China Day 9 - Jingmen to Zhangjiajie by Train | Halal Food in Zhangjiajie

Assalamualaikum. Ni Hao!

Previous post here.

20 Jan 2016
Zhangjiajie, Hunan China

Our train from Jingmen (departure time: 732am) departed on time. Kali ni memang sengaja pilih hard seat (yang memang locals selalu opted) sebab perjalanan ndak jauh. Jea & I agreed to only buy hard seat ticket for journey less than 5 hours. Itulah cara paling berjimat & efficient for us. Alhamdulillah, memang berkesan. Banyak dapat jimat.

View along the journey was awesome but I was too lazy to take out the camera. Getting an aisle seat does have its own disadvantage (sometimes). Ni memang bukan aku pilih seat, auto assigned. Jadinya, tabah. 'Pinjam' tingkap orang seberang untuk menikmati view. And sambil cuci mata tengok jiran seberang seat juga. Ehem. 

But the funny part would be the locals expression the moment we entered the train. Semua macam berkelip non stop; terpesona tengok dua ketul alien jelita naik carriage marhaien. Gitu assumption si Err. 

Hard Seat (2 pax) : CNY 163.00 (RM 48.50 per pax)

Destination : Jingmen - Zhangjiajie 

Duration : 4 hours 15 minutes

Bought from Ctrip

# Sempat snapped view yang ni jak. Boleh lah dari tiada 

# Seat adalah 3+2 (we got the 3 seats). Ahjussi bertiga ni duduk depan kami *tu yang cuci mata tengok jiran sebelah*

Dalam sejam journey, datanglah train attendant tolak cart. Jual food & drink macam dalam AirAisa tu. Both of us still ada bekalan bun so we didn't buy anything. Kenyang cuci mata jak si Err sebenarnya. And masa ni juga merasa pengalaman inspected by police officers; on the train. Sebiji macam dalam C-drama oii. Kalau ndak silap ada 3 CIDs, masuk each carriages & randomly checking on passengers & their luggage. Sampai row kami, diorang passed by jak. Sebabnya malas mau complicated-kan keadaan yang bakalan berayam-itik aku rasa. Yalah kami jak pun aliens dalam gerabak masa tu. Punah harapan tau. Walhal both of us sudah ready mau tunjuk our ID.

# How our carriage looks like from outside. 

# Train platform at Zhangjiajie Railway Station

# Foggy morning 

# Fog welcome our arrival

# First thing first; cari hotel. 17 hours train ride haruslah masing-masing lemau mau mengangkut anak gajah

# Mall / shoplots along the way to our hotel

At first memang a bit surprised upon seeing the town. Ingatkan pekan koboi kecil jak kan. Sekali tengok. Eh complete ada mall, apartment tinggi melangit, double lane road. Terus ketuk diri sendiri, tulah akibat ndak buat research awal. Masuk second leg of the trip, memang kerja si Jea arranged semua. From purchasing train ticket, to hotel booking, to places of interest, directions etc.

# Passed by this restaurant before reaching our hotel. Terus perut berkonsert

Memang mencabar iman betul tiap kali lalu depan restaurant. Harus perut bergendang buat konsert. Lagi gila bila perut lapar, and hotel pula hilang dari radar. Turned out, Jea hasn't figure out the exact direction to the hotel. She only jot down the information given by the hotel in their page in booking.com. We're already in the right neighborhood just that we didn't know which building. Pula tu semua bangunan tinggi-tinggi, signboard pun haruslah dalam Pinyin. And kami tiada internet to contact the hotel. To make thing worst, Jea saved the address in English but the hotel name in Pinyin. Masalahnya, both of us read NO Pinyin. Huwaaaa

Masa ni memang sikit jadi naga. Sebab ngantuk, penat, bag berat....and lapar. Elehe, haritu hotel di Beijing pun kau salah jalan Bie oii. Walhal masa tu direction lengkap tapi kau yang ndak fokus. Ngek. So aku pun suruh diri bertendangtenang. Benda ndak settle kalau jadi naga, and hotel ndak akan suddenly appear before you. Aku pun jalankan tugas as assistant. Travel berdua kan, walau sudah agih tugas since beginning...kau kena main peranan juga bila benda begini jadi. Sebab kalau kau tetap harap yang sorang jak mencari, dengan kau-kau sekali lah berpusing in circle. Silap-silap sampai malam pun ndak jumpa hotel. Pfftt.

