The Great Blog of North China

This is where we are!!

(North China)

Seems weird to not have Canadian money but the Chinese Yuan Renminbi is pretty cool!

Also as you may know the official language isn't English, (who woulda thunk...) it's Mandarin and Wu! We all have our translation books out and ready to be used.

The super awesome new addition to our passports! Our tourist visa!

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After a gruelling 11 hour flight across the Pacific Ocean, we finally made it to Beijing!! We decided that since we were going to be jetlagged from the crazy time change that we would just take it easy on our first day.
Our first stop from the airport was our hotel, Beijing Hotel.
First impression of the hotel: it's beautiful and we were greeted with a nice hot cup of green tea which we all thoroughly enjoyed!
The Beijing Hotel is a five star hotel located by one of Beijing's major shopping areas. It is also only a few steps away from the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, Great Hall of the People and the Grand National Theater. (See map below)

After settling into our Standard Room, we decided to head down to the dining rooms to get some food. There are many different cuisine options including Japanese, Western and Cantonese. We decided to try the Cantonese food just to get ourselves right into the culture of China.

After eating dinner and relaxing a bit more, we decided to take a quick dip in the indoor pool to end the night. We are so excited to be in China for the next 2 weeks! It's going to be a great adventure!!

Sorry we haven’t updated the blog for the past few days; we’ve been really busy touring around Beijing which was so much fun! We got so lucky with our choice of hotel because there are so many attractions within walking distance which has made it so much easier to get around. I put a map in the last blog post (if you haven’t seen it yet).

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So our first stop was the Forbidden City, which is actually right across the street from our hotel. It was CNY 40 ($6.25 CAD) which is a really good price for the size of the site. It was known as the Forbidden City because everyone was forbidden to enter unless you had full permission from the Emperor himself to enter into the city. The Forbidden City was built between 1406 and 1420 and consists of 980 different buildings (you can’t visit every one) and it covers a total of 7,800,000 sq ft. You’re probably thinking “wow that’s really big, it must be easy to get around right”? WRONG!!!! I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many people in one place; so definitely keep that in mind if you visit the Forbidden City because I wish we had known that. The only way to avoid the crowd is to go early in the morning, right when it opens.

The Forbidden City was actually used to house the Emperor and his family while he was in rule. Just imagine it: living on a property bigger than Disneyland and California Adventure Park put together! I don’t think I would ever have an issue with that. It was also used as the ceremonial and political centre of China during the Ming and Qing dynasties. The city was split into 2 sections; the Outer Court (Front Court) and the Inner Court (Back Palace). The Outer Court, which is the southern part of the city, was the area used for political and ceremonial services. The Inner Court, the northern part of the city, was where the Emperor and his family were housed. In 1987, the Forbidden City was declared as a UNESCO World heritage Site.

A. Meridian Gate
B. Gate of Divine Might
C. West Glorious Gate
D. East Glorious Gate
E. Corner towers
F. Gate of Supreme Harmony
G. Hall of Supreme Harmony
H. Hall of Military Eminence
J. Hall of Literary Glory
K. Southern Three Places
L. Palace of Heavenly Purity
M. Imperial garden
N. Hall of Mental Cultivation
O. Palace of Tranquil Longevity

City view - North

Meridian Gate

We entered the Forbidden City through the Meridian Gate which is the main entrance. We walked through the whole city, but our 3 favourite buildings on the property were the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the Gate of Supreme Harmony and the Palace of Heavenly Purity. Below are some notes on each building:

Hall of Supreme Harmony
• Largest building within the city
• Located north of the Gate of Supreme Harmony
• One of the largest wooden structures in all of China
• Place of royal weddings for the Emperors

Gate of Supreme Harmony
• Second major gate in the city
• Located south of Harmony Square and the Hall of Supreme Harmony
• Central stairway was only used by the Emperor

Palace of Heavenly Purity
• Largest of the 3 halls in the Inner Court
• Served as the Emperor’s audience hall where he held council meetings
• Also used as the residence of the Emperor and his family

After we were done walking through the Forbidden City, we headed back out of the Meridian Gate and down to Tiananmen Square located right next to the Forbidden City. We first stopped at the Tiananmen Gate (Gate of Heavenly Peace) which separates the square and the Forbidden City. Tiananmen Square is mainly just used as a meeting place for rallies and city wide meetings. Flanking the square to the west is the Great Hall of People and the National Museum of China on its left. We didnt have time to stop into these 2 buildings but it was still nice to walk through a large open sqaure and just look at the beauty of the buildings surrounding the area.

