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Thread: First-time trip to China; need lots of help...

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[quote=JABAROOTOO              ,9941]Good on you for choosing to visit China next year.  If you can read and write Japanese you are streets ahead of most of us who have started from scratch.  After one year on the oral language you should be pretty well set for your trip.  Safety is not an issue in too many places but you do need to be careful same as anywhere you travel these days.  I travel alone sometimes and feel pretty comfortable most of the time. Trains, buses, mini vans, taxi (at set or negotiated prices) and boats are all efficient modes of transport.  Keep in mind that the further one gets from larger and less touristy places the worse the roads and the longer the trip will be but the fares are less.One trick to getting around quickly here, especially if you can communicate well is asking the right questions.  You may be told there is no transport to your next destination, end of conversation. Or it's mid afternoon and you want to keep travelling but the last bus to your destination left 30 mins ago.  You need to ask if there is a bus going to some other place on route or leaving from another bus station.  Just keep asking until you get as much information as you can so you can make a decission based on all the info.  My last trip we did a lot of short bus rides to avoid the night sleeper buses which are none too savoury on some of the runs.  Have a look at the buses before signing up for these.  Some are really good but trains are better where they are available.  Have you tried the schedules listed on this site.  They are pretty easy to navigate once you know how.I recommend Juizhaigou in northern Sichuan and Chengdu along with the Bamboo Sea area which has a lot to offer and is easy to get to.  Close to Leshan (Giant Buddha) and Emei, two popular temple areas.  Yunnan is easy to get around  Guizhou is great but heading into Hunnan transport is a little different and requires some patience. We took a lot of small minivans or negotiated a taxi which is great if you are a group otherwise you have to wait until they are full but still a convenient option for all travellers.  I travelled with my girlfriend and two yong Chinese freinds which made life much easier for us all around.  I'll be posting some of this summers travels during the next few weeks so have a look for them.  Any more questions?  Just ask.  You've got lots of time but it will go pretty quickly[/quote]

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