Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Aside from Chinese New Year, this is my favourite time of year! There are a lot of parting, shopping, cozing up with loves ones and most of all, a lot of looking forward to a new year and new start.

As I reflect on my 2011, I have much to be grateful of. I am grateful for good friends, grateful for health parents and a loving husband and grateful for a lot of dead dictators :P.

I am really looking forward to the new year and the endless possibilities it can bring, so I want to sincerely wish everyone a Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and Happy traveling!

Travel in China During Chinese New Year

After living in Canada for over 20 years, this year my parents decided to move to China for one year.  I made plans to visit them during the month of January since this year Chinese New Year falls on the 23rd. I am so excited to be welcoming the Year of Dragon with my family in China. It puts a smile on my face every time I think about my childhood new year memories.  The heavenly smell, joyous sound and colourful sight all around make New Year one of the best time to visit China.

I had no problem booking my flight from Vancouver to Shanghai in early October, however I had to strategically plan my trip for while I am in China.   Here is what I think helps in planning an awesome Chinese New Year trip.

1. Book early!  Many Chinese work outside their hometown and New Year is the only time they get to spend time with their family.  A couple days before New Year, flights, trains and buses will be packed with people anxious to get home in time for the celebration.  This means the tickets will become hot hot hot commodities.  

2. Research your transportation 

• Flights are the easiest to book early for a reasonable price with websites such as www.ctrip.com.  
• Train is a very good way to travel since China has the biggest rail network in the world.  Almost every city and town is accessible by train but it is also the busiest mode of transport.  Unlike flights, you can't book months before hand. Tickets are sometimes released for purchase only 5 days before departure.  The quality and speed of the train also vary drastically.  Make sure you do your research before booking and don't get stuck sitting in a booth style seat with 5 other people from Beijing to Shanghai for 10 hours.
• Bus is not my favorite way to travel in China. In all honesty, they are not bad.  It is a personal choice for me.

3. Stay Put. Of course, when traveling in China, avoiding any sort of crowds is impossible but minimizing crowd surfing is no problem.  I recommend arriving in China at least 3 to 4 days before New Years and then stay put in one location.  Avoid traveling again via air, train and bus until a few days after New Years.  As I mentioned above, a couple days before New Year it will be mayhem at the airport, train and bus stations as 1 billion people all try to get home at once.  I would just enjoy the markets, shops, parks and people around you.  There will lots to see and experience.

4. Look for Travel Deals. For this trip I will be arriving in China almost one month before New Year.  I will be visiting my extended family around the country and perhaps take a few small side trips.  Just like in North America, the month leading up to Christmas, travel agencies offer many discount packages leading up to the holiday price hike. 

5. Give the smaller "guy" a chance.  The bigger cities like Beijing, Shanghai or Hong Kong are probably the most popular destinations for New Years however, I really like the second or third tier cities like Suzhou or Tianjin.  It will offer a bit different and intimate local flavour on the holiday than the big metropolises.  Not to mention, a little less crowded.

Spending Chinese New Year in China is an incredibly unforgettable experience of a life time.  Just make sure to keep an open mind and plan ahead.

My Childhood Memories of Chinese New Year in China

Some of my favourite childhood memories are celebrating Chinese New Year in China. For a couple weeks leading up to it red and gold coloured decorations were everywhere and people would greet each other with lucky sayings such as "Gong Xi Fa Cai" 恭喜发财(wish you wealth) or "Wan Shi Ru Yi" 万事如意 (all your wishes come true). Mom and Dad would take me around and visit our relatives around town for dinner. Of course my favourite part was receiving my red envelops full of money from the aunts and uncles. New Year dinners were always the most delicious. The families normally pull out all the stops: Chinese pork sausages, freshly fried spring rolls, eight treasure sweet sticky rice, just to name a few. After dinner, oranges and tea were served and the adults would eat sunflower seeds and chat (gossip) for hours about the their year. I would play with cousins and was fed candy and treats in the other room. On the way home, I would sit on the bar of mom's bike all bundled up. I can only hear the wind blowing by and see the road underneath me rolling on which always made me sleepy. Occasionally, I would hear mom muttered to dad "it is a cold night" and then to me "almost home". 

