly return to Pushkar again, for both the camel fair and for simple relaxation.

Camel Fair

India QuickTrip Uncategorized

Delhi QuickTrip: Khajuraho and Orchha

Post author By pkk
Post date January 22, 2013
2 Comments on Delhi QuickTrip: Khajuraho and Orchha

For the past three-day weekend, we decided to revisit a site we’d already visited, and to take in a new site on the way back. One should probably choose one of the two for an ideal weekend trip, and I will provide the logistics for those preferred itineraries.

Khajuraho is a peaceful small town in Madhya Pradesh famous for the amazing sculpture, much of it erotic and some of it downright “pornographic”, on its 10th/11th century Hindu and Jain temples. Khajuraho is certainly worthy of a revisit, but what really drove it as a destination for us this past weekend was the relatively last minute availability of overnight train tickets–on the UP Sampark Kranti which departs Delhi’s Nizamuddin Station at 8:15 PM and arrives in Khajuraho at 6:35 AM. The rail connection to Khajuraho is fairly new–when we first visited in 2003, Khajuraho was, for those who didn’t want to fly, a painful multihour jeep/bus journey from the nearest railheads–and the rail connection seems to have caused fairly positive developments in Kharuraho’s tourist infrastructure, including a better selection of hotels and restaurants and a pedestrianized area in the core of the town near the greatest set of ruins. We stayed at the Hotel Surya, which cost less than 600 rupees for a non-AC room booked online. (I should note that while there are some upscale hotels in town, none of them are walking distance from the ruins.)

One could easily spend two nights or more in Khajuraho. The town is peaceful, the selection of food and lodging pretty good, and, even if the ruins themselves would occupy only a day of sightseeing, there are likely pleasant walks and bicycle rides that could be had, strengths that come from it’s being pleasantly quasi-rural for a major Indian tourist site. But because my time was limited, we didn’t want to take an overnight train back to Delhi and Khajuraho still has no nonstop flights to Delhi (flights to Khajuraho go on a triangular Delhi to Khajuraho to Varanasi to Delhi routing), we stayed only one night in Khajuraho and took a rather painfully slow daytime passenger train to Orchha, which left Khajuraho at 12:30 PM and arrived after sunset. To return directly from Khajuraho to Delhi, you could take the UP Sampark Kranti back, which departs Khajuraho at 6:20 PM and arrives at Nizamuddin at 5:30 AM, if you are okay with an overnight return trip, or take the Khajuraho – Udaipur InterCity, which departs Khajuraho at 9:10 AM, and then transfer to a Delhi train (such as the Shatabdi, see below) at Jhansi, Gwalior or Agra (probably the first, in order to have the safest connection).

From Orchha station, which is right before Jhansi Junction, we caught an auto rickshaw to Orchha town, about a 20 minute journey for which you will certainly be overcharged. By the time we checked into our hotel (unremarkable but cheap Fort View Guest House), it was dark. Were we to do it again, or arrive at Orchha earlier, we would certainly try to book the Maharaja Suite at the Hotel Sheesh Mahal, which is the state-run establishment that is the only lodging in the fort itself. Being a state-run hotel the Sheesh Mahal is not fancy, but the Maharaja Suite is fairly impressive, and for a relatively low price of around $100 allows you the experience of staying in a unique and private part of the old palace. The Maharani Suite, next to the dining room, is nowhere near as impressive–we imagine the substantially cheaper regular rooms may be more appealing. The Sheesh Mahal is also, by our limited experience, probably the best place to eat in town. We visited some of the more upscale hotels located just away from the town center but were not really drawn to any of them (despite really wanting to be). With one’s own transport the Bundelkhand Riverside may be okay, and we didn’t visit the fanciest hotel in town (the Amar Mahal), though its location didn’t inspire us.

Orchha may be one of the most impressive sites in India that are not commonly visited. Though seemingly well frequented by tour groups (including especially Korean tour groups), which may find it an easy stop from Khajuraho, there are not very many tourists considering the tremendousness of the fort. The Jahangir Mahal, in particular, is extremely explorable, and in most ways just as impressive as any of the palaces in Rajasthan. Chaturbhuj Temple, which is in Orchha town, is also unique–a vast cathederal-like Hindu temple with an impressively high roof with a good view. Like Khajuraho, Orchha is also pleasantly rural (and less tourist-oriented to boot), and would be a good base for walks and bicycle rides (we are also intrigued by the “mud-hut home stays” listed in the Lonely Planet). Of the places we’ve visited “near” Delhi so far, Orchha is the one that we could most easily imagine visiting repeatedly.