We stopped by at few hotels, tried to ask the location to our hotel. Ada yang awal lagi geleng laju, some did try to help but because the address was in English therefore they cannot help much although ada nama hotel. Too many hotels jadinya diorang memang lah tiada kerja menghafal nama each hotels. Sikit lagi mau give up masa tu, mau cancel & walk in any hotel. Tapi sebab sudah bayar depo, by hook or crook kena jugalah cari. Maka bermula lah sesi membanding ejaan nama hotel yang kami ada with the hotels name on the signboard. Gigih ok periksa each signboard. First time in life, aku try baca Chinese characters. And alhamdulillah, Allah bantu musafir dua ketul ni. After nearly an hour searching...we finally found our hotel. 

Characteristic Topic Inn (Theme Topic Inn)

Room Type : Standard Twin Room 

Date : 20 January - 22 January 2016 (2 nights)

Price : RM 187.00 (2 pax)

Booked via booking.com

Nearest station : Zhangjiajie Railway Station

# If only ada nama hotel in English, senang jugalah kerja. But yeah, thing happened for a reason

# Lobby area

# Counter / reception area

# Common area

Berkat sesat barat tu, perhaps bagi more time to the housekeeper to clean our room. And although we arrived earlier than the check-in time, we're allowed to go to our room straight away. Alhamdulillah. Boleh lah regangkan segala urat yang tegang. Masa ni pun mood masing-masing sudah kembali normal. Adat bermusafir. Level sabar / darah naik turun.

# Sebabkan hotel ni kan ala-ala bertema katanye, we're given the English Theme room. Puas hati sebab katil besar wei, instead of twin room (single bed)...it's a twin room (queen bed). 

# As per Jea, ni jaklah kot yang ada ciri English. Apart from the pictures hang on the wall above our headbed. 

# Clean & spacious bathroom. Kali ni tiada glass window or frosted glass macam di Harbin & Xi'an

Pastu sajalah gatal tanya one of the staff if we can have a look at other room. Kunun mau bilik selain English Theme tu. Dasar kan sempat lagi perangai gitu muncul. The only room available is the Hello Kitty room. Ok, masa ni aku sudah berbunga sebab bilik pink. But when he told us why he didn't give us the room; we immediately agreed to just stick to our current room. I forgot what the reason was but it was enough to make us changed our mind. It has something to do with the bathroom if I'm not mistaken. Was it outside or was it clogged. Yang penting, laju dua ketul tu ndak jadi tukar bilik. Padan muka, jadi cerewet lagi.

# The Hello Kitty Theme room. Comelnya lahai dinding pink, curtains pink. Bukan rezeki

Lepak sejam dua, settledkan apa yang wajib i.e solat, makan, mandi; barulah kami keluar lagi. Kali ni misi beli train tiket to Fenghuang. Kami cuma stay 3 hari di Zhangjiajie. On the way tu memang disajikan dengan view orang berjualan makanan tepi jalan. Cuci mata jaklah tengok. Sambil telan liur. Memang sudah set dalam kepala, no halal food di Zhangjiajie.

# Oh makanan! Kenapa perlu non-halal? Gitu soalan aku sama Jea masa ni

On the way to the railway station, sudah ditentukan rezeki kami...we saw this small shop with Halal sign. Green signboard memang landmark kedai tu owned by Muslim. Allah jaklah tau macamana melompat keriangan kami petang tu. Automatik rasa lapar semula. 

