DANICA Travels

After two years of planning, Danielle and I finally set off on September 17th for our dream vacation to China and Japan. Simply put, it was amazing! We are very happy and thankful that all went well, we stayed healthy (yay!) and were able to see and do everything that we had planned. We would like to thank our wonderful guides (William, Betty and Linda) and our friends (Sean and Wen and their families) for taking such good care of us in China. And a special "Xie xie" (thank you) to our friend, Lawrence, who helped us organize our trip in conjunction with the China International Travel Service. To the new friends we met in Tokyo (Toshi, Kai, and Traci), it was a pleasure meeting you. "Domo arigato" (thank you) for your warm welcome. And thank you to all of Danielle's friends who gave advice and offered much appreciated contact numbers along the way (Hui, Atsushi, etc). It was such a comfort to know that, if we needed any help, it was just a phone call away.

The purpose of this blog:

1. To share our experiences and many pictures with friends and family.
2. To act as an informative and fun guide for anyone planning a trip to China or Japan.

1. Buy a travel guide to the country you will be visiting.
2. Read some historical fiction novels to get a sense of the history of the country. This way you learn about the history and culture, but have fun while you learn!
3. Watch some movies that take place in that country.
4. Make sure you are up-to-date with all your vaccinations. And get any vaccinations that are recommended for traveling to that specific country.
5. Go on-line and find the website of the country's embassy. Check what forms and paperwork you need to obtain a Visa (if required).
6. Do research on-line of what places you want to visit. Find some hotels which are near the main sights. If you would like to go through a travel agent, contact one now.
7. Buy your plane tickets!
8. Compile a list of important contact numbers in that country. If anyone you know has connections there, get some phone numbers you can call in case of an emergency. Also make sure to get the phone number of the American embassy.
9. Brush-up on some basic phrases for the language(s) spoken in the country.
10. Gather your friends' addresses so you can send them postcards!
11. Pack your bags, make sure you have all your important information and medicines, and you are ready to go!!

1. camera and camera equipment, including:
2. travel journal
3. travel guidebook (we devoured this every night)
4. translation book (we used our quite a bit--especially in China)
5. umbrella (small, travel variety)
6. raincoat (we also took along a poncho--bought at outdoor store for around $5)
7. sunscreen
8. antibacterial wipes (soap not always found in Chinese bathrooms)
9. medicines, including: pain reliever, immodium (get prescription with antibiotic), Tums, cold medicine, asthma meds, inhaler...
10. tissues (Chinese bathrooms do not always have toilet paper--we stuffed our pockets every morning)
11. comfortable walking shoes (tennis shoes the best)
12. folder to collect brochures and memorabilia
13. maps
14. nice socks (no holes--you will be asked to take off your shoes in many places in Japan)
15. flip flops for showers/pools/bath houses
16. swimsuit and coverup
17. books in English for leisure time (these are expensive to buy abroad--we had four and rotated)
18. large (foldable) bag for market shopping
19. small notebook for taking notes quickly and easily (collecting emails, writing down names of good restaurants, etc)
20. mask (the surgical that goes around your ears is best--we wore them in very crowded spaces like planes)
21. list of important phone numbers, including:
general emergency number for each country
emergency contact name and number for each country
emergency contact name and number of family member in the States
hotel numbers
guide numbers
tourist information
22. cell phone (check that your server is recognized in each country--ours didn't work in Japan--luckily we knew this ahead of time and told family members we would email instead)
23. phone charger, camera battery charger, ipod charger, converters/transformers...
24. individual packets of Off (we visited some rather swampy areas around Xi'an and were happy we had used Off that morning)
25. copies of your passports with visas (keep them separate from the real thing, in case you lose yours)
26. money belt (not needed in Japan or Beijing, but felt the need to carry one in Xi'an)
27. backpack that will carry water, umbrella, camera, wallet, etc (we each had a Lowepro from Best Buy--loved it!)
28. a good pair of earphones for the plane

Day 1: We arrived at the Xianyang Airport and drove to the site of the terracotta warriors. The army of terracotta warriors was built by the first emperor of China, Qin Shi Huangdi, to protect him in the afterlife. First, we went to the exhibition hall where you can see the bronze chariot and close-up views of the weapons used during that time period (Qin dynasty: over 2,000 years ago). In front of the museum part, they have the giant terracotta warrior doll that was used in the 2008 opening ceremony of the Olympics. Next, we visited Pit 3, Pit 2 and finally Pit 1, in that order. Our guide, William, suggested we start at the smallest pit and work our way to the largest pit. Pit 1 is definitely the most impressive, but you do get a chance to see some warriors up close in the other two pits. In total, 7,000 figures have been excavated in the three pits. All the figures needed to be reconstructed since they were destroyed by angry peasants after Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi died. While we were there, we were lucky enough to see the farmer who found the first piece of terracotta in 1974. You can't take pictures of him, but you can get his autograph after you buy a nice book about the history of the place.

