Text by Joyce Chao
Adventures, surprises and unexpected events await anyone venturing away from the familiarity of home. It’s all good when the fun and adventures are positive, when the scenery and weather of the destination turn out to be even lovelier than promised in a travel brochure, and the local food tastes better than advertised.
But, a dream vacation can turn into a nightmare when that promised soft bed in a luxury hotel turns out to be a bunk bed in a hostel or when non-optional shopping excursions appear on your tour of historical sites.
“It really doesn’t have to be that way, says Luna Zhan, a department manager of Beijing Yandu Travel Agency. Luna chose her name (which means moon in Spanish) because she likes the symbol of being the “light that guides the travelers in the dark. She feels that inexperience often leads travelers to be too trusting or lax when making plans. “Travelers have a fantastic idea of where they want to go and what they think they are going to see and experience. This is very good, but travelers must also make sure they ask the right questions to be sure they know what they are getting. o:p>
To protect BTM readers from holiday headaches, Luna offers the following tips:
1) Work with a responsible and reputable travel agency.
There are many ways to buy tickets and join in tours, but you must look at the reputation of the business. Aside from the length of time it’s been in operation, you should also look at the attitude of the tour operators. How responsive and responsible are the tour operators I get a lot of people calling to compare prices and to ask for special arrangements. While they can be time-consuming, it’s really our job to provide travelers with options and prices that can fit their budgets.
2) Know what you want.
Experiencing new things is part of traveling, and I understand that travelers won’t always know what to ask. But you should know yourself in terms of preferred modes of transportation, levels of accommodation, the pace of travel and whether you like shopping or not. If you go with a group, it will be a cheaper trip, but you are also traveling with a larger number of people and you won’t stay long in one place. If you like private cars because you get car sick easily, you should make that clear to the tour operator. Travelers should always ask what “transportation and “hotel really mean so they can get a sense of the reality before arriving at their destination. The key thing is that every traveler is different, while tour operators work with the general population; so it’s up to the traveler to make his or her wishes known. It is possible to have shopping-free itineraries, but this means the overall tour cost will be higher because it won't be subsidized. But unless you check and confirm with your tour operator, you will most likely get quoted a lower price, which will imply a few extra stops.
3) Check over your contract, and bring it with you.
When you sign up for a tour, there will be an agreement that every traveler should read carefully and check thoroughly. As you go from destination to destination, the local tour guides can only go by what they were told to do. To ensure that both parties are involved in the same tour, it’s best to bring your copy of the agreement. Before you sign the agreement, you should check over all the details of what is included and excluded. Don’t assume the included meals are going to be breakfast, lunch and dinner. They can mean non-consecutive meals too. Understand what you are paying for, and what your options are to shorten, lengthen the tour or take a detour from the group. Make sure you have an option to refuse side trips and excursions that might incur additional expenses. Sometimes travelers believe they must go where and do what the tour guides tell them.
4) Plan so you can enjoy your journey.
You are leaving your home: so you will need to depend on others to help you get to places and to guide you. If you are an independent traveler or even a seasoned traveler, I advise that you get a local guide when you go to a place you’ve never been to. Locals know the terrain and the weather. Some accidents happen when people assume they know when really they don’t. We see it often when people go climbing or camping. I recommend that you book your tours as soon as you know your plans. This will give you and your tour operator time to prepare, and you just might get a lower rate than if you book later.
5) What to do this October.
I suggest seafood lovers should consider travel to Dalian or Beidaihe, while history buffs may prefer Xi'an and other parts of Shaanxi Province that are rich in Chinese culture and traditions. I won’t be traveling anywhere for the holidays, though. I’ll be helping the many tourists who flock to the popular travel destinations of Beijing on a daily basis, regardless of the time of year.
Great Snacks
In Tianjin
When explaining his Olympic success to the US NBC television network, gold-medal swimming sensation Michael Phelps said part of it had to do with this diet: you see, he consumes a staggering 12,000 calories of food a day.
“Eat, sleep and swim. That’s all I can do, said Phelps.
Eating, sleeping and swimming all sound like good ideas for Phelps, but whether consuming 12,000 calories a day during the upcoming National Day, Golden Week holiday will make you swim or even walk faster is doubtful at best.
Still, eating, resting and being merry is part of the Golden Week holiday, and there's hardly any place that gives you a wider range of dining or snack choices than nearby Tianjin.
The closest seaport to Beijing: Tianjin is on the northeast of the North China Plain (east of Beijing); it is one of the biggest industrial and port cities in China. Also known as “the diamond of the Bohai Gulf, Tianjin means “the heavenly fort. Seafood and river food are good choices. Tanggu District is quite famous for its seafood because of its proximity to Tianjin Port.
Tianjin’s famous Food Street deserves mention too. More than 100 restaurants pack this “dining mall creating a scene that, depending on your view, borders on either being fantastic or a blatant tourist trap.
Fried Dough Twist (Mahua)
The forefathers of Guifaxiang Mahua were two brothers, who once opened two shops on the 18th Street, just off South Dagu Road in Tianjin. Because their shops were on 18th Street, their mahua was also called Shiba Jie Mahua (18th Street fired dough twist).
Ear Hole Fried Cake (Erduoyan Zhagao)
Erduoyan zhagao has a history of more than 100 years. During the Qing Dynasty (1644 911), a man named Liu Wanchun made living by making fried cakes. His excellent techniques yielded cakes that gradually earned him distinction and were widely accepted. Because his shop was just located at the entrance to Erduoyan Hutong (Ear Hole Lane), his cakes were given the name Erduoyan Zhaogao (Ear Hole fried cake), and this name is still used today.
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