I didn’t until I had a rare chance to meet Camellia experts in Wenzhou in 2006. They took me to small gardens squeezed in the back yards of side streets where suddenly you discover an array of colours in different pots. Except for private cultivated gardens around Wenzhou the best places to visit to find Camellias are in the gardens in and around the city. The most famous one is Jingshan Park where each Camellia has its name in English, Chinese and Latin and I still remember seeing the rare black Camellia there, an unusual colour for a plant and a beautiful shape. We went in February, considered the best time to find Camellias in bloom in China.

If you are going for the Camellia Congress in Yunnan Province this year don’t miss the Camellia Garden of the Kunming Institute as it’s known in the official literature produced by ICC ( International Camellia Congress) but more widely known as the Botanical Garden of Kunming. Also, according to the official site of the ICC you have to visit the “Camellia Garden of Kunming Golden Temple” which consists of two parts – the Golden Temple itself and the EXPO garden which is situated near the Temple.

 The Botanical Garden,  known as the Institute of Botany, is huge and covers 44 hectares of very fertile land. The location of the garden is in the north part of Kunming on the way to the famous Stone Forest. There are four  entrances and the garden is used as a park by elderly Chinese people who you can see playing cards, or mahjong or simply relaxing in the nice surroundings. In the middle of the garden there is a Museum dedicated to the botany of the area. Unfortunately all the explanation is in Chinese but I think that may change with the ICC coming to Kunming. The Garden is known as a research institute and produces a large number of scientific papers. During my last visit in October 2011 there were not many flowers out but many rare trees.

 Not knowing anything about the layout of the Golden Temple we enthusiastically set to walk to the top only to stop after the third set of narrow, steep steps. After travelling around China for two weeks our fitness wasn’t up to climbing the hill. Later we learned that the steps are hard to climb as you are supposed to leave behind all your worries.

The Temple is located at the top of Singing Phoneix Hill and if you are looking to see gold you will be disappointed – The Golden Temple is actually the largest copper temple in China and dates from the Ming Dynasty, around 1602 when it was built in honour of the Taoist God Zishi. The Temple went through some renovation over the years and the present look dates from 1890 when 250 tons of solid bronze were used.

As a typical example of a Taoist temple, to reach it you have to pass through a series of “Heavenly Gates” which are highly decorated. There are three gates at the Golden Temple and my favourite was Lixing Gate as it had very nicely decorated windows and with the autumn sun the window looked almost alive.

Once at the top of the Hill you will find it peaceful and serene but that could be because we were there at around 4pm when there were not so many tourists around.

If you are looking for Camellias you will have to exit the Temple and then cross the road to take the chairlift to the EXPO garden which was opened in 1999 for the International Horticultural Exhibition which took place in Kunming. You will have to pay an extra RMB100 to enter the EXPO garden which covers five different exhibition halls and has seven themed gardens, some being opened after the exhibition in 1999. When I went in October 2011 we didn’t see any Camellias as it wasn’t their time but I am sure the best ones will be seen during the ICC.

International Camellia Congress at Chuxiong, Yunnan Province, China  will take place from the 5th February and if you are looking for a day trip to the Golden Temple, the Botanical Garden or Expo garden please email Tara@ReadyClickAndGo.com

We offer a wide range of day trips, sightseeing tours, excursions and activities throughout China. Please check our website at www.ReadyClickAndGo.com

I enjoyed the visit to the opulent Dolmabahçe Palace in Istanbul and was rushing to get to the Military Museum, which is actually quite an unusual thing to have on your sightseeing list especially if you are a girl  but my background is very military and I tend to visit Military Museums in each city I go to. Also the Askeri (the Turkish word for Military) Museum is famous for its Mehter, the world’s oldest military band. When you hear them you know which country they come from. The Mehter band have a 20 minute concert at 3 and 4 pm at the Military Museum and apart from seeing all the exhibits I wanted to catch the band as well. 

Rushing with my map, guide books and rucksack I went onto the main street thinking to stop a passing cab. On my right side before I managed to hail any taxi a middle aged man approached me and in nice polite English offered me a cab. I looked behind him and there were two, official yellow Istanbul cabs parked. Conscious that I had never used a cab in Istanbul before I asked how much was to get to the Military Museum.

