China Accommodation for Student

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  1. #1

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    China Accommodation for Student

    I'm planning to travel China by myself from Christmas for about a month. Basically work my way down the country from Beijing (flying there from here on the 24th), visiting the major sites, Shanghai, Xi'an, Nanjing, etc., back to HK.

    My question is, how should I go about finding/booking accomm (and transport)? I won't have a strict itinerary, nor strict list of destinations, so I'll be mainly playing it by ear.

    Same goes for transport. Are trains & buses my best option? And can I buy tickets for most places on the day?

    I'm just a student, so I'll be looking for reasonably priced places. Should I stick to hotels/motels/hostels? My main concern is cleanliness believe it or not. I'd hate to come back to HK with bed bugs or something (touch wood!).

    Any recommendations or books or advice or whatever is appreciated. I'm doing this largely on a whim!

    Cheers.


  2. #2

    For transport, just use elong or ctrip. Flights are a lot more convenient, and are pretty cheap. Beijing-Xian should cost around 200RMB.

    They do hotels as well.


  3. #3

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  4. #4

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    Get yourself a copy of the Lonely Planet guidebook on China. It's really bulky but absolutely invaluable in terms of the details it gives you - not just about the history of all the cultural sites you're likely to vist, but also about the cheapest places to stay, the best places to shop and eat on a budget, and how to get buses and trains to take you where you need to go.

    If you don't speak any Mandarin then get a Lonely Planet Mandarin phrase book, too. When I first landed in China a few years back I had with me a Rough Guide phrase book and the Lonely Planet one. The Lonely Planet version was infinitely more useful.

    If you intend to play it by ear during your visit then you should be aware that certain tickets cannot be bought on the day but must be booked in advance. Outside of the major cities (Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen) you will find very little English spoken and may need to rely heavily on either your phrase book, the generous help of any passer-by who might know a few English words, or on your ability to express yourself through creative gesticulations.

    That said, don't worry too much about it all - I'm sure you'll muddle through, somehow, and will have a great time with plenty of stories to tell when you get back. Just watch out for heavily tattooed men trying to befriend you late at night in KTV bars. They're most likely NOT licenced vetinary surgeons so have no business talking to you about horse tranqulisers.


  5. #5

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    Quote Originally Posted by M Khan:
    Get yourself a copy of the Lonely Planet guidebook on China. It's really bulky but absolutely invaluable in terms of the details it gives you - not just about the history of all the cultural sites you're likely to vist, but also about the cheapest places to stay, the best places to shop and eat on a budget, and how to get buses and trains to take you where you need to go.

    If you don't speak any Mandarin then get a Lonely Planet Mandarin phrase book, too. When I first landed in China a few years back I had with me a Rough Guide phrase book and the Lonely Planet one. The Lonely Planet version was infinitely more useful.

    If you intend to play it by ear during your visit then you should be aware that