To return to Delhi from Orchha, we took an auto rickshaw to Jhansi Junction and then the comfortable Shatabdi to New Delhi Railway Station, which leaves Jhansi at 5:59 PM and arrives in Delhi at 10:45 PM (though odds seem to be that it will run late). The excellent timing of the Shatabdi return trip makes a simple weekend trip to Orchha easy. Any number of overnight trains departs Delhi for Jhansi, including the Dakshin Link SF Express, which departs Nizamuddin at 11:00 PM and arrives in Jhansi at 5:20 AM, giving you a full 1.5 days in Orchha for a two-day weekend. If you want to arrive Friday night, a few different trains leave Delhi in the afternoon and make it to Jhansi Junction about five to six hours later, though unless you leave a bit earlier in the afternoon that would mean an Orchha arrival after midnight.

India QuickTrip

Delhi QuickTrip: Ahmedabad

Post author By pkk
Post date January 16, 2013
12 Comments on Delhi QuickTrip: Ahmedabad

Jali window at Sidi Sayid Mosque

My first QuickTrip is actually pretty far afield: Ahmedabad, the largest city of Gujarat. We headed to Ahmedabad last weekend not because it was a logical destination for a QuickTrip (rather, I think it’s better as part of an extended Gujarat trip, since any travel in Gujarat likely passes through Ahmedabad), but because a friend of ours from New York happened to be in town visiting family during a festival, and we wanted to take the trip down to see her and to experience the festival. Uttarayan, a holiday also known as Mahar Sakranti and celebrated in Ahmedabad as a kite festival, takes place from January 13-15 or so, and is an excellent time to visit Ahmedabad. However, the city has more than enough to merit a visit even outside of those dates: beautiful, impressive and distinct architecture; a lively old city that is a mix of different religious/cultural groups; and of course the distinct and tasty cuisine, available at a good selection of restaurants. Oh, by the way, you should know that Ahmedabad is not pronounced Ahmed-a-bad, but rather Ahm’dabad (three syllables).

To get from Delhi to Ahmedabad we took an overnight train, the Rajdhani, which departs New Delhi Railway Station at 7:55 PM and arrives at Ahmedabad Junction at 9:35 AM. As those of you familiar with Indian trains may be aware, the Rajdhani is the fanciest big category of overnight trains, and the timeliness and maintenance of the cars is kept to a fairly high standard. Meals are also included in the slightly premium fares. In order to be well-rested for work on Monday, I flew back, on an Indigo flight departing Ahmedabad at 7:50 PM and arriving in Delhi at 9:20 PM. In Ahmedabad we stayed at the Hotel Volga, which cost around 1000 rupees. Those looking for fancier digs should consider the House of MG, a heritage property located in an old mansion, that is upward of $100 or so and also in a prime downtown location. Memorable meals included Agashiye, the Gujarati thali restaurant on the roof of the House of MG, and Gopi Dining Hall, a more affordable restaurant that also did a very good Gujarati thali.

Gujarati thali at House of MG

We spent our first day seeing the major historical sites of the town. Our first stop was the “shaking minarets” of Sidi Bashir Mosque, which is just south of the railway station (a 5-10 minute walk). The mosque is not impressive in size, but it is quite old (built 1452) and represents an unusual style of mosque. Then, before we even checked into our hotel, we went to the Dada Hari Vav, an amazing stepwell not too far from the railway station. This is a pretty astonishing example of a Gujarati stepwell, though I understand that there are a few that are even more amazing in the state. We also saw a second stepwell nearby–while the walk was interesting, the well itself was nowhere near the Dada Hari.

After checking into our hotel, we walked from the Sidi Sayid Mosque to the Friday Mosque, which takes in much of the historical core of the city. Sidi Sayid’s Mosque, known in town simply as “jali” for its famous jail windows, and located just across the street from House of MG and also near the Hotel Volga. A walk from there toward the Friday Mosque takes you through the most colorful parts of the city, which also happens to be a largely Muslim area. We strongly recommend seeing this area during both the day and the night, as nighttime brings a different atmosphere, especially around the market areas. Near the central Teen Darwaja is the Bahdra Fort, which is somewhat ruined but the roof of which provides interesting exploration for a good half hour.

Jama Masjid

The Friday Mosque, dating from 1423, is easily one of the most beautiful in India, and interestingly different from the red Mughal creations further north (though the carved pillars are similar to the also reused Jain pillars at the Qutb Minar). The area just south of the mosque is an interesting market area. For a quirky and interesting view of the mosque, take the (scary/decrepit) cast iron spiral staircase in the back of the fruit market up to the roof.

