The Illusive Great Wall...

The cable car station to the Wall.

The Great Wall of China... One of the most famous architectural feats in the world. It spans some 6,000 km across China and was built to keep the Mongols out of China. Allegedly the only man made structure visible from space, even though in my scooby dubious opinion I sincerely doubt it, as the day we (finally) got there, we could barely see it with all the fog! Nevertheless, it was top of the list of things Sharon, Rob and I wanted to see on our two week break in China.

In the cable car on
the way to the top!
Misty!

There are a few options of travelling to the Great Wall including private tour groups, trains or by private car. We decided to get the subway as far as Xizhimen and link up with the train service there to Badaling. The train from Xizhimen to Badaling costs a tiny fee of 6 Chinese Yuan (about 73 cent) and runs every hour or two.  The journey takes about one and half hours. However, by the time we got there, all the train tickets were sold out and we were told we could not purchase any for the next day. You can only buy the tickets on the day of departure. It was ok though, we agreed that we would come back the next day at 8am to buy tickets and go see the wall then. So the day before we were due to fly home, we got up early, got the subway to  Xizhemen and arrived at the ticket office at 8am only to be told that all the tickets had sold out for the trains up until 1pm. Completely crestfallen and in no mood to wait on a train until 1pm that would more than likely be full, we sat down and weighed up our options. There were a number of ticket touts outside the train station selling trips to the Great Wall and we were considering going with them. It was our last day and last chance to go to the illusive Great Wall and we were desperate so we decided to take a chance and go bargain a price for the trip up.

Sharon on the Great Wall with
the cable cars in the background.

Through a combination of some wonderful signing, walking away apparently appalled and unscrupulous playing off of the touts, we finally negotiated a price extortionate to many natives. We jumped in a very well kept car with a driver, to begin our journey to the wall. We were very excited to be finally on our way singing "Ba da ling, ba da da.." (Incidentally, does anyone know the proper words to that dance song?) However, to cut a very long story short, the driver had other intentions. He tried to get us to pay more than we'd previously agreed as his car was 'a lovely car'. This highly subjective view did not entice us to pay the extra money so what ensued was a ridiculous argument (translated by a friend on his phone! I felt like Bam Ki Moon!) and him threatening to throw us out on the side of the motorway! After about twenty minutes of arguing, the guys and I decided we would just give in and pay the money (He wanted the whole sum upfront before we went any further). We told him, through the translator, that we wanted all of his ID if we were going to pay the full fare. He agreed to this and we were on our way again. The rest of the journey was in silence apart from a sporadic whispered debate as to whether or not we should throw the ID off the Great Wall. Don't worry we didn't!

Descending the Wall.. Steep enough like!

After that less than pleasant experience in the car, we finally arrived at the Badaling section of the Wall. We paid about €14 for our entrance fee to the Wall along with a return cable car ride to the top. There are number of sections of the Great Wall you can visit including Mutianyu, Jiankou and Badaling. We chose to go to Badaling, the part of the wall that is best preserved. Unfortunately, this meant that it was full of tourists, long lines and crass gift shops. It was a very misty day as we got the cable car to the top of the wall. I would imagine that on a clear day the views would be spectacular! 

Check out the crowd behind me!

The cable car glided through the mist at an impressive speed over the valley and before long we could see the outline of the Great Wall. The Great Wall itself was a very steep climb! There were hundreds of people walking up to the top where there was a watch tower. If you're claustrophobic or afraid of heights, this definitely would not be the place for you! There were mad crowds of people and even stopping to take a photo was difficult with the sheer volume of tourists everywhere. The view from the top was disappointing due to the mist but at least we could say that we finally made it to The Great Wall of China. 

Selfie of Rob, Sharon and I
 coming down off the Wall.

When we got back to the car our friend was waiting, thankfully so we returned his ID and began our way back to Beijing. So if there is one thing that I learned from the whole Great Wall experience it is this... Sometimes, it is best to go on an organised tour or else you could regrettably end up out of pocket and disappointed like the three of us. But in fairness, it isn't a backpacking tale unless you've been done out of a few euro at least once!

Agoda versus Booking

So on my recent trek around China with Rob and Sharon, we met with a number of challenges when organising accommodation in the different areas we visited.  I have both booking.com and agoda.com downloaded to my Iphone for hotel/hostel booking on the go. So here is my opinion on the pros and cons of using these websites.

