China / Japan help needed please

Hi

Just started planning 'The Big One' (10th Wedding / 40th Birthday) next year with an independant self made 3 week intinery planned, in the very rough stages at moment. I have 3 or 4 days spare and wondered if anyone had any ideas of day tours or visits to include.

At moment it looks like this:

Sat 20/9 Arrive Beijing, staying at Raffles
21/9 Beijing City tour
22/9 Great Wall (Mutianyu area) and Silk Alley
23/9 Fly to Xian, Sofitel on Renmin Square.
24/9 Terracotta Army and Wild Goose Pagoda tour
25/9 Xian City tour and fly to.....
25/9 Guilin at Sheraton Guilin
26/9 Li River cruise, Yangshou and Reed Flute Caves tour
27/9 Fly to Shanghai, Shangri-La Pudong hotel
28/9 City tour
29/9 Fly to Singapore, Shangri-La, Valley Wing
30/9 Shopping and Nigh Time boat Cruise and Dinner
1/10 Afternoon Tea at Raffles / Leisure day
2/10 Fly to Tokyo, Mandarin Oriental Hotel
3/10 City sightseeing tour
4/10 Mount Fuji day tour and Hakone
5/10 Disney! (Had to be done!)
6/10 Disney
7/10 Fly home

The thing is, I have extra 3 days to fit in and I have a few options:

In Guilin I have option of Longeng Rice Terraces tour (not sure if it is 'us', just seeing scenery [albeit amazing] and rice fields, but am I missing out on traditional China??). Also same applies in Shanghai when I can slot in a Zhujiajao Water village tour (??) or Suzhou Day tour - boring or facinating?? As not keen garden people, we don't relish looking at gardens and waterways, but once there, might we just love it?? I din't know!

Should I have an extra leisure day in Beijing/Shanghai or even Tokyo to do our own thing, visit the shops or just relax?

Anyone who has been to any of these places, I would be very interested to hear views or anyone with suggestions?

Also we want to do First Class and am looking at BA / One World. Does anyone know who to fly with internally in China to get miles - couldn't see anything on BA's web site. Also, would it be much more expensive to add in Singapre by flying Cathay from Shanghai (having to change in HK) then to Singapore (as a branch out option, away from main Asia), then from Singapore, flying to Tokyo with JAL (also part of One World). Any ticketing suggestions would be good, or amendments to order of itinery. All help greatfully received!!

Many thanks.

Hi there - I went to Japan 2 years ago, so my thoughts are:
The Mt Fuji day tour is a nice experience although heavily dependent upon the weather! When there, Mt Fuji appeared for all of 5 minutes.

If you have some time to spare, as an alternative to flying into Tokyo, how about flying into Kyoto (http://www.worldairportguide.com/airpor ... rport.html)
and spending some time there as the city itself is lovely and about 45 mins on the train you have the Himeji castle (http://www.himeji-castle.gr.jp/index/English/index.html) - lovely place. You could then catch the Shinkansen (Bullet Train) up to Tokyo (3hours) and experience that.

A day around Tokyo is a day well spent as well - however if you are doing a city tour you will have seen most of the major sites, but that doesn't mean you can't explore some of the less mainstream sights of Tokyo.

Hope that helps - any questions on this part, let me know.

Thanks
Chris

[HighFlyer]

I'd only spend one day in Disney (unless you are real Disneyaholics) and dedicate that day to spending more time in Tokyo or Shanghai. We did both parks in one day with more than enough time. I'd probably push for an extra day regardless in Shanghai, maybe Tokyo too, just to get a chance to relax and look around rather than having a flying visit as there is a lot you can see in do in both cities.

Thanks,
Sarah

I have a friend who is Japanese & now residing in this country. I will ask her for her thoughts & get back to you in a few days. Hope anything that she has to say will be of use to you in planning such a fabulous trip.[8D]:D

Ian,

I was in Shanghai, Beijing & Xian at the start of June.

The Mutianyu section of the wall is a good choice. Far less crowded than Badaling. I recommend taking the cable car up rather than walking! There is also a toboggan to get down again which was great fun - think of a bobsleigh without snow. Note that there are 2 cable cars - one using enclosed cars and one like a chair lift. If you take the enclosed cars up, you can walk along the wall and take the toboggan down. The chair lift goes to the same point as the toboggan so you need to retrace your steps if you go up that way.

