Moroccan Favourites

We spent six days in Casa Blanca, Morocco and one day in Marrakech. The majority of our days were spent surfing and relaxing on the beach, especially as Casa Blanca doesn’t have a lot else. However, we did a lot of exploring too. Here’s our favourite sights and activities from Morocco:

CASA BLANCA

HASSAN II MOSQUE

This is Africa’s largest mosque, and the 7^th largest in the world. When locals recommended that we visit, we didn’t think much of it, because we’re atheist. But we went anyway and it left us speechless. The feeling you get when you’re there is so peaceful and quiet, and the sea surrounding it, really adds to the beauty and calm. We loved it so much, that we went twice. The first time was during the day, so there were less people, but I would recommend, if you can only go once, to go while the sun is setting. The Moroccan sunsets were amazing anyway, but watching the sun spread over the Mosque, was even better.

Tip: There is no dress code or payment required, and the locals are very happy for you to wonder around and take pictures.

PLAGE AIN DIAB

Casa Blanca’s beach is great for surfing. You can rent boards or book lessons from huts that are all along the coastline. We rented boards almost every day and had great fun playing in the crazy waves. If you love football or gymnastics, this is the perfect beach for you. Hundreds of locals were playing matches and doing cool tricks with the ball. They also seemed to love handsprings and practising all sorts of skills on the sand. Although the beach was busy, it was very entertaining and extremely fun. The locals were very kind and talkative too.

OLD MEDINA CLOCK TOWER

Old Medina is a part of Casa Blanca, with lots of restaurants, a big market and nice architecture, including the Old Clock Tower. It’s a good place to visit in the afternoon/evening. The markets were very busy, but the sellers didn’t haggle, which was a nice change, as most markets we’ve been to in other countries, have been very overwhelming. Many stools sold Argon Oil and other beauty items, such as creams. Plus, they sold clothes and jewellery.

Clock Tower

MARRAKECH

TRAIN THROUGH SAHARA DESERT

From Casa Blanca, it took three hours on the train to Marrakech. It only cost us £30 for a return and it added to our experience of Morocco, as for a lot of the journey we were going through part of the Sahara Desert, which was insane.

Sahara Desert

CAMEL RIDE & TRADITIONAL TEA

On arriving in Marrakech, we knew the first thing we had to do was ride a camel! Unfortunately, we have no idea with what company we went with, as we trusted our taxi driver, to take us to anywhere with camels.

We had a great time though. They dressed us up in traditional outfits and we rode through a deserted area for an hour. We rode a camel each, and it was very sweet as a baby camel followed us the whole way, too. Our tour ended by going to a local’s home, where we tried traditional tea and ate some flatbread, which was delicious. However, looking back we wouldn’t do it again, as the camels didn’t seem happy and we felt very guilty afterwards.

MEDINA OF MARRAKECH

Of course, Marrakech is famous for its markets and it was clear why. So many interesting things were being crafted along the streets and they sold so much beautiful tapestry, jewellery, clothes and ornaments. The colours and decorations around the lanes were gorgeous too. It wasn’t very busy either, which meant we could take our time and enjoy seeing all what the locals were making.

A lovely man, making chess pieces with his toes!

JAMA EL F’NA MARKET – SNAKE CHARMERS

This is a big square in the centre of the city, where there are lots of traditional restaurants. But the reason we visited was to see the snake charmers! It was very surreal and very crowded. If you’re scared of snakes, do not come here, because the men will sit them on your shoulders without asking or put them super close to your face. Otherwise, you should go, as it’s a unique experience.

TIP: They will demand that you pay them, for even walking close to their stool to look at the snake, so just be careful when you’re in this area.

Lunch just away from the square.

EL BADDI PALACE

A ruined palace from 1578. It is very cheap to enter and it’s interesting to roam around. There’s some caves you can enter and some little museums too, although the majority of it, is just a large area of rocks. Perhaps save this, if you still have time at the end of your day, but otherwise it isn’t the most amazing place to visit.

