Viking China (Part 2)

Our Viking guide gave a few Yuan to the zoo keeper who woke up the panda and fed him.

Not the best way to treat a captive animal (or any other, come to that).

That's right. Don't rely on hope; if seeing pandas is a must, then plan to do it in Beijing when you arrive. Remember, a visit to the Chongqing Zoo is not an advertised stop on the itinerary when you start the tour in Beijing; however, it is stated part of the itinerary when you start in Shanghai. (also note that those who start in Beijing go to the hutongs while those who start in Shanghai don't).

 

On the other hand, I will note that since Viking added a night in Xi'an, more passengers are talking about arriving early enough that there is time to kill before they can arrive at the ship and thus a trip to the Zoo is added. However, there is no way of knowing in advance if your bus/group is the one that will get that early flight.

We travelled independently and sailed on Century Sun so I'm not sure exactly how Viking organise their tours. However, if you want the very best panda experience then Chengdu should be your destination.

Not sure but this is the address that Coco provided:

28 Zhong Lao Hutong in Dongcheng District.

Her email does say "our new space"

Yes, it looks like they have moved to a new 'permanent' location so they are no longer using the Orchid hotel.

In that case ignore the directions I've previously posted in this thread about how to get here :)

Yes, it looks like they have moved to a new 'permanent' location so they are no longer using the Orchid hotel.

 

In that case ignore the directions I've previously posted in this thread about how to get here :)

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

BSK is still "cooking.." behind the Orchid ...

I had fabulous dinner there just three weeks ago

Coco was enchanting, meals were mouthwatering..

french and Argentinian vine served thru-out the nite..

fourteen people behind two tables from around the world..

taxi from Ritz to Orchid entrance was 30 Y.

I promised 10Y to driver when I entered the cab

and voila.. he meandered thru scary-narrow huttong and dropped us at front door..

YOLO!!! (you only live once..) and without eating in BSK YOU DIDN'T eat chinease food the way it was meant to be cooked...

oceanbreeze

Does anyone recall the business hours the Kerry Hotel beijing Foreign Exchange Counter is open?

Our flight arrives at around 2:30pm so likely wont get to the Hotel until early evening hours.. And our self arranged tour with Discovery Beijing Tours begins at 8:30am the next morning... So would like to know if we will have the chance to exchange our USD into RMB's before our tour begins.. Thanks

Exchange is done at the check in desk, so will be available no matter what time you check in. Just remember, clean bills, no markings or folds are best.

Have a great time, I know we did in April!

Mike

Use a card in an ATM at the airport to withdraw cash?

Use a card in an ATM at the airport to withdraw cash?

Or the ATM in the hotel.

Exchange is done at the check in desk, so will be available no matter what time you check in. Just remember, clean bills, no markings or folds are best.

 

Have a great time, I know we did in April!

 

Mike

Thanks for the quick reply- I am we will enjoy it

Use a card in an ATM at the airport to withdraw cash?

That's what we did.

Or the ATM in the hotel.

I'm not aware of the arrangements at The Kerry, but an ATM is more likely to be found in an airport than in a hotel. Of those ATMs I have seen in hotels, many imposed a charge for using the ATM as opposed one imposed by the bank/card issuer.

We always get cash from the first ATM we see (almost always at the airport) rather than wait until later and find we have a problem.

To anyone staying at the Westin in Beijing, the ATM is next to the concierge desk.

Sent from my KFTT using Tapatalk

Our trip is not till March 6,2016. We'll have to apply for visas in December 2015. Will we know our hotels and flights by then?

Our trip is not till March 6,2016. We'll have to apply for visas in December 2015. Will we know our hotels and flights by then?

If you do not know by then, contact your TA or Viking and ask for the information needed.

Hello, all. Thank you for the useful information. I have read back several pages now and am subscribed to the thread for future posts. I'm booked on the Nov 1 Beijing to Shanghai, plus Guilin and Hong Kong, Cultural Delights. I have to assume that this thread incorporates all the Viking China cruises since there are so few individual threads. And although I'm getting a tremendous amount of knowledge about the trip, I'd also like to meet any fellow passengers. If any are out there, let me know at dlopez at utk dot edu.

