Travel and Tour Tips for China,very useful. (3)

Travel and Tour Tips for China,very useful. (3)
Aug 7, 2007 23:29
VIVIANWANG Points: Join Date: Aug 3, 2007 Status: offline	I hope it useful for you. Chinese Food Local food is absolutely fabulous. Try as much Chinese food as your wallet or stomach can afford. Restaurants are available everywhere and open to late hours. Most restaurants will have a menu that include photographs of the various dishes. Better yet, simply point at the food that your next door table is having, especially if it looks delicious! However, avoid street side stalls and drinking directly from the taps if you have delicate stomach. Telecommunications in China Mobile phone coverage in China is good in most locations. Global auto-roaming within China is not a problem. Internet in China There are cyber-cafes everywhere in China, especially in tourist areas. Most are patronised by young people playing online games but you still can check your Hotmail, Yahoo or Gmail. Access may be a bit slow for international websites. You will need to show your passport as China has tight regulations at Internet Cyber Cafes. Toilet facilities in China One of the worst experience many has with China is the atrocious toilet facilities. Things has improved very much but it may still be a good idea to empty your stomach or bladder at every opportunity in a hotel, restaurant or departmental store. Public toilets and toilets in small shops can be a nose hazard! * Useful China travel tips * Try to get a English speaking tour guide at every opportunity you can. China has a rich and wonderful history and culture and without a guide, somehow, the flavour and significance of most tour sites can be lost. *Sneaky tip: Hang around a group that has a English speaking guide if you cannot afford one! Always ask for a receipt from a taxi driver so that you can complain if you have been cheated or for tracing purposes if you happen to leave your camera behind in the taxi. Try to take the namecard for each hotel that you are staying at as these cards will have a Chinese address and the map of your hotel location. This is useful if you need to seek assistance to find your way back as the English version or pronounciation of a hotel or a street name may be quite different from the Chinese version. After a tiring day, check out Chinese foot reflexology or Chinese TuiNa (Chinese massage). Wonderful for the body after a hard day and very cheap to boot. Simply look out for shop signs that shows two feet! They are everywhere. Make friends with the Chinese whenever you can. They love to meet foreigners and will make good tour guides. Just buy a small present as a small token of appreciation.

Aug 7, 2007 23:29

VIVIANWANG
Points:
Join Date: Aug 3, 2007
Status: offline

I hope it useful for you.

Chinese Food
Local food is absolutely fabulous. Try as much Chinese food as your wallet or stomach can afford. Restaurants are available everywhere and open to late hours. Most restaurants will have a menu that include photographs of the various dishes. Better yet, simply point at the food that your next door table is having, especially if it looks delicious!

However, avoid street side stalls and drinking directly from the taps if you have delicate stomach.

Telecommunications in China
Mobile phone coverage in China is good in most locations. Global auto-roaming within China is not a problem.

Internet in China
There are cyber-cafes everywhere in China, especially in tourist areas. Most are patronised by young people playing online games but you still can check your Hotmail, Yahoo or Gmail. Access may be a bit slow for international websites.

You will need to show your passport as China has tight regulations at Internet Cyber Cafes.

Toilet facilities in China
One of the worst experience many has with China is the atrocious toilet facilities. Things has improved very much but it may still be a good idea to empty your stomach or bladder at every opportunity in a hotel, restaurant or departmental store. Public toilets and toilets in small shops can be a nose hazard!

* Useful China travel tips *
Try to get a English speaking tour guide at every opportunity you can. China has a rich and wonderful history and culture and without a guide, somehow, the flavour and significance of most tour sites can be lost.

*Sneaky tip: Hang around a group that has a English speaking guide if you cannot afford one!

Always ask for a receipt from a taxi driver so that you can complain if you have been cheated or for tracing purposes if you happen to leave your camera behind in the taxi.

Try to take the namecard for each hotel that you are staying at as these cards will have a Chinese address and the map of your hotel location. This is useful if you need to seek assistance to find your way back as the English version or pronounciation of a hotel or a street name may be quite different from the Chinese version.

After a tiring day, check out Chinese foot reflexology or Chinese TuiNa (Chinese massage). Wonderful for the body after a hard day and very cheap to boot. Simply look out for shop signs that shows two feet! They are everywhere.

Make friends with the Chinese whenever you can. They love to meet foreigners and will make good tour guides. Just buy a small present as a small token of appreciation.

Aug 8, 2007 04:58	#1
APAULT Points: Join Date: Mar 11, 2006 Status: Offline	I have only had to show ID in two cities, one was Shanghai (but not required in Pudong!), and the other was... oh, it's tough getting old and the memory weakens.

Aug 9, 2007 10:34	#2
KENXI Points: Join Date: Mar 27, 2007 Status: Offline	Thank you, VivianWang, for your practical and most useful travel tips!

Aug 17, 2007 07:48	#3
BILLYBAXTER Points: Join Date: Aug 4, 2007 Status: Offline	I may try to limit my intake of chinese food given the limitation of the toilet facilities. How do chinese latrines compare to the Pakistan thunder box?

Sep 4, 2007 19:00

YINDUFFY
Points:
Join Date: Aug 8, 2007
Status: Offline

Here are some tips - Choose pants with deep pockets. In one of those pockets you will carry kleenex or paper napkins at all times. Maybe a wetwipe or two also as you will find no toilet paper or hand towels in any public access restroom. The deep pocket will also help you feel more secure in a situation where you may fear pickpockets. Throw some plastic forks,spoons and knives into your luggage just in case. Take a folding combination tool like a basic Leatherman tool in your checked luggage. I like to take a pocket notebook to keep a diary and write down email addresses and contact info on people I meet. If your camera can take AA batteries that's a plus.
If you see kids or adults looking at you, give them a friendly wave - they will get a kick out of it. Chinese do not normally acknowledge each other-even if they bump into another. If someone stops you and asks if they can practice English with you, take a minute and help them. You will make their day. Adults and young children may approach you for this.
I personally have found the food horrible. I have lost weight on each trip. If you like spicy food, ginger, cilantro and internal organs and bone fragments you will do just fine. Even the snack foods are radically different from Western tastes. Just grin and bear it.
They are trying their best. Older people criticize McDonalds and KFC but they do good business. They call it "junk food" over their too but how does it compare health-wise to duck gizzards, pig lung soup, Cow leg ligaments, sea worms, snake bile, snake blood (raw), duck necks or oil drenched vegetables?
The buses are modern and people always give up their seat to someone with a baby or very young child or elderly people. City buses sometimes even have TV!
Many parts of China can be very dusty which means mud when it rains. However the residents will always be seen wearing bright clean clothes. If you let your clothes get grimy, you will stand out.
Except for big stores, be prepared to haggle.
The people are friendly and understanding. If you are having difficulty, someone will help you. Watch out near train and bus stations because they know that travelers are unfamiliar with the territory. They are more likely to cheat another Chinese than a foreign tourist but still be on guard.
Except for the food, I have always enjoyed China and its people.

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