Thank you for reading x

INSTAGRAM: @rhyias_rucksack & @_the_modern_tarzan_

 

HOW TO SAVE MONEY FOR TRAVEL

Students and young adults always ask Ben and I, how we can afford to travel so frequently. So, to answer your questions, we’ve put together a list of all the things you can do to help yourself save money.

PACK LUNCH & EATING OUT

This might be one of the best saving strategies for us. Ever since I can remember I have taken pack lunch with me, whether that be to school, work or if I know I’m going to be out all day, I will always take pack lunch!

When Ben and I met, he started doing the same thing for work. He used to spend around £3.00 a day on buying lunch, which seems minimal. But after taking pack lunch everyday instead, he saved £60 a month! That’s £720 a year, equivalent to a return flight for China!

We don’t eat out at restaurants very often either, mainly because we would prefer to do something more exciting, but also because eating out is expensive! Even if you go to cheaper restaurants, like Toby Carvery, Weatherspoons or Bella Italia, it’s still overpriced. If you fancy an Italian you could buy a pizza, that’s just as nice from Morrison’s for £2.00, rather than £8.00.

Or if we did want to eat out, for a special occasion, we look on Groupon or use Tesco club card points.

Cooking meals from scratch also helps, buying ready-made meals or things such as pre-grated cheese is always more expensive.

Since being at university, Ben and I have discovered reduced items. Whenever we need a food shop, we go in the evening, as this is when supermarkets will reduce all sorts of foods and drinks down to pennies.

CLUBBING

Another popular money spender for students is going out clubbing. Ben and I are lucky that we don’t enjoy clubbing very much anyway, but for others I know this could be a hard thing to give up.

Entrance fees to nightclubs are normally around £5.00, plus you’re probably buying drinks constantly and you may have bought a new outfit for it, which all adds up. Have a house party instead! No entrance fee and you can buy alcohol for a much cheaper price.

CLOTHES SHOPPING

I always shop in the sales or wait for birthdays and Christmas’ to get clothes. Getting loyalty cards for shops is also useful as you can get discounts. Ben likes to buy from Charity shops, which seems to be a growing trend now-a-days and I think he looks pretty cool.

If you can stay away from big brands like Gym Shark, Champion and whatever else is on trend, it will save you a lot of money. You can buy the same quality clothes from cheaper stores, just without the expensive brand on them. Or if you can’t stay away from the big brands, buy them second hand on eBay or depop.

Speaking of which, why not sell your old or unwanted clothes, and other items, on these selling sites? It’s free and easy to do.

SIDELINE INCOME

If you’ve got a particular skill or hobby why not use it to earn money, alongside your job or student loan?

Ben and I used to make tie dye for fun, but now we’ve turned it into our own mini business (@donkey_dyes). I also write these blogs, which provide a small income.

If you love a particular class you go to at the gym, for example yoga, you could take a training course on this, and then teach it to others part time. That way you’re getting paid to do the class you love, rather than paying someone else to teach it to you.

donkey_dyes

FREE DATES

Whether you’re going on a date or hanging out with your friends, chose free activities! Take your own kayak to the river, cycle in a forest, take a picnic, play board games, go to the beach, surf, skateboard or explore a new city! These are all things Ben and I love doing for free, but I’m sure you can come up with ones more suited to you.

Of course, some things do cost money, but, as I said earlier, you can use Groupon or loyalty points to get discounts.

SUBSCRIPTIONS & BILLS

If you pay for your own phone bills, take a look at what you’re actually paying for. Do you really need that much data or storage? You can also compare different company’s prices, to see which are cheaper.

You can also look at what money is coming out of your bank each month from subscriptions, to see if they are really necessary. For example, you may be paying for amazon prime, but only use it a couple times a month, is it really worth it?

There’s also ways to make your subscriptions cheaper. I used to pay for Spotify on a student discount price, but now I use the family option and split the price with my family or friends. These little things really help to save money.