Panorama View of Tiananmen Square

(All photos and info from wikipedia.com)

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I was so beyond excited for our next stop that day: the Beijing Water Cube Water Park. For anyone who doesn't remember; the Water Cube was built for the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics and was the site of all the swimming and diving events. Since the Olympics ended, they have transformed the inside into a huge indoor water park. The entrance fee into the water park was CYN 200 ($31.25 CAD) which to be honest is a great price for the amount of things you can do within the water park. (Below is an overview map)

The Water Cube Water Park has a total of 5 large water slides, a wave pool, a kids pool, a ridehouse (water jets, cranks, etc.), a lazy river (definitely a favourite for us) and a stage where they have different performances 3 times a day.

3D Renderings of the Water Park

Wave Pool

(All info and pictures from Water Park Website)

This was definitely a great way to end our day in Beijing. After we dried off, we grabbed a taxi back to our hotel so we could have dinner. That night we decided on a western dinner, since we had Chinese for lunch.

So I felt like the last blog post was getting too long so I split it into 2 posts for you.

So the next day, after having a great sleep and finally adjusted to the time change, we decided to head out to the Beijing Zoo and Aquarium. We headed to the subway station near our hotel and grabbed the line to the zoo. It took about an hour to get there, but it was way cheaper than taking a taxi and we wanted to experience the transit within Beijing at least once on our visit.

Entrance into the zoo was CNY 15($2.35 CAD) and the aquarium was CNY 120($18.75 CAD). The zoo is home to roughly 450 different species and houses about 5,000 animals. They have both rare Chinese animals (Giant Panda and golden monkeys) and animals from the rest of the world including zebras, polar bears and american bison. The 2 most famous halls within the zoo are the Giant Panda Hall and the Gorilla Hall.

Giant Panda Hall
Covering an area of 2.5 acres, the Giant Panda Hall replicates a traditional Chinese garden. The zoo also takes into large consideration the needs of such large animals and strive to always make sure these endangered animals are properly cared for.

Gorilla Hall
built just 2 years before the Giant Panda Hall, the Gorilla Hall was constructed, housing many different climbing apparatuses for the gorillas. Within the hall, there is also a medical room, a mating room and a specialist feeding room. The hall is decorated with small pools and rock formations.

Next stop was the aquarium that was attached to the zoo. The Beijing Aquarium has 6 halls: Rainforest Wonder, Shark Hall, Whale and Dolphin Bay, Seabed Travel, Feel Pool and Ocean Theater.

Rainforest Wonder
This hall is made to depict a miniature rainforest that resembles the Amazon Basin which is home to over 100 species of rainforest fish and fresh water fish. Visitors can visit with sea elephants, man-eating fish and many other rare species found in that area of the world.

Shark Hall
When most people hear the word shark, they automatically think of giant killing machines. Visitors will be surprised to see that sharks are actually very calm and serene most of the time.

Whale & Dolphin Bay
When visitors enter the Whal & Dolphin Bay, they are entering the training school for schools of whales, dolphins and even sea lions. This hall is where these animals are professionally trained for performances and the Ocean Theater.

Seabed Travel
After walking through the undersea tunnel, you enter into a colorful and calm underwater world. The Seabed Travel Hall takes you to the bottom of the ocean where many different species of fish live. Visitors also have the opportunity to virtually shake hands with a sea turtle and even touch the underside of a great white shark.

Feel Pool
Just by the title of this hall i'm sure many of you can figure out what you can do there. The Feel Pool measures 39 yards long and resembles a long coastline. Here you can gently caress sea urchins, mollusks, sea stars and trumpet shells. Visitors can also watch the green turtles who swim about in the pool without a care in the world.

Ocean Theater
Finally, the last stop for us was the Ocean Theater where you can choose from about 6-8 differnt shows per day, including a water ballet or an ocean animal performance. You can see many different demonstrations at the many different halls but the Ocean Theater is where you will se the dolphins, whales and sea lions perform.

