My Nexus Holiday - 5 A sour ending

Day 6
Herbal medicines... great. Everyone loves hearing about how they're on the cusp of death. And how they can cheat death if they just take a few of these overpriced musty roots for a few months.
I say avoid answering questions clearly – try on their cold reading skills. They probably have profiles of common, plausible but difficult to disprove ailments for certain age groups.

The attraction for today was some pavilion. The highlight of that leg was a Chinese old guy taking photo of Caucasian baby. The mother was not pleased and forced him to delete the photos.

Later there was a 2.5 hour shopping stop at silk road. Same deal as usual - find something to do. Maybe sit down at Maccas. Go change money at a bank.
Lastly there was the optional show at Happy Valley. My mother and I didn't go in. Instead we had a walk through Tesco. Tesco bags up your bag inside a larger cloth bag and tags it with some sort of technology. This method reduces the need for lockers.
Anyway, there was some crazy traffic outside.

Oh where shall I sit?

 












Fully dimmable sun.

Chaos in turning lanes. The third and sixth from left are lanes for left turning. Lanes four and five are for through traffic. Good planning... Not!

Day 7
The most appalling day of the week. We were on a coach for most of the day, getting to and from Chengde. Basically we visited a paddock. There was an unannounced cost of 50 yuan for the electric 'bus'. Some had flat tyres.

The 'guest' tour guide for today - some local woman - said it would take about 2 hours to walk and that those not interested in taking the bus should walk directly to the exit. Well, the hour spent in there only took us 2km. I think Chinese people don't like walking. Or something.
There was a temple at the top of a really steep road. Not much there either.
Stackage (this was actually on the main highway in the morning):

Appalling
Anyway, we were on the road since 1530 and encountered some traffic jams getting back to Beijing. We ended up disembarking the coach at 1945, but not for dinner. Instead we go for an 'absolutely free' foot massage. Of course there has to be some catch. People start coming out and try to peddle more herbal medicines. I get my laptop out and do a bit of programming on my MSP430 launchpad. One of the girls, dressed up in a lab coat, asked what I was doing. Strangely she was actually interested and didn't want to kick me out. Hmm.
Now another thought was why these highly regarded herbal doctors/professors would stay until 2100 to receive us. Surely if we missed the schedule, they'd just go home. We're not that important. Plus the group has a track record of being stingy. Ah, I suppose it's all in the headcounts. But both parties could have called it off. I don't think anyone was in any state to buy things.
Finally at 2105 we leave for dinner. There were chipped crockery and bugs too. Dinner takes an hour and we're bussed back.

The tour guide said give him the AUD10 per day tips based on however many days you think you should. Well definitely don't give for eight days, as I heard one man complain about but still submitted. I think the USD tips were slightly better value due to the exchange rate.

Food:
I had a bit of a laugh one morning to do with breakfast jams. I came up to the table where the toast is and take two small packets. Then a guy turns around and tells me that they're his. Whoops! It turns out he had made a bit of a collection and I mistook his plate for the main one, which was concealed by his torso. Hoarder! Well, I suppose it's representative of the kind of person who would go on a tour like this.

My Nexus Holiday - 4

Day 5

Mostly at Tianji. There was a touristy shopping strip that seemed a bit dead.

Lunch at 11AM. Good on the tour guide. More tourist shopping after lunch.

Today was when the tour guide advised of an optional performance. Some people were not prepared for the 350 yuan per person fee. It did cause some anxiety with the other travellers. My mum and I decided not to go.

It would have otherwise have been a waste except for the second jade outlet visited on this trip. The girls tried presenting first but found that the group was a bit more difficult than normal. One of them found the manager who was surprised to find that the group had such a diverse background. He then proceeded to use some good psych while talking a lot!

Hatred of Japanese - not quite forgiven following WW2, he jokes about making enough money from the Japanese with ridiculous mark-up earlier on this day.

Self-deprecation - he claims that he can't do business and has been in trouble particularly after the lack of Japanese travellers following the tsunami.

Global experience - he has done business and travelled in many countries, some of which overlap with the fellow tourists.

Sympathy for need for connections - apparently making his business more difficult to run.

Reveals some figures in the cost of doing business. There's no way to tell for sure how much jade costs for him at his mine. However, if he's happy to sell things at 'cost price' and the sales staff don't have any hesitation, then it's probably rehearsed.

He goes for reverse psychology in telling people not to buy. That he has made enough from the Japanese.

Revealing ‘secrets’ about a variety of topics including picking good quality jade. Good fun all round - just try not to spend any of your money in the process.


Food:
By this stage, lunch and dinner are looking rather similar to each other and to every other day. Spicy, salty variations of cucumber. It is worthwhile finding a supermarket during the off-peak to stock up on some palatable food. 
Protip: Keep your airplane knife for use with fruit. Beijing subway can be a pain for carrying even a fruit knife around, due to the entry security check. The staff will usually tell you off and let you be on your way.

My Nexus Holiday - 3

Day 4

The first stop of the day was a jade outlet/manufactory. This was very dodgy as this is a good time of the day to enjoy some of the sights – before the heat of the day really kicks in. But perhaps the tour guide was thinking that the tourists would be too tired to make purchases after sightseeing. Nevertheless, it was a pretty slow sales session with most people creeping out to the bus and staying there waiting for the tour guide.