For New Year's Eve and as long as I can remember, we had dinner at home with grandma. After dinner we would all anxiously sit in front our 15" coloured TV and watched CCTV's annual five hour long Chinese New Year Celebration show until midnight. Back in the early 80's China had about four TV channels. The show is kind of like Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve but imagine it being watched by an entire country of 1 billion people at the same time. I am pretty sure it is the highest rated show ever in the world every year. We would, of course, eat sunflower seeds, oranges and drink tea during the show. The comedy sketches were always my favourite. I also really like the pop stars they would have on the show which was not very often. The show always had way too many folk singers who would sing old folkie or red songs. Sometimes I would catch my mom, even my grandma humming along. I really wish we had PVRs back then. The stand out performers on the show often become household names the next day. Dashan or Mark Rowswell is a Canadian who was the first foreign national to become a domestic (while completely unknown to the west) superstar after appearing on the New Year show. I can still remember seeing him on the show and being amazed by his command of the Chinese language. 

When midnight hit I would rush to the balcony and watch the fireworks go off all around us. The sky would be lit up bright one flash at a time. Mom would say to me "you are now another year older." 

The next day, I would sleep in and wake up to breakfast of New Year dinner leftovers. Mom would put me in a new outfit. We would walk around the neighbourhood and chat with the neighbours. It was like Halloween, everywhere we went people would feed me candy and sweets. People would stop by our house for well wish chats as well and give me more sugary treats. I am sure mom gave away treats too. But as a kid I tended to only care about whether I got candy or not. 

Chinese New Year is technically two weeks long. But it never seemed long enough in my memories. I blinked and it was time to head back to school.

Note: 2012 Chinese New Year is on 23rd of Jan and it is year of the Dragon.

Chinese CEOs Book Their Own Room at the Shangri-La

Currently, there are almost one million millionaires in China (Previous blog on who are the China's wealthiest?).  With all this new found money, where are they spending it?  According to Business Insider, Chinese spent more money on luxury goods than Europe and the U.S. combined (click here for article).  Last year emerging Asia accounted for around 50% of global luxury sales, most of which came from China.

The Chinese are not only very practical people, but also they place high emphasis on culture of "face". It is no surprise these millionaires are buying up half of world's tangible luxury goods such as cars, jewelry, and fashion.  These are all things that can give a person a lot of face.  In terms of entertainment or service based purchases, these millionaires like spend money on travel, golf and yoga.  Travel is their favourite method of relaxation.  According to most recent Hurun Report, the most popular destinations include France, USA and Australia.  Canada unfortunately didn't even make top 10! Tourism Canada has a lot of work to do. Annually, on average they make three international trips, spend approximately 190,000 RMB (31,000USD) on travel and 160,000 RMB (26,000USD) on shopping.  Hurun wasn't able to clearly separate any stats between business and leisure travel.  The feedback from the millionaires often was that leisure travel is mixed in with business travel.  From my personal experience I feel if the millionaire's family resides in China primarily, his/her family or leisure trips are often to domestic destinations such as Sanya, Hong Kong or Yunan.

The thing that surprised me the most was that 57% of these millionaires and billionaires book their own hotel and make their own itinerary through mostly travel websites rather then utilizing premium travel professionals. After some thought, I am actually not surprised.  As I mentioned earlier the Chinese are very practical people, therefore it is important that the "product" that they receive has to fit the price.  The major tangible products within the travel service industry are hotel and air.  Everything else or what I like to call "creation of the ultimate experience" is a bit of a fuzzy area in terms of its value.  It is not that the Chinese millionaires don’t appreciated it; they are still not yet very familiar with this concept and not sure of its value since it is not tangible.  If they are unsure of the value of the service, it will be hard for them to trust others to provide them the service for the value.

