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Blue Moon Valley,Lijiang
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Wuhua Tower,Dali Ancient City
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Alhamdulillah,kami tutup tirai penceritaan Yunnan dengan post itinerary.Setiap post sebenarnya untuk kenang-kenangan kami in the future.Akan sampai saatnya,kami dah tak travel DIY...atas apa pun sebabnya nanti..post itinerary ni akan mengimbau kembali bagaimana kami merancang perjalanan & how it turned out on the travel days.Dan sekiranya ada manfaat kepada readers,kami tumpang happy.
Kenapa travel ke China?
There has been a very noticable increase in people travelling to China in the last few years.Kalau dulu-dulu,pakej percutian China biasanya akan limited to Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzen, Hong Kong dan Xian.Sekarang ada lebih banyak wilayah China yang diterokai seperti Yunnan, Chengdu, Chongqing, Xijiang, Inner Mongolia dan sebagainya.
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| Yunnan - birthplace of Chagee |
Lately,China travel dah jadi major social-media trend.Kat Tiktok,Insta,Youtube etc,orang dah mula nampak Shanghai skyline,Chengdu pandas,high speed trains,stunning ancients cities at Yunnan,futuristic cities.
Malah beberapa tempat seperti Western Sichuan (Mount Siguniang),Xinjiang dan Guizhou dikatakan persis Switzerland..because of their alpine peaks,crystal-clear lakes and green meadows.People started thinking.."Wow,China actually looks amazing"
The biggest reason for Malaysians....Malaysian passport holders can visit China visa - free for upto 30 days per visit.Jadi,takyah pening kepala..just book flight and go!
Misconceptions About Travelling to China
Ada beberapa common misconceptions,especially for first time visitors...antaranya
China is difficult for foreigners
Kebanyaan tourist cities are foreigners friendly.Nobody actually stares at you..diorang dah sangat biasa dengan foreigners datang ke tempat diorang.Translation app,Allipay/WeChat Pay,Didi and Amap make independent travel much easier!
Nobody speaks English
You can manage well with translation app,Chinese address and map.Boleh je survive,insya Allah.
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| Most locals have translation app as well |
You need a tour guide
Tak semestinya..Diorang punya high-speed rail,metro,Didi & excellent mapping make DIY travel quite practical.
Chinese cities are all crowded and polluted
China is currently the second most populous country in the world,right behind India.Ok,kami dah visit India 2 kali and survived (abaikan 6 tahun kami stay kat India untuk belajar)
Populasi China memang ramai...dan kalau silap timing,boleh jadi crowded (macam kami gi Yunnan masa school holiday).Tapi,banyak je beautiful parks,mountains,lakes and public spaces...tempat yang tenang-tenang untuk healing.
China is not suitable for Muslim travellers
Kebanyakan bandar-bandar besar ada masjid dan restoren halal.
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| Hotpot at Chang'er Avenue,Dali |
China is technologically behind
Yang ni kami memang impressed...at times rasa China is more digital and technologically advanced than us.
China tu kotor..especially toilet
Alhamdulillah sepanjang kami di Guangzhou dan Yunnan..kami direzekikan tak jumpa satu toilet kotor pun.Toilet kat airport,railway stations dan Jade Dragon Snow Mountain sangat bersih.Toilet di restoren halal biasanya ada bidet dan bersih.Kalau ke shopping mall yang besar-besar,toiletnya pun well maintained.
Travel to China during summer
Kami ke Yunnan pada bulan Julai sebab masa tu anak-anak cuti semester.Julai musim summer di China.
Yunnan ni letaknya di kawasan tanah tinggi di barat daya China,so weather kat sini jauh lebih nyaman berbanding destinasi popular yang lain....inilah alasan kenapa kami pilih Yunnan sebagai summer destination kami.
Persiapan sebelum travel
1.Book flight ticket
Kami book China Eastern Airlines melalui Traveloka,harga dah masuk 23 kg checked in baggage,hand carry 8 kg,in flight meals (Moslem meal) dan free seatings.
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| In-flight meal |
2.Book hotel
Kami bermalam di Dali,Lijiang dan Kunming 2 malam each.
- apartment 2 bilik tidur,
Lokasi 1.4 km dari Dali Railway Station,1.5 km dari Erhai Lake dan 1.8 km dari Huasheng Bridge.
Halal restaurants withing walking distance.
Few steps dari jalan luar untuk Didi pick up/drop off.
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Hotel lobby
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10 km dari Lijiang Railway Station
Fantastic base bcoz it's located right in the heart of Lijiang Old Town
The inn is inside historic,pedestrian-only zone,cars cannot drive directly to the doorway-kena jalan dalam 350 meter ke Wenjing Convenience Store untuk Didi pick up/drop off.
Jalan dikeliling hotel berbukit and paved entirely with uneven bumpy cobblestones - kalau heret luggage,gerenti rosak tayar.
So,sangat penting untuk liase dengan owner hotel awal-awal dan tanya kalau ada porter service
Bersebelahan dengan The Mixc,shopping mall yang besar.
Cuma 2.4 km dari Kunming Railway station..stesen metro Chajie cuma 650 meter dari hotel
Konsep loft..anak-anak tidur kat loteng,mama dan abah kat bawah.Ada living area di bawah.
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| Night view from the hotel |
Semua hotel kami book melalui Trip.com.Kami perasan hotel-hotel China melalui Trip.com ni lebih murah dan banyak pilihan.Kat platform lain,kebanyakan hotel agak mahal.
3.Book train
Kalau korang DIY,kami nasihatkan naiklah high speed train untuk ke semua destinasi (Kunming /Dali /Lijiang /ShangrLa) sebab sangat selesa,affordable dan menjimatkan masa.
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| Dali to Lijiang |
Biasanya,kalau travel ikut agent,agent akan bagi 1 atau 2 kali (max) naik train..selebihnya naik bas express.Bas express much cheaper dari train..tentulah agent nak untung sikit.Tapi,the real reason agent guna bas sebab senang nak kawal peserta kot.
Ni kami kasi infografik untuk compare perjalanan via train vs bas supaya senang nampak.
Kesimpulannya,train sangat berbaloi...sebab dengan tambahan RM25-RM50 seorang,dapat menjimatkan 8-9 jam masa perjalanan..(Dah bayar pakej mahal-mahal,kena buang banyak masa dalam bas pulak😔)
4.Install app
a) Allipay - paling penting.Gunanya untuk bayar di restoren/kedai dengan QR.Boleh jugak book Didi melalui Allipay.
Boleh jugak bayar guna Touch and Go Malaysia...set kan place ke China terlebih dulu.
b) Amap - lebih accurate dari Google Map.Cari restoren halal nearby (just search halal atau 清真 Qīngzhēn),cari masjid,cari hotel,view laluan Metro,estimate walking distance dan cari nama tempat dalam Bahasa Cina.
c) Didi (e-hailing)
Untuk book kereta atau teksi,boleh estimate riding cost sebelum memulakan perjalanan.Kami tak install separate Didi app...kami guna Didi kat Allipay je.
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| Didi - very user-friendly app |
d)WeChat
Kalau guna simcard sana,kena install WeChat sebab kat sana tak support WhatsApp.Tapi,disebabkan kami roaming je (benefit orang gomen..bil telefon termasuk roaming boleh claim)...kami dapat guna WhatsApp.
Tapi,kami install jugak WeChat untuk berkomunikasi dengan locals.
e)Translation App
Boleh guna Google Translate,Papago (app translation untuk Korea,Jepun dan China).Even kat Allipay dan WeChat boleh translate Chinese to English or vice versa
Itinerary kami secara ringkas
6.30-8AM-Tiba di Kunming Chengshui International Airport/Immigration/Baggage collection/Breakfast at airport
Didi to Kunming Railway Station
11.47 AM - Train from Kunming to Dali (2 hours 45 min journey)
Tiba di Dali Railway Station,Didi to hotel
Check in to Dali Qianning Intelligent Hotel
Rest at hotel
Petang - Visit Dali ancient city & dinner.
Balik hotel
Didi to Dali Santorini
Jalan-jalan kat Erhai Lake (opposite Santorini) sementara tunggu buggy beroperasi
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| Erhai Lake |
Naik buggy ke atas.Spend time di Flomis Garden dalam Dali Santorini
Naik Didi ke Chang'er Avenue
Lunch hotpot di Restoren Rèn Yà Xī Féi Niú Wάng
Solat Jumaat di Nanwuliqiao Mosque
Naik Didi balik ke hotel
Petang naik Didi ke Xingsheng Bridge
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| Xingsheng Bridge |
Balik hotel
Dinner at hotel (tapau from nearby halal restaurant)
Check out
(Free) hotel transfer to Dali Railway Station
11.47 train Dali to Lijiang (2 hours 28 mins)
Arrived at Lijiang Railway Station
Didi to Yishan Yiju Inn,Lijiang
Rest & solat
Petang- explore Lijiang Old Town
Didi to Jade Dragon Snow Mountain
Explore Blue Moon Valley ✓ Spruce Meadows ❌ (tickets sold out) Glacier Park❌(hujan) Impression Show ❌(hujan)
Back to Lijiang Old Town - lunch
Visit Lijiang Great Mosque
Walk back to hotel
Malam - Lijiang Old Town
Check out
Taxi (via Didi app) to Lijiang Railway Station
Train Lijiang to Kunming (4 hours)
Didi to hotel
Check in to The Mixc Yuejiu Designer Loft Homestay
Rest & solat
Petang - Shuncheng Street - dinner & visit Shuncheng Mosque
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| Shuncheng Mosque |
Balik hotel & rehat
Didi ke Green Lake Park
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| Green Lake Park |
Nanping Pedestrian Street- roti daging viral,
Shopping di Namping Street & Tabao Street (basement Zhenhyifang Shopping Centre)
Lunch
Didi balik ke hotel
Petang - Shuncheng Shopping Mall,dinner di Shuncheng halal street
Balik hotel & rest
Repeat Nanping Pedestrian Street
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| Street food |
MixC Mall
Check out
Lunch di Shuncheng Street
Balik hotel
Pick up Didi ke Kunming Airport
Malam - fly back to Malaysia
Okey..tu je serba ringkas itinerary kami.If you noticed,banyak jugak must-visit places yang kami tak pegi.Tu lah style kami...travel is exciting,but rest is just as important as sightseeing.
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| Sederhana itu indah |
A well-planned trip is not about visiting the most places,it is about enjoying each destination comfortably and creating pleasant memories.
In a nutshell,travel is not a race to see everything.It is about experiencing each destination at a comfortable pace and returning home with a wonderful memories,not exhaustion.
Till then..bye!!
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