We had an absolute blast walking through the zoo and the aquarium. We decided on making this day pretty short and sweet because tomorrow is our big day: we are going to walk a part of the Great Wall of China! We are so excited to see the wall and we will update you guys later with our pictures and stories!

Oh my goodness you guys!!! What a crazy day! We just walked a portion of the Great Wall of China! We decided to walk an area that was close to Beijing since we didnt want to go to far out because it would have cost us alot more money. We found a tour that took us out to the area of the wall that we wanted to walk. Since it takes about 3.5 hours one way, we had to leave extremely early in the morning, like 6 a.m. The part of the wall that we walked was the Shanhaiguan Pass. The cost to walk the wall was CNY 35 ($5.50 CAD). We only walked a small portion of this pass since this pass extends quite a long way and we had a long ride back into Beijing. There are many different spots along the pass that you could start at but we thought it would be cool to actually start at the beginning of the wall.

We started our "great walk" at the Laolongtou Great Wall (Old Dragon's Head) which is the eastern starting point of the Ming Dynasty Great Wall. This section of the wall is called the Old Dragon's Head because from the side, it looks like a dragon drinking the water from the Bohai Sea. The Laolongtou Great Wall is comprised of the Chenghai Pavilion, the Nereus Temple and the Nanhaokou (Southern Estuary) Pass and the Ninghai City.

Chenghai Pavilion
This pavilion is the most celebrated artitectural structure of this portion of the wall. It's a two-storey brick and wood building the the Emperor's of the Qing Dynasty would visit to worship their ancestors and to leave poems and inscriptions. There are many poems and inscriptions left on tablets by famous poets.

Nereus Temple
The Nereus Temple is 0.2 miles from the start of the Laolongtou Great Wall. It consists of the Drum Tower, the Nereus Bridge and the Hall of the Goddess of Heaven. Inside the temple is a sculpture of Nereus, Goddess of Heaven.

Nanhaokou Pass & Ninghai City
The Ninghai City & Nanhaokou Pass were built during the Ming Dynasty. Flanking the city gates to the north and the west are watchtowers that guard the South China Sea. The Nanhaokou Pass is ranked as the #1 pass of the Ming Dynasty Great Wall.

Walking the Great Wall of China was a great experience for all of us. We may have only seen a small part of it but it was still such a great thing for us to experience on our first trip to China!

We had an early morning today as we had to get to the Beijing Capital International Airport for our flight to Xi'an! Leaving Beijing was hard but I was incredibly excited to get to Xi'an, one of the oldest cities in China and one of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China. The flight was just over three hours and once we arrived into Xi'an Xianyang International Airport we hopped into a cab to get to our hotel, the Bell Tower Hotel. The Bell Tower Hotel is right in the centre of the city beside the Bell Tower and Drum Tower Square.

After settling into our Standard Room, we decided we would head into the city to grab lunch, check out the famous Grand Mosque, and the Beilin Museum which are both situated close to our hotel.

Xi'an Lunch

For lunch we stopped at a placed called Xi'an Famous Foods, and it was by far one of the best lunches I have ever had! Xi'an is known for not serving "typical Chinese food", and this resturant has an amazing menu including many dishes made with the Middle Eastern and Chinese Foods that the city is known for. I ended up ordering the Spicy Cumin Lamb Hand - Ripped Noodles in Soup which was listed as their most popular soup - and did it ever live up to its reputation! With it I also got the Chang-an Spicy Tofu, the waitress suggested it and seeing as I had never tried tofu before I though I would give it a shot. It was a little to spicy for my taste but at least now I can say I have tried tofu....and in China no less!

Grand Mosque

Our first stop was to the Great Mosque of Xi’an, one of the oldest mosques in the country as it was founded in 742. Before stopping at the mosque I was expecting to see a traditional style mosque with the commonly used minarets, but I was definitely pleasantly surprised. The mosque is completely built in a Chinese architectural style, apart from a few Arabic letterings and decorations. It is still used by Chinese Muslims today as a place of worship.

Beilin Museum

Our next stop was to the Beilin Museum, also known as the Stele Forest. The admission fee was CNY 50 and we walked around exploring for 3 hours…but I easily could have spent more time their! The museum is located where the site of the Temple of Confucius once stood during the Northern Song dynasty (960-1127). The Stele Forest first came to be when precious stone steles where moved there for safe keeping, including the Classic on Filial Piety written by Emperor Xuanzong in 745 A.D. We got to see stone steles from the Han Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty. The calligraphy collection was amazing to see! In the history of Chinese art calligraphy holds the same importance as paintings and the many inscriptions were beautiful to look at.