Pagi tadi dari train station kami memang guna laluan sama untuk pi hotel. Macamana boleh missed kedai tu? Ish, memang mainan perasaan betul. Tapi apa pun, Allah sudah bagi nampak. And memang rezeki kami dapat makan di sana. 

# Entrance Zhangjiajie Railway Station. Belah kanan tu area yang kami keluar pagi tadi (arrival hall)

# Lepas discuss train fare & type of seat bagai, Jea jalankan tugas beli tiket

Sudah dapat tiket, ke mana kita? Oh yeah. Mestilah destinasi terpenting; kedai halal. Walau kecil jak kedai ni, besar sumbangan sama musafir macam kami. Tiba-tiba emosi kan. 

# Memang patut ndak perasan pun, sebab al-kecil. Tersepit di tengah gitu

# Macam biasa, mau order kalu...tunjuk jak menu di dinding. Or if berkenan menu orang yang tengah makan tu...tunjuk bowl orang tu

# Muka orang happy tunggu order (belum tengok happy yang behind the camera tu macamana kan). We decided to have it tapau-ed (take away).

# Dinner. Seriously sedap gila as the noodles were freshly made upon order

Syukur. Dalam risau kebuluran, rupanya wujud kedai halal di Zhangjiajie. Kenyang melantun dinner malam tu. Terus pandang sepi maggi & segala buns. Tapi sempat jak aku supper dengan bun malam tu. Forever perut tong drum.

Before tidur, aku sempatlah membebel bilik tu extra sejuk. Pastu siap boleh dengar orang lalu lalang berborak di jalan. Katil aku tepi tingkap, clear sangat lah segala bunyi nan bising tu. I can deal with the noise but not the cold. Pastu aku pun selak langsir, rupanya si Err bijak bestari lupa tutup tingkap. No wonder lah sejuk semacam. Pasrah jak Jea dapat travel partner extra bijak macam si Err.

Both of us tidur awal that night. Penat masih bersisa gitu. Kena simpan tenaga sebab the next day mau hiking katanye. Begitu penyakit mau hiking bagai masa winter. 

So where to us the next day? Next entry.

Till then, wassalam.

eryantierdabdulkarim

China Day 6 - Beijing Xi (West) Railway Station to Xi'an Railway Station

Assalamualaikum. Ni Hao!

Previous post here.

17 Jan 2016
Beijing Xi (West) Railway Station

Tonight we will be taking the overnight sleeper train to Xi'an. Kali ni dapat beli soft sleeper (the 2nd most expensive of all 4 types of seat). Hard sleeper sudah, soft seat sudah, this time soft sleeper pula kan.  Hard seat jak yang belum kami try ni. Differences memang obvious. Nanti last entry China ni, insha Allah aku buat comparison. Gitu berjanji kan (harap ndak lupa, amin).

Soft Sleeper (2 pax) : CNY 892 (RM 262.00 per pax)

Destination : Beijing to Xi'an

Duration : 12 hours

Bought via Ctrip

Please take note, subway passengers need to exit the subway station to get to the railway station. From -1F of subway station, follow sign to Beijing Xi Station & get there by stairs or escalators. 

#1 Outside Beijing Xi (West) Railway Station. 

#2 View of the main entrance. Refer your waiting hall / platform from that big digital screen

#3 Food is available on board but they can be rather expensive so it's advisable to buy food from the station prior boarding the train.

#4 So many stalls selling snacks & fruits. 

Panic no more as this was our third time taking the long distance train in China. Bila gate buka lambat pun, kami duduk relaks. Layan handphone & layan perut.

#5 Time to board the train

Excited lah dua ketul wanita jelita masuk carriage. For the first time, we'll be in the same carriage & same room. Berkat fare mahal, maybe? 