SAVINGS ACCOUNT

The most obvious of them all, is a savings account. Compare different banks to see which ones offer the best rates and advantages. Then set up automatic payments from your current account into your savings, do however much you think you can afford per month, but make sure you don’t take money from this account! Forget that you have a savings account, until a year later when you would have built up enough money to go on your dream holiday!

If you have any more money saving tips, let me know in the comments below.

@rhyias_rucksack

Ultimate Guide to Krakow, Poland.

DAY 1

Rynek Glowny – Main Square

This is the heart of Krakow, a beautiful square with a lot of history. In the centre is Sukiennice (Cloth Hall), which is considered to be the world’s oldest shopping mall, it has food and flower stands, little shops and terrace cafes. Surrounding the Cloth Hall are many monuments such as, the statue of Adam Mickiewicz (national poet in Poland) and ‘The Head’ or Eros Bendato. There is also a lot of impressive churches and architecture in this area.

Alcatraz Krakow – Restaurant

Along one of the side streets from the main square (Grodzka) is this Alcatraz themed restaurant, where you can enjoy a warm drink while sitting in a prison cell based on the real inmates of Alcatraz prison. The American style food is well priced and very tasty, plus the décor makes for great photos and the restaurant’s vibe is very fun!

Wawel Royal Castle

Wawel Castle can be seen from most parts of Krakow, it consists of a number of structures from different periods, situated around the Italian-styled main courtyard. You can enter from most sides of the castle and its accessible for wheelchairs. Entrance is free and you can get some lovely views of the city. Visiting the castle was one of my highlights from the trip, as it’s so stunning.

River Wisla

If you entered Wawel castle from the main square side, I would recommend exiting on the opposite end, as this is a great opportunity to walk along River Wisla and take in the gorgeous scenery. You can see the relatively new twelve storey Ferris Wheel from there too.

NOTE: We visited all of these sites by foot, which was a lot of walking, however you can take trams which are super cheap and run all the time.

Wawel Castle from across the river.

DAY 2

Kosciuszkos Mound – Viewpoint

Just outside of the main city is an artificial mound, modelled after Krakow’s prehistoric mounds of Krak and Wanda. It’s a great viewpoint for seeing the whole of Krakow and it only costs around £3 per adult, which includes entrance to the museum and of course walking to the top of the mound. The museum is very small and obviously low budget as the lights kept flickering on and off, and the statues of people were very bizarre, however going into the trench was interesting and as its included in the price, you may as well give it a visit.

This was surprisingly my favourite part of the trip as we had a lot of fun following the different spiralling paths to reach the top and taking photos once we got up. Luckily, we were the only ones on the mound, so I believe this isn’t a tourist hotspot, but I would really recommend visiting, especially if you’re going to do a whole day of city sightseeing the day before, it was nice to find some country side.

Ghettos Heroes Square – Memorial

33 memorial chairs of iron and bronze to symbolise the tragedy of the Polish Jews. You can find it at Plac Bohaterow Getta, 30-547 and its free to visit.

Piwnica Pod Baranami – Bar

This bar is located in the main square, just behind Starbucks. I recommend it as it’s underground, so you can dine while sitting in a cave. They also have chess on the tables to amuse you for a while. The atmosphere here is very chilled and their hot chocolates are amazing!

 

Kuchnia Domowa – Traditional Polish Restaurant

This traditional Polish restaurant was so delicious that we went twice! I ate tomato soup with pasta inside and cheese and potato dumplings (Russian dumplings.) The restaurant staff spoke great English and were super friendly. Plus, as we found with everywhere in Poland, it was very cheap. If you want to try Polish food, this place is a must! You can find it at Karmelicka 3, 33-332. However, it’s hidden away a little, perhaps why the restaurant wasn’t busy on both nights we went.

DAY 3

Auschwitz and Birkenau

On our last day, we visited Auschwitz and Birkenau’s concentration camps. These are, now of course, very famous history sites. We booked an eight-hour day with the Tourist Information Centre in the main city, which cost £30 each. They picked us up and dropped us off at our hotel and the journey was around two hours each way.