Xian Sofitel is a nice hotel, I was actually in the Grand Mercure which is in the same complex. I guess your city tour includes the drum & bell towers but you can walk to those if not - about 15 mins walk. There is a night market by the Drum tower which may be worth a visit. If you get a choice of which Wild Goose pagoda to do then I'd recommend the small one (which is actually taller than the large one!) as there is a lot more to do around the pagoda itself.

I did a day trip from Shanghai to Suzhou & Zhouzhuang water village. Not a lot in Suzhou apart from gardens, and artists studios where they make silk pictures. I was disappointed with Suzhou as the main purpose of the stop seemed to be to get you into the silk picture place. I enjoyed Zhouzhuang more - small alleyways full of tiny shops and the canals. Very busy though, the boat trip around the canals was a welcome break from the crowds. Your tour guide will probbaly insist on taking you to a freshwater pearl shop but, having no desire to buy pearls, I just wandered around the others and arranged to meet somewhere.

If you have an evening free in Shanghai, I really liked the Xin Tian Di area-kind of like Covent Garden in London. Lots of restaurants and bars.

We had private cars for our Xian & Beijing tours and found it well worth the extra money in view of the flexibility and lack of forced stops at factory shops etc.

That looks a pretty hectic schedule so you may find a leisure day in Shanghai or Beijing worthwhile. There is plenty to do in Shanghai in the way of shopping and leisurly sightseeing.

Cheers,
Brian

Oh where to start!
Actually first question, why Singapore in the middle of China/Japan?
You practically fly over Shanghai on your way back to Tokyo from Singapore.
LHR-SIN-PVG PEK-NRT would be a more ÒeconomicalÓ routing.

IÕve flown a lot internally in china, and have still yet to find a useful miles earning airline, though of course Air China are tied up with Virgin, and I believe Shanghai Airlines are soon to be joining *A

YouÕre pretty much spot on with your plans in china, and IÕve done much the same, but donÕt expect to do more than scratch the surface with a one day tour. Most of the big name attractions are one day events in themselves(TianÕman square/Forbidden City, Summer Palace, Great Wall etc.)
IÕve allowed 4 days in the past to enjoy the above and a little more.

As for the Great Wall Ð Yes Baodlin is highly developed for the tourist, but is very convenient and no less spectacular. Wherever you go in China it will be crowded, Baodlin copes with those crowds very well.

I did Xian in a day (arrived by train at 6am, then flew out at 8pm that evening) It was enough to see the main event, but two days is probably good.

Guilin Ð Perfect, BUT if youÕre heading in that direction I would highly recommend staying in that area longer. Check out the city of Kunming, it is really comfortable and laid back, and puts you within striking distance of a whole host of ChinaÕs most impressive natural sites. Dali and Lijiang are also very high up on the must seeÕs in china.

Shanghai Ð Big city Ð Love it or hate it Ð I love it, and it has a lot of hidden gems. Shopping, bars and Restaurants to keep you amused forever.

Suzhou is nice, but I wouldnÕt go out of your way for it.

Singapore Ð Yes, shopping, shopping, shopping IÕve had some great electronics bargains there.
The Singapore river where the ÒNight Time Boat cruisesÓ happen isnÕt much of a river and the cruise not a particularly long or memorable event.
But Clarke Quay is definitely a good place to eat and party.
If you want a really memorable night event then check out the ÒNight SafariÓ at Singapore Zoo.
And for that slightly different dinner, check out the SkyDining on the Sentosa Cable car They turn a six person cable car into a two person dinning room, and you go round and round over Singapore harbour for a couple of hours whilst enjoying a pretty good 3 course meal. You can book it all on the internet, and pre order those special extraÕs to make an anniversary dinnerÉ Me and MrsPVG certainly enjoyed it for our anniversary dinner. It is kind of surreal floating past peoples office windows at the harbour front station with a glass of wine in hand!

Well, thatÕs where my area of expertise ends, IÕve only done a visa run to a city in the south of Japan for a couple of daysÉ and it rained!
But if you want to know more about China, fell free to ask Ð IÕm sat in my apartment in Nanjing as I write this!

Ian,

I'm off to Japan (first trip) later this week. I will definitely post some reviews when I am back, so look out for them mid-Oct.

Also - search for the Molecular Tapas at the Mandarin Oriental review on this site - it sounds amazing to me and I can't wait to try it (book in advance).