Agoda

• Agoda has a great app for smartphones and the website is very user friendly.
• Agoda offers travellers pictures, descriptions and reviews of hotels which gives a frank and honest account of each place.
• You pay for the accommodation straight away.
• They have a good refund policy if the accommodation is not what the website described. We stayed in a place in Beijing that said it had three beds per room. On arriving we discovered the room was tiny and with three beds in the room there would not have been enough room for even one suitcase!!! On calling Agoda, the lady on the helpline was bilingual and could speak both English to me and Chinese to the hotel receptionist.
• Writing reviews for Agoda accommodation allows you to build up points to use to avail of offers for hotels/ hostels.
• An email is sent to you with confirmation of your booking. 
• You can print this or present your phone to the accommodation as proof of booking.

Booking.com

• Booking.com also have a very accessible website and a great smartphone app.
• Booking.com also gives an account of the various accomodation options. 
• Your credit card merely reserves the booking. If you cancel less than two days before the price of the first night is charged to your card.
• You pay for the accommodation on arrival. This is a great option as if you don't like the accommodation then you don't have to stay and part with your money. Agoda on the oth1er hand you need to go through the rigmarole of getting a refund and at that the total amount is not refunded to you.
• The thing I liked most about Booking.com is that when they email you confirmation of your booking, they give you the hotel's address and phone number in English and in the local language. This was particularly handy in China where most people do not have English (and we certainly didn't have Chinese!).

Verdict?

I've used both websites for a number of different trips in different countries and both have their merits. With all the pros and cons weighed up, however, I would highly recommend booking.com for the simple fact that you don't pay until you get to your destination and that they provide the best details in their confirmation email. This, in a country like China, proved an invaluable asset!

Khoa San Road, Bangkok.



Monks and Partiers outside Center Khao San at 6am

Khao San Road... When I read about it in the guide books and online and I imagined it to be a long street of bars and stalls selling souvenirs. When I watched 'The Hangover 2', I imagined that Khao San Road would be similar to that scene where the riot breaks out. And to be honest, that is a pretty accurate representation! It is a small street with stalls and bars, yes. But it is literally one of the craziest places I've ever been on my travels. A myriad of travellers from all over the world coming to sample the infamous madness (and street food) of Khao San Road. 

 

Top Ten Tips for Khoa San Road:

 

I'll never look at a sand bucket the same way again!

1. Stay at D&D Inn on Khao San Road.You'll be right in the middle of the action. The rooms are basic with air conditioning and private bathrooms attached. There is a pool on the roof and a restaurant serving continental breakfast in the morning.
2. Veer off onto Susie Walking Street for some really good restaurants serving cuisine from all around the world.
3. Drink from a sand bucket... Cast away those memories of making sandcastles on the beach back home. In Thailand, a sand bucket should be filled with Sang Som.
4. Get yourself an illuminious wrist band! Some of the slogans written on them might offend some people so maybe get rid of it before you leave Khao San Road.
5. Stock up on Imodium! Thailand is notorious for sick tummies! There's even a Boots chemist on Khao San Road.
6. Don't fall into the trap of getting your fortune read! Some guy tried to extort $50 out of me to tell me my fortune and when I refused he told me I was terminally ill! Not a pleasant experience!  
7. Eat some street food! You get everything along the street from Pad Thai to fried crickets and tentacles. But if street food isn't your style, there is also a McDonald's, KFC and 7Eleven (really good toasted sandwiches!) along Khao San.
   

   

   Massages and Chang at 5am!

8. "You want ping pong show?" And no, it is not a table tennis tournament like one friend thought! 
9. Get yourself a massage! Want a break from the madness? There are plenty of places along Khoa San that offer massages. We got one at 5am while we sipped on bottles of Chang.
10. People watch at Center Khao San Road. This bar has a large seating area on the street and opens 24 hours. It really the best place to observe the weird and the wonderful of Khao San Road.

 
 

Full Moon Madness!



Chilling on our porch.

August 2012. Aoife, Sharon and I had already been travelling around Thailand  for two weeks when we finally rocked up to Ko Pha-ngan. Like everyone else on the ferry, we were on our way there from Ko Samui for the Full Moon Party. 

