transport

Advising…. no one present

Posted on by helenhmk

Advising…. no one present, originally uploaded by Helen K.

This was the last amusing sign we spotted in China. I realise I’ve commented on a lot of odd signs in China, but I really do think they are great. To me they represent their use of the English language (difficult at the best of times). I was sadden to read in a guide book here, that with the Olympics in Beijing last year, and the World Expo in Shanghai in 2010, there is a group of people checking signage to ensure signs are appropriate, and no or little occurrences of “Chinglish” in sight.

Signs like this are rare (Airport in Shanghai)… and therefore need to be shared with everyone. I was disappointed no one was there advising.

Ordinary…

Posted on by helenhmk

Ordinary…, originally uploaded by Helen K.

While it would of been cheaper and faster to catch a taxi to the airport in Shanghai… we caught the taxi to the Maglev station (very fast high speed train). Ah, that is what holiday experiences are all about.

We bought a ticket for the “ordinary section”, given the ride was only 7 minutes. Kym mentioned to me prior it was 15 minutes long and the top speed was 400km per hour. However, that speed is only done between 9am and 10:30am…. I feel cheated as it only did 302km per hour. Not even enough time to get comfortable on the train!

Things to be aware…

Posted on by helenhmk

IMG_0069, originally uploaded by Helen K.

We went on a short river cruise in Shanghai. Given that the Bund is being dug up and there is no other way to get a decent view of the buildings, a cruise for 100 yuan was on the only option.

During the 50 minute cruise, there were a lot of views of Shanghai and the buildings on the Bund, not to mention photos taken of us by other tourists. However, this was one of my favourites :)

A Saturday in Downtown Xi’an

Posted on by kymdt

http://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=71649

On saturday we took it pretty easy and decided to wander around Downtown Xi’an. I converted my digital SLR into a fixed focal length brownie. Zooms are overrated anyway. We took a bunch of shots as we walked past the Provincial Government HQ, past the shops, auctions and street vendors all offering mobile phones. Marveled at the range of washers, air conditioners and refrigerators with interesting sizes and designs. Visited a historical monument or two and designer label shops. The Muslim quarter was the highlight with greats sights and sounds. This is where we settled down for a lunch of 20 dumplings! Finally we returned to our hotel for a peach smoothie and donut not bad eh? Anyway I’ve put together a slideshow for you.

Japan Rail

Posted on by kymdt

Japan Rail offers very convenient and fast services throughout Japan. The JR Pass is also great value. Trying to book a JR Sleeper train on the other hand is quite difficult. You need to find a person or travel agent in Japan to book it for you. It can only be booked one month before hand, so it makes it somewhat difficult to plan an itinerary. For those who are inters ted JR East does offer Shinkansen and and some limited express bookings online.

We are trying to book the Cassiopeia, Japan’s dream journey from Ueno to Sapporo. So please cross your fingers and hope we can get our booking on 16 July 2009.

Old Street Car

Posted on by kymdt


Old Street Car
Originally uploaded by kdt

For a closer gunzel like me, Japan is heaven! The range of public transport around is amazing. In Hiroshima there is a great network of “Streetcars”. What is even better is that they have a range of different streetcars, its better than a working tram museum! These old cars are used everyday for real work!

I’m impressed!