 “Cheap, only 28 Turkish Liras.” 

It didn’t sound cheap but I thought I must have miscalculated the distance or misread the map as I was expecting it to be near the Dolmabahce Palace. Reluctantly I agreed.

In the cab, between reading the map and trying hard to find my bearings around Istanbul, the conversation with the polite Turkish cab driver continued. 

“Where do you come from?” 

“The UK.” 

“Welcome to Paradise.” 

A very nice introduction to the city and I must admit Istanbul was bordering with paradise – nice food, nice friendly people, much better weather than in London, so much to see and experience…I loved it.

We passed through the tunnel, we were stuck in minor traffic jams in an affluent area which according to my map wasn’t between Dolmabahce Palace and the Military Museum, and he seemed a bit agitated. He would pace his thumb on the wheel, opening and closing the window, muttering, cutting up the car in front, beeping at passing pedestrians…I blamed myself for his state…Probably my hastiness made him nervous… 

When we arrived at the Museum he quickly bent his left arm to open the door for me, the door behind him whcih would take me straight into any passing traffic…I refused to get out…He said the price…and it was 28 turkish liras which showed on his meter…I went for my wallet and I thought I gave him a 50 lira note. Before I was able to put my foot on the pavement he calmly and with the biggest smile I had seen on him declared: 

“Sorry, you only gave me 5 liras. It’s not the same“. He waved the note at me. 

Still hurrying to get to the concert I quickly opened my wallet again to get more money only to reliase that I had only 20 liras left…How embarrasing…I looked round for a bank apologising profusely only to be stopped in the middle of my sentence by the helpful cab driver. 

„Do not worry, just give me what you have.“ 

And I did! 20 turkish liras and £4.46 in coins and he took it all…Even the coppers but telling me how difficult it would be to change the coins so it’s better if I give him more… 

I closed the door and he drove off fast…Only when I put my wallet back into my rucksck I began to comprehand the whole sad situation. I did have 70 Turkish Liras in my wallet, I checked it before leaving the palace to see if I would have enough money for a cab which meant I never gave him 5 liras in the first place, I had given him my 50…He swapped notes on his lap out of sight…he opened the back door for me after I paid him to distract me…

Fuming, I sat through the concert which I managed to catch on time. I enjoyed a lengthy visit to the Museum afterwards but I was even angrier when I took a cab back to Dolmabahce Palace just to check how much the fare would be this time…It was 10 Turkish Liras and lasted a mere five minutes…there were no tunnels or posh areas…just a straight, clear road.. 

In total I was robbed of approximately 65 Turkish liras which is around £36…Maybe not much money but the whole set up left a very bad taste for paradise.

Did you have any bad experiences on your travels?

The first thing you notice about the palace is how ornate it is – every surface inside and out is elaborately carved, gilded or embellished to within an inch of its life, as befitting I suppose the home of six sultans and the first president of the republic. It’s very European rather than Turkish, at the time it was built the sultans were looking to impress and copy Europe and so Dolmabahce is a curious blend of sumptuous architectural and decorative styles from both East and West. It would certainly have impressed European emperors and kings such as Germany’s Kaiser Bill who was a great friend – in the vast Ceremonial Hall hangs the world’s largest Bohemian crystal chandelier (a present from Queen Victoria who probably thought it a bit vulgar) and there is the stunning Crystal Staircase in the shape of a double horseshoe with bannisters made of Baccarat crystal, and many great glittering halls for formal state occasions. But within the palace is the traditional, self-contained harem or private quarters where there are the bedrooms, studies, salons and hamams of the sultan’s wives, concubines, siblings and children, often just as showily decorated as the state apartments next door. A pair of skinny guards stand outside and it’s strange that the Bosphorous just outside the palace windows is pretty much ignored and the gardens are all on the other side with no view of the river and the shore of Asia Minor beyond. But it makes for a great excursion in Istanbul to experience the last gasp of the old Ottoman Empire that was already crumbling by the time this extravagant and grandiose symbol was completed.

ReadyClickAndGo.com can arrange a private day tour of Dolmabahce Palace, the Grand Bazaar, Blue Mosque and Aya Sofia with your own English-speaking local guide, and you can customise your sightseeing day tour of Istanbul and visit whatever you choose. A guide for the day costs a flat fee of £150 for 8 hours, excluding entrance fees and transport.