We spent the majority of our time in Auschwitz with a tour guide and a head set which was interesting, but unfortunately, as it’s such a tourist hotspot, you couldn’t move around in the buildings freely and we spent a lot of time in lines, waiting to move onto the next section. However, our tour guide was very good information wise.

Entrance to Auschwitz.

We then spent an hour in Birkenau, seeing the ruins and train tracks that transported the prisoners to the camps. As this was all outside, there was not a mass of tourists and we had the same tour guide here too.

Ruins

Overall, my opinion of the tour is quite limited, as it’s not something you can enjoy or dislike. My only fault was that it felt very rushed and the bus driver and bus guide were quite rude, but our tour guide for Auschwitz and Birkenau was lovely and she answered all of our questions very well.

 

Fujian Roundhouse

Fujian is a small province in the East of China, famous for its tea, which you can get anywhere in the area. The town feels beautifully ancient, especially due to the famous, Roundhouses. Roundhouses are circular structures, that have their own little villages inside. On the ground floor are shops and gardens, while the other floors contain everyone’s rooms. To many of us, this is a very different way of living, which makes staying in Fujian, even more fascinating.

ROUNDHOUSE STAY

On our first night in Fujian we were lucky enough to stay in a Roundhouse, thanks to ‘The Dragon Trip.’ Despite the number of bugs, the hard beds, the creaky floors and my cold shower with around three tarantulas joining me, it was an unforgettable experience! We also got to taste Fujian’s grapefruit wine, which is expensive but tasty.

The Roundhouse we stayed in.

Exploring the town.

HAKKA MINORITY ROUNDHOUSES (UNESCO World Heritage Site)

Wonder around many more roundhouses, where you can be part of the traditional tea ceremony and tea tasting and you can buy unique souvenirs made by the locals. There is also an abandoned roundhouse that still has a working water well in the centre, which you can test out. Explore the tea plantations too and get a view of the whole town while you’re there!

Hakka minority roundhouses.

Souvenirs.

Abandoned roundhouse.

Tea plantations!

TULOU & CYCLING

As Fujian is a mountainous region, it’s great to cycle around. There’s lots of stunning rivers, wells and mills hidden along the way. We also found a little waterfall where we could swim! You can also visit the world’s biggest roundhouse, Tulou.

Exploring.

Tulou.

TAXIA VILLAGE
This is the prettiest place, with a river running through the entire village. Here, you should visit the Stone Dragon Pillar monument, which has a small temple nearby.

Tip: If you go to the top of the temple, you can look out and see the production of rice!

Stone Dragons.

Temple.

Rice!

 

 

 

 

 

Shang-hais and lows!

DAY 1

JINSHAN CITY SAND BEACH – (50RMB)

Two hours from the famous city of Shanghai is their fake beach, Jinshan. Although Shanghai is on the coast, they imported extra yellow sand and artificially coloured the sea to create their ‘ideal’ beach. Many tourists have negative reviews about their visit here, perhaps because it’s not your classic beautiful beach, however it’s a very unique experience- one, just for the Chinese beach culture and two because you can’t find such an artificial coast anywhere else!

It was incredible, as you look out onto the horizon, a long bridge ran all the way across the ocean with cars speeding by and the sand was so yellow that as we swam under the sea and opened our eyes, all we could see was bright yellow.

As well as this, there were extremely detailed sand sculptures, an aqua park and peddle boats to enjoy. In fact, Ben and I went cycling on the sea, which again, was an unusual experience.

Overall, you cannot miss visiting Jinshan, it’s totally worth the journey and the entrance fee!

(Sadly, Ben and I both damaged our phones on this day, so there’s minimal and low quality pictures!)

Spot the long stretch of road in the background!

DAY 2

PROPAGANDA POSTER ART CENTRE

This museum is located in the basement of an apartment building in Huashan Road, in the former French concession area. It consists of only two rooms, however with a rich collection of rare last-piece posters.

If you want to be in a room with millions of Mao heads and communist posters then this is the place for you! Joking aside, I found the museum educational and would certainly recommend it.

