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Tag: Long Layover

  • Stopping Through Santiago

    Stopping Through Santiago

    [vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]I fell in love with Buenos Aires in 2012, but hadn’t been back to South America since. Toby had spent 3 weeks mountaineering in Peru in 2011 – and we knew we were getting due for another trip down south. I had always assumed the next stop would be Rio, maybe somewhere in Colombia, until we scored $200 flights through an Orbitz error fare. We didn’t spend a whole lot of time in Santiago as we wanted to see as much of the country as possible (in a whopping 8 days) but we did manage to sneak in some great meals and sightseeing.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

    Where to Stay

    W Santiago – We used points for most of our trip to Chile, which landed us at the W for the first two nights we were there. The W definitely didn’t disappoint (I’m a sucker for hotel rooms with balconies) and most of the Starwood and Marriott hotels were in the same neighborhood (Las Condes). The neighborhood seemed to have some restaurants but seemed to be more of a business district so we did spend time ubering back and forth to other parts of town, like Bellavista.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”787″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_rounded”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Hotel Loreto – an overnight layover seemed to be our only option between our time in Patagonia and the Atacama desert, so I chose somewhere that would be nice enough to sleep and shower in, and focused more on the neighborhood. We ended up having a 3-hour delay leaving Patagonia so I was even more pleased with my decision to not spend a large sum of money or points for about 6 hours in a room. The room was nice enough (small) and the location was great (and only about a block from the restaurant we had dinner reservations at). I’d recommend this hotel to anyone on a budget – after all, you’re probably spending most of your day out and about![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

    Where to Eat (and Drink)

    Bocanariz – We landed in Santiago a bit before lunch time, so I was more than ready for some food (and wine) once we dropped our bags at the hotel. Bocanariz hit the spot. They had many different wine flights to choose from so we each ordered something different, and snacked on empanadas and their version of patatas bravas. It was also my first introduction to Chile being more expensive than Argentina.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”780″ img_size=”500x” alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_rounded”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Restaurant 040 – while I didn’t find many of our meals in Chile very inexpensive, Restaurant 040 was our splurge. We did a 10? 12? course tasting that was absolutely amazing. I mean everything. Was. So. Delicious. And worth every dollar. We booked in advance and were able to go to Room #9 (their speakeasy bar) after dinner. Even if you decide not to splurge for dinner, I recommend trying to check out Room #9 – I believe there is a new password every day, but the drinks and setting are amazing. The restaurant was located in the Bellavista area, so convenient to many other places.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”786″ img_size=”500x” alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_rounded”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Sarita Colonia – located a block away from Hotel Loreto in the Bellavista neighborhood, this restaurant was full of quirky, strange things, and delicious food with a Peruvian flair. We ended up getting to our reservation an hour late (thanks to our 3-hour flight delay) but they were still able to sit us. I’ve heard that the roof deck is amazing but we didn’t have a chance to check it out.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”789″ img_size=”500x” alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_rounded”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Barrica 94 – this restaurant and wine bar is located in the area named Patio Bellavista. What that is is really a collection of all different types of restaurants (including a steakhouse called Montana that I found myself facing the entire time we were sipping on wine). The idea of the Patio isn’t really my style – I felt like I was in some sort of outdoor restaurant shopping mall, but I can understand why people go there and the wine (and steak) at Barrica 94 didn’t disappoint.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Chipe Libre – Républica Independiente del Pisco – no trip to Chile is complete without taking in at least one (or many) Pisco Sours. I’m sure there are plenty of places to grab a great one, but we found ourselves enjoying our last of the trip at Chipe Libre – conveniently enough right next door to Bocanariz. The decor inside was great and they had a lovely outdoor patio as well. And of course, delicious empanadas to go along with your pisco. If you really want to get into pisco, they offer pisco flights there as well.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”791″ img_size=”500x” alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_rounded”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Mercado Central de Santiago – I would NOT recommend going here if you hate fish. While you may find something to eat there that doesn’t come from the sea, the entire market is full of stalls selling all kinds of seafood so the smell is undeniable. We settled on Augusto’s, which seemed to be the largest place there, and enjoyed some King Crab and shrimp. It wasn’t anything to write home about, but the experience was at least worth a walk through.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”790″ img_size=”500x” alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_rounded”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

    What to Do

    To be honest, we didn’t DO a whole lot in Santiago. We walked around the city, stopped for food and drinks along the way, and basically used the city as numerous long layovers.

    San Cristobal Hill – while there is probably a good chance you’ll have to wait in line for a bit, I decided it was worth it to take a funicular up to the top for great views of the apparently giant city we were exploring. You can hike to the top as well but it was a rather hot day when we were there so we opted for the lazy (but sort of fun) funicular ride.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”788″ img_size=”500x” alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_rounded”][vc_single_image image=”783″ img_size=”500x” alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_rounded”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Plaza de Armas – this main square wasn’t too far from San Cristobal or the Mercado Central, and I’m glad I didn’t go well out of my way to see it. There were some pretty buildings but I felt the area was loud, congested, and made me want to run back to the peace of the Atacama desert.