The Military Museum is situated 6 stops from Tianmen East Station and in a much protected area…Most of the buildings are military offices guarded by scary men either in plain clothes or uniform, but neither of which stopped a Chinese gentleman trying to sell me an original military watch just outside the ticket office.

Entrance to the Museum is RMB5 with any form of ID, preferably a passport. I arrived at noon and the Museum was very busy with huge Chinese groups. The average age of visitors was 75 and I was the only foreigner. There are no catalogues on sale to get any information before entering the building. At the front of the Museum are tanks, which to me, being brought up on WWII when I was a child in central Europe, and looked like German tanks but were actually Japanese. To the right of the tanks you can see planes from WWII, probably Russian made.

The building is very imposing with a high ceiling, the entrance decorated with statues of the Worker, Soldier and Nurse. Inside the Museum there is an inhumanly tall statue of Mao Tze Tung made of marble, with a long queue waiting for a photo to be taken with Mao in the background - but I was reluctant to take any as I wasn’t sure if I was allowed to take photos in China’s Military Museum … I could see myself doing time in some obscure village in a far corner of China… But after seeing the first floor I released there were no secret weapons on display and they mostly dated from 1980 so I switched on my camera and start taking pictures.

On the first floor, officially called Revolution Hall, there is a huge exhibition of guns – officers’ guns, Russian guns, guns made in China, machine guns…all old. There are no descriptions next to the exhibits in English - but there are none in Chinese either. The building goes into an atrium and in the middle there is a huge rocket which could be seen on the third floor, it’s slim, tall and without any explanation .On the left side of the first floor you can see military knives then suddenly this sections turns into old swords and some of them are very nicely decorated making me thinking they come from the Middle East. Then after a few showcases the exhibition turns to missiles. They take up lots of space, they are outdated and again without any description. By this time my concentration was plummeting and i just wanted to finish the visit. After running quickly through the rest of the first floor I went up to the second floor to meet all the important people in the communist world: Marx, Lenin, Mao Tze Tung, all like Chinese generals neatly lined up, and some at their natural height. I was puzzled why there was no statute of Engels and rest of the international brigade like Tito, Stalin, Castro…Maybe they ran out of space…The next section was dedicated to the Sino-Japanese war which I didn’t understand and as everything as in Chinese I had no chance to learn either. The third floor promised an insight into new technology but it turned out to be lots of documents and photography of these new achievements in China…Had a quick look from the entry door and decided to quit. .

Took a lift back to the ground floor and went outside, meeting a group of young school children spending the afternoon at the Museum. I went to Tiananmen Square to take some more shots.

Address : 9 Fuxing Road, west of Tiananmen Square, Beijing, China.
Opening hours : 8:30 – 16:30 daily.
Telephone : 010-66866114

For a day trip to the Militray Museum in Beijing with guide and driver please email Tara@ReadyClickAndGo.com

I knew I had altitude sickness – nose bleeding, dizziness, headache, breathless – I’d had it before at Everest Base Camp and after taking oxygen I’d been fine. I asked for it now, finding it hard to speak. The front office guy reassured me the doctor would take care of me…and he did…Very professionally he took my blood pressure, my temperature and checked my heartbeat…I was fine according to him…They opened the window to let fresh air in, they covered me in a few more blankets and they offered me something to eat…They stood around my bed and stared at me and talked in Chinese but did not bring oxygen …I felt like a caged animal…occasionally the front office manager would ask how I felt…. 

“The same”  I would reply time and time again. Seeing there were no changes he decided to translate the doctor’s conclusion…After touching my pulse the doctor said I had indigestion and my body would take care of the situation and I didn’t need oxygen at all…I just needed to relax…The words were flowing in and out my head not making any sense…I wanted to believe them and continued to stay still under layers of heavy blankets…then I started to shiver, slowly and gradually – firstly just my arms then my legs then my whole body…In between heavy shaking I realised that I couldn’t have indigestion as I’d been sick since yesterday morning, since we entered the 4000m area, and that I hadn’t had breakfast  today…there was no food in my body to give me indigestion… The front office manager, the most experienced person out of the three in my room, took the blankets off me and my socks then started to massage my feet…he was mumbling “Oh My God, Oh My God” but trying to cheer me up me saying that I will be fine, just bad circulation, I just needed to get the blood to flow all through my body….From somewhere burst the sheer terror of ending up at a Chinese hospital in the middle of nowhere, and I grabbed the last vestiges of energy to sit up and yell in a very unladylike way  “Get me f****** oxygen, now!” 