YU GARDEN

If you’ve been to the Cambridge Botanical Gardens, these gardens are pretty much the same but with dragon statues and hundreds of tourists blocking your view. It was nice but in hindsight I wouldn’t go all the way to Shanghai just to look at some plants.

Just outside the gardens!

NANJING ROAD

On a positive, near to the gardens is the world’s busiest shopping street. You can literally find anything here and there’s lots of quirky shops as well as unique food stands. We tried Chinese ice cream, which is nothing like the western version! It’s so cold that you can see thick steam around it and you’re not meant to keep it in your mouth long otherwise it can blister your tongue! It’s like a shell ball of waffle that has nothing inside and little flavour. It’s so bizarre but fun to try!

Fun round the shops!

Interesting shops.

ICE CREAM?!

VUE BAR (200RMB) AND THE BUND

To finish off a busy day, why not relax in a rooftop bar in a hot tub with a drink and the view of The Bund? Sounds perfect, right?

This bar is part of a very fancy hotel and so once you get to top you may feel a little uncomfortable in your backpacking gear, surrounded by lots of well-dressed business people, however the hotel is used to backpackers like us going in, so just own it!

Despite the fanciness, it only costs around £15pp to enter, plus you get one free drink on arrival. This was my favourite evening in Shanghai as the atmosphere was so calm and romantic.

Although we had already seen the bund from the rooftop, it was also nice to walk along. You should definitely visit at night time as its lit up and looks beautiful.

THE BUND!

Thank you for reading. I’d love it if you’d leave a comment and let me know what you think!

 

 

Berlin in Two Days

Day 1

Reichstag Building

As the current home of the German parliament, this is one of Berlin’s most famous landmarks. The building was damaged in a fire in 1933, which marked the end of the Weimar Republic, then, during the second world war, it became a ruin. Therefore, the Reichstag building you will visit is restored and changed, so that the inside is now a sort of museum. While the exterior is stripped of the majority of its statuary, the city has made an effort, to retain the traces of its more recent history such as the bullet ridden façade and the graffiti, left by the occupying Soviet soldiers.

Tip: If you want to go inside the building, you should book in advance, although when we got to the door a staff member told us that there isn’t much inside, so we just enjoyed the building from the outside!

Brandenburg Gate

Every photo you’ve ever seen of tourists in Berlin, probably has this gate in the background!

It was built on the site of a former city gate that marked the start of the road from Berlin to the town of Brandenburg an der Havel and its super close to the Reichstag building! It was often a site for major historical events and is, today, considered not only as a symbol of the history of Europe and Germany, but also of European unity and peace.

Checkpoint Charlie

Checkpoint Charlie was the point between East Berlin and West Berlin during the Cold War. Here you will see monuments of the crossing, but they are only replicas! Very near to this there is also a small museum, which has some of the Berlin wall inside, as well as information about Checkpoint Charlie and other historical events from the time. This is all free.

Checkpoint Charlie

 The Holocaust Memorial

This is a must do. The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe is an incredible piece of art by Peter Eisenman. It was opened in 2005 and covers 19,000 square meters, with 2711 concrete slabs of different heights, each representing those that were murdered in the Holocaust.

There is also an underground information centre, where you can either look around, either for free or you can pay 3 euros to listen to audio information. I would highly recommend the audio as it’s a very interesting and helpful talk.

Day 2

Markets

Ben and I love markets, so we spent most of our morning looking at many flea and hand-crafted ones. The best flea market we visited was in Mauerpark, they sold vintage clothes, antiques and used goods. Right next door there is a train station, where you can then board to the Bode museum, which is a very pretty area and has another flea market, however this one wasn’t as good as the first.

Another market which was my favourite was in Hackesche Hofe, it had handmade Christmas cards, unique hot drinks, jewellery, clothes, and great gift ideas!  Nearby there are also great Christmas shops and restaurants, as well as cool street art, parks, plazas and alleys. We ate lunch in Hackescher Markt, which served delicious Italian food as well as traditional German deserts and mulled wine!

Trying a traditional hot drink.

