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My life for me isn’t just traveling. And it isn’t just an easy way to make my way in the world. As you probably already know by now, this lifestyle is very meaningful to me. And in fact almost every step I take, and almost every choice I make, happens only after a lot of consideration and no little desire to do the utmost for me, but mostly for my children.

I try my hardest to take the points that make our unique routine, and make the most of them. To think, to be creative and use everything that our lifestyle allows, all to give my children morals, confidence and experience.
This post is born of questions that a number of families asked me while planning their trips or already traveling. I found out in in the short, practical answers I give to everyone, hides a lot more than just “how to pack for your trip”
So here are four things that seem small, but in reality are huge.

1. Their own bags

When going on a long trip, your suitcase or big bag and everything in it become a very big part of your life. Therefore, it’s important to put some thought into how to best distribute the equipment between everyone.
Give your children their own bags, let them decide what they take (with your well-meaning guiding), and make sure all their things fit into their own bag. That includes shoes, personal toiletries, and a towel if possible. That bag will be their private, intimate place, where their things are, and they’re responsible for it.

Give them the feeling that you trust them to know how to take care of their things, to remember packing them whenever you’re going to a new place, and make sure they can carry their bag themselves. Respect their privacy about the things in the bag, and give them that good feeling involved in being responsible over its contents.

2. Financial freedom

Southeast Asia presents a wonderful opportunity to let the kids handle money on an everyday basic from a very young age. Involve the kids with everything money, on the everyday level. But everything. They should know how much the room costs at the guesthouse, look at the prices in menus, and be aware of the daily budget you’re keeping to. Calculate exchange rates.

And beyond that- make sure they always have money in their pocket. To experience regular shopping, every day, according to need, but also desire. Slowly slowly they’ll learn not to buy ice-cream with that money, but to save it for when they’re really thirsty and just want a bottle of water. Or to pay for the laundry you asked them to collect. Or the bus ride. I’ve been giving my older children (14 and 17 years old) free access to the family wallet and money and they manage their money very responsibly.

3. social awareness

During your time abroad you’ll have to deal with a lot of things you might not think about beforehand. For example, friends’ and family’s birthdays and other events you won’t be able to participate in. to mark the important dates and feel that you share your loves ones’ happiness, despite the distance, set aside a small amount of money (that you would’ve spent anyway on the event) and go out with the kids to give that money to those that really need it. Make the kids a part of everything, ask them their opinions, and give them the chance to be involved. Buy fruits for the street urchins, clothe for poor families in your area, or donate a few books or toys to a local orphanage. To this day there’s a Tibetan woman in Pokhara that hugs me every time I pass her by, because of the warm socks and shirts I bought for her children for the birthday of a close friend of mine, in his name. Actually, it was my daughter that asked her what she needed and went with her to the store to get what she needed.

4. Full and active cooperation

Let the kids have a say about every decision, considerations, inquiries. Send them on info-gathering missions- starting from the currency exchange rates in whichever country you’re going to, and all the way to finding a place to sleep. My children, according to their ages, manage the trip completely alongside me. They search for plane tickets, find out all the info we need about the places we want to go to (visas, currency, diseases, etc..) and very often they’re also responsible for booking hotel rooms for the first few nights in a new destination. I don’t chase after them to do it, I trust them fully and give them all due credit. How to get from place to place, how much does it cost, which company to go with, how long does it take, where should we stop and rest. And many other fine-print details that amount to quite a list that we share amongst us.


The K-12 education program, experience public school at home.


 

Rishikesh is one of the best known places in India. It’s hard to miss when travelling in India with kids and families from all over the world go there.

She’s a pleasant and quiet city. For India, that is. I personally really liked the atmosphere at the city itself. It might be packed with people but it has something that makes it much more calm than other Indian cities.

It’s likely you won’t actually stay in the city itself but near the Ganga River in one of the touristic neighborhoods- Laxmanjhula or Ramjhula. They say that Laxmanjhula is the quieter. They’re wrong. It’s more touristic in nature, bigger and noisier and full of Israelis. Ramjhula is laidback, more ‘spiritual’ and has mostly European tourist.