That galvanised them. Within a few minutes I had a big blue oxygen pillow behind my back with the pipes going straight up my nostrils. With the first flow of oxygen I felt calm, peaceful, I began to feel human again! The cleaner made tea for herself and the doctor and sat on the corner of my bed staring into nothing, and the front office manager managed a smile. 

“Chinese medicine is fantastic. They can lower cholesterol with tea. Can you imagine, with tea?  Western medicine can’t do it even with medication….He is a good doctor…The whole village goes to see him when they are not well…” 

Slowly calming down I ignored them and tried to get some sleep. After almost four hours after the first symptoms of high altitude sickness struck I could think straight. Exhausted I felt asleep. When I woke up I found the room clean, stocked with bottled water which I drank endlessly, and two pieces of toast. The doctor and front office manager came back to check on me and I offered to pay, thinking that bill could go into zillions of pounds and that my insurance may refuse to pay due to the fact that I did have a beer last night on an empty stomach. The doctor refused any payment but I insisted on giving them some money as a token for everything they did for me. 

Soon after they left I called the concierge for more bottled water to be delivered to my room only to be told that this time I had to pay for it. Obviously I was healthy now!

Advice:

-         If you are visiting a mountainous region, always check the altitude -especially in Yunnan Province – talk to the local guides, they are not trained to give you much information about high altitude in their area, unlike in Tibet where you are warned as soon as you arrive!

-          Before booking hotels in high altitude areas check if there is a doctor on standby and if he is practising Western or Chinese medicine

-          Check with the hotel if they have oxygen bottles or pillows. Buy a bottle and carry it with you. It’s not expensive or heavy but very helpful

-          Take aspirin 75 mg

-          Drink plenty of water

-          Talk and walk slowly

-          During my stay at Mt Everest Base camp I was told to drink ginger tea

NOTE: I visited Yunnan Province in October 2011 going from Kunming, Dali, Lijiang to Zhiongdian. If you need any information regarding travelling in China please email Tara@ReadyClickAndGo.com

The Capitall Museum in Beijing, China with ReadyClickAndGo

I came out of Muxidi Station and according to my map the Capital Museum should be here, just outside the subway…I looked carefully to the left and right, walked around the back of the subway in case I’d missed it but I still couldn’t see any building which could resemble a museum. I saw tall, long residential blocks with caged balconies and lots of washing hanging outside to dry in the crispy October sun. In front of me a happy street hawker was selling batteries which could be second hand as they were sold singly and not wrapped up.  Nervously I pointed my finger at the map where the Capital Museum was written in Chinese and showed it to the happy hawker…He didn’t even look at it when he lifted his right arm and jabbed his finger over his shoulder. It was early in the morning, I was on my own and didn’t speak any Chinese except for ‘two beers’ which wouldn’t be helpful in this situation. I was helpless and without too many choices decided to follow the jabbing of the finger.

Walking down the road with the map clearly visible in my hand I passed students, working people rushing to get late trains to the office, I met a tai chi group doing exercises and no one ever offered any help. In London by now I would have been taken by a total stranger right up to the Museum!

The only reason I knew I was going in the right direction when I saw lots of expensive cars with blacked-out windows stopping and disrupting traffic. Groups of four were getting out, looking in awe in front of them and taking photos.  Suddenly in between two tall tower blocks the Capital Museum appeared in its full glory. The building melted into its surroundings, tall, grey, with a roof built in typical Chinese style but still modern with lots of glass and space.

Entry is free but you need to show your passport at reception. You also have to pass airport-style security checks and I was made to have a sip of my bottled water.  You can hire a walking/talking guide but my time was limited and I opted out.  The Museum is very clean, has toilets on each floor, clearly signposted. And the Museum has facilities for disabled people.  The only issue is that there is no restaurant to sit down and it definitely needs it as you could easily spend hours and hours here if you want to see everything in detail. There are vending machines to buy canned drinks.