On the second day, following the recommendation of our friend, we took the government walking tour, starting from the Swaminarayan Temple. We recommend the tour, which takes you not through the city’s major sites (which we covered on the first day), but through the city’s fascinating “pols,” or neighborhoods. The House of MG also organizes walking tours, which I imagine are good.

After spending part of the afternoon revisiting some of the sites from the previous day, I taxied to the airport for my flight, while Derek stayed behind to take kite festival pictures.

India QuickTrip

Introduction to Delhi QuickTrips

Post author By pkk
Post date January 10, 2013
2 Comments on Introduction to Delhi QuickTrips

Now that we’re living in Delhi, not only will most of my posts be based on our India travels, but I will also do a series of QuickTrips, easy trips that can be done in 2-4 day weekends out of Delhi. As with previous QuickTrips, these posts will not necessarily be based on an idea or a theme, but will be focused principally on the logistics necessary to squeeze as much experience into limited time, along with some recommendations on things to do and see.

Delhi may be the best city in the world for QuickTrips. Not only is India perhaps the country in the world with the greatest density of world class tourist attractions, but the extensive transportation infrastructure, including especially the cheap domestic airlines and the extensive rail network, mean that literally dozens of excellent destinations can be explored over a regular or long weekend. Even the (sometimes tediously) slow speed of the Indian rails plays to one’s advantage, as destinations that, at faster speeds, would be more awkward distances are actually stretched into overnight trips that allow great efficiency of travel. And, of course, for cost, travel in India is hard to beat, with overnight sleeper trains in 3AC (for information on classes of Indian rail travel, see these posts (1,2)) available from about 600 rupees, or about $12, basic but comfortable AC hotel rooms often available for around 1000 rupees, or about $20, and domestic flight segments often available for less than 5000 rupees, or about $100. Many QuickTrips will cost less than $100 for a couple, if a flight is not involved.

Oman photo QuickTrip United Arab Emirates

Dubai QuickTrip: Musandam Peninsula

Post author By pkk
Post date April 5, 2008
23 Comments on Dubai QuickTrip: Musandam Peninsula

Geographical extremities have always intrigued me, as I believe they do many people. When in Argentina I wanted to travel down to Tierra del Fuego (although I did not make it), I’ve always been curious about the tips of the Florida Keys, Long Island, Cape Cod, Baja California and the Aleutians (zero for five) and earlier on our trip we went to Cape Comorin in India. So when our flight plans gave us an opportunity for a UAE stopover, I knew instantly where I wanted to go–Oman’s Musandam peninsula, which lies on a tip of the Arabian peninsula. [See also my earlier post on “The Other Emirates”–but most of those are on the way from Dubai to Musandam.]

The Musandam peninsula is the portion of the Arabian peninsula that breaks the Persian Gulf from the Arabian Sea, jutting toward Iran and defining the strategically important Strait of Hormuz through which so much of the world’s oil travels. Part of the Sultanate of Oman (although it is separated from the rest of Oman by the UAE, just as Alaska is separated from the bulk of the U.S. by Canada), the Musandam peninsula entices not only through its extremity location but with its wild, mountainous fjords and isolated villages (one, Kumzar, is so remote that it has its own language and is even now reachable only by boat). I was first made curious about the Musandam peninsula when visiting Oman in 2005, but the Musandam peninsula is much more quickly and easily reached from the UAE than from the rest of Oman (although there are some flights from Muscat), and so perfect for a Dubai QuickTrip.

First, we had to sort out which car rental company would let us take cars into Oman (there is no public transportation to the Musandam, and not having your own transport in Oman somewhat defeats the point of traveling there). Each company seems to have a different policy. Some won’t let you take the car into Oman at all, and others let you but only through one border (which takes you into the main part of Oman and not the Musandam). Of the ones that allow travel to Oman, some charge a mandatory insurance fees, others insurance in addition to surcharge on the rental, while a couple local companies didn’t require insurance or suggested that we buy it from a third party (there are offices at the border selling temporary insurance much like Mexico insurance sold at U.S./Mexico borders, and Oman requires that you be covered one way or another). We settled on Dollar, which imposed a relatively small insurance charge of 150 dirhams (a bit over $40) and seemed otherwise reliable. [We actually spent a good part of a frustrating morning trying to rent from a local company in Sharjah, but we couldn’t get the deposit mechanics to work out given our short stay–they didn’t take credit cards–and the thoroughly incompetent local employee acted like he was stoned (“Where the car? Where I put the car?”).]