I'm really looking forward to my first visit to China and feel that this is an excellent way to see it. Keep the posts and information coming.

Diana

Yes, this is all Viking China cruises. If you go back to November, 2014, posts I think there are some reports of weather and conditions which might be of help to you. We were there in March this year and that is comparable. Not as hot as summer but not as cold as we expected either. We enjoyed the extension and thought the time was well spent. Enjoy the planning!

Sent from my KFTT using Tapatalk

Hello, all. Thank you for the useful information. I have read back several pages now and am subscribed to the thread for future posts. I'm booked on the Nov 1 Beijing to Shanghai, plus Guilin and Hong Kong, Cultural Delights. I have to assume that this thread incorporates all the Viking China cruises since there are so few individual threads. And although I'm getting a tremendous amount of knowledge about the trip, I'd also like to meet any fellow passengers. If any are out there, let me know at dlopez at utk dot edu.

I'm really looking forward to my first visit to China and feel that this is an excellent way to see it. Keep the posts and information coming.

Diana

Diana, you will be on one of the last two sailings of the Cultural Delights itinerary as Viking, much to my dismay, has discontinued it for 2016 and beyond. It is the best vacation we ever took.

IMHO, you should go back in this thread to the beginning of 2015 and read forward; that is the most current information. Viking is always tweaking things and even some information from 2014 may be out of date. Besides which, topics are repeated quite regularly so you aren't going to miss any real pearls of wisdom if you don't read from page one.

As you read, check signatures (like mine) for links to blogs and photos. There is always fun stuff to be found there.

...

While it is true that Cultural Delights will not be offered in 2016, there is a new offering called Undiscoved China that includes a visit to the Panda Research Base at Chengdu.

Sent from my KFTT using Tapatalk

The place to see pandas.

While it is true that Cultural Delights will not be offered in 2016, there is a new offering called Undiscoved China that includes a visit to the Panda Research Base at Chengdu.

 

Sent from my KFTT using Tapatalk

I see it is a longer tour based on the 5 day river cruise rather than the 10 day cruise that Cultural Delights was based on. Viking experimented with it a couple of years ago; there may have been one or two people who posted that they were on it but I don't think there was ever much feed-back on it here. I'm still disappointed that they are giving up the 10 day cruise but I understand the economics of the decision.

Wow - the panda research center - now I would have really enjoyed that! Will hopefully post link to panda video from the Beijing Zoo later today. We are still not always sleeping through the night, but other than that, have had no jet lag.

Wow - the panda research center - now I would have really enjoyed that! Will hopefully post link to panda video from the Beijing Zoo later today. We are still not always sleeping through the night, but other than that, have had no jet lag.

Just wait until you get home! It took me almost two weeks to get back on track.

Hi Peregrina - we are back as of a week and a half ago. It was wonderful and posted some specifics about what we did on our own as well in Beijing using the subway system. That is how we got to see the pandas at the Beijing Zoo. Actually, that day we had lunch at a restaurant that was only a few blocks from the zoo so rather than continue back to the hotel on the bus, we walked to the zoo, then took the subway to Lama Temple, lit some incense that was provided to us, then subway back to the Kerry Hotel.

Hi Peregrina - we are back as of a week and a half ago. It was wonderful and posted some specifics about what we did on our own as well in Beijing using the subway system. That is how we got to see the pandas at the Beijing Zoo. Actually, that day we had lunch at a restaurant that was only a few blocks from the zoo so rather than continue back to the hotel on the bus, we walked to the zoo, then took the subway to Lama Temple, lit some incense that was provided to us, then subway back to the Kerry Hotel.

CowgirlCook - did you know you were going to be so close to the zoo before you went for lunch? Or was the decision to go more of a "spur of the moment" thing?

How difficult was it to navigate the subway system?

We go in October, and am just starting to put some things in place.

Fran

How difficult was it to navigate the subway system?

Very easy.

Signs everywhere and announcements on the trains are in English.

If you are familiar with any other subway system elsewhere you will be right at home.

The ticket machines have an English option as well.

We also found that a lot of the local people are keen to practice their English so if you hesitate at any point someone always seems to want to help even if you really don't need it :)