The museum was originally situated in the north of Beijing close to Confucius Temple but the Chinese government opted to relocate to the present area, close to the Forbidden City in 2006 before the Olympic Games.

The building has five floors and each one is dedicated to a different era of China’s history. The ground floor is very spacious and very light and this floor is usually reserved for temporarily exhibitions. When I visited in October 2011 the museum hosted the work of Van Gogh which I missed… Also there is a theatre which shows educational films about China’s past. On the first floor there are exhibits showing the history of Beijing with lots of jade relics and paintings, all with clear written descriptions in both Chinese and English. The second floor hosts selected works of calligraphy, porcelain and ancient Buddhist relics. The third floor is a mixture of exhibits of the second and fourth floors – more porcelain, ancient jade, calligraphy, old Chinese fabrics, embroidery…The fourth floor is rich with ancient bronze art, jade, paintings…The most interesting part was the fifth floor covering the history of Beijing and folk customs, showing the past with lots of interactive exhibits – houses built in the Ming style, weddings as they used to happen in old Peking during the Ming dynasty, the dressing codes for men and women, shoes…This is the most dynamic part of the museum as there are lots of old people walking and talking about each exhibit. I wished my Chinese extended beyond two beers so that I could understand what they were saying - they were so engrossed with the rich old embroideries and each hutong door.

A visit to the Capital Museum is fascinating, a must-see, as it shows original Chinese antiques in their full glory - a real cultural feast!

 NOTE: The Museum is closed on Mondays but during the week it’s open from 0900-1600. For group visits you need to pre-book either online or through your local agent. For day tour at the Capital Museum please email Tara@ReadyClickAndGo.com

The Taj Mahal is open at night for five nights a month when there is a full moon, and for 2 days before and 2 days after– except on Fridays when it is always closed for prayer and during the month of Ramzan (Ramadan).

You have to apply for tickets the day before you want to go,  you cannot buy them for the same day – and the ticket office is at the Archaeological Survey of India office at 22 Mall Road, telephone 0562 222 7263 or 222 7261. To get there you go to the Shilpgram parking lot (from the eastern gate of the Taj Mahal it’s past the Oberoi Amarvilas Hotel) between 10am and 6pm, and from where you will be collected and taken by van to the office. You will need to take your passport so that your name, date of birth, nationality and passport number will be recorded, tickets cost 750 Rupees and are not transferrable. Each evening, 400 people in 8 groups of 50 are allowed to the first platform which is about 350 metres away from the main building, for 30 minutes between 8.30pm and 12.30am, but you must get there half an hour before the time on your ticket for security checks and x-rays. You can bring binoculars and cameras but not video cameras, handbags, tripods, tobacco, matches, food or mobile phones.

Full moon dates in the rest of 2011 and 2012 are as follows, so you can apply to see the Taj Mahal by moonlight on these dates plus 2 days before and 2 days after;

10 November 2011,

10 December 2011,

8 January 2012,

7  February 2012,

8 March 2012,

6 April 2012 (NOTE that the 6 April is a Friday and the Taj Mahal is closed on that day),

5 May 2012,

3 June 2012,

3 July 2012, (NOTE the full moon of 1 August falls during Ramadan and so there is no moonlight viewing),

30 August 2012,

29 September 2012,

29 October 2012,

27 November 2012 ,

27 December 2012.

If you would like to visit the Taj Mahal by moonlight but are not able to buy tickets 24 hours in advance, ReadyClickAndGo can arrange the entry tickets for you as part of their selection of private day trips in Agra with your own guide, car and driver. If you are not staying in Agra you can book a same-day Agra tour from Delhi, and a comfortable, air-conditioned car will pick you up from your hotel in Delhi and take you to Agra where you meet your guide for the day. After exploring Agra Fort and the ‘baby taj’ you can enjoy viewing the Taj Mahal before returning to your hotel in Delhi. Email Tara@ReadyClickAndGo.com

Tokyo hosts several Chrysanthemum exhibitions at this time of year, when the shortening days see these late flowers burst into glory before the onslaught of winter.  Long considered the emblem of Japan and the 16-petal variety the official crest of the Emperor and the Chrysanthemum Throne, these ‘golden flowers’ symbolise longevity and eternal youth, dignity and nobility, and to the Japanese are deeply evocative of their cultural history – kiku feature in artwork of all kinds and their cultivation and display is also seen as an artform in itself. The blooms were imported from China in the 8^th century as a medicine rather than a decoration, the root boiled and taken as medicine, petals eaten and the leaves brewed into a drink -  even today chrysanthemum tea is said to cure flu and a petal in a glass of wine brings you a long and happy life  – but the yellow daisy flowers were reminiscent of the rays of the sun and captured the imagination of the Japanese who have cultivated many varieties over the centuries so that nowadays there are flamboyant pompoms,  anemone, feathery and quill-like blooms in a range of colours.

There are superb exhibitions throughout November in Tokyo, and they display chrysanthemums in specific traditional styles. One of the most dramatic is the dome or umbrella-like display of flowers on one stem called ozukuri or thousand blossom, which takes a whole year to prune and train into shape. Also popular is the single giant bloom called ogiku, balanced on a tall stem and usually displayed in rows of white, pink or yellow flowers that are said to resemble a horse’s bridle during imperial ceremonies. And trained on net frames to look like they are tumbling picturesquely over a cliff like a waterfall are the thousands of small flowers forming sweeping cascades, known as kengai.  Dolls or large figures made from chrysanthemums are popular.

The largest exhibition is at Hibiya Park, formerly a military parade ground, where over 2000 displays of chrysanthemums delight locals and visitors alike.  Hibiya Park is near Ginza and the imperial palace, a couple of minutes’ walk from Kasumigaseki or Hibiya Stations. Another famous one is at Shinjuku Gyoen Garden  and you can also see displays at Sensoji Temple in Asakusa, at Meiji Shrine, Yasukuni Shrine and Kameido Tenjin Shrine.

If you would like to visit a chrysanthemum festival or two whilst you are in Tokyo and explore other sights of the city, ReadyClickAndGo.com can arrange a English-speaking local guide to take you on a private  day tour using Tokyo’s excellent public transport network. Prices are from £39 per guide per person for a half-day private tour. Visit www.ReadyClickAndGo.com or email info@ReadyClickAndGo.com

To kick-off Hong Kong’s 3rd Wine and Dine Month is the fantastic four-day long wine and dine festival from the 27 – 30 October 2011 at the West Kowloon Waterfront Promenade overlooking Victoria Harbour. Mixing fine wines from around the world with superb locally-inspired and freshly produced cuisine, the event made Forbes Traveller.com top ten list of international food and wine festivals when it first started. Admission is free and there are free shuttle buses there too. The festival starts at 8pm on Thursday the 27th October, continues on Friday from 4pm and at the weekend from 2pm, finishing each night at 11pm. There are 200 stands plus a huge Grand Tasting Pavilion where you can sample food and wine from 19 countries, live entertainment from musicians, dancers and jugglers, demonstrations and classes led by experts. Wine appreciation classes, the Wine School, take place on Saturday and Sunday afternoons costing HK$100 per person (plus booking fee of HK$10-35), and lasting around 35 minutes. On Saturday and Sunday at 3.15pm there are classes in English on the various vineyards and grapes of Bordeaux, Sunday at 6.15pm there is an English class on Japanese Sake, and there are others on the skills of blending and decanting on Sunday too. More information on these sessions is here 

On Friday evening is the Spanish Wine Challenge, and on Saturday a Japanese evening. More informal wine tasting is available at the different stands, you buy a number of wine tokens when you go into the festival and can redeem these at the stands for a tasting. A Classic Wine Pass gives you ten tokens (and a glass) and costs HK$180 in advance or HK$200 on the day. A Grand Wine Pass allows you to taste five premium wines in the pavilion and costs HK$460 in advance or HK$480 on the day. Free shuttle buses run every five minutes to and from the festival and Kowloon and Tsim Sha Tsui Stations, more details are here

www.ReadyClickAndGo.com can arrange private sightseeing tours of Hong Kong incorporating the food and wine festival, with your own English-speaking guide to take you around using the excellent public transport system. The price of a local guide for a group of up to four persons is £150 for four hours, email Tara@readyclickandgo.com for more details.