The three or so hour drive from Dubai through the emirates of Sharjah, Ajman, Umm al-Quwain and Ras al-Khaimah is, for the large part, fairly uninteresting. The UAE is of course a modern and wealthy country, and each emirate has a fort or two, but the terrain is generally flat and not too beautiful, and marred by relatively unattractive development (the “other” emirates are visibly not as well off as Dubai and Abu Dhabi). The landscape changes almost instantly as you cross the border into Oman after paying a 60 dirham fee to exit the UAE and a 20 dirham fee to enter Oman (a little over $20 total). Driving the relatively new road from the Omani border town of Tibba to Khasab, the road’s end near the tip of the Musandam peninsula, you instantly know and feel that you are in rugged, beautiful and spacious Oman, a land of mountain forts and wadis facing the sea. For most its length the road hugs the base of cliffs, and occasionally rises up and over them, passing through quiet towns and within sight of the occasional fort.

Our previous visit to Oman made us great fans of the country, and the Musandam peninsula does not disappoint. Just as in the rest of Oman, you find a gracious people, warm with hospitality (and the men particularly elegant in their clean white dishdashas and embroidered hats). There is none of the traffic, aggressive driving and sometimes senseless seeming overdevelopment of the UAE, but there is still a feeling of progress, with a focus on social development. You feel that the country spends its relatively limited oil revenues wisely, investing in its citizens and promoting a level of self-sufficiency (although there are still many overseas workers).

But back to the peninsula. Separated from the rest of Oman, the Musandam faces seaward, toward the Strait of Hormuz. Much of the local economy is catered toward trade with Iran, taking the form of small-time Iranian traders taking speedboats 45 kilometers across the Strait, trading Iranian sheep and goats for all manners of goods, from electronics to American cigarettes. [We were told by one local that she’s seen the boats taking exercise machines.] Unfortunately, perhaps because it was Friday, we didn’t get to see much of the trading activity, or the Iranian traders, who according to Lonely Planet are identifiable by their “lusty mustaches,” although we did seem some speedboats rushing north.

The town of Khasab has some sightseeing (typically, the fort is the main attraction), but no trip to the Musandam would be complete without a tour by boat. The well-run Musandam Sea Adventure Company (tel: +968-2673-0424, with an office in the old souk) offers full-day dhow tours for 20 Omani rials per person (about $65). The boats leave around 9:30AM and return around 4:00PM, for a cruise around Khor (or Fjord) Ash Sham, which winds among remote villages where water is delivered by boat and children commute weekly to school. A couple stops are made for swimming and snorkeling (equipment provided, but not too much to see), and a generous lunch served onboard (drinks and water also provided). The weather was gorgeous and the boat ride scenic and very pleasant.

One highlight of the boat ride is dolphins, which we were told are seen almost every day. A few came up to swim along the side of our boat.

Our choice of lodging, the Lake Hotel, was definitely overpriced at 30 Omani rials (around $80) after bargaining. I believe the Khasab Hotel charges slightly higher rates but is likely nicer, or you can stay at the upmarket Golden Tulip on the road into town.

Perhaps not a great destination to travel far, but a wonderful escape for a QuickTrip.

photo QuickTrip United Arab Emirates

Dubai QuickTrip: The Other Emirates

Post author By pkk
Post date April 4, 2008
2 Comments on Dubai QuickTrip: The Other Emirates

I believe I’ve written previously about the Traveler’s Century Club, a U.S.-based club for individuals who have traveled to at least one hundred countries. We’re nowhere near one hundred yet, but of course trying our best. We imagine that by the end of our trip we will be somewhere around 75, which is sufficient for an observer/provisional/half membership to the club.

One quirk of the Traveler’s Century Club is that they have their own definition of what a “country” is for purposes of counting to one hundred. Not only are the usual sovereign, UN-recognized states included, but certain isolated or culturally distinct parts of countries are counted as separate “countries” (think Hawaii or Zanzibar). Also included as “countries” are certain individually administered regions of countries, such as the states of Sabah and Sarawak in Malaysian Borneo. So when our flight plans (on Air Arabia, on which I hope to blog later) gave us an opportunity for a stopover in the United Arab Emirates, I decided on a plan–a quick five country pickup. [See also my later post on our trip to the Musandam peninsula.]