After our early flight and busy day all we wanted was a nice meal and our cozy beds. We ended up making our way back to our hotel and had supper in one of the hotel restaurants; we opted for the Western Restaurant since we have been stuffing our face with so much Chinese food lately. We made an early night of it since we have an exciting day planned for our second day in Xi’an!

Today we got to do a full day tour that brought us to the Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses, as well as the Ancient Xi’an City Wall! It only cost 90 USD and was a private tour with our tour advisor Pauline.

The Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses
The Terracotta Army is a collection of sculptures resembling the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China. The sculptures were buried with the emperor and were meant to protect the emperor in his afterlife, and also provide him with people to rule over. The figures were discovered in 1974 by some local farmers and they have been uncovering more and more sculptures to this day. I’m so glad we decided to take a privatized tour as the amount of things to take in while looking at the army and the amount of tourists that were there was incredibly overwhelming! Pauline made the experience that much more memorable as she pointed small things out that we would have missed otherwise. All the figures vary in heights according to their role in the army, the tallest being the generals. However the sculptures are not all military based. There is over 8,000 soldiers but also; chariots, horses, acrobats, strongmen, and musicians. The realistic appearance of these soldiers was unlike anything I had ever seen. All the figures are life sized, and all have individual facial features and expressions, once looking upon the faces of the soldiers you can really see that each sculpture was created to be unique. The majority of the weapons that they have uncovered with the soldiers have remained not only sharp but rust-free even after being buried for over 2,000 years. The museum consists of three vaults and an exhibition hall:
Vault 1
This vault is about 210 meters long and 62 meters wide and is home to close to 6000 terrocatta figures of soldiers and horses, all with either a long spear, dragger or halberd.
Vault 2
This vault is the highlight of the whole mausoleum, as it is one pit but consists of four separate units inside. The first unit consists of cross bearers all standing, kneeling or squatting and had to be my favorite viewing of the day. The way the soldiers are position make you feel as if you standing admist a battle.

The current exhibition hall is showing the bronzed chariot horses that were discovered in 1980 in encased wooden boxes that had been buried a further 8 meters down into the trenches. The bronze chariot models add to the treasures of the Terra Cotta Army and represent one of the earliest known works of delicate fine bronze.

After spending the majority of the day looking at the outstanding Terra Cotta Army Pauline took us to the Ancient Xi’an City Wall. The wall was created when Zhu Yuanzhang was given the advice that he should “build high walls, store abundant food supplies, and take time to be an Emperor” from a hermit. He took this advice and began enlarging the wall that had initially been built during the old Tang dynasty, and then the modern Xian City Wall was born. This wall is now the most complete city wall that exists in China, and is also one of the largest military defensive systems in the world. We walked along the wall and had the oppurtinuty for amazing photos from the four complicated gates named: Changle (etneral joy), Anding (harmony peace), Yongning (eternal peace), and Anyuan (forever harmony)

By the end of the day our feet were aching from all the walking, but the experience of seeing one of the great wonders of the world was worth it! Walking among the terracotta army will be an experience that will never be forgotten and we all agree will be quite difficult to top!

We're up nice and early today because we have to hop on the train and make our way to Chongqing!
We're all really excited to spend the next 7 days cruising the Yangtze River! The plan is to make our way from Chongqing and end up in Shanghai, should be quite the adventure. Just giving you all a heads up that we wont have any internet while on the cruise so this will be our last post for a few days. For those of you who are wondering what there is to see/do on a river cruise here's our itinerary, don't be too jealous!

Day 1

Destination: Chongqing
Highlights: Fengdu,
• 10:00 am depart from Chongqing. Afternoon shore excursion to Fengdu, visiting either the "Ghost City" on Mingshan Hill, or the new relocation village for families who have moved as a result of the Yangtze's rising waters brought about by the Three Gorges Dam.
• Chongqing is a modern city, China's fourth municipality after Beijing, Shanghai, and Tianjin. Within its borders Chongqing encompasses a wealth of water reserves, mineral resources, dense forests, and abundant flora and fauna. The focal point of the unique Yangtze Three Gorges Dam, Chongqing is a tourist attraction as well as a commercial city.