After a visit to the terracotta army, we headed to the site of the emperor's tomb. Here you can see where they found the bronze chariot buried and can climb a hill to see a view of the surrounding area. (It was a long day so we opted out of that climb, but I'm sure it's a nice view). The emperor's tomb has not been excavated yet, because of various reasons including possible mercury poisoning and wanting to preserve the tomb. It is believed that more terracotta warriors could be buried in the main tomb.

Day 2: Our first stop was the Shaanxi History Museum. Xi'an is in the Shaanxi province, and it was the capital of China before Beijing was. This history museum holds many artifacts found when cities around the Shaanxi province started to build roads, etc. and unearthed the artifacts.Next, we stopped to walk on the famous City Wall. You can rent a bicycle by the hour and bike along the wall if you have the energy. We took some pictures and then went on a tour of the Feng Shui exhibit there. We learned about the basic meanings behind Feng Shui and found out why big buildings have large lions in front (to balance out a bad Feng Shui location); it was truly fascinating. Next, we saw the Great Goose Pagoda. The highlight there was a calligraphy artist who let us do some calligraphy and then he wrote our names for us in rice paper. Our last stop in Xi'an was the special and unique Eight Immortals Temple. This temple is a quiet, intriguing Daoist shrine, where you can see the monks going about their daily lives. One of the monks stopped us and told us he was a 'professional immortal' and asked us if we wanted our futures read. We declined his offer, but we took some photos and enjoyed talking to him.

On our last night in Beijing, we wanted to experience some good local food and a traditional cultural performance. One local specialty is roasted duck, which we absolutely had to try while in Beijing! The ducks are especially bred and fed to become the specialty known as Peking duck. The dish consists of a thin pancake, filled with roasted duck and crispy skin, onions and a special sauce. Our guide, Linda, suggested we go to a restaurant that is popular with the locals. It is the Beijing institution called the Quanjude Roast-Duck Restaurant (www.quanjude.com). There are several of these restaurants, and we went to the Hepingmen Quanjude Restaurant, which was in the vicinity of Tian'an Men Square. Address: No. 14 building, Qianmenxidajie, Xuanwu District, Beijing, 100051.

After dinner, we watched a traditional Peking opera at the Liyuan Theatre (http://www.qianmenhotel.com/en/liyuan.html) in the Jianguo Hotel (http://www.qianmenhotel.com/en/index.html). It is a Beijing Opera theme hotel complete with displays of traditional costumes and pictures of famous performers in the lobby. The opera lasted approximately an hour and consisted of two stories. The first story was about an emperor and his empress. The emperor had just lost a battle, and the empress tried to cheer him up by dancing for him. The second story was about a thief who stole silver from a bank in order to give the money to the poor. If you arrive earlier than the 7:30 pm performance time, you can see the performers putting on their make-up in a side room and take pictures. Address of the hotel: 175, Yongan Road, Xuanwu District, Beijing, 100050.

Danielle was invited to be a bridesmaid at her friend's wedding in Qingdao, and we spent a wonderful weekend there. China's most beautiful city definitely lived up to its name. With its ocean views, fresh food, modern buildings and nearby mountains, it has everything you could possibly wish for in a city. Qingdao is famously known for its Tsingtao beer, which we sampled during our visit.

Places to see when you visit Qingdao: Governor's Residence, Zhanqiao Pier, the beach, St. Michael's Church, Badaguan (beautiful park area) and Little Fish Mountain.

The wedding was such a unique experience. It was an all day affair which took the wedding party all over Qingdao.

The following is a compilation of informative books, blogs and videos about Japan.

Day 1 Beijing: Arrive in Beijing late in the evening. Sleep.
Day 2 Beijing: Tian'an Men Square, Chairman Mao's Mausoleum, National Theatre (afternoon)
Day 3 Beijing: Forbidden City (morning), rest (afternoon) Wangfujing Street (evening)
Day 4 Beijing: Lama Temple (morning), rest (afternoon) Night Tour of Beijing, including Olympic Park and walk around Hou Hai District (evening)
Day 5 Xi'an: Fly to Xi'an (too early in the morning), Terracotta Figures and Tomb of Qin Emperor (afternoon)
Day 6 Xi'an: Great Goose Pagoda Temple and Eight Immortals Temple, Shaanxi History Museum
Day 7 Xi'an: Rest
Day 8 Qingdao: Fly to Qingdao (am)
Day 9 Qingdao: Wedding Day!!!
Day 10 Qingdao: Qingdao Pier, Governor's Mansion. Fly back to Beijing in evening.
Day 11 Beijing: Great Wall and Ming Tombs
Day 12 Beijing: Summer Palace (am) Beijing Opera (pm) Peking Duck Dinner
Day 13 Tokyo: Fly to Tokyo...rest..
Day 14 Tokyo: Imperial Palace Gardens, Fish Market, Dinner at Pink Cow
Day 15 Kyoto: Bullet train to Kyoto...Nijo Castle
Day 16 Kyoto: Gion District, Tea Ceremony, Toji Temple, Daitoku-ji Temple (with Zen Garden), evening train back to Tokyo
Day 17 Home: Fly back to the States