    Buy Yarn! I had heard there was an entire street filled with yarn shops – and this is true. I hadn’t made a definite decision on whether I was going to buy an alpaca yarn, but when we stumbled upon the street leaving Mercado Central I felt like it was meant to be. Unfortunately, it was a lot hard to find Chilean alpaca wool than I would have thought, but I nabbed a few colors and shipped them off to my mom. Photos coming as soon as she finishes knitting me a scarf!

    All in all, I thought Santiago had enough to offer for a couple of nights. I see it more as a city people live in instead of visit (which must be why I know more people who have lived there for a few months or years at a time than visitors) but the proximity to beaches, mountains, and wineries is also amazing (reminds me of a place I might live in).

    Stay tuned to for posts on our day trip to Valparaiso and Vina del Mar and our time in the Atacama Desert.

    Check out our trip to Patagonia here![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

  • Making the Most of a Long Layover

    Making the Most of a Long Layover

    [vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]When I booked my first trip that had an extended layover in London, I knew I had to get out of the airport. One of my best friends from college had been living there for 8 years, and while we had traveled the world together, I had never been to London while she lived there. I started researching what I could do with an eight hour layover and came across many forums warning people not to bother leaving the airport, it’s too far, just stay in the lounge, etc. etc.

    Well, I was determined, so I bought the more expensive Heathrow Express train ticket and found myself in Central London in no time. I had plenty of time to run around and quickly see the sights, have a delicious brunch, and enjoy some beers in Covent Garden.  After that I was sold on long layovers.[/vc_column_text][vc_media_grid grid_id=”vc_gid:1487297397247-3b2ab382-3eeb-9″ include=”727,726,724″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]These are some things I would consider when deciding if you’ll be leaving the airport or not:

    • What time is your layover? (a 12 hour layover during the day is far different than a 12 hour layover overnight)
    • How far is the airport from the city you want to explore?
    • How long does it take to get to where you want to explore?
    • Do you have to get your checked luggage and then recheck your bag?
    • Or if you’re carrying on, where is the luggage storage?

    [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Once you’ve determined it makes sense to leave the airport and explore I always prefer to have some idea of what I want to see and do. On a 17-hour overnight layover in Tokyo I was overwhelmed by the sheer size of the city. We decided to explore just a handful of neighborhoods and felt like we saw a lot in a short amount of time.

    Things we accomplished in 17 hours:

    • Took the train into the city (chose the neighborhood of Shinjuku due to it’s central location and ease of getting from the airport)
    • Ate sushi
    • Checked out the giant crosswalks and famous statue of the dog, Haichiko in Shibuya
    • Ate ramen
    • Wandered around the little alleyways and tiny bars of Golden Gai
    • Had some cocktails

    On the way back we had a 6 hour layover so spent some time in much closer, Narita. We ate some sticky buns, more ramen, had personalized chopsticks made (tourist alert!) and checked out some temples.

    • Took a shower and got some sleep
    • Spent the morning at the Meiji Shrine near Harajuku

    [/vc_column_text][vc_media_grid element_width=”6″ gap=”10″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1487297434734-814b9500-3197-2″ include=”725,722″][vc_media_grid element_width=”6″ gap=”10″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1487297459027-8396eb72-d728-9″ include=”721,723″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]A year later I was in a similar situation in Shanghai. An overnight layer on the way to Hong Kong and an afternoon layover on the way home. This time I was able to:

    • Take in the beautiful skyline at night and during a bright, sunny day
    • Head to 86th floor of the Hyatt Jin Mao for drinks and (some) views – it was pretty smoggy up there
    • Enjoy authentic Chinese food
    • Wander around The Bund
    • Visit Yu Yuan Garden
    • …and of course sleep and shower!

    [/vc_column_text][vc_media_grid grid_id=”vc_gid:1487297488004-4f20b5e3-1fd4-6″ include=”728,729,730″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Now I am not only determined to make the most of any long layover, I actually look for them when booking flights! Where’s your favorite long layover or stopover you’ve been?[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

  • Long Layover: Shanghai Edition

    Long Layover: Shanghai Edition

    [vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]While I have some recommendations and tips for a long layover in Shanghai, I have to admit, it didn’t make it on the favorite places list. Perhaps Shanghai requires a longer stay in order to truly appreciate it (and I must admit there were places I had on my list of things to do and see that I didn’t make it to) but I tried to make the best of my long layovers anyhow![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

    Customs:

    The negative experiences really started as soon as I got off the plane. I bee-lined it to the 144-hour visa line and luckily there were only about 10 or so people in front of me. Piece of cake, right? Wrong. I’m not sure what was going on with the couple at the front of the line but we just didn’t move. They finally opened up a second line for those of us staying in Shanghai for under 24 hours (although I’m really not sure why this would be a requirement to be in one line over another) and that cut the number of people in front of me down to 5. The line started to move but it still took me about an hour to get through customs.