#6 Corridor

Unlike the hard sleeper carriage we rode from Beijing to Harbin, there's no table provided at the corridor. Only one chair outside each room. Concept melepak tidak digalakkan di situ.

#5 Motif lah pun posing senget 

#6 Rather privacy room that occupies 4 berths. Soft sleeper carriage has door at each room 

All four ladies in a room. The other 2 are from Hong Kong. Aku tiada buat sesi beramah mesra sangat as all of us were pretty exhausted. Memang ndak sabar mau melabuh tirai. 

Anyway, just to share some info about this soft sleeper room. Each berth provided with blanket, bedsheet, slippers & a hanger. Only two charging socket is available for each room (both below the window; easily reach from the lower berths). We can control our own light, and also the room temperature. Found out about the room temp controller rather late. Sikit pengsan dalam peluh & rimas panas tengah malam tu.

#7 I put my backpacks under the bed because my legs fit just nice on the bed, no extra space at the end

After settling in the room (and enjoying my compulsory supper time), I went to the end area of our carriage. Bersihkan diri sambil ambil gambar sekali. Buat laporan dalam blog katanye kan walau tertangguh bertahun lama. Tettttt

#8 I got the lower berth this time. Senang lah buat lawatan tandas di tengah malam

#9 Sinks area

#10 Western style toilet & sink room

#11 Love! Free unlimited supply of boiled water on board. Boleh buat hot drink or masak ramyeon berulang kali sampai pengsan

Malam tu tidur super lena. Terjaga sekali sebab bilik panas gila rasa mau pengsan dalam peluh sendiri. Nasib baik nampak controller near the door else memang aku buka pintu bilik malam tu. And lagi sekali terjaga untuk kunjungan toilet.

Other than that, memang tidur al-mati. Si Jea lagilah. Dari naik katil sampai lah dekat sampai Xi'an, memang ndak bergerak langsung. Amboi kau kan, penat sangat mendaki Great Wall. 

Alhamdulillah, we reached Xi'an around 8am. Tiada kejadian pelik throughout our night journey. No death eaters, no Voldermort, no whatsoever. Eh? Kentara tengah layan Harry Potter sekarang kan Bie #kernadunyaperlutahu

#12 Tu dia menonong jalan ke depan. Ndak sabar check in bilik lah tu

# Xi'an, zao an!

Sampai Xi'an ni terus rasa familiar sangat macam sudah sampai few times gitu. Sebab ni antara tempat yang aku study gila-gila prior coming. Apa tidak, masa tu few friends baru balik, so mendapatlah info yang berguni-guni. 

Tiada masalah untuk setting bearing bagai. We walkertapaki to the hotel which is just a walking distance from the train station. 

The rest I will continue in next entry.

Till then, wassalam.

eryantierdabdulkarim

China Day 6 - From Beijing to Mutianyu Great Wall of China

Assalamualaikum. Ni Hao!

Previous post here.

17 Jan 2016

Beijing, China

This time we've got our bearing set right the moment we arrived Beijing. Went out the train, and headed straight to the subway station. Considering we'll be taking the train from Beijing Xi (West) Station, we went there first to put our backpacks in the locker. No more confusing between Beijing Railway Station & Beijing Xi (West) Station this time around. Fuh!

#1 Our train from Harbin arrived at Beijing Railway Station

Settled with the locker things, we then took the subway to Dongzhimen Station. Today we're going to see with our own eyes the Great Wall of China (Mutianyu). Why Mutianyu you asked? Well, we learned from too many sources because Badaling Great Wall is the easiest to reach & always the favourite option for travel companies, it could get crowded even in low peak season. We dislike crowded places, hence Mutianyu it is. 

Basically this is our route to Mutianyu Great Wall, take note that this trip was in 2016. I got almost all the important information of how-to from my friend; Syieda (her blog). She went there Dec 2015, so the information was still valid back then as our trip was in Jan 2016 (only a month gap). 

