Preparation for traveling to Chengdu, China

To prepare for our trip to Chengdu, China, we first secured our flights. As we were traveling during the peak Hari Raya Aidilfitri season, we booked our tickets six months in advance. We used websites like Skyscanner, Cheapflights, and Google Flights to compare options based on travel period, flight duration, number of transits, and arrival times. After reviewing several choices, we selected a Thai Airways flight from Penang to Chengdu. This flight departs in the morning, has a short travel time with only one transit, and arrives in Chengdu in the afternoon. This timing is just perfect to simplify the journey from the airport to our accommodation and allows for a smoother check-in process.
Next, we planned our itinerary. We researched reputable local travel agents in China online. They generally offered three types of packages: very cheap ones with mandatory shopping stops; moderately priced ones with no shopping; and fully customized, more expensive tours.