We had booked into a bungalow located about a fifteen minute walk from the beach where the Full Moon Party was due to take place. Because this is an extremely busy time for hostel/ bungalows/ hotels on the island, a lot of accommodation stipulate that you can only block book. As a result, we had to book five nights on the island. Some people can be lucky and just get accommodation when they arrive and others choose to stay on the Koh Samui and commute by ferry on the night. We stayed in Charung Bungalows. We paid about 17 euro a night for this accommodation (during the rest of the month, it starts at five euro per person for a private room.)Make sure to buy a good lock and key for your shallet door as most doors do not have locks on them. The accommodation was extremely basic and grubby but the location was perfect. We were on the sunset side of Haad Rin beach which was quiet but still in easy walking distance of the party.


Haad Rin Beach with Mushy Mountain in the background.

Sandbuckets!!!

The nights leading up to the party were a party reveller's dream. One night we went down the beach and sat on the sand drinking Chang beer and buckets of Sang Som whiskey. Yes, you read it right... BUCKETS of whiskey!! After our trip to Thailand I don't think I'll every look at a sand bucket the same way again! One night we went to a pool party nearby which was just anarchy! Another night there was a jungle party. These events are publicised and there is generally transport taking convoys of partiers there.

The week long of partying culminates with the Full Moon Party on Haad Rin beach. So the dress code for the Full Moon Party... basically anything neon goes and coat yourself in neon body paint!! Koh Pha-ngan is littered with shops selling these blinding colours so don't panick if your backpack isn't brimming with neon. The girls and I thought we were crazy with neon paint smeared across our faces and arms but some people take their body painting very seriously and have themselves congealed in the stuff!
The night of the Full Moon Party the beach was mobbed!! A few thousand people of all ages descended on the beach for the ensuing madness. The atmosphere was electric with people dancing on the sand and DJs playing all genres of music throughout the night. All along the beach, you can purchase drink from different stalls boasting special offers on buckets of alcohol. People of all nationalities mix easily and if you go in a small group you'll be sure to meet lots of other people. Solo travellers were common but to be honest I think as a woman I would prefer to go with someone.


Paul, Aoife, Sharon and myself ready to hit the beach!

Unfortunately, when we were on Koh Pha-ngan, we heard a lot of horror stories of drinks being spiked and people getting hurt. (you will notice there are a lot of medical centres on the island!!)  As long as you are careful, don't leave drinks unattended and stick with your friends, you will enjoy the week of the Full Moon Party as much as we did.

Travel Essential- Lonely Planet Guide

Lonely Planet book is an essential!!

So we've booked our flights! Who knew it would be cheaper to fly from Dublin to Beijing rather than going Muscat to Beijing! Flying Dublin to Beijing June 23 with Lufthansa. What do you think is the thing I do immediately after booking my flights? Get my Lonely Planet Guide for Beijing!

I got my Lonely Planet book the other day for 6 Riyal (around 12 euro). Nothing makes me more excited than going to the book shop and picking up the Lonely Planet edition for that particular country or city. When we went to Thailand, I had the girls driven crazy with 'What does Lonely Planet say?' and 'I'll just check my Lonely Planet book'.

In case you don't know what the Lonely Planet books are, let me tell you. They are a series of travel books dedicated to informing the traveller about their chosen destination. These guides offer advice and information on everything from where to stay to where to eat, things to do to attractions. They even offer basic phrases in the language of the country. In terms of accommodation and places to eat, the books inform you of places with different budgets in mind. The books are frank and honest in the information they supply which helps travellers to make informed decisions.

They really are a travel essential worth spending a bit of money on. I know I can not wait to start reading up on Beijing!!

 

#lonelyplanet

#travelblogger

#beijing

Auschwitz, Poland.

Entrance to Auschwitz.

In January 2010, sixty five years after it's liberation, Emma and I went to visit Auschwitz Concentration Camp. Auschwitz is about a two hour bus journey from Krakow in the middle of the Polish countryside. It is a place that has always fascinated me.  Over a million people were murdered by the Nazis in this death camp during the Second World War. Auschwitz is a chilling memorial to the Jews, gypsies, Slavs, homosexuals, communists and other minority groups who were murdered within the barbed wire fences of this death camp. Auchwitz is broken up into two camps, Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II Birkenau.



Emma at one of the many watch towers that guards
the former death camp.