Faye's Top Ten Travel Tips - Part II

Continuing from my last post:

These are for during the trip:

6. Toilets. One too many cervesa at lunch? I hate looking for a bathroom when I need one, but I am more fearful of disgusting bathrooms. Especially in developing countries, going to the toilet is not just an adventure, it can be a nightmare.  When in a jam, my go to places are fast food restaurants such as McDonalds, KFC or Burger King.  9 out of 10 times they will be close to western expectations: a sit-down toilet and free toilet paper.  Bonus tip: always bring toilet paper in your day pack.

7. Finding accommodation. Not every cities around the world will have your favourite hotel chain. I actually prefer boutique local hotels, they tend to be more unique and interesting.  The downside is that unlike major hotel chains you might not get what you expected. Website such as Trip Advisors and Booking.com do a nice job of showing pictures and customer feedback on boutique hotels but there is still never a guarantee unless you are there to see it for yourself.  I prefer to book only the first night and book subsequent nights directly with the hotel based on the first night experience. Most of the time, the hotel will honour the same rate and depending how long the stay, a better rate can even be negotiated.  A few years ago when I traveled to Phuket and had booked at a hotel that was right on the beach, however the hotel turned out to be very noisy. Phuket was surrounded by variety of hotels. We just walked around the area. In no time, we found another tucked away and much nicer hotel.

8. Language. The easiest way to bridge cultural gaps is through language of course.  My must learn words when I travel are Hello, Thank You, Please and Bathroom. Any other phrases, I recommended learning whatever you are interested in.  I love to shop and negotiation is part of the fun so I always make sure I learn how to say "How much?" and the numbers (or bring a pocket calculator :p).  I also like to find out what the shortest possible way to say something is.  Russia was probably the most difficult country to travel through language wise.  Most of the time we had a private guide with us but when ventured out on our own and if we were really stuck communicating, we would find the nearest luxury hotel. Good chance someone who works there will speak some English.

9. Experience the people, not just the sites.  The ruins, parks, or museums are normally what we travel thousands of miles to see, but to me sometimes the people are the most interesting. I try to not just interact within my own group.  In Russia some of our best memories were chatting with a group of students who were volunteering for the Sochi Olympics at a local dive bar.  We even shared Russian food and vodka on the train with the co-conductor and his friends who didn't speak a word of English. I was surprised at how much a mixture of just gestures and sounds helped me understand the local culture so much better.

I also like talking to other travelers, especially those who are traveling for really long periods of time (ie: over 6 months).  They are usually the second best source of information and recommendations.

10. Take a vacation during travel. First of all, travel and vacation are different things.  A lot of us use our vacation days to travel and most of time, need a vacation after the travel.  Travel can be so exciting, but also can be demanding on your body.  I eat whatever I want when I travel and still would lose weight.  I always make sure I take my multivitamins and a mini-vacation during my travels.  In South East Asia, I sat on a beach in Phuket for a few days in between Angkor Wat and Petronas Towers.  In Africa, I sat on another beach in Zanzibar in between Simien Mountain and Masai Mara. In South America, I ended on a yacht in the Galapagos after 2 weeks in the freezing Bolivian salt field and breath taking (literally) Machu Picchu .  Not to mention, a trip or two or three to the spa for a foot or body massage during the trip is a must (China was the best for that)!

Faye's Top Ten Travel Tips - Part I

I have been back from South America for exactly 1 month now but my brain is still on the road. I miss the feeling of wondering what is next around the corner when I wake up the morning, when I step out of a tax,i or when I turn at the next the corner.  The joy of travel is the anticipation of the unknown.  But the unknown sometimes can bring unnecessary headaches.  Over the years, traveling based on certain amount of unknown has been a routine for me and I thought I would share some of my travel tips.