The United Arab Emirates (or UAE), as its name suggests, is actually a collection of semi-sovereign states ruled by emirs/sheiks. Geographically from West to East, the emirates are: Abu Dhabi (sort of in charge and controller of much of the land area and oil), Dubai (the overdeveloped juggernaut and commercial center), Sharjah (a cultural center and now something of a huge suburb of Dubai), Ajman (tiny), Umm al-Quwain (also small, and most famous for its liquor store, the only one in the UAE), Ras al-Khaimah and Fujairah (on the east coast). Each ruled by a hereditary ruler, they joined together as a nation only in 1971-72. Prior to unification, each of these emirates, plus Bahrain and Qatar, had operated under a special quasi-colonial contract with the United Kingdom. Bahrain and Qatar formed independent states, while the remaining seven, by 1972, unified into one country, led by Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

The Traveler’s Century Club counts each emirate as a separate country. Since we had previously been in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, that left five emirates, five new countries, for us, on a three day stopover. Five contries, three days? No problem–to drive in a small loop covering each of Sharjah, Ajman, Umm al-Quwain, Ras al-Khaimah and Fujairah takes no more than a few hours (leaving us plenty of time for our real destination, the Musandam peninsula of Oman, which lies directly north of Ras al-Khaimah). In truth, there isn’t a whole lot to see in these places, although in general each emirate has a small fort museum and some other sites (Sharjah has perhaps the most for a tourist, although generally bad signage in the UAE makes places hard to find, especially in the tedious traffic). Some photos follow.

Sharjah skyline. It’s not only Dubai that’s building, building, building. Only a few kilometers away (although the few kilometers can take over an hour in the traffic), Sharjah is fast becoming a suburb of Dubai. Sharjah Airport is the hub of Air Arabia, a useful discount carrier in these parts.

Umm al-Quwain’s wall. It’s the wall that’s short, not the tower that’s big.

On the east coast (not sure whether technically in Fujairah or in Sharjah’s east coast exclave), we were surprised to see a fishing routine remarkably similar to what we have seen in Varkala (please refer to earlier post of March 6)–except that in the place of two teams of men pulling the nets, two trucks were used. It being a Friday (part of the Muslim weekend), there were many sightseers out for the day who pulled up to watch the spectacle, including a gentleman from Kerala, who was as surprised as we to see what he thought was a Keralan technique being used in the UAE (albeit updated with mechanical power). He thought that it was perhaps experimental. Another (Indian) spectator explained to us that the technique, which was used all over the Indian subcontinent, was imported by the team of Bengladeshis who were handling the nets (with two Arabs running the trucks).

The catch was significantly better than in Kerala. [One gets the feeling in Kerala that the fishing is as much a matter of tradition as livelihood.]

Every Friday at a designated area in Fujairah, local bulls are brought to compete in a test of strength and endurance, a game watched by hundreds of local men (and curious overseas workers/expats). The announcements were in Arabic, of course, but we were able to make out the gist of it with some help from another spectator. Each match lasts just a few minutes, with the bulls first induced to engage each other in head-to-head combat. The bull that moves the other bull backward wins, and then the bulls are pulled apart by teams of men. It was surprising how quickly the bulls would walk away from each other, once pulled apart (as if they realized that it was all a game, no real enmity). All in all, so much more humane than bull-fighting (no spears, stabbing, killing).

One note: Some of the people of the UAE (though since “locals” make up a small minority I’m not sure whether it’s the Emiratis or overseas workers/expats to blame) drive extremely aggressively. Some of the worst in the world I’ve seen–shame on you!

China Hong Kong photo QuickTrip

Hong Kong QuickTrip: Hainan Island

Post author By pkk
Post date January 22, 2008
5 Comments on Hong Kong QuickTrip: Hainan Island

Hainan is a fairly large island off of the southern coast of China, between Hong Kong and the Vietnam border. Known as something of a remote hinterland through much of Chinese history (the kind of place to which one gets exiled), Hainan has been aggressively developed for tourism, including especially resorts near the city of Sanya on the southern coast, as China’s Hawaii. I’m told that Hainan even advertises on U.S. CNN!

When my employer announced that we would have our office retreat at a resort on Hainan, I must admit that I wasn’t too thrilled. I thought that somewhere like Chengde would be far more exciting (somebody had even suggested Pingyao, an old walled city, by train). I thought the greatest benefit of the trip would be having another Traveler’s Century Club country under my belt. (Why Hainan is considered a separate country, I’m not too sure.) But, I must admit, even if Hainan isn’t quite Hawaii, Sanya’s resorts are well-executed and thoroughly enjoyable, and the natural environment clean and beautiful.