Day 2

Destination: Three Gorges
Highlights: Small Gorges or Shennong Stream,
• Morning excursion to Daning River Small Gorges or Shennong Stream. Evening sail through Three Gorges Dam Ship locks.
• Shennong Stream, a tributary of the Yangtze River, rises in the southern part of Shennongjia Natural Reserve. With crystal clear steam flows swiftly from north to south through deep gorges, a sampan tour will allow you to experience a speedy adventure.

Day 3

Destination: Yichang
Highlights: Three Gorges Dam,
• Morning visit to Three Gorges Dam site and reboard ship at Yichang dock.
• Three Gorges Dam site is 27 miles upstream from Yichang City, 38km upstream from the Gezhouba Dam Lock, inside the third of the Three Gorges. The height of the Three Gorges Dam will be 185 meters. All 26 generators will be put into operation. The project is scheduled for completion in year 2009.

Day 4

Destination: Yichang
Highlights: Hubei Provincial Museum
• Afternoon shore excursion of Wuhan , visiting the Hubei Provincial Museum .
• Wuhan is situated at the confluence of the Yangtze and Daning rivers, just above the western entrance to the Wu (Witches) Gorge. Wuhan, one of the largest inland cities in China, is a center of industry, finance, commerce, science, culture and education, and a hub of railways, waterways, highways, aviation, post and telecommunication of Central China.
Day 5

Destination: Huangshan
Highlights: Yellow Mountain,
• The Huangshan (Yellow Mountain) is very famous for its scenic beauty, which lies in the peculiar shapes of the granite peaks, in the weather-shaped Huangshan Pine trees, and in views of the clouds from above. The area also has hot springs and natural pools. Listed in the "Inventory of the World's Cultural and Natural Heritage" in 1990, Huangshan is one of China's most popular tourist destinations.
• Full-day shore excursion to Huangshan (Yellow Mountain). (Jiuhuashan or "Mountain of the Nine Lotuses" may be substituted if weather or road conditions do not permit a visit to Huangshan.)

Day 6

Destination: Nanjing
Highlights: Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum,
• Full day tour of Nanjing including Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum and a Qing Dynasty style Bazaar surrounding a Confucian Temple; 9:00 pm Leave Nanjing for Shanghai
• Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum is situated at the foot of the second peak of Mount Zijin (Purple Mountain) in Nanjing, China. Construction of the tomb started in January of 1926 and was finished in spring of 1929. The architect was Lu Yanzhi, who died shortly after it was finished.

Day 7

Destination: Shanghai
Highlights: Passengers disembark from the ship
• 8:00 am arrive in Shanghai, where is located at the spot where the Yangtze River enters the East China Sea which is the largest metropolis and one of the ancient cultural cities of China. It is a flourishing international metropolis, known worldwide for its highly developed industry, commerce, and finance and its convenient land, air and sea transportation, rich tourist resources, great variety of food, and recreational facilities.

We'll make sure to give an update as soon as we arrive in Shanghai, I'm sure there will be lots of pics to share!

Wow. That was an adventure to say the least!
What an exhausting 7 days.. but totally worth it!

We have so much to share we don't know where to start. Shall we take it day by day?

Day 1

So the fist day of our cruise we got the chance to explore Fengdu also known as the Ghost City. Here's a little explanation of why:
Fengdu, the city of devils, has many temples constructed on the Mingshan Hill by the river band and many statues of ghosts and devils mourning in the temples. Legends consider Fengdu a hell where man’s soul goes after his death.
It was so amazing seeing all of the statues, we took took many pictures to show them all so here are just a few

Day 2

This day we got to see the small gorge and we also got to sail through the three gorges dam ship lock, that was quite the experience!
The small gorge was selected as one of the forty top tourist attractions in China in 1991, jointly by the tourists and the China Tourism Commissioner’s votes and evaluation. We feel really fortunate to have been able to experience it's beauty.