If you go a bit further from the bunk you can find sweet, clean rooms with a kitchen and a garden. You can even find a guesthouse where you can rent a whole apartment with a kitchen and a living-room and everything.

∴ In Rishikesh we met the nicest Cows in India. They’re friendly and enjoy being petted and we really knew some of them personally.

People mostly come to Rishilesh for the courses on offer there- yoga and spirituality and Ashrams plenty. With kids it’s a bit different but plenty of courses let kids in for free.

If its your first time in India, look at the food and drinks safety rules page.

In my opinion, the biggest attraction Rishikesh holds is the Ganga. Soft white sandy beaches and cold water. You can swim every day and pass a month without even feeling it…

♦ And of course the Puja ceremonies that are done in all different ways both right on the Ganga and in temples. Within a week the kids turn to experts.

♦ And the Monkeys! Two kinds rule Rishikesh, and especially the bridges, with an iron fist. The yellow monkeys, wild, full of mischief and pretty aggressive. And the grey-black Monkeys that are very friendly and much less aggressive. So as long as you aren’t holding food in your hand you’ll be fine.

♦ I found the guesthouses in the tourist centers to be run-down and for the most part more dirty than guesthouses in other parts in India. That doesn’t mean you can’t find something good or newly opened. The prices, by the way, are very low. If they tell you there’s hot water 24/7 take it with a pinch of salt.

♦ The food in the local restaurants is spicy and thickly seasoned. The Chai is excellent. The restaurants that serve western food are good but the prices are above average. They have great shakes (even Oreo shake) and cold coffee. And Chocolates Pralines. Yum.

see also our special route for food-loving families traveling to India

♦ There’s also a selection of Ayuverdic restaurants and lodges.

♦ As well as a great selection of organic products and supermarkets, that even sell some home-made healthy and all-natural, vegan foods.

♦ Many go to the waterfalls around. I didn’t go but my son did and he says they’re really nice. it’s a nice hike just out side the urban area.

♦ There’s also a Waterpark nearby. They say it’s also very nice. and a Bungy jumping site.

we also have a full list of activities specifically for crazy, Adrenalin seeking families :-). 

♦ In general you can say that Rishikesh is a real touristic marvel. It has all the luxuries and comforts you need. But it takes time to get used to it. Don’t run away too quickly, give it the time it needs to charm you.

♦ From Rishikesh leave a few beautiful treks. Check with a travel agency.

♦ There’s also wonderful rafting trips in the season.

♦ If you rent a scooter you’ll be a lot more mobile and could jump for visits in nearby villages and rivers.

♦ You could also visit the city daily and go to one of the true pearls of the area- Papu Lassi. Cold, sweet, and delicious. Entirely addictive. In addition, in the city there are a few restaurants that pride themselves in a beautiful and very tasty collection of traditional Indian sweets.

♦ It’s also recommended to visit the colorful fruits and vegetables market.

♦ And to go to the cinema at least once. We’re talking about a real India Cinema, where the crowd is an active participant in the movie and kids with trays of Chai and snacks go between the rows selling throughout the entire movie. A highly enjoyable experience.

♦ As a city located near the Ganga, the sale of meat, Alcohol and Eggs is banned (in the inner burrows of the city you could find all these things if you’re really persistent). To fill up the protein needs eat lots of legumes. It’s recommended to use the Chole stands (cooked Chickpeas, served with spiced vegetables, Salt and Lemon) in the area. 10 Rupees per plate.

♦ In Ramjhula there is a small restaurant called ‘The Office’. It serves very good Chai but its crowning glory are the famous dessert Samosas filled with Cinnamon Apple or Banana and Chocolate. Don’t miss!

Warning: dear girls. Never walk in Rishikesh alone after dark. The streets look safe and innocent but a few very violent cases have happened. Don’t walk alone and definitely not with a revealing outfit.
Please: the Ganga is an extremely holy place to the Indians. Respect that. Don’t swim in a Bikini and keep to the respectful guidelines of the place.

Here is a nice family-friendly route in south India

Prices for example:
A decent room– 350-500 Rupees a night.
Papu Lassi– 20 Rupees.
Thali– 50-80 Rupees.
Scooter per day– 250 Rupees.
Rickshaw bus to the city– 5 Rupees per person (and don’t let them fool you!), kids go for free.
Chai– 10-20 Rupees.
Cold Coffee– 50 Rupees.