Sanya is a bit over an hour’s flight from Hong Kong, and flights are fairly plentiful. Flights are also available from Shenzhen Airport. We stayed at the Marriott Sanya Resort & Spa, which is not the newest upscale resort (the Hilton is newer and other hotels are opening soon, including a Ritz-Carlton), but tastefully designed along a wide stretch of pristine beach. The rooms and beds were quite comfortable, and the pool fun. The beach is sufficiently large, the sand soft and the water clear. The weather was glorious and warm (though we are told that there were some cloudier, cooler days before we arrived). All above expectations, though the resort experience was predictably totally isolated from any sense of being in China.

We also went on a couple tours. Of course, staying in resort hotels and going on group tours are not our usual travel M.O. at all, but at least the resort was comfortable and enjoyable. The tours were depressing. Monkey Island, as it turns out, is a thoroughly landscaped amusement park. The gondola ride to the park is beautiful, and there are indeed plenty of monkeys, but not at all in a natural setting. We did see one totally surreal “animal circus” performance, however.

The other tour was to a Li and Miao minority village. The Li and Miao are two of the “native” ethnic groups of Hainan, to be distinguished from the Han majority that now dominates the island (and the rest of China). While I believe that some original Li and Miao villages exist on Hainan, and I by no means expected to see anything really authentic on a group tour, the place to which we were taken was a full-fledged amusement park, complete with fire-breathing little people. While some displays (of traditional homes, weavings, etc.) were not bad, the overall experience was dispiriting.

But the hotel, the beach and the weather were great! A solid choice for a quick beach getaway if you don’t mind staying at your hotel.

China Hong Kong photo QuickTrip

Hong Kong QuickTrip: Kaiping Diaolou

Post author By pkk
Post date January 12, 2008
8 Comments on Hong Kong QuickTrip: Kaiping Diaolou

I first ran into the Kaiping diaolou while surfing the UNESCO site for World Heritage Sites. Little did I know that a World Heritage Site had been recently designated so close to Hong Kong! Some google searches led to some promising pictures, along with an interesting back story.

The diaolou, which means watchtower, historically were communal castles in small Chinese southern villages. They were built and owned communally, and the residents of a village would seek refuge in times of conflict or flood. In the early twentieth century, wealthy individuals, principally individuals who had left China to earn money abroad (in the United States, Southeast Asia or even Hong Kong) returned to Kaiping to build a different kind of diaolou—an elaborate multistory mansion. What makes them so interesting is that these individuals built these towers not only to show off their new wealth but incorporated foreign architectural styles, ranging from European to South Asian. There are over a thousand of these towers near the city of Kaiping in Guangdong Province (to the southwest of Guangzhou).

We had read that there were direct ferries to Sanbu Port in Kaiping from Hong Kong, so we headed to the HK-China Ferry Terminal in Tsim Sha Tsui early Saturday morning. (Chu Kong Ferries website) The direct boats weren’t running, but the ferry company had arranged a direct shuttle from Zhongshan Port to Kaiping. The whole ride (ferry to Zhongshan, the bus shuttle) took about four hours. An alternate route, which we had also considered, was to take the train to Guangzhou, and then a bus to Kaiping. This of course would have taken longer, although we would have had the option of staying overnight in Guangzhou.

At Sanbu port in Kaiping were several minibus taxis. After some tough negotiations, we arranged one of the drivers to take us around to three different sets of diaolou for RMB 280 (about USD 35). We went to San Men Li, which has the oldest diaolou (built in the Ming dynasty), Li Yuan, which has an unremarkable collection of diaolou all built by one individual, and Zili Cun, which is probably the best set of diaolou (including the watchtower of Deng Lou just outside the town). Many of the diaolou are furnished in period furniture and can be climbed to the top for views. Almost all of the sites were well labeled with historical details in English. Despite leisurely visits to these sites, we had a few hours before sundown, and so we asked our driver to take us to Jin Jiang Li, which contained two beautiful diaolou in another rustic setting.

Admission to the diaolou is predictably expensive, it being China. A ticket permitting entrance to most of the major sites costs RMB 120 per person.

We returned home by bus from Kaiping to Zhuhai’s Gongbei bus station on the border with Macau. We could have taken the ferry from Zhuhai but chose to overnight in Zhuhai so that we could spend part of the day in Macau before heading home.