Starting with before the trip begans:

1. Pack zip lock bags.  A friend of mine packs everything in zip lock bags when she travels.  She said this way she can pack a lot more in, not to mention keeps everything dry.  I will never have the discipline to keep everything organized in bags through the entire trip. However, I made sure I kept all my documents and dirty clothes (so it doesn't contaminate the clean clothes) in zip lock bags.  My friend also recommends to put fabric softener sheets in the dirty cloth bags.  The zip lock bag even saved my iPhone.  I spilled water on it and the hotel kitchen gave me a handful of rice which I put them in the bag with my phone to "suck" out the moisture.

There are other essential items I pack before my travel.

• Compact power bar - so my iPad, camera and phone can be charged all at the same time.
• Wet wipes - for those times you can't find a bathroom to wash your hands
• Tide to go sticks - I no longer fear packing white shirts!

Compact Power Bar

Actually, I keep most of these items in a big bag and store them where I can gain easy access to. When it is time to pack for my trips, I just take the bag out and dump them in my luggage.

2. Research taxi details. Not a lot of people think about this before hand.  This is an important one especially when traveling to a developing country. Taxi services are not always regulated.  In a lot of cases, it is just a guy with a unmetered car and slapped on a "TAXI" sign.  Many tourism related crimes are committed involving a cab. From not negotiating before getting in and ending up with an astronomical fare to more serious crimes of being robbed by the driver are sure ways to ruin a trip.  When you just got off a long flight and all you want to do is get in a cab to get to your hotel you are not going to want to research cab details in between.  Therefore, it is best to do research before your trip. I really like this website called "I Hate Taxis" which lists general rate information, common taxi crimes, and another other major transportation information to get you from and to an airport and major interest points.

3. US Dollars $$$. As a Canadian who loves everything Canadian, I still travel with US dollars. I think this is not shocking information to anyone that the US dollar is the easiest to exchange worldwide (except for Cuba).  However, different country have their own quirks on what type of bills they will accept.  As a rule of thumb, make sure the US bills are in perfect conditions. Most, if not all, countries will not accept US bills with dirt, rips (even a tiny one), or are defaced.  The date on the bills matters too.  Some countries will not accept bills before 2000 even if they are in perfect condition.  While traveling through South America, bills with serial number begins with CB are routinely refused.  I am still not sure why.

When receiving currencies whether it is from a bank, exchange bureau or even getting change from a vendor, I always make sure to check the bills too.  Don't accept any damaged or old bills and always ask for different denomination of bills (small bills for tips).
   

4. Leave room for souvenirs.  When packing for a trip, I always make sure I don't pack my bags to the rim because I always seem to come back with more stuff than I came with.  For my South America trip, I had to pack summer and winter clothes and my bags were stuffed so I packed a couple of foldable grocery bags which I used to carry souvenirs onto the plane home.

5. Photocopy documents. This one is simple, but an important one to stress. Make colour photocopies of all important document such as passport, driver's license and marriage license.  I also take the time to scan an electronic copy and email them to myself and my emergency contact (spouse or parents). 

To Be Continued...

Last Day of the Trip, Last Day in South America - Day 23

We took our time getting up this morning since it was our very last day in South America. But these days dragging our feet meant we were ready and packed by 8:30.

Mom of the family had already set out an elaborate breakfast of fresh fruit, bread, home made cheese, natural yogurt and cereal. We ate until we could nearly move.

Dad had planned for us to visit the equator in the morning. The drive took about an hour in and out of the many valleys Quito had. Like most countries I have been to outside of north America, people drove wherever there was road space. Lane lines and sometimes traffic lights were just suggestions.

We arrived at the equator. We thought it was just going to a monument. But it was a whole themed park, very loose theme though. There was a planetarium, insectarium, countless souvenir shops, cafes and restaurants. The entrance was 2 USD each. Ecuador started using US currency only a few years ago. Maybe because it was a Monday but the park was very quite, no more than 15 or 20 visitors including us. We took our standard tourist pictures of straddling the equator line. We also went up the monument to get a top view of the surrounding. This was 3 USD extra each.