Yet I'm happy to share that this DIRECTION IS STILL VALID because she went back to Mutianyu in 2018 via the same route (entry). 

1. Dongzhimen Station (subway) ---> Dongzhimen Public Transport Hub = Walkertapaki

2. Dongzhimen Public Transport Hub ---> Huairou North Avenue (Huairou Beidajie) Station = Bus No. 916 (Express)

3. Huairou North Avenue ---> Mutianyu Great Wall = Taxi 

For No. 3, another option is to take the bus number H23 / H24 / H35 / H36 to Mutianyu Roundabout. But taking this option will need us to walk nearly 3 kilometers to reach the ticket office. So yeah, a big NO NO for us.

#2 From Dongzhimen Station (subway), just take the escalator up. Follow the Bus Transfer Hall / Airport Express signage to exit the subway station

Once outside the station, you will see the KFC (picture below). Follow the yellow arrow.

#3 That route will lead you to Dongzhimen Bus Terminal (Public Transport Hub)

Continue following the arrow (picture below), keeping McD on your left. 

#4 The yellow arrow will lead to the buses / coaches parking bays

Syieda told me from the underground subway, there's a long escalator that will lead straight to this McD (inside the transport hub) but we didn't see that escalator. Hence explains why we entered this transport hub from its main entrance (picture #3 KFC as landmark).

#5 Just follow the signboard for Bus No. 916 

Journey will take approximately 2-2.5 hours (few stops in between). The 916 (Express) has less stops than the 916 East (Local). We rode the 916 Express as it was already at the parking bay when we arrived. 

#6 Apparently Beijing city snowed the night we're on the train from Harbin

#7 Always a fan of snow

I didn't sleep on the way to Huairou because I was too afraid we might missed the stop. Little did we know that this is the main bus stop (also the last stop) so everyone has to hop off the bus here. 

Please take note that on the way to Huairou Station, there is this one stop where all the taxi / minivan drivers will tell you to get off the bus. They will be saying something like "Mutianyu Great Wall, here". Even the bus driver will stop longer at this stop. DO NOT get off the bus. Mutianyu is farther down (it is much nearer to Huairou Station) & taking the taxi / minivan from there will cost you more. 

Get off the bus when all passengers do or better; when the driver told you to. Because it was the last station. 

#8 Huairou North Avenue (Huairou Beidajie Station) taken from the main road

From the bus station, there were already many drivers awaiting ready to take you to Mutianyu gate. So here is where the negotiation will take place. Sesi jual mahal I called it. Show the fare you want to the driver(s), do not ask them how much they offer. Or you can ask first, and still show them the fare you're willing to pay.

Taxi (private car actually) will cost around CNY 20-40 per pax while minivan normally will charge you CNY 30-60. That's what I read online. We tried our luck when a taxi driver approached us. Initially he offered us CNY 40 (us both), but I said we will go with him if its CNY 30. Immediately, sold! He can't be picky though as it's low season & the fact that only 4 people get off from the bus terminal; it was either him or other driver. 

#9 I saw a halal eatery opposite the bus terminal (right side of this picture)

#10 Our ride to Mutianyu Great Wall; took around 20 minutes to reach the ticket gate

#11 Buy the ticket entrance here; also shuttle bus & cable car / chairlift / toboggan tickets

We're lucky indeed as the taxi driver is so kind. He parked his car very near to the gate & brought us to the counter. Showed us how to purchase ticket. 

I was so excited to ride the toboggan; but alas it wasn't my rizq as yet. Toboggan close in winter due to safety reason (no information on this online). Track can be slippery & dangerous. 

Ticket Information (per pax) :

1. Entrance Fee : CNY 40

2. Shuttle Bus : CNY 15

3. Chairlift + Toboggan OR Cable Car (Return) : CNY 120

Total we paid : CNY 175 (RM 102.00)

Well you can omit the 2 & 3 if you opted to hike. For No.3, you can either choose to ride chairlift + toboggan OR cable car. You cannot choose chairlift & cable car (as per the lady counter) at once as both rides operated by different company. 