East Side Gallery

The East Side Gallery is the longest open-air gallery in the world, which has many new and old paintings and graffiti on it. The artwork is located on the Berlin wall and you can walk for miles looking at all the works. This is Berlins main attraction and I can certainly see why!

Scooters

The best way to get around the city is using the electric scooters, they are fun, fast and easy to use! You just download an app and then unlock a scooter which are located in random places wherever you go.

Tip: Make sure you park the scooter next to bike racks as I got a small fine for parking mine alone on a pavement!

Thank you Berlin!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ultimate Beijing Bucket List!

Beijing was the most jam-packed part of our trip, but this is where we spent the night on The Great Wall – so all the tiredness was totally worth it!

Olympic Park

After the worst sleep on the night train from Shaolin to Beijing, we went straight to the Olympic park. Honestly, this was quite disappointing, it just felt like we were in London’s Olympic park. However, we made it fun and I suppose it’s something to tick off the Beijing Bucket list! This is also free, so if you did want a quick visit there, do so!

The Great Wall of China

This was obviously the best part of our visit to China, and what made it even better was that we got to camp on an unrestored part, which is meant for locals only. There wasn’t a single tourist in the area and we were able to climb and explore wherever we liked. This was all thanks to ‘The Dragon Trip’.

The next day we woke up at 4:00am to catch the sunrise, but unfortunately it was too misty. However, we made the most of the early start by enjoying the view and making some breakfast to eat on the wall!

Setting up our tents for the night on the wall!

Ben backflipping on the Great Wall!

 

 

Acrobat Show

A popular show in Beijing is the performance of many crazy and extremely skilled acrobats! From unicycling on a tight rope to doing the splits while sliding under a coffee table- you will see everything weird and wonderful here!

Tiananmen Square

Tiananmen Square is in the centre of Beijing, named after the Tiananmen ‘Gate of Heavenly Peace’. The square contains the Monument of the People’s heroes, the Great Hall of the People, the National museum of China and the tomb of Mao Zedong. This is one of the largest city squares in the world and so, along with its great historical significance, it is a must see.

The Forbidden City

About a 20-minute walk away from Tiananmen Square is a palace complex – The forbidden city- which houses the palace museum and was the former Chinese imperial palace from the Ming dynasty to the end of the Qing dynasty. The Forbidden City served as the home of the emperors and it was the ceremonial and political centre of Chinese government for almost 500 years. It consists of 980 buildings and covers 180 acres. Therefore, it is quite a long tour, however I don’t feel it’s necessary to explore the whole area, as every section practically looks the same! Despite this, it’s a very interesting place that, once again, you can’t miss.

Nan Luo District

If you want to get some souvenirs, browse in unique shops or try some new foods then this street is for you! Its super busy, but serves for a great break from your classic ‘touristy trips’.

Temple of Heaven

Unfortunately, I didn’t get to visit here however it’s a beautiful piece of architecture, which houses annual ceremonies of prayer to Heaven, for good harvest and is a very popular attraction.

798 Art District

This area is like a Chinese Brighton- its bursting with colours, cool architecture and wacky artwork. You can wonder around for hours on the streets or in museums looking at all the art. I would recommend only visiting a few museums, as most of them will charge you a lot of money just to enter a small room of art, whereas you could just step outside and see lots for free! This is a very fun place and makes a nice change from the busy main city of Beijing!

 

 

 

 

 

Shaolin – Kung Fu City

Shaolin is the capital of Kung Fu- If you’ve ever seen ‘The Karate Kid’ then you can expect this city to feel just like you’re in the movie! Our visit here was very short, but I think it was just enough time to see and do everything.

 MASTER YAN SHUANG KUNGFU SCHOOL

The schools in Shaolin have their students practising kung Fu for eight hours a day, every day, with only one day rest per year. We visited one of the schools, where the students put on a show to present their skills to us; from backflips to weaponry techniques- we were stunned!

Afterwards, the students taught us a little Kung Fu, which was hard work but super fun, in return Ben taught them some parkour and the Kung Fu master even helped Ben to improve his backflips! It was an unreal.