*** 7 years of continuous travel with my kids are gathered into my ebook. you are welcome to download and join me.

A second before summer vacation, a lot of the families I escort can already smell the flight date getting nearer. And the closer the moment comes for them, I feel a sort of confusion, a need to hold on to something, a minute before they lose control and head into the unknown.

So for their sake, and for any others that feel the need, here are the two most important tips I can give:

1. you already made a basic plan (after in depth research or maybe in less depth), bought flight tickets, consulted with a traveler’s clinic. Everything is more less arranged? Great.
Now let go. Leave the travel guides be. Leave the facebook groups, leave the blogs (even mine).
From now on, let the road set the way. Sit quietly, breath deep. Live already knowing that each one will get his/her own journey. It doesn’t matter if it rained on you on the way to Dharamsala or if it was boiling hot. If you have a hotel in New-Delhi or not. Those things are no longer in your control. All that’s left is to look on the road, the view, on what your journey will bring you.
That the decision that whatever comes your way- you’ll deal with. That you’re open and ready for adventures, of every kind and color. To meetings with others, with yourselves, with your family members. Accept that the way won’t necessarily be what you imagined it would be, or (and especially) what you planned. Changes and surprises will come. They’re part of the journey.

2. the hot springs in Vashisht are a huge gift. A little piece of heaven I’m grateful for everyday I’m here. We enjoy them and learn a lot from the experience of going to them.
Things that would’ve been very hard to teach my daughters any other way. And that I probably couldn’t teach them any other way, if it wasn’t for our stay here.
But not everyone sees it that way. In fact, most tourists that come here to see the hot springs don’t spend time on them, and definitely don’t dare to actually swim in the pools.
They see that place in an entirely different way. They see grey cement, dirt, bare brick walls.
And they run away.
And I want to thell them- wait a moment. Stop. Take those western glasses off for a minute. And look. Lean. Without prejudice, without criticism, without judging. Leave the west outside. Come try. Open a door to experiences, to curiosity, to love for something completely different, and not necessarily better or worse.
Open yourselves. Completely. Don’t close down because that’d be a shame. To visit a different place, a new place, totally different from anything you know and manage to really experience it on a deep level- that’s amazing. A whole world suddenly opened. A million flakes of inspiration, a million new points and each one of them can lead to a different and spectacular way. And it’s a shame to miss that.
Oh… all the things I learned in the last five years. From everyone. The tourists. The travelers. The views. The locals. There’s so much wisdom in them, a different wisdom, odd and fascinating. Yes, they think very differently from us. They see things differently. But that’s what’s so interesting!
I see tourists that made an effort and saved money for a very long time, invested a lot of money and and went really far. And all that for what?
Leave the books, the researches on the internet. Leave them. Go see the world with clean eyes. Sit with the locals, talk with them, ask them where they think you should go. Where is the best local food. And how exactly do you eat it. How to get from this village to the other one. Join that journey you took yourself into.
Come take of your clothes, slowly slowly dip your legs in the hot water, until you get used to them, look around you, see the women, the youths, the old ladies. How everyone here, free with their bodies, washing each other, dipping naturally in the pool, chit-chatting, laughing.
Come, get in, like it’s your first day alive.

watch this video– the girls talk about their experience at the hot springs in vashisht.

Spark Online Training by Edurekabanner

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
– Mark Twain

Do you also dream of leaving the nine-to-five? Of forgetting about that pesky snooze button? The dishes in the sink? Well, I’m here to help you. take a wonderful break.

Whether you’re planning a short vacation to Vietnam, a one-year tour of southeast Asia, or an open-ended trip across continents, I’m here to answer all your questions, address all your worries, concerns or fears.
I offer an hour long session, during which I can explain to you everything you’re uncertain about, address all the fears you have of your trip, recommend locations and things to do in those locations, advise about your budget and anything else you might want to know. From small to big, I am here.

I will also send you a list of sure-proofed accommodations and local contacts you should have. As well as many tips and detailed info (such as how to handle money on each specific destination, which ATM is the best one to use, how to buy a sim card or how and where to get internet, and more).