Small Gorge

Three Gorges Dam Locks

Day 3

Spent the morning checking out the Dam itself. Its huge.
We were fortunate enough to have a wonderful tour guide who explained the entire history of the Dam. Why, how, and when it was built was just the beginning of the knowledge we gained. We wanted to share some of the facts with you, so here are a few:
The Three Gorges Dam is the world’s largest hydro-power project and most notorious dam. The massive project sets records for number of people displaced (more than 1.2 million), number of cities and towns flooded (13 cities, 140 towns, 1,350 villages), and length of reservoir (more than 600 kilometers). Interesting huh?

Day 4

We got to spend a good part of the day at the Hubei Provincial Museum. We were all weary about going to a museum but it turned out to be educational and fun. win win!

The museum collects, protects, and exhibits the cultural relics discovered in the province. Since 1953, the museum has collected over 200,000 cultural relics, including pottery, porcelains, jade, bronze vessels, ancient weapons, and ancient musical instruments. Among these cultural relics, 812 are listed as first-class relics of China, and 16 are considered national treasures.

This museum is divided into three parts: the Chime Bells Exhibition Hall, the Chu (a state in the Spring and Autumn Period (770BC-476BC)) Culture Exhibition Hall, and the Comprehensive Exhibition Building. All of which were so fascinating.

Day 5

This was my favorite day. We got the chance to see The Huangshan (Yellow Mountain). One of the most beautiful mountains I've ever had the opportunity to see.

Covering an area of 154 square meters, the Yellow Mountain has 72 peaks with different dimensions. The three main peaks - the Lotus Peak, the Bright Summit Peak and the Tiandu Peak are all above 1,800 meters.

The pine forrest, which is one of the most beautiful scenery of the Yellow Mountain, is worth careful appreciating. The pines on the Yellow Mountain have short and thick needle leaves, the top is plat as if it was pared with a knife and its shape is strange.Some pines grow from stone seams, strong and straight. There are famous pines such as greeting pines, lying dragon pines, black tiger pines, Qilin pines and Putuan pines.

Day 6

Today we got to do a full day tour of Nanjing including Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum and a Qing Dynasty style Bazaar.

Covering an area of 80,000 square meters (about 20 acres), Dr. Sun Yat-sen's Mausoleum is located in the Zhong Mountain Scenic Area in the east suburb of Nanjing City, Jiangsu Province. As the mausoleum of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, the father of the Republic of China, it is considered the Holy land of Chinese people both home and abroad. With deep historical significance, magnificent architecture and beautiful scenery, it is a must see when traveling in Nanjing.

We also browsed the bazaar and picked up quite a few silk scarves and jade rings! what a fun day.

At the Bazaar

Day 7

Finally we arrived in Shanghai (today). Approaching the city skyline from downstream was possibly the most breathtaking view we have yet to see. Words cannot describe just how spectacular it was... so here are some pictures!

More to come about Shanghai, but for now it's off to bed!

We have arrived!!! After a weeklong cruise down the Yangtze River, we disembarked into the sprawling metropolis of Shanghai! At first all we can see is the spectacular skyline, which is listed as number four of the top ten skylines in the world, and it does not disappoint. You can’t miss the Oriental Pearl Tower, with the unique design and standing at just over 1500 feet tall; it can be seen for miles. I can only imagine what it will look like tonight with all of the city lights.

I think I’ve died and gone to heaven! The 5 star PuLi Hotel and Spa is one of the most amazing hotels I have ever seen. We walked up to the concierge desk and were immediately offered a complimentary glass of champagne to enjoy during the check in process. Not a bad way to make a first impression. We were then informed of the additional perks of being a guest there such as complimentary breakfast, free mini bar that is filled daily, free wireless internet in every room and last, but certainly not least, a personal butler assigned to your room. After checking in we met “Carl”, our personal butler, who showed us up to our Deluxe King room. Just like the rest of the hotel, the room was amazing! It looked like a continuation of the spa, very relaxing and restful. After dropping of our stuff we decided to head down to the Spa for some well deserved treatments.

Check out the Hotels Website!

Of course by being a guest of this hotel, all of the treatments are free. Now it’s decision time. Do we go for the body wrap, massage, relax in the sauna, manicures and pedicures or just soak in the pool? Just standing in the entrance we could feel relaxation instantly return after almost two weeks of constant travel. There is nothing better than taking a spa day and there is no better way to follow the spa than having a drink with friends. Now it’s time to explore the rest of the hotel, by heading down to the Garden Terrace for a drink.