The emperor’s tomb wasn’t much of a sight. There was some silly security checks though. Camera bags were exempt. People didn’t have to be scanned. I’m not really whether it’s useful to have those people there.

After lunch (which was back at the jade outlet) it was sightseeing at the Great Wall. Not much to report on except that there is an abrupt end to the walking trail, and wall for that matter. At the bottom there’s a rope on the ground that somehow is meant to stop vehicles from passing. The security guards on the end of the rope are something to look at. They sit on plastic chairs all day and don’t really have to move. But they still do that noisy whock-spit! So there’s spittle on the ground bunched up quiet neatly.

China is assembling electric power wind farms somewhere on the other side of the Great Wall.

I though the Dr Tea session went quite poorly. Some of the fellow tourists led the sales people on in exclaiming how good the sample teas were. They were also the first to leave saying that they had enough tea at home. The staff even started saying how they had strategies for Tian Qi flower products to beat customs and quarantine of certain countries. Sales were poor enough for the sales girls to badger people outside, next to the coach. No need to sit anywhere strategic or even to feign a toilet break. Just walk out of the room when you've had enough.

The day ended with looking at the night scenery at Olympic stadiums. Notable: silly security bag-only check. 

My Nexus Holiday - 2

Day 2This consisted of a few obligatory Beijing sights - Tiananmen, Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven and an acrobatic performance in the evening.
The tour guide talked a bit about the background of the tour and why it was so cheap. He said a lot of things and the horn-friendly motorists of Beijing didn't help with clarity. I think he was trying to say that there wasn't any government subsidy and that it was all sponsored by businesses. He didn't say whether they were government-owned businesses though. The fact that he said part of the tour was to show the Chinese diaspora that China had become great and developed sounded suspicious. No business would want to do that… Surely that's the role of government.
There's daily 'fines' of USD99 for non attendance as his paymasters require a headcount through the stores. Also if you 'borrow' an entry ticket to one of the sights for whatever reason, he requires you to return it.
Protip: choose the right side of the bus – the legroom can be better due to the different pitch to accommodate the rear door.

Day 3
The day started off with sightseeing at the Summer Palace. Which essentially means take photos.

There was an unannounced but compulsory CNY10 fee for the boat ride across. Compulsory because of time constraints and the logistics of keeping the group together.
Silk quilts were interesting…

We stayed there for quite some time. Sales were slow and people were quick to return to the coach. It looked like the tour guide was copping some behind-his-back criticism about the stinginess of his group.
After lunch there was 'fashion shopping district' for a whole two hours, twenty minutes. Hiding out at McDonalds meant there was a seat and table to use. The highlight of the day was seeing a coach attempt a U-turn on an undivided main road, here:
They turned that bus around after 75 seconds of hearing horns and three-point turn (maybe more points).

Last for the day was Wangfujing. I swear those metal plates on the road were there last time I went, six years ago. Makes a huge racket when the buses drive over them.
Tip: Bring something to keep you occupied. About three hours' worth of stuff should do it for this day.

My Nexus Holiday - 1

Have you seen one of those ultra-cheap tour packages for Beijing and wondered what you really get for $99?
TL;DR? Although the trip is supported by excessively-long shopping sections, you can still be a winner in terms of value. The shopping sections can be a waste of time for some depending on how you value your time abroad.
Day 1
The hotel was a total pain to find. Beijing addresses still have a long way to go. It's rather inappropriate to have an address on the ring road when that chunk of land has been subdivided into little neighbourhoods, and the taxi drivers are themselves unsure of how to get there. Something like suburbs might also be useful, rather than huge districts that only give you a feel for which side of town you should be looking at.
Protip: look it up on Google Maps first. Leave the page open on your laptop in case you want to refer to it while underway.

The Maya Island Hotel
I have a few thoughts about this place. Mainly that it's a good try. Why is it a good try and not a success?

• Poor location in being in the middle of a business park with no metro station nearby.
• Poor build with some strange decisions made.
• Trying too hard with the theme rather than making the hotel work.

The staff were good. There was a lot of 'stuff' in the room for keeping - but I think some of these were replaced too often. One does not need new soap or slippers everyday. Bath lotion, shampoo, conditioner, moisturiser and a two-blade disposable razor with tube of shaving cream were notable extras. The shower/bath had some design flaws which meant that water pooled on the ledge and could not drain properly, making the floor wet.
Protip: sacrifice a small towel to act as a plug.
There's mention of saving the environment by indicating that you don't need towels replaced. To do this one is supposed to hang the towels on the towel rack. A towel rack is notably absent from the bathroom fitout. Black tea bags are absent from the table. There are only enough ingredients to make (sweet) black coffee.
The rest of the hotel seems under-utilised. The gym was not in use at the times I walked past. There's also some massage parlour and spa that seemed rather quiet. A restaurant on level two provided breakfast each day. Differences from day-to-day seemed to be on what was unavailable rather than what other dishes were added. Management seemed to be learning how best to fry eggs during the week and shifted from cooked-to-order to undercooked in a tray.

Still, not a bad deal when bundled in that package. Normally there'd be no reason to live in a hotel out that way though.