For that I only charge 70$.

Contact me

 

 

Travelling in southeast Asia, even with kids, doesn’t mean being banished to the land of the wild things.

I write this post following a number of inquiries I got on the subject. The fear that becomes bigger the closer your flight is, that you’ll have to sacrifice your soft skin, not to mention those killer selfies, in return for the dust of the roads and adventures, probably lurks in every woman’s head.
(ok maybe it skipped me, after all, I ooze sexiness naturally).

So here are a few tips I learned from my five years of experience:

♦ Southeast Asia is a cosmetic heaven. It only looks scary from the outside. Once you get here, once you stick your head to the first store in India, you’ll see that a lot of your fears were empty. But really empty. A wide range of amazing companies (and every ‘Himalaya’ product you can dream of), tons of natural products, oils, soaps, creams, scrubs. In short: pack light.

♦ Just never forget to check the expiry date before buying anything.

♦ One of the more important parameters is the weather. The main principle in taking care of your face is matching the cream to the weather.

♦ Invest in a night cream, something that gets the job done. And during the day find something appropriate for the weather.

♦ When we made our way by night bus from Beijing to the Mongolian border, I slept on a bunk when underneath me was a beautiful young Mongol woman. at some stage, before she went to sleep, she shamelessly pulled out her toiletries bag, and during the drive, in front of everyone, took cotton swabs and tonic, cleaned her face, put cream, oiled her hands and went to bed. Since then I take her with me everywhere. 40 days and 40 nights of staying in the Mongolian wilds (you thought I was kidding with the title?!), no matter how tired or lazy I felt. Cotton, tonic, face cream. In darkness, cold, heat, rain, in the good, the bad. No half assing.

♦ Keep those in a place that’s easy to reach.

♦ Make sure to wash your face in clear water (even a river, waterfall, lake… whatever) at least once a day.

♦ Have a scarf in your bag. The local women use it to cover their faces and protect them from the road’s dirt whenever they find themselves on a bus/bike. I don’t do it but I’m just lazy.

♦ Watch what you eat. In southeast Asia it’s easy to take care of your face’s skin using fresh fruits, vegetables, legumes, different kinds of tea, fruit juice. Pay attention and don’t go wild with the junkfood.

♦ Even if you’re trekking or adventuring in remote places- eat fresh cooked food (over instant for example)- what the locals cook for themselves, drink water or tea (not chemical juice), snack on nuts and dried fruits. Sweeten with honey.

♦ Beauty salons are everywhere. But everywhere. Waxing, eyebrows, moustache. And maybe some face treatments, haircut, color. You can maintain everything even during a trek. Just ask the locals. And there’s a chance you’ll earn a conversation with a fascinating local woman and maybe even learn a few new techniques.

♦ Invest in a hat that looks a-m-a-z-i-n-g on you. You’ll be surprised how useful it can be…

♦ Don’t let pimples erupt. For that there’s a small narrow tube containing a colorless jell for focused treatment (In every other shop in southeast Asia) that neutralizes them within hours.

Make-up: personally I’d recommend one core principle when it comes to make-up: keep your face skin soft and pretty, so you’ll need the minimum and the minimum.

◊ Now, depending on the season but southeast Asia can get reeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaally humiiiiiiiid. No make-up is equal to this kind of weather. For this reason, I wouldn’t use much powder, mascara, or black pencil and all its variations.

◊ If anything, it’ll be in the locals stores that you’ll have a chance of finding the super eye-liners that you you could fly to the moon and back with without a single smudge. And it’ll probably cost 20 rupees.

Hair: same thing here. Keep it shiny and healthy. Not so hard in southeast Asia because the range of hair products is simply never-ending. Asian women take care of their hair obsessively.

◊  And of course all the gadgets and stuffs and things for your hair. Everything is dirt cheap and the range is unbelievable.

◊ And let’s say you went on a trek and didn’t wash your hair for a few days- baby talc will absorb the extra oil and give off a nice smell. I heard there’s also “dry shampoo”.