Inside the monument was a museum about Ecuador and its different indigents people. I was surprised to find out there were African slaves who ended up settling on the coast. The varies tribal people all looked different from each other. That was interesting to me considering Ecuador is not a very big country.

Before leaving the park, we grabbed an ice cream made out of a fruit called Guayana. It tasted like a slightly sour coconut. It was really good especially it was a warm sunny morning.

We had lunch at the house. We hung around the house and played with the dogs until it was time to leave for the airport. The reality had really set in that we were leaving.

It had been a fantastic trip as per usual. I can't wait to plan my next adventure.

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Location:Quito, Ecuador

Galapagos (Day 5) - Day 22

Our last day in the Galapagos. A few of us thought about where we can hide on the boat, so we can stay. Breakfast was early this morning. We were off to the giant tortoise conservation park at 7:15AM. Our luggages were taken off the boat during breakfast and checked through to Baltra airport without us.

A bus drove through the town of Santa Cruz and we arrived at the park before 8. The giant tortoises are the symbol of the Galapagos. When the conservation effort started, there were only 15,000 tortoises left and 11 species (3 had already gone extinct). A lot of them were eaten by humans. Now all tortoise eggs are moved from the islands where they were born to the conservation park incubators to ensure they will not be eaten by rats, cats and other invasive species. The babies are then put back to the islands when they are 4 years or older, so when their shells harden and can fight fir their own survival. There are more than 35,000 tortoises.

We first came across the male and female adult dens. They were kept separate since there are several different species of them and the researchers don't want them to inter mate in order to preserve the species.



The third den lived the famous "Diego" a male tortoise that, for awhile, was helping to preserve his species single handedly.



Then there was "Lonesome George". He is the last of his kind. International efforts have been made to find him a mate with no luck yet.



The last stop in the park was the baby tortoise nursery and incubators. They were all microchipped and their survival rate is 80% when released.



Around 9AM, we finished our park tour. I think everyone was a bit sad that it was all over. A bus drove for about 50 minutes to a port. We got on a large wooden ferry boat for a very slow 10 minute ride. Then we were on a bus again and this time was a 10 minute ride to the airport.

At the airport we were issued our boarding pass and luggage stickers. We said good bye to our shipmates of 5 days. The flight was delayed for more than an hour coming from Quito. We got into Quito around 4PM. We were picked up a good friend's family. They were very sweet and generous.

The family first took us shopping for souvenirs which we manage to replace the chullo hats we lost in La Paz. Then they took us to Old Town. I was glad we were able to see it on a quiet Sunday night. The colonial area were light up, but it was so quint. It really didn't feel like we were in South America.









In the far distance hill top was the virgin lite up in purple.


The family took us to a restaurant that had a roof top patio. Even though the patio was a bit chilly to sit and dine, we stayed a little while to take in the city view.



We dined inside and I enjoyed another shrimp cerviche. I must learn how to make this stuff.

By 9PM, the family took us back to their house. The father is an architect and it was no surprise their house was amazing. The daughters rooms was done in a loft style with an open second level. There was a wall that was smooth to the touch, but had the most interesting pattern. The roof of the house was all asymmetrically pieced with several sky windows and lined with dark wood panels.

Since the house was located half way up an alley. It was so quiet and we slept like babies.

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Location:Galapagos, Ecuador

Galapagos (Day 4) - Day 21

I woke up feeling a bit sad this was our last full day in the Galapagos. I asked myself again: why didn't we do the 8 day option?

Our day started with a walk to the top of Bartolome Island. The island doesn't have much to offer in terms of wild life or vegetation other than lizards and cactus. It was mainly a geological site which the volcanic lava rocks formed interesting landscapes . The weather was a bit overcast. I brought my rain jacket in case. The peak had wooden steps all the way up. It wasn't too hard since we weren't at 4000m anymore.


