kenwee: 27 Nov - 21 Dec 2023 Hanoi + Halong Bay, Yunnan + Shangri-la

Brisbane - Hanoi 22/15C - Kunming 14/5C - Shangri-la 7/-5C - Lijiang12/-2C - Dali 14/1C - Kunming - Hanoi - Taipei 22/17C - Brisbane https://www.accuweather.com/

BNE - HAN Taipei Office Tel: +886-2-25011999 *EVA Air

27.11.23 22:35 BNE Intl (787-10) 28.11.23 05:05 TPE T2 Flight: BR316

28.11.23 09:15 TPE T2 (B777) 28.11.23 11:35 HAN T2 Flight: BR397

HAN - BNE

20.12.23 12:35 HAN T2 (B777) 20.12.23 16:10 TPE T2 Flight: BR398

21.12.23 09:30 TPE T2 (787-10) 21.12.23 20:20 BNE Intl Flight: BR315

*****

VIETNAM *10k VDN = RM2

Hanoi *Won't be back to Old Quarter (disgusted with metered taxi and food scammers at bus station! Not comfortable with dirty streets! Not relaxed with noisy vehicle honking!

Airport - Old Quarter *Grab 232-320K VND or Vietnam Airlines Shuttle 40K VND 40 mins *T1 Terminal Gate - No.1 Quang Trung Street https://asialinkstravel.com/hanoi-airport-to-hanoi-old-quarter

28.11.23/29.11.23/30.11.23/18.12.23/19.12.23

Stylish little house *Old quarter 14 P. Cổng Đục, Hàng Bồ, Hoàn Kiếm, Hà Nội

*good location, but won't stay again (next door neighbour with a child was quite noisy even after 10pm)

Interesting places:

Halong Bay - UNESCO World Heritage Site *Reina Premium Luxury Day Cruise (booked with our host). Memorable trip! 50USD X 2 *Superior Cruise
Old Quarter/Old Train Street/St. Joseph Cathedral/Thang Long Water Puppet/Hoan Kiem Lake/One Pillar Pagoda/Temple of Literature/Imperial Citadel of Thang Long – A UNESCO World Heritage Site

Shopping

BigC Long-Bien Supermarket or BigC Thang Long

Notes: Banh Mi 25*overratred! Don't go. Pho and Banh Mi in Brisbane are way better.

*****

Hanoi - Lao Cai老街*arrive 30mins b4 departure

https://xesaoviet.com.vn/ Sao Viet official website xesaoviet@gmail.com

Sao Viet Limousine bed room 21 seats 330,000D-Single Cabin 600,000D-Double Cabin

22:59 ● 114 Tran Nhat Duat

23:59 ● Office 7 Pham Van Dong

03:54 ● Lao Cai Office 333, Ga Square (Pho Moi), Lao Cai City

04:58 ● Lao Cai International Border*there are restaraunts nearby

Border

Queue up and get your passport stamped at Vietnamese immigration (07: 00 - 22:00 (08:00 - 23:00 in Chinese time))
Walk a few minutes across the Border Bridge to Chinese immigration (8:00 - 23:00 (7.00 - 22:00 in Vietnam time)).
Fill up the entry and exit cards while queuing. Go through passport check.
Scan all your bags. Collect them and done!

Hekou North Railway station 河口北火车站 is about 4.5 km from the from the border. A taxi should cost RMB15.

Train Hekou North - Kunming (and other parts of China)

https://www.12306.cn/en/index.html China Railway Official website *do check out luggage allowance (20kg <=130cm) and restricted items (nail polish <=20ml)

河口北站(Hekoubei) - 昆明南站(Kunmingnan) RMB91 x 2 13:30 1 Dec *arrive 30 mins earlier

*****

Kunming

1.12.23/2.12.23/15.12.23/16.12.23/17.12.23 *Business King, city view

Kunming Xinshichao Hotel (Luo Tsuen Wan New Asia Sports City Branch) 昆明新思潮酒店(螺蛳湾新亚洲体育城店）

Shopping & Food: 螺絲灣批發市場就在樓下(二期)*better quality than phase 1 吃喝：散步幾分鐘就到

Interesting places:

Yunnan Stone Forest & Jiuxiang Karst Caves (九乡溶洞) Day trip *RMB255 Meituan - transfer/entrance+shuttle to Stone Forest/lunch/entrance to Jiuxiang+cable car+boat
Peacock Garden at Yunnan Grand View Garden 七彩云南
Guandu Ancient Town官渡镇. The ancient Shaolin Temple and Vajra Pagoda are the must-see of this old town. A designated food street on the old town's east side offers a wide selection of local eats.
Kunming city - Green Lake Park翠湖 / Golden Horse and Phoenix Archway / Nanping Pedestrian Street & Flowers and Birds Market /Spring City 66 / Park 1903 (公园1903)

*****

Shangri-la

3.12.23/4.12.23 with BF, free pickup *upgraded to Guestroom Queen Bed, mountain view

Si Yue Hotel (Shangri-La Songzanlin Scenic Area) 私悦酒店 *bus stop opposite the hotel to Dukezong. Walk 10 mins to scenic area of Songzanlin Temple, buy bus transfer + entrance ticket there. It is cheaper to take public bus on return journey and the bus may drop you nearer.

Interesting places:

Songzanlin Monastery 噶丹松赞林寺(Ganden Sumtseling Monastery) - Little Potala Palace & Lamuyangcuo Lake 拉姆央措湖
Dukezong Ancient City (香格里拉独克宗古城) & Daguishan Hill 大龟山公园
White Water Terraces *located in the foothills of the Haba Snow Mountains (Baidy Village 白地村, Sanba Town) *Horse ride not necessary.
Tiger Leaping Gorge 虎跳峡 https://www.chinahighlights.com/lijiang/attraction/tiger-leaping-gorge.htm The Upper Gorge Scenic Spot (1–2 hours hike) : following the well-paved plank path along the Jinsha River, you can reach the narrowest area of the whole gorge to listen to the roar of the Jinsha River. The upper gorge is characterized by rapids and a precipitous landscape.The tiger statue seen in most pictures is located there. It's an energy-saving and time-smart choice. Tips: There are 1,000 steps down to the viewing platform from the parking lot. You can choose a sedan chair (CN¥150–200) or the escalator (CN¥70) to avoid the one-hour walking.

*****

Lijiang

5.12.23 Liting Hotel Shangji Road (New Passenger Station) *upgraded

6.12.23/7.12.23 /8.12.23 /9.12.23 *with BF

Lijiang Lize Graceland Merry Inn 沐蘭別苑

6.12.23

Day Trip to White Water Terraces & Tiger Leaping Gorge RMB228 X 2 Meituan. Transfer/Entrance fee to WWT & TLG/1 bottle water

7.12.23

Trip to Lijiang Songcheng Tourist Area RMB240 *VIP X 2 Meituan.

8.12.23

Day Trip to Jade Dragon Snow Mountain RMB328 X 2 Meituan. Transfer/oxygen canister/down parka rental/1 bottle water/all entrance fees+bus transfer+Glacier Park Cable-way /Blue Moon Valley & Bai Shui Terrace/lunch

Interesting places:

Lijiang Old Town
Jade Dragon Snow Mountain Glacier Park =4506m*visit on Sunny day *Bring oxygen canisters, water and chocolate.
Lijiang International Shopping Plaza麗江國際購物廣場
Lijiang Songcheng Tourist Area 丽江千古情景区 14:00-21:00 在丽江古城有免费大巴到演出现场。丽江千古情比印象丽江好看! 节目表演安排得合理，可以一个一个看，一张票可以看全部的。晚上演出结束以后，有篝火晚会。
主秀-《丽江千古情》大型实景演出《丽江恋歌》实景体验剧《大地震》必看的演出: 《马帮传奇》

丽江千古情
大型歌舞《丽江千古情》由中国演艺第一股宋城演艺倾力打造，扎根于丽江深厚的历史文化土壤，是丽江文化的灵魂。演出分为《纳西创世纪》《泸沽女儿国》《马帮传奇》《古道今风》《玉龙第三国》《寻找香巴拉》等场。演出重现丽江长达千年的历史与传说，引领观众穿越雪山，在旷远原始的洪荒之域、在泸沽湖畔的摩梭花楼、在挟风裹雨的茶马古道、在浪漫凄情的玉龙第三国、在世外桃源般的香巴拉相约一场风花雪月的邂逅，感受一个美丽的时刻。
VIP 贵宾席 ¥290.00 https://www.songcn.com/EternalCity/lj/index.shtml 14:00-15:00 / 16:30-17:30 / 19:30-20:30

Optional: Black Dragon Pool Park 丽江黑龙潭 /Baisha Murals 白沙壁畫 /Mu Palace 木府别院/Shuhe Ancient Town 束河/Wangu Tower 万古楼

*****

Dali

10.12.23/11.12.23 *upgraded to Featured Room - Mountain-View (Double bed) (Bathtub)

Huama homestay 花馬名宿 No 480, Document Building East, Ancient City, Dali *free 2 hour e-bike

12.12.23/13.12.23 upgraded to King Bed *with BF

The Ancient City with Wind and Snow of Diffuse Floral Store 風雪故城·大理古城漫花店

Interesting places:

Dali Ancient City
Chongsheng Three Pagodas
Erhai boating, cycling, local market
Dali Winter Cherry Blossoms *Mid December https://jakeanddannie.com/two-seasons-of-cherry-blossoms-in-dali-china/ "Head to the front of the Dali University, and instead of walking up the steps toward the sculpture, turn south and walk up the inclined road just inside the gate. It will take you to a hillside on the left that is covered with flowering trees. Another great location is the South Gate of Bo’ai Road. Note that this is different from the main South Gate of the Old Town.You can then continue down Bo’ai Road where the sidewalks are lined with more trees. As you explore the old town you’ll see more as well."

Optional: Cangshan Mountain/Diancang Shan/ Xizhou Village *by bike /Zhoucheng Village 周城*by bike

*****

Taipei Taoyuan

20.12.23 The Cloud Hotel *with BF

Huanbei metro station (A21) - 2 mins walk *slightly faster from back door
Huanbei metro station (A21) - Airport Terminal 2 (A13) - 28 mins ride NTD55
Sogo - 10 mins walk/ Carrefour Zhongyuan, Zongli Trousit Night Market - 15 mins walk / Nice river scenery / 7-11 just opposite
Food: 霸味薑母鴨Yummy ginger duck soup/GARDEN 313 /豚將拉麵中壢新生店 / 串味江湖麻辣串串香 / 大漠紅頂級蒙古鍋（中壢店）