Skin and body care: depends on where you’re traveling. In Vietnam for example there are amazing (and cheap) spas. In India there are hot springs and natural oils, in Nepal there are amazing organic products, in short… go and discover. One of the pleasures or traveling this way is entering a cosmetics store or try out a new massage. I can tell you that the mud bath I did with my daughter, and the swim in a mineral water pool, and the other experiences we had in that area will not be soon forgotten :-).

◊ I use salt as cleaning-disinfecting pilling mask to the skin, preferably natural Himalayan salt (sometimes mix it with a bit of some oil) and honey as massage/cleaning face mask. But that’s only because I am too lazy to carry too much with me. I buy a small amounts and if anything is left I leave it behind.

Nails– mani and padi there’s everywhere. I don’t see a problem. All the other decorations for nails I also saw almost everywhere.

♦ Yoga- it balances you both inside and out.

♦ It’s likely that travelling and the freedom and that feeling of letting go will also express themselves in how you take care of yourself. Don’t be surprised if you want to make rainbow stripes in your hair. Or if your whole definition of beauty completely turned on its head.

♦ And it’s also likely that your adventures, passion, love, adrenaline, and pleasure will all show themselves in the spark in your eyes, the flash of your cheeks and the light in your eyes. Spread out all the love within you.

♦ And then there are places that make you feel like the hottest woman in the world. Let them.

And a few nice links on the subject:

 Packing Secrets from Travel Pros
 Travel Beauty Tips! What to Bring with you on Vacation/Holiday!
 18 Travel Beauty Tips — to Go
 35 travel bloggers reveal their-top beauty tips and tricks
 Stay Sexy on the Road: 6 Beauty Blogger Tips

BTW- you don’t have to be skinny to look hot. here is an awesome link for plus size hotness.

A first aid kit is one of those things that make you feel safe, even when you’re in the middle of nowhere in southeast Asia, and especially when you are with kids. When you always have one in your bag, you can be as spontaneous as you like and still be a ‘responsible adult’. It’s important, though, to never forget it in your room because that will be the one time you actually need it. Yes… I learned that the hard way :-).

Things I recommend taking:

  • Basic first aid- sterile pads, disinfectant, plasters of different sizes, bandages, tourniquet, and something special for burns.
  • Hand sanitizer (a small bottle just in case you really need but don’t have one).
  • Mosquito repellent. I always have some in my bag, but in my first aid kit I always carry some wet wipes with mosquito repellent, just in case.
  • 2 hygienic bandages in a sterile wrap.
  • And empty plastic bag.
  • Multiple purpose disinfecting liquid-  a little bottle that can disinfect anything, cuts, surfaces, toilets.
  • A salve to sooth the skin- stings/sun burns/nettles.
  • Antihistamine.
  • Two unopened tooth brushes+paste. The small kind they give in hotels and airplanes. Yes, sometimes you have dinner at a friend’s home and the girls decide to stay to sleep there.
  • Lavender oil for everything- scratches, cuts, burns.
  • Soap pages in a travel pack.
  • Lipstick for dry lips.
  • Hair bands.
  • A lighter.

In addition, it’s best if you give your kids a few basic safety rules. Whatever seems important to you. For example, my kids know to beware of certain plants that irritate the skin- you just need to point it out to them and tell them to be careful. They also know not to touch shoe soles or anything off the floor, or to come close to a motorbike’s exhaust pipe (in southeast Asia there are more bikes than cars)

You can buy a ready-made first aid kit and just buy a few more things that are important specifically for a trip in southeast Asia with kids. That’s what I did to begin with, but as time went on the bag got ripped and ruined so I bought a camera bag. A square bag, waterproof, opening from the top and divided to several compartments. I chose the size that fits comfortably in the bottom of our bag that still goes everywhere with us, and put everything in it.

1. because China is a bit different than what we’re used to, it’s important to make sure the landing is as soft and as easy as possible. Especially when traveling with kids. The most important thing to make sure of is a good hotel or another place that can give you information in English.

