Notes, trip to China, 2001

by Gerald Oskoboiny

I am using this page to plan my trip to China, this April 21-27. (part of a longer trip to Asia)

My current plan (as of 2001-04-20, just a few hours before leaving) is to spend about 6 days in Beijing, then fly to Hong Kong on the 27th and continue from there. I decided to skip Xian since I had to delay my trip by a couple days.

I put some photos of the Beijing segment of my trip online, but most of the photos I have taken on this trip are on film, which hasn't been developed yet.

Below are some rough notes I took while planning my trip:

• Itinerary possibilities/notes:
  • Hong Kong to Beijing to Xian to Hong Kong?
    (fly to Beijing, overnight train to Xian, fly to Hong Kong?)
  • Hong Kong to Beijing to Kunming to Hong Kong?
    (hmm... probably too much travelling, and Xian sounds cool anyway.)
  • might be good to cruise the Yangtze to view the Three Gorges before they are flooded forever in 2007, but I'll probably go back before then (and I'll hopefully have more time next time)
  • maybe try to find some kind of short seminar on the web or investing in Beijing, so I can write off that part of the trip?
• Great Wall (best viewed near Beijing, I think):
  • philg recommends Mutianyu, also endorsed by a reader
  • Simatai recommended by this reviewer; highest-reviewed site in the Beijing area; also recommended by Frommer's
  • Frommer's has some info on the Great Wall, including Simatai
  • "avoid organized tours of the Great Wall... Most often they are scams that rope you into a "hostage" situation in which they take you to pearl, silk or cloisonne factories... Instead arrange through your hotel a driver or taxi to take you to Mutianyu and tell them you want to go DIRECTLY there, have him wait, then directly back. (He'll wait, you don't pay him until you return back to the hotel). This should cost from 300-600 RMB, maybe a little more for a nicer car." -- Rich Sintchak
  • The Fourteenth Tower article by Jeff Booth
  • Cool things to do while on the wall:
    • call mom, others from my cell phone while on the wall
    • get some cool panoramic video footage, using a tripod
• Xian is highly reviewed on epinions
• Useful sites:
  • photo.net guide to China
  • lonely planet: destination China (also, travellers' reports)
  • epinions destinations: China
  • Frommer's: Asia: Beijing
  • Joseph's HK travel diary
  • cheapflights.com's Beijing page has a few useful links along the right side
  • philg's PhotoCDs, pcd1670, pcd1672, pcd0656
  • justlikebeingthere.com photos
  • AT&T internet dialup local access numbers
  • Net cafes in China
• Flight prices within China on Travelocity as of 2001-03-17:
  Hong Kong (hkg) -> Kunming (kmg) starts at $233 usd, 2 hrs
  Kunming (kmg) -> Beijing (pek) starts at $178 usd, 3 hrs
  Beijing (pek) -> Hong Kong (hkg) starts at $338 usd, 3.5 hrs
• Tiglion Travel (Hong Kong) seems to offer cheaper fares than Travelocity: HKG/BJS for HKD 2980 ($360 USD) +tax as of 2001-04-13
• wingontravel.com recommended on Usenet for cheap flights
• exchange rates as of 2001-04-13:
  • $1 CAD = 5.29 Yuan (CNY), 5.00 Hong Kong dollars (HKD)
  • $1 USD = 8.27 Yuan, 7.80 HKD
• weather: Hong Kong, Beijing, Xian, Kunming, Guangzhou

Last modified: $Date: 2007/05/16 03:35:34 $
Gerald Oskoboiny, <gerald@impressive.net>