THE SHAOLIN TEMPLE & DHARMA CAVE

Kung Fu legends such as Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan have trained or made films in this temple, therefore making it a must see! However, my favourite part of this trip was hiking to the Dharma Cave, a spiritual spot for Buddhist pilgrims. Here, you will be rewarded by beautiful views of both the shrines and temples in the area. It’s a tough hike but once you’re at the top its totally worth it!

You can also see the Pagoda Forest, although after seeing larger pagoda’s elsewhere, this was quite disappointing. On the other hand, you must check out the incredible kung Fu show, where once again you will be stunned by the talents of such young people.

Sitting in front of  the Shaolin Temple

 

Dharma statue

@rhyias_rucksack

 

 

 

 

 

Xi’an – A two day plan!

DAY 1

Temple of the Eight Immortals (11:00-13:00)

Located on Changle Fang Street in the eastern suburb of Xi’an; Temple of the Eight Immortals is the biggest Taoist temple in Xi’an. Taoism is the philosophy or religion that we should all live in harmony (the yin and yang), and you certainly get a harmonious feeling as you wonder through this beautiful and vibrant temple.

Spinach noodles! (13:00-14:00)

Spinach noodles are a traditional meal in this region and we found the best place to try them right in front of our hostel (Han Tang Inn)! Spinach noodles are quite self-explanatory, they’re noodles made of spinach! But don’t fear if you don’t like spinach, because these noodles taste more like spaghetti and were super delicious! It made a lovely change to eat something that wasn’t rice or plain noodles.

Ming Dynasty City Walls – Bike Ride (14:30-15:30)

The Xi’an city walls surround the centre of the city and is 14km (8.5miles) long. It was built in 1370 due to orders from the first emperor of the Ming dynasty. His aim was to unify the other states, while fortifying Xi’an. Royalty lived inside the wall, while peasants lived outside. There are four main gates to enter, which were all protected by weaponry and soldiers, however now the wall is open to public.

You can walk or rent bikes on the wall, which is what Ben and I did. We rented a tandem bike and had a lot of fun racing round the wall and exploring the awesome architecture. Cycling the wall usually takes around 2 hours, but us, being the energetic couple we are, sped through, so much so, that it only took us 55 minutes to cycle 14km! Of course, you can take as much time as you need and stop for photos and drinks along the way, but with our tandem bike I could sit on the back taking pics, while Ben did all the hard work!

 Bell-Drum Towers and Muslim Quarter (17:00-22:00)

The Drum Tower is located northwest of the Bell Tower of Xi’an, both of them are called the ‘sister buildings’. In ancient China, the drums were used to signal the running of time and on occasion were used to signal an emergency and the bell simply, marks the centre of the capital.

While you’re here you can eat, shop and eat and shop in the Muslim Quarter! This place is famous for having about ten mosques, including the Great Mosque, however we decided to skip this and just experience the hustle of one of the busiest markets in the world. They sell hundreds of souvenirs and fake goods, but make sure you don’t pay any more than 200rmb for anything! The food streets are also insanely busy but it’s great for trying out interestingly weird tastes!

DAY 2

Terracotta Army (full day)

This was one of my highlights from Xi’an, having learnt so much about this in history, it was a very surreal experience. I would highly recommend getting the headsets which teach you everything you need to know while you wonder around. You should also visit the gift shop at the start, as the farmer, who found the terracotta warriors buried in his land, was there selling his book, something that I certainly didn’t expect! There are many different sections of the museum; you can see how the workers dig and rebuild the warriors, you can learn what the various stances of the warriors represent and the most incredible part is seeing the thousands of warriors and horses lined up in front of you – definitely leave this bit till last!

@rhyias_rucksack

Chengdu – A review!

Giant Panda Breeding & Research Centre

If you love Panda’s then Chengdu is the place to be! This world-famous breeding centre conserves the lives of giant and red pandas through caring, protecting and breeding them in a humongous space of 247 acres. There are very few pandas in the world and that’s what makes this place so unique.