2. In China there is a network of youth hostels that provide everything the western traveler needs. Rooms with a great price range- from the cheapest (a bed in a dorm with shared bathrooms and showers) an up to the expensive intimate rooms. And the staff is made of Chinese youth (most are working there as a part of a student program) and western youths, studying Chinese volunteering there to brush up on their Chinese. They help with everything you need. They helped me buy a local sim card, book bus tickets, organize a birthday party for my daughter, they wrote a note with Chinese sentences I asked them to, explained to me how to get everywhere and much more. In every hostel there’s a common room where there is a bar, a small restaurant, a few strategy/thinking games (the staff is always happy to play with you, or at least teach you how to play), art materials, computers, books, sometimes table-football or a snooker table or a tv room with loads of movies for you to choose from. Within a day or two the staff knows all your names.

3. in short- I warmly recommend you to book a room with one of the youth hostels spread across china, they’ll make your trips that much easier, especially in the first few days after landing.

4. don’t come to china without an app that translates words and sentences to Chinese, preferably one that also sounds the words, and that doesn’t require internet.

5. anyway it’s recommended to buy a local sim card on the first chance so you can use the internet comfortably on your phone.

6. that way you could also use maps and navigate in busy streets, whose names are written in Chinese.

7. the taxi drivers in china are very strict on the max number of passengers- four. So anyone going to china with three or more children is going to have a problem. To find a taxi, especially in the big cities, especially in the tourist centers, is not an easy task, and finding two is a nightmare. Easier to find two rickshaws or deal with the public transportation.

8. If you chose to walk notice that the green light for the crosswalk is very short and there’s an arrangement with the two-wheelers so warn the kids.

9. and about the public transportation: in China there’s a very wide range of buses and trains. From old trains, stuffed so full of people that you can’t breathe, sweaty and sweltering, through to a relatively comfortable sleeper trains all the way to express trains that look like they’re taken straight from a futuristic film. The same goes for buses.

10. in the sleeper trains they lock the bathrooms in the morning long before you actually get to your destination. Just so you know.

here you will fond a special route for nature loving families traveling to china

11. the Chinese, even those that speak good English, tend to get confused between the ‘teen’ numbers (11, 12, 13…) and the whole numbers (20, 30, 40…) it’s best to always make sure exactly what they meant. There is a big difference sometimes. (how many hours is this bus drive? 40??? Ahhh 14.)

12. in restaurants and street foods they use a lot of tasting powder (msg). you can tell them “no msg” and most will understand.

13. public restrooms: I have to say that the public restrooms in China were the most disgusting I ever saw. But really. Those on the roads, in between, at bus stops during long drives. They were actually a long narrow hall, with an open draining tunnel (sewage) and two long boards on the sides, to step on. Everything is open, without even partitions. There are places where this even costs money.

For few more extreme experiences in china click here :-).

14. the rumors that the Chinese are not nice proved entirely false. The Chinese people we met, almost all of them, were simply charming, and sometimes really went out of their way to help us any way they could. Even those that didn’t speak a single word in English.

15. the Chinese, like the Indians, and a few more, have a favorite hobby. They love taking pictures with tourist. Especially with kids. Especially those that don’t look like them (=curly hair for example). Sometimes, and in very touristic places, you need a lot of patience to take pictures with all of them. Prepare the kids.

To find a youth hostel to your taste you can begin with this link

Or simply google ‘youth hostel’ in whatever specific destination you have in mind.

OR- you can take a look at Our favorite  hotels & guest houses  in china.

before going to China, try to learn some mandarin. it will be very beneficial!
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China is a destination on which opinions divide. Especially when thinking about China with kids, if you ask around you’ll get more than one opinion. Before I went there I got a confusing shower of information, ranging from ‘don’t ever go there for any reason’ to ‘my sister went there with her four kids and they had lots of fun’.

They told me it’s impossible to find bread. They told me the Chinese don’t speak a word of English, and even the way they count to ten isn’t the way we know. They told me they have pastries filled with sweet green Beans and that it’s a delicacy. And that they eat Pig’s tails. They told me that the views are incredible but the people aren’t nice. They told me the south is awesome. They told me the north is awesome. A couple I met in a guesthouse in Pokhara (Nepal) gave me a Hebrew-Chinese dictionary and out of genuine concern warned me not to go there. Anyway..

I was thinking whether to go to China or India. But I’ve already been to India (three time) and the tickets to China were really cheap and I had to escape the monsoon in Nepal and anyway I’ve been meaning to go to Mongolia and China is really just on the way…so should I give it up??

No. so I went there.

