Planning Pains

I have been doing the planning of the Shanghai-Beijing trip.

Surprisingly, Beijing is easier to plan. I guess it is because I am clear as to where to go: Great Wall, Tiananmen, Forbidden City and Summer Palace.

Shanghai is a headache.

I tend to get ambitious: I want to go to Hangzhou and a water town as well, out of Shanghai, so two days would be taken up.

But I also want to explore Shanghai, do some decent shopping, and have a good look at this city.

Come to think of that, I might give the water town a miss, depending on how interesting or boring I find Shanghai.

I have been trying to contact the hotel to help me book train tickets to Beijing, but for some reason, they have not replied my emails. I have emailed two in English, and today, I tried emailing in Chinese after recalling reviews from tripadvisor forum that the staff are not proficient in their foreign language.

I have read that the service is not much. Let's see how it goes. Worse comes to worse, I will try to get the train tickets myself when I reach Shanghai, and hope for the best that they are still available. I have read reviews that they are quickly snapped up, but a Chinese national colleague told me that it should not be a problem getting them since June is not a Chinese holiday period. July and August are. However, I have read that the Chinese students are the ones who snap up the tickets fast because they travel between Beijing and Shanghai frequently.

Back to planning. Sometimes the frustration and pains of planning an F&E trip does get to me and I start to wonder if I am truly a masochist. I have resolved not to plan for an F&E trip after Hong Kong and Bangkok. I approached 2 tour agencies and queried about the packages to China.

Then, there I went again - I don't want to go these places. I want the best of both worlds. On top of that, I want to do things tour agencies wouldn't, like taking a train between two cities. And I don't fancy the feeling of following someone all over the places like I paid her money to rush to places I don't want.

Then I decided I should do an F&E to get all that I want thrown in, minus the luxuries of living in five-star hotels and eating good food for most meals.

But as I plan, I find the nitty-gritties are starting to gnaw at my bone.

Just the Beijing's Great Wall alone:
Firstly, I planned a trip to the Great Wall, right?
Then I have to find out which section of Great Wall to go. For a novice tourist who hopes to do something that's not too touristy, I hope to go to a section that is not too crowded like Badaling.
So I found out about Mutianyu. It has cable car service and toboggan - great!
Then I have to find out the costs of each item: entry, cable car and toboggan, and opening hours.
Then I have to find out how to go - both by a hired cab and public transport.
Along the way, I realised I should be prepared to know which side of the Wall to go after we reach the top - left or right and why - left is more interesting but can be dangerous for elderly and children, right is where the toboggan is.
Another thing I need to take note is to go for the red cable car, for reasons I haven't the mood to find out.

I have yet to find out exactly how to charter a cab on my own.

I have not started deciding on the details of the itinerary yet - when and where to have breakfasts, lunches and dinners. In fact, I have not finished researching on the places to eat yet!

It is just a week away from flying. And my itinerary is still sketchy. For someone who needs to have things done much in advance, I panic.

Arrghhh ...!!!

I know if I get to choose all over again, I would have chosen to go down this path no less. For the fussy pot that I am, it's painful for me to compromise my wants of quality with quantities offered by the agencies.