Silkroad D13: Chongqing Rendevouz
January 7, 2009
There I go, heading straight to my new-hunt Chongqing hostel - Tina's Hostel. Hoping that i might be able to squeeze some plan for my Dazu cravings from there.
The journey was pretty smooth as all i need was to hop on the airport shuttle bus service and alight at the very last stop @ Niu Jiao Tuo and transferred to metro line 2. Apparently, my journey to the nearest metro station from the bus station was not easy. The instruction guide to my hostel said, 5 minutes walk to Niu Jiao Tuo metro station took me nearly 1/2 hour. Up to now, I still wondered if i've taken the wrong route. Anyway, my final stop was at Jiu Chang Kou, right at the heart of the city centre area in Yuzhong district.
I should be fortunate to say that I've stayed at Tina's Hostel, as it turned out that the hostel just opened in August 2008. Wow, it's really clean and new! Very amiable staffs and really good & clean hostel toilets & bathing areas.
Dang came the bad news - Dazu is definitely not within my itinenary at all. It needs at least a day. Damn, i'm flying back Shanghai tomorrow and i cannot extend anymore since Friday is my final work day too. Nevertheless, the staff gave me a very good & terse introductory tour plan for me to spend for my remaining day today.
Highlights of the Day
1. Jie Fang Bei
Jie Fang Bei or the People's Liberation Monument, was erected to celebrate the Communists' liberation of the city from seventy years of colonial and right-wing occupation.
2. Bayi Jie Food Snack Street
Just few minutes walking distance, you would be landing yourself into Bayi Food Snack Street. Well, I still do miss Xi'an Muslim food steets though. Nevertheless, you can get a pretty good range of snacks for you to munch.
3. Hong Ya Dong (Red Cliff Cave)
I believe it should be one of the new redevelopment project completed by the government as the area seemed pretty new with a modern touch amidst classical Diaojiao buildings. These buildings are built on a very steep hill and the most interesting is the flooring numbering. If you try going from Level 1 to Basement levels, you may be in shock that you are in fact not going underground.
There are huge developments going on in this building. Different levels catered to different functions . Eg. A level devoted to eateries, another level devoted to shopping stuffs.
And not to mention, a dash of Western in this oriental setting is the pretty cozy Starbucks you can find there ! In fact, you can catch a glimpse of the Jialing river while sipping over your cup of Coffee, which was what I did too. Inside the Starbuck, there's a special corner devoted to cater some special weekend activites which i can't recall now. But it was indeed cozy there.
Something I missed there was the cable ride, which in fact i was trying to hunt for it while taking on the bund cruise.
4. Chao Tian Men Harbour
Chaotianmen is claimed to be the best place to start sightseeing in Chongqing, where the muddy, churning waters of the Yangtze meets the transparent Jialing River.
From there, I took on a 25-mins night cruise which cost me 45rmb/pax. Well, it's nothing that spectacular. I would say 'do it once,and never again' if you ask me for repeated cruise. It reminds me of the Bund cruise in shanghai though. You do get to see alot of vessels for the famous Yangtze cruises. Inevitably, that is also where you board for the Yangtze cruise should you go for one.
Well, i was pretty fascinated but time constraint disallowed me such a cruise. I'm still overwhelmed by the word ' necropolis' ,and Fengdu is one of the world necropolis, AND, part of this Yangtze cruise will bring you to Fengdu County too. Don't miss this cruise if you have the time to spare.
The most memorable of the day was the fact that the entire journey i was on foot, and it was really long hours of walking.
Back in hostel, I had a pretty hearty chat with the counter staff on duty and a local tourist, after a very refreshing bath. Another of those carefree days. I remembered i spent the late night on my laptop sorting my Tibet photos at the hostel cozy corner till wee morning.
Afterall, i've strong recommendation from the chap to head for Chiqikou Ancient town to make up for my missed Dazu. Well, well..so that's my plan for tomorrow before heading back Shanghai.
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Sparkling Clean Hostel in Downtown City addressing all the needs of a tired backpacker
I should say, my deepest regret was not able to visit Dazu in Chongqing, but my deepest console was to stay in Tina's Hostel.
Like any backpackers, it didnt took me long to chose Tina's Hostel from the Net after reading some past-traveller reviews. Indeed, Tina's Hostel is situated in downtown Yuzhong district. Amidst old streets, it is short walking distance to the metro and to the heart of the centre. Just besides the hostel, is a second-hand flea market too!
The hostel was established only in Aug 2008, thus when I was there in early Jan, everything was sparkling clean & new. Even its corridor walls are craving for more delightful & international vandalisms from her spread of hostelites.
I stayed in a twin-bed dormitory which comes with a huge locker.The locker fits my 80+ litre backpack with no issue at all. The double-deck bed was new, and my bed was extremely soft and cozy, just like the one I stayed in Xi'an too.
The common bathrooms and toilets were very spacious,clean and well-maintained too. Hair Dryer, Laundry washing you named it,Tina's Hostel has them.
Not to mention, there's a themed 'DVD Room' where one can just relax in the corner and catch a DVD show or a catch a local channel.
The personal touch worth mentioning is the amiable staffs who made my stay most memorable. They are very pleasant and all-ready to help you to their best for each enquiry that was made. How thoughtful could it be that they scribbled location to alight & what bus number to take on a piece of paper, without even me asking, when I asked for a location assistance. Very gratifying indeed.
A pity the wireless network could not reach the dormitories area. However,you can still slouch at its main hall where wireless is accessible, or simply use their wired PCs provided. The best indefinitely is to chat with the nice staffs & mingle with common travellers who will give you very insightful & upclose itinenaries and stories! Very personal !
Definitely a very satisfying, or even beyond expectation stay. Would revisit this hostel again should I ever stepped in Chongqing as a backpacker again!
Like any backpackers, it didnt took me long to chose Tina's Hostel from the Net after reading some past-traveller reviews. Indeed, Tina's Hostel is situated in downtown Yuzhong district. Amidst old streets, it is short walking distance to the metro and to the heart of the centre. Just besides the hostel, is a second-hand flea market too!
The hostel was established only in Aug 2008, thus when I was there in early Jan, everything was sparkling clean & new. Even its corridor walls are craving for more delightful & international vandalisms from her spread of hostelites.
I stayed in a twin-bed dormitory which comes with a huge locker.The locker fits my 80+ litre backpack with no issue at all. The double-deck bed was new, and my bed was extremely soft and cozy, just like the one I stayed in Xi'an too.
The common bathrooms and toilets were very spacious,clean and well-maintained too. Hair Dryer, Laundry washing you named it,Tina's Hostel has them.
Not to mention, there's a themed 'DVD Room' where one can just relax in the corner and catch a DVD show or a catch a local channel.
The personal touch worth mentioning is the amiable staffs who made my stay most memorable. They are very pleasant and all-ready to help you to their best for each enquiry that was made. How thoughtful could it be that they scribbled location to alight & what bus number to take on a piece of paper, without even me asking, when I asked for a location assistance. Very gratifying indeed.
A pity the wireless network could not reach the dormitories area. However,you can still slouch at its main hall where wireless is accessible, or simply use their wired PCs provided. The best indefinitely is to chat with the nice staffs & mingle with common travellers who will give you very insightful & upclose itinenaries and stories! Very personal !
Definitely a very satisfying, or even beyond expectation stay. Would revisit this hostel again should I ever stepped in Chongqing as a backpacker again!
Main entrance to the hostel
Main hall cozy corner with wirel…
Oops, they were repositioning th…
The very insightful and helpful …
My double-bed dormitory with ind…