When we reached the top, the view was the entire island with the pinnacle rock sticking out of the blue sea. It was gorgeous.



There was also an underwater crater that can be seemed on top.



The sun came out just in time for snorkeling off of Gold Beach next to the underwater crater. The water was warmer and we saw a lot more than previous two days. White tip sharks, eagles ray, swimming sea lions and tons of colourful tropical fish.

We came back to the boat, did more lounging around before and after lunch. At 3PM, we hopped in the panga to check out Black Turtle Cove on Santa Cruz Island.

We turned off the panga engine and the guide paddled mostly through the lush mangrove covered cove. The complete silence made me want stay here forever and just stare at nature as it happens. We were lucky to be able to see baby sharks, rays, turtles and fishes very well through the clear and shallow low tide cove water. What a beautifully serene place for nature to flourish.












The hour went by very quickly. Before we knew it we were back on the boat again. This was our last night. The chef prepared us a BBQ feast on the sun deck at 6:30PM. The food was amazing. Giant prawns were the main course. Sangria was served as the twenty of us ate, talked in the soft sun set rays and ocean breeze. We even ignored, I meant, missed our guides' call for evening briefing.






During the briefing, we got our departure packages that included luggage tags, exit control tickets, ID stickers and etc.

Then we went back to our cabin to pack. I went to bed early since I started feeling a little sea sick.

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Location:Galapagos, Ecuador

Galapagos (Day 3) - Day 20

The Gravol knocked me out completely last night. I slept through the night like a baby and refreshed in the morning. Today's first point of interest after breakfast was Espinosa point on Fernandina Island. The panga dropped us off where hundreds of marine iguanas were trying to get warm in the early morning sun. They were hard to spot even when they are in a large group. They just blend into the black lava rocks so well.



We found an abandoned flightless cormorant egg.




Not even 5 feet away, we found out why... The mother or father bird was dead. It was really sad. But that is nature.





We did find another nest which the father bird was doing the nursing with the mother bird next to it. The father was very protective and nipped at the iguanas that came too close.



We then came across a mother sea lions teaching her cub how to swim.




Galapagos hawk that likes to eat baby iguanas.



Marine iguanas swimming to another warm rock to hang out.



All this animal watching got us really hungry. We came back onto the boat for lunch and I was so excited to see we were having Cerviche. It was wonderfully lemony and the shrimp was very juicy.



For dessert, I tried something I have never seem before: tree tomato. It was a little sour and the seeds were a little harder than a regular tomato. It was interesting, but it is not going to be my new favourite fruit.



Snorkeling off of Tagus Cove on Isabella Island was the first activity after lunch. The water was very cold compared to yesterday. Especially we had to jump in off the panga. There was no gradual walk into the water. We had hoped to swim with a few penguins. Instead we swam with a sea turtle and saw at least 5. After snorkeling, we took a panga ride along the coast to have a closer look at the penguins, pelicans, boobies and flightless cormorants. Of course, now all the penguins were in the water looking just like a duck. Finally we did find 3 on the rocks.











The panga then dropped us off on the island. We passed a sea lion bachelor pad (only male sea lions hang out there) which smelled really bad.



We climbed about 100 steps to get to Darwin's Lake. It is a salt lagoon that formed in the island volcano crater. It is more saltier than the ocean, so no life lives in it.

When we got back to the boat, we followed a few whales.

After dinner, our guides informed us that we will be crossing the equator line from south to north hemisphere at approximately 7:45PM. Although we had already technically crossed it twice already during the overnight sailing, everyone rushed to finish their desserts and grabbed their cameras to take a picture of the GPS when it reads 0'0". We all crowded into the bridge and watched the GPS intently. When it hit, it was like new year. Some people missed the 0'0" photo, so the captain backed up the boat two more times!! Oh, tourists...



That was a lot of excitement for one day. We were off to bed again by 9.

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Location:Galapagos, Ecuador