China Hong Kong photo QuickTrip

Hong Kong QuickTrip: Shenzhen

Post author By pkk
Post date December 2, 2007
4 Comments on Hong Kong QuickTrip: Shenzhen

Shenzhen is, along with Macau, the quickest, easiest QuickTrip from Hong Kong (if you don’t count worthy destinations within the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region). Shenzhen is close enough to go for a day or even part of a day but has enough to entertain a visitor for many repeat trips (by population, Shenzhen is actually bigger than Hong Kong, and so it makes sense that it has a lot to offer). A border crossing and a significant difference in environment add to the feeling of adventure.

The logistics. First, you need a visa (assuming you are not a PRC passport or travel document holder), which is pretty easy, especially in Hong Kong. You can go directly to the China visa office located near the convention center in Wan Chai, or you can go through an agent such as CTS or Swire. As a tourist, you are unlikely to get a multiple entry visa, but you should be able to get a multiple entry visa if you have the right credentials for a business visa or if you have a Hong Kong ID Card. The process will likely cost you over USD 100 if you are an American citizen (thanks to reciprocity), or somewhat less if you are from elsewhere. Citizens of countries other than the United States and the United Kingdom, I was told once, are able to get a special Shenzhen-only visa at the border crossing, although I am not familiar with the process.

To get to Shenzhen, you have two principal options: train or bus. The KCRC East Rail starts at Tsim Sha Tsui (or TST) East Station, goes through Hung Hom, Mong Kok and Kowloon Tong stations in Kowloon and heads up to either the Lo Wu or newly opened Lok Ma Chau stations, which are connected to border crossings (Luohu and Huanggang, respectively). The train runs every few minutes from around 6:00 AM to midnight and costs about HKD 35 (USD 4) for the run. The bus leaves from a few different locations throughout Hong Kong, including the CTS office on Hennessey Road in Wan Chai, and goes to the Lok Ma Chau/Huanggang border. Which you choose can depend on where in Shenzhen you want to go. The Lo Wu border offers the main Shenzhen train station as well as a down-and-dirty mall featuring all your immediate needs, such as counterfeit goods and tailors, while the Lok Ma Chau border is closer to other parts of central Shenzhen, Shenzhen airport and the amusement parks in Shenzhen. The bus costs a bit more but can be convenient, especially at times when the train isn’t running or on the way back from the airport (the guaranteed seat on the bus can be a little more comfortable than a potentially crowded train requiring a change of transportation in TST).

Attractions. What is there to do in Shenzhen? A lot. I am by no means an expert on Shenzhen, having only been up a handful of times during my years in Hong Kong, but below is a short list. None of them may be world-class attractions, but they’re good diversions for all or part of a weekend.

Restaurants. Food in Shenzhen is outstanding, and cheap. Shenzhen, perhaps because it is a city of immigrants from other parts of China, offers an outstanding array of restaurants featuring all Chinese cuisines. Many of these restaurants include outposts of famous Chinese restaurants based in other parts of China, including restaurants that have not yet made it across the border to Hong Kong. On our last trip, we went to Mao Jia, featuring food from Mao’s hometown of Shaoshan in Hunan province. Restaurants are well-decorated and spacious, offer a high level of service and cost about a third to a half of Hong Kong prices.

Shopping. I haven’t done too much shopping in Shenzhen, but right at the Lo Wu/Luohu border is a multistory mall featuring countless shops selling cheap but creatively designed clothes, jewelry, tailors, counterfeit goods (watches, handbags, DVDs), souvenirs, cheap electronics, etc. Quality can vary, but the prices are good. Shopping for genuine brand name goods is generally much more expensive in Shenzhen than in Hong Kong.

Spas. Shenzhen (like many other big Chinese cities) has many huge spa complexes (the one we’ve been to is called Pacific (not too far from the Luohu train station)). The best description of these spas is a Las Vegas casino, but with spa services instead of gambling. Pacific (the neon sign says “Pacific Lay Fallow Agora”) features large dressing rooms with huge jacuzzis, sauna and steamroom (and attendants who help you undress and dress), comfortable chairs with personal televisions in which you can sit eating fruit while getting foot massages, a restaurant, massage rooms, small sleeping quarters, karaoke, a computer room and many other facilities. Massages are quite affordable, of course, and use of the sleeping chambers (to nap or to save on lodging) is included if your bill exceeds RMB 138 (about USD 18).