And I was terrified. Alone with three kids in a country where no one speaks English. Where they eat pig’s tails. petrifying.

We landed in Chengdu where we spent two weeks including a trip to the panda reserve and a five-day trip to Jiuzhai valley and a visit to two national parks: Jiuzhaigou and Huanglong. A trip that was breathtaking in its beauty. As well as a meeting with a fascinating Tibetan populace that was entirely different from anything else we’ve seen in China. From Chengdu we journeyed a few days to Beijing. A journey that included all different types of buses and trains.

china with kids, family travel china

We started the journey in Xian, a city whose main tourist attraction is the Tera Cota warriors.

From there we moved on to Ping Yao, an ancient town that is amazingly well preserved. We spent a few days there walking among the ancient alleys, staying in a guesthouse that used to be a traditional Chinese home, with a charming open courtyard and stunning woodworks that covered the whole front of the building.

The town is surrounded by walls and has in it a lot of interesting building with huge historical and cultural value. It was very interesting to travel in its streets and enter ancient temples, tea houses, castles. Chinese style gardens, tall heavy wooden doors.

The food was very different from what we’ve had so far. But just as spicy.

We fell in love with that small picturesque town and decided to stay there longer than planned, and give up on a few more stops on the way to Beijing.

And so we found ourselves one sunny day, torn away from the feeling of being a million years ago and getting thrown right back into the 21st century in a ride in a cool express train that got us to Beijing in only a few hours.

I felt like I was in an airplane.

We had three days to spend in Beijing. We walked on the great wall, of course. With mixed feelings. Because the story of the wall isn’t a simple story. A lot of people died building it, and were buried underneath it. The weather was hot and humid. And of course, the thousands of other tourists that also came to walk the wall haven’t really improved the experience.

We went to the forbidden city, but after three hours waiting in lines in the hot sun we decided to give up.

We took part in a traditional tea ceremony, which was very nice and educating (and delicious).

We took photos with the ‘bird’s nest’.

The local food in Beijing was tastier than anywhere else that we’ve been to in china. In Chengdu for example we avoided local food and made do with more western alternatives- Pizza Hut and Starbucks to begin with and afterwards we found a small Sushi place, cheap and excellent and ate there all the time (and laughed that we went all the way to china only to eat SushiJ). In fact, it’s only in Beijing that we found good Chinese food.

china with kids- food  food- china with kids

click here for a post with many lesser known great attractions in Beijing

After three days we took a sleeper bus, 17 hours to the border town Erenhot. Everyone says that it’s a boring town lacking charm, but I actually liked it.

And at the end of a full month in China, we crossed the border to Mongolia, to an experience, that while we didn’t know it yet, would be one of the more amazing ones we’ve been through.

What was fun for me and the kids in china:

♦ The Chinese people were a pleasant surprise and in fact most of the people we’ve met were exceptionally nice. Even if they couldn’t understand a single word we said.

♦ The trip to the national parks was the highlight. We’re talking a work of art by mother nature. As Wonderful and as breathtaking as only nature knows how to make.

♦ The Panda reserve in Chengdu was nice, to see the Pandas living their lives, the cubs playing and roughhousing- it was an exciting experience.

china with kids, family travel china

♦ The express train was really fun.

♦ The small town, Ping Yao, was a tasty treat.

What was less fun for me and the kids in china:

♦ The food. We definitely couldn’t get along with the food.

♦ Communication problems made everything feel difficult and heavy… even in hotels in Beijing, where you’d expect at least a bit of English- they couldn’t answer me when I wanted to know how to get to the great wall.

♦ And that’s also how it was with getting public transportation tickets. If we didn’t get along with some nice locals, there’s no way we could even buy bus or train tickets or even understand where they’re going and where they stop and when do we need to change and when to get off.

♦ The big cities are very modern. It’s nice- in China there’s everything, everything is huge, everything is spectacular. But to find places a bit more ‘Chinese’ you have to work hard.

♦ Anyway, in Chengdu for example there are a few nice gardens good for a walk, to sit in tea houses and watch the locals play their Chinese games that now everyone is downloading to their smartphones…

Sources worth checking:

The national park that is also a world heritage site and part of the biosphere plan: