#127 Mutianyu Great Wall Tour

To get to Mutianyu Great Wall I took a tour with my hostel - it was actually a communal tour bus shared by quite a few hostels in Beijing. It leaves everyday and was 280rmb, plus 100 for the cablecar that you pay at the Wall. There's just no way you're not getting the cablecar so we'll call it 380rmb (50eur). 

It includes breakfast at your hostel (we had choice between like European cheese-yogurt-cereal or American bacon-eggs-toast), a nice, clean, air conditioned bus, an English speaking guide (who explains a little and then leaves you to scale the wall yourself at your own pace), 3hours time on the wall (it was plenty, enough time to get all the photos you ever need), lunch at the bottom of the wall and then return bus home.

The nice thing about the lunch is that if you're running late you won't be left behind - you'll just miss out on the food. The bus took just over 1hr30mins from Beijing, and we left around 8am and returned at 4pm. There were no stops at any souvenir shops or anything.

While not expensive on the grand scale of things, it's definitely a rip-off in comparison if you were to do it yourself. Overall, while I wasn't delighted with the price, I was happy with the service and would recommend it if you want an easy, convenient, hassle-free trip. Plus, on the grand scale of things, 50euro is very cheap to pay to go to the Great Wall of China!

From the photos I've seen (on Instagram) it appears that Badaling is busier than Mutianyu, and also I'm not sure it offers the same views or amount of watch towers. It looks alot more flat and sturdy - which does go with the often heard criticism that it's "over restored" but would make it very accessible, although as I've said before Mutianyu isn't difficult.

The hostel I stayed at in Beijing was Dragon King. I initially had somewhere a little cheaper, but then I noticed it was a little far from the nearest subway station, so I moved to Dragon King. It was located right beside Zhangzhigonglu station which made it really convenient to travel around Beijing, and even come back during the day for a nap! The same tour seems to be organised with Happy Dragon, Downtown Backpackers, Red Lantern and some more, but you should check first.

#108 AirBnB in Japan

I recently went on a trip to Kyoto and Osaka. It was a Japanese public holiday, and everything booked up quite quickly. With no hostels available, or hotels in our price range, we ventured onto AirBnB.

If you don't know, it's basically an app where you can stay at a persons house. It's usually much cheaper than a hotel or even a hostel, especially if you have a group of 4 or 6. You even can find some unique places, but it all depends on the situation.

So I had downloaded the app and browsed through it before. Cheap prices and quirky locations sounded very tempting. But the thought of actually turning up to a strangers house, and just hoping for the best that it was like the photos, sounded a little scary. However, with no other options available, it was time to take a chance!

I was honestly very nervous about the whole thing (the added language barrier didn't help), and as I had suggested it, if it were to go horribly wrong I would have other people to answer to. The good news is, it was a great success! With a group of 6 of us, it was much cheaper than if we had gone to a hostel, and we had the places to ourselves. Both places were perfectly clean, and I had no complaints (and I do like to complain!).

My biggest recommendation for using AirBnB is to book somewhere which already has a lot of reviews. This is probably the best way for you to decide if the place is actually as listed and therefore a good choice. (I actually accidentally booked a place with no reviews, which really worried me as it is definitely not something I would purposely do, and although it was fine it really isn't worth the risk!)

You pay through the website so if anything does go wrong you can get a refund - it's just the being temporarily homeless thing would be the issue....

Some of the downsides; it was a hassle to be there at the allotted times to be shown around/given the key. We (as a group) had all agreed on times - but when it came down to it we were an hour early for the first place and had to wait outside, and the second place I had to check in by myself because everyone else went for dinner. Not ideal. The freedom of a hotel or hostel is much more advantageous, but I'm sure with some places they leave the key for you under a mat or in the postbox.

As we were a relatively big group having only one key was a bit tricky, we were trying to guess who would be home first, or if we should leave the door open if someone was coming home late and we wanted to sleep. Maybe some places have more than one key though..

Also, don't expect for everything to be exactly as listed. I was so relieved that it wasn't a scam and the houses were in good condition that I didn't care about anything else, but other members of the group were concerned about the wifi information or the "hot tub" they had listed (presumably a bath?). Although if they list it it should be there, it's not a hotel and you're not paying hotel prices. If it's a nice place for a good nights sleep, try not to stress over minor details.

Overall, I would like to stress that point. It's not a hotel, and you're (probably) paying far less than the hotel going rate. So you can't expect hotel service and hotel quality, and to do so would be foolish. If you want hotel quality, book a hotel. But if you want to take a chance, keep an open mind and try something new, then this is a good option for you.


Would I use it again? Honestly, not unless I had to. Although my experience this time was overwhelmingly good, I feel like the casual nature of it will always make me apprehensive, and the fear that if something goes wrong then I'm on the street or paying high rates for a last minute hotel is just too great.
But if everywhere else is booked up, or the prices are looking a little high, I'd definitely venture back on and see what I can find.

#67 Warsaw, Poland

This was the very last of my side-trips from Stockholm, and it was very sophisticated as we actually flew this time, instead of our usual boats/trains excursions!

The first thing I will say is that it was CHEAP. After coming from Sweden everywhere is cheap (except Norway!) but here was ridiculous! It applies especially to food and drink, we ate and drank like Kings for 3 days, with an average of about €7 for a big meal and a drink. Unbelievable!! For this reason we thought that perhaps Poland is the greatest country in the universe, but there are some other reasons why we liked our trip to Warsaw too.

Warsaw was surprisingly modern. The city centre boasts about five sky scrapers, as well as a rather tall, imposing old building from which there is an amazing view! The public transport was quite easy to navigate, we mostly used trams which run very often and efficiently, not to mention cheaply too!

Poland obviously has a very sad history, and although some of the places I wanted to visit appear to be closed on Mondays and Tuesdays (I advise you to check!) free walking tours and the Uprising museum really brought it to life, and it gave me a great respect for a country that had to rebuild itself from ruins, not so long ago.

I will admit the only downside to the trip was the Polish people - they were terribly rude. Obviously not every single Polish person ever, but those that we came across couldn't speak English and were quite rude. In one (half empty) restaurant we were waiting for 10mins without being handed a menu, and when we motioned for the idle waiters to come over to our table, they smiled and waved back and then they started very obviously talking about us! But when they finally came over and took ours orders, the service was quick and the food was tasty and cheap, so it was really a downside that they were so rude to foreigners, especially in the capital city at the start of tourist season.

Some of my Warsaw highlights:

 The Palace of Culture and Science (great viewing area!)

 Seen in clothes shop TK Maxx

 Prozna street, untouched since WWII

 Statue of Chopin

 Cheaper to have beer at breakfast than coffee or juice

 View over Warsaw

 Warsaw National Stadium in background

Stare Miasto, the old town (identically rebuilt after WWII) 

 Warsaw Uprising Memorial

Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier 

Nazi uniform at the Uprising museum

 The old city walls

The birthplace of Marie Curie

So I would recommend a visit to Warsaw, or Poland. It seems to be quite cheap to get to, and incredibly cheap to stay there for a few a days (our hostel was €7 a night, most museums were less than €5 entrance, as already mentioned food and drink is cheap!). Our biggest regret about Warsaw is that we didn't stay a few days longer, which is always a good sign!