The day of our visit to the former Nazi death camp, was freezing. Emma and I both wore a few layers of tops, jumpers and coats and we were still freezing. My fingers felt like they were being stabbed with knives of ice every time I took off my gloves to take a picture. Our hats were pulled down over our ears to protect them from the chilling breeze and our scarves were wrapped tightly around our necks. The horrific thing is, in January 1945, thousands of people were made to walk out of the camps inappropriately dressed for the weather. Flimsy, light, pyjames-like clothing that offered no protection from the January weather. History remembers these forced treks through the snow as the Death Marches. Everytime that I hastily put my gloves back on or I fixed my scarf around my neck, I thought of the thousands of people in their thin garments, their bodies exposed to the cruel and biting elements.





This picture captures a sense of the bleakness.
The barracks seem to go on for miles.

As part of our organised tour, Emma and I were given a guided tour around the two camps. We first went to Auschwitz I. We were led through the gates with their infamously ironic slogan, "Arbeit Macht Frei", work makes you free. Incidentally, the week before our visit, the orginal cast iron sign had been stolen.  We entered the parade ground where the 'selections' were made. These selections, made by Nazi doctors, decided the fate of thousands. Some were sent to work, other sent directly to the gas chambers. We visited a number of the former barracks  that now house exhibitions. In one room, we were left speechless to discover a glass case full of human hair. When the Soviets liberated the camp, they found about 7000kg of hair in bags. The Nazis had shaven the heads of their victims and used it to make household items such as pillows. This part of the tour was the most chilling for me. Various barracks house exhibitions dedicated to the memory of persecuted nationalities. The gas chambers are still in tact and tour groups are actually brought down into them. Inside you can not help but feel unnerved by the eerie knowledge that thousands were murdered here every day.

Entrance to Auschwitz Birkeneau.
Check out how many layers I had on! Imagine
wearing pyjames-like clothing in this weather!

A short bus journey takes you to the second part of the Auschwitz camp. Here you can see the train tracks, watch towers and infinite rows of barracks. Each wooden barracks contains bunk beds, three stories high and a small stove used to (ineffectively) heat the room. Hundreds of people were cramped into these filthy barracks. Disease and hunger combining to intensify the horrors endured. This particular area is very eerie and the guides will tell you some horrific stories of death and survivial behind the wire fences.

It is a cliche, I know, but words are not enough when it comes to describing Auschwitz. I would highly recommend it and I think it is important that people visit places like this. Excuses like 'it is too depressing' are weak and pathetic compared with the suffering that individuals experienced here during the time of the Nazi reign of terror. Despite it's awful history, today at Auschwitz, one does get a sense of peace about the place. This dark chapter in the European history books has been dealt with and continues to be confronted and discussed with every visitor that passes under the ominious 'Arbeit Macht Frei' sign.

 

Let's Goa!!

Sunset on Palolem Beach

Everyone dreams of a beach getaway. Cool blue water lapping the golden shore, palm trees stretching up to the azure blue sky and beach huts nestled amongst the palms. I found this paradise in Palolem Beach in South Goa.Palolem Beach is a tranquil contrast to the much busier beach resorts in Goa. It is a secluded beach located between two headlands. 



In the shade of the leafy palm trees, the beach lover can find small beach huts erected from bamboo. Most of the beach huts are en suite with beds draped in mosquito nets. 

Quaint little beach huts.

Waking up in these modest cabins and listening to the waves crashing on the shore immerses the traveller in a deep-seated feeling of relaxation which for me, was an unexpected delight in India. We stayed at the Hi Tide Coco Huts where the accommodating staff made us feel very welcome and were only too delighted to share this paradise with us.

The water is very clear and shallow for about 100 metres out making it very safe for swimming.On top of the head land, is the best place to enjoy the colourful Goan sunset. Here, a small restaurant perched on the rock, one can sample fresh seafood like shark and calamari. The night life in this area is relaxed and confined to the small beach shacks but for me it was a refreshing escape from the more commericalised resorts.

Ambling along the beach, you can find places to rent kayaks and snorkeling equipment at a very reasonable price. Bamboo shacks selling cool beverages, like their local beer Kingfisher, are plentiful and welcomed on the hot Goan beach.



Early morning swim

Palolem Beach is one of the most peaceful and relaxing beach memories I have. It truly is one of Goa's best kept secrets. A serene Shangri La, sheltered by the palms and caressed by the sea.