Historical/Cultural sites. Surprisingly, within Shenzhen city limits or just outside there are several historical/cultural sites worth visiting. To the north in Dongguan city are the Humen fort, an Opium War site, as well as Ming and Qing dynasty villages. On the highway toward Shantou, within city limits, is an interesting fortified village. We have also been to Dapeng fort, which is somewhat far to the East (1.5 hours by bus), but a well preserved quiet old town.

Amusement parks. Shenzhen features several large amusement parks. Splendid China contains miniatures of all of China’s great historical and cultural sites and is adjoined to a folk village containing homes of China’s various minority groups (from Uyghurs to Dong to Koreans, many of whom put on song-and-dance shows). Windows of the World includes scale models of famous world landmarks, some rides and a rather crazy over-the-top show, as well as indoor iceskating and skiing. Minsk World is an old Soviet aircraft carrier that has been turned into something of a Russian military amusement park, and is somewhat less worthwhile than the other two, though there is the novelty of being on a Soviet aircraft carrier.

Beaches. We’ve never been but are told that there are some nice beaches, where you can hang out or rent motorized vehicles.

Nightlife. We are told that there’s great nightlife in Shenzhen. We have been t
o one gay bar which was surprisingly lively and upbeat.

Travel to other parts of China. As I’ve discussed previously, Shenzhen can act as a gateway to countless travel destinations, mainly in China. The train station is right at the Lo Wu/Luohu border and the airport is a 30 minute drive from the Lok Ma Chau/Huanggang border. Buses leave for destinations in Guangdong province as well as Yangshuo/Guilin. And you can also take the new high-speed train to Guangzhou in about an hour.

Hong Kong photo QuickTrip Vietnam

Hong Kong QuickTrip: Mekong Delta

Post author By pkk
Post date October 9, 2007
2 Comments on Hong Kong QuickTrip: Mekong Delta

Corresponding recently with an American traveler who is planning a trip to Vietnam, I was reminded of one of the best short trips we’ve made from Hong Kong: Vietnam’s Mekong Delta. Outstanding aspects of this QuickTrip include convenience, price, great food and unbelievable contrast from Hong Kong’s urban bustle.

For the Hong Kong traveler, Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC, or Saigon) is one of the cheapest, most convenient flight destinations from Hong Kong. Not only are there twice daily Cathay flights and a daily Vietnam Airlines flight, but most conveniently there is a United Airlines flight, serviced daily by a Boeing 747, that is often sold at cheap fares and has a perfect schedule for QuickTrippers: a nighttime outbound and early morning return. Even for a weekend, you get two full days in Vietnam with a Friday night flight departing 8:45 PM to arrive at 10:05 PM and a Monday morning return at 6:15 AM arriving at 9:50 AM (okay, so you may be a bit late to work). For this QuickTrip to the Mekong Delta, I would recommend a three- or four-day weekend.

Since the flight arrives late at night, it’s probably best to sleep in Saigon the first night (the airport is very convenient to town, with cheap taxis making the short run). My favorite place to stay is in the Indochine Hotel, which runs about USD 20-30 per night. If you’re feeling really energetic, you can go out for a quick bite (say, bahn xeo at the famous Banh Xeo 46A, at 46A Dinh Cong Trang, off of Hai Ba Trung) or a drink at the eclectic and seedy Apocalypse Now.

Early the next morning, catch a bus from the main bus station (near Ben Thanh Market) for Vinh Long. (Before catching the bus, you can do like Bill Clinton and have breakfast at Pho 2000 nearby.) We find that catching a public bus while traveling provides one of the most natural opportunities to interact with local people on an equal basis. For the more comfortable traveler, hiring a car and driver for the weekend would not break the bank.

Vinh Long is about three hours away, and a restful town with a good selection of hotels (around USD 10 for a comfortable room) and restaurants. Food in the Mekong Delta is definitely some of the best we’ve had in Vietnam (your visit will likely take you near places that make shrimp paste, fish sauce, rice paper and other Vietnamese staples). By wandering around the waterside street in Vinh Long, you will likely run into at least a few local women offering boat rides (or, rather, they will run into you and follow you around). Prices are negotiable, of course, but good value even if you aren’t a great negotiator. Depart early the next morning to see the best floating markets at their liveliest. There will be other tourists of course, but they’re dwarfed by the amount of genuine commerce taking place. After Vinh Long, we left for Can Tho, a somewhat bigger city in the Delta that also offers early morning trips to floating markets and beautiful waterways. If you depart Hong Kong on Friday night, you should be able to have a peaceful Saturday arriving in the Delta, take boat rides on Sunday and Monday, and return to Saigon Monday night for your early morning Tuesday flight.