Confuse sikit bab ni sebab ada jual one way ticket for those rides. Maybe orang tu malas print banyak tiket or memang itu rules sedia ada? If yang ambil one way, habis macamana orang tu naik or turun? By foot? Ok stop pening.

#12 Sempatlah ambil gambar tickets

From ticket counter, we walked to the shuttle bus parking. Passing by all those souvenir shops & restaurants / coffee shops. We planned to stop by after descending from the Great Wall. Macamlah berat sangat seketul fridge magnet tu kan.

#13 Memang kena lalu jalan ni untuk naik shuttle bus

#14 So what's your choice? Cuppucci or Carmel Mcchiato?

During low peak season, first shuttle bus will depart at 8am while last bus will depart at 6pm. Low season is from 16 Nov to 15 Mac. Bus frequency is every 20 minutes.

#15 Belum naik pun muka aku sudah hangus terbakar. Ni lah hadiah Harbin untuk aku. Wind+sunburn!

My advice, please 'showered' your body (face especially) with loads of sunscreen. You'll thank me for that later, trust me. *smirk*

#16 Way to the cable car station. Need to walk a little bit more from where the shuttle bus dropped you

Those taking the chairlift don't have to walk further as the shuttle bus will dropped you right in front of the station. Well, kena naik few steps up jaklah.

#17 Where you should take the chairlift ride

#18 Acah-acah no-gayat ladies

Lama juga naik chairlift ni, sempat aku & Jea imagined macam-macam benda. Endless what-ifs. Adoilah perangai meminta kan.

#19 No snowfall only remnants from the night before. Oklah, no need to be disappointed & all. No snowfall means we're blessed with wonderful bright blue sky

#21 Penat selca, ambil sel-foot pula. Memang killing time sungguh

#22 Toboggan track; cuma mampu melihat. Manatau next visit merasa turun with this pula kan

Annnnnd....highlight of the day! Subhanallah! Great Wall before my very own eyes!!

#26 Kasi chance si Err posing

#37 Memory sake

Alhamdulillah we managed to hiked+walked until 4 watch towers, and walked back to where we came to take the chairlift down. 

It was such a marvelous experience. I cannot recite my grateful enough to You, Ya Rabb. Cliche as it may sound; all this while I only get to see this magnificent wonder of the world via movie, blogs etc...and eventually set my own feet upon it in 2016. Walau selalu ambil ringan perintah Dia, tetap ditunai impian aku yang seketul ni. Allahu akbar. 

Anyway, we took the same route to go back to the ticket counter. From there, we joined another 3 visitors & rented a minivan to the nearest bus stop where we later took the bus No 916 back to Dongzhimen Bus Terminal. At first I thought the minivan will drop us at Huairou Terminal, so siap-siap plan mau early dinner at the halal restaurant I saw earlier. Tapi ntah bus stop mana driver tu dropped kami, jadi cancel lah plan untuk mencekik. Ndak lama tunggu bus 916 muncul, melompat terus semua naik bas. Tiada terfikir pasal makan masa tu sebab takutlah kena conned by the driver kan. 

Alhamdulillah, we hopped on the right bus. Reached Beijing late in the evening (around 6pm). Cepat-cepat ambil subway pi Beijing Xi Station. Walhal our next train to Xi'an jam 9pm! Biar awal; at least ndak kelibut masing-masing di station. Once at Beijing Xi, barulah cari makanan. 'Menanak' ramyeon lagi, and as usual, aku memborong buns untuk bekalan dalam train nanti. 

Aktiviti cuma pi Great Wall kan tapi entry al-panjang gitu. Still excited I am albeit 4 years has it been. 

I will share more in the next entry.

Till then, wassalam.

eryantierdabdulkarim