    As a side note, on my way back through Shanghai on the way home this entire process took less than 15 minutes.

    Tip: make sure you have proof of your flight that will be taking you out of Shanghai within the 144-hour visa. I also had the name of the hotel I was staying at but they didn’t inquire.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”676″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_rounded”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

    Cash:

    Once through customs, I made my way to the ATM. It didn’t work. A woman working at a car service desk told me it only worked with domestic cards. To be honest, I have no idea if there was another ATM in the airport that would have taken international cards because at this point I just wanted to get to my hotel. I paid for the car service with credit card and after a few minutes wait I was on my way. The car ride was about 40 minutes and cost $65.

    You’re probably thinking, “she showed up in China with no cash?” and you’d be right. Aside from being the crazy cash girl in Cuba where I knew I would have to bring all of the cash I needed for the entire trip, I’ve never had an issue using the ATM at any airport so yes, I showed up in China with $3.

    Luckily I knew it would be easy to find an ATM once I was in the city. The only problem was it was a Saturday evening and there seemed to be only banks lining The Bund with no outdoor ATMs. When I finally came across an ATM it was in Chinese and there didn’t seem to be an English option. Hopefully, you don’t find yourself in this bind, but if you do, the Waldorf Astoria (on The Bund) has an ATM near reception.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

    Stay:

    Due to my limited time I chose a hotel on The Bund. I picked Les Suites Orient as they were reasonably priced (and I could use Chase Sapphire Reward points). The hotel room was very nice and I took the below picture after just walking across the street from the hotel. It was on the more southern end of The Bund but near restaurants and Yu Yuan Garden.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”686″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_rounded”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

    Eat & Drink:

    Another issue I had was finding a place to eat dinner that Saturday evening. By the time I had gotten settled, took some skyline photos and was ready for dinner, it was after 9pm. I had a few spots written down that were close to the hotel (since I was cash-less at this point I knew a taxi was off limits) and both were closed when I went to eat. What kind of restaurants are closed before 9:30pm on a Saturday night right on The Bund in a city of 23 million people?! I still don’t understand.

    After my unsuccessful attempts at scoring some Chinese food I settled for Pop, a rooftop bar restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating. It was a rather warm (and humid) night so I choose to enjoy my yummy almond curry outside. At least I had a pretty view of skyline and was eating some sort of Asian food?[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”684″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_rounded”][vc_column_text]Luckily, on my way back through Shanghai I did make it to Shanghai Grandmother Restaurant which had been on my list of restaurants to try. We had a noodle soup (I was freezing that day, but it honestly didn’t have much taste) and some chicken with peanuts and rice that reminded me of a Kung Pao chicken. Our waiter did not speak English much at all but the menu was filled with photos which made things a lot easier.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”677″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_rounded”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Cloud 9 in Hyatt Jin Mao – after attempting to go to the Shanghai Tower, realizing we had to buy tickets in advance, and seeing how smoggy it looked from the camera up above, we settled on drinks at the bar on the 87th floor of the Hyatt Jin Mao. We went between tea time and dinner time so we had the bar area we were in mostly to ourselves and enjoyed $15 glasses of wine before heading to the airport to make our way home.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”678″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_rounded”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

    Do:

    With my first layover primarily being overnight, I didn’t have time to do much besides wander around The Bund and take photos of the skyline (especially considering I had no cash to get anywhere very far). In my opinion walking along The Bund is a must at some point in your trip.

    On our daytime layover, we did try to make it over to Yu Yuan Garden. It was a cool area to walk around, but it was a Sunday so it was packed. We took a few photos but never actually made it into the garden – maybe if you can, save that for a weekday!

    If I went back I’d definitely want to check out the French Concession neighborhood and try to make it to the top of Shanghai Tower (if the weather was agreeable).[/vc_column_text][vc_media_grid grid_id=”vc_gid:1482290783318-bf1e7f45-f1f7-5″ include=”682,679,681″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

    Additional Tips:

    On our second layover in Shanghai we bought roundtrip tickets on the Maglev (the fastest magnetic levitation train in the world) and it took about 8 minutes to get from the airport to the city. Once you get to the city you are still a taxi ride away from anywhere you are probably looking to go to.

    Once you get in a taxi, make sure you have a taxi card for your hotel, or wherever you are going translated into Chinese – otherwise there seems to be a decent chance your taxi driver will have no idea what you are saying – even if you try to show him on a map.

    Have cash! We paid for taxis in cabs and some food as well. Of course, the hotels will take credit card but it’s definitely more of a cash society than most other big cities I’ve been to.

    Enjoy! While Shanghai wasn’t my favorite city, there were still good experiences during both layovers and now I’ve finally gotten to experience mainland China, if only for a short amount of time![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]