J

Wow - what a friendly community we are - thank you so much for those of you who have spent (a lot of) time and trouble to reply with in depth recommendations - it really is appreciated and really has helped.

Coakers: Thanks for that - shame you only saw Mount Fuji for 5 minutes - knowing my luck will probably be the same - look at the Grand Prix at the weekend - this time next year, right in Tokyo!! Kyoto looks good.

High Flyer - I am erring towards the extra day in Tokyo and either Shanghai/Beijing. I think it will be nice to 'chill', browse the shops and bars and soak the atmosphere.

Roxy Popsy - Thanks for that - would love to hear what your friend has to say.

hzv5wk - Brilliant and thanks alot for all your comments. Am tempted to leave out the gardens and water village tour and do as others suggest, and just have a leisure day either in Shanghai/Beijing (any preferences for atmosphere, shops, browsing and soaking up the stuff?!). The GWOC toboggan sounds fun (did similar in Whistler, Canada last year - fast and scary!) and am glad it is the quieter area.

G-J - Thank you for your wishes. 10 years and to those who said it would never last!

PVGSLF - Routing is snobbery! As we wanted to go FIRST, I wanted to experience T5 (all new and fancy!!) and Singapore only goes from T4 (according to ba.com), so no real reason apart from I want the luxury and trappings of T5. Stupid probably, and if it proves extortionate, I may re-think. need to get some pricings. Thanks for the info re China and Shangai Airlines. I rang BA today and they say Dragon Air has joined the Alliance, so will check that out. As said, certainly now erring towards extra day in Tokyo and Shangai/Beijing. Singapore Sky Dining sounds excellent - will check it out. Been to Singapore before so looking for something new. Didn't like the Night Safari as got bitten to pieces by those pesky bugs!

Stars - Have a good trip and look forward to reviews!! Molecular Tapas sounds facinating - will have to look it up.

Thanks again to all - very very helpfull.

Ah yes. Forgot Dragon Air - They are now wholly owned by Cathay Pacific, and one would assume a partner in One World.
They have a fast growing route network around china, and reassuringly professional accents from the flight deck!

One word of caution though. Unless you have a multiple entry chinese visa, don't make any plans to travel within china using Dragon Air via Hong Kong - your visa will finish as you get on the flight to Hong Kong, and you will find yourself unable to re-enter china again at your final destination.

Originally posted by PVGSLF

One word of caution though. Unless you have a multiple entry chinese visa, don't make any plans to travel within china using Dragon Air via Hong Kong - your visa will finish as you get on the flight to Hong Kong, and you will find yourself unable to re-enter china again at your final destination.

Important point I wasn't aware of - thank you. I guess it is easy enough to get a multiple entry visa as much as it is a standard visa?

Thanks for that.

Originally posted by PVGSLF
Ah yes. Forgot Dragon Air - They are now wholly owned by Cathay Pacific, and one would assume a partner in One World.
They have a fast growing route network around china, and reassuringly professional accents from the flight deck!

Dragonair are not part of one world at the moment. But you can earn CX miles on them. Great airline with a good modern fleet- very professional.

As for things to do- its been a few years since I went and I went in Winter. From memory Xi'an was ok- but wasn't too impressed by the Wild Goose Pagoda- maybe because I just wanted to see the warriors!

The best visa you can get as a tourist is a two entry one.
You must make both entries within 3 months (though my last one i got in singapore was valid for 6 months so maybe this has changed), and each entry can be for up to 30days.

It gets rather expensive for me, as despite being married to a chinese girl and living part time in china, I still need to fill my passport with tourist visas [:(]

You can however make a 24hr stop over in Shanghai (definately), and Beijing (I'm pretty sure) and not need a visa so long as you have an onward flight out of china within 24hrs. jsut remember to make sure immigration know this and don't activate your visa!

Originally posted by PVGSLF
The best visa you can get as a tourist is a two entry one.
You must make both entries within 3 months (though my last one i got in singapore was valid for 6 months so maybe this has changed), and each entry can be for up to 30days.

It gets rather expensive for me, as despite being married to a chinese girl and living part time in china, I still need to fill my passport with tourist visas [:(]

You can however make a 24hr stop over in Shanghai (definately), and Beijing (I'm pretty sure) and not need a visa so long as you have an onward flight out of china within 24hrs. jsut remember to make sure immigration know this and don't activate your visa!

Thanks again. I've saved all this in my favourites so I can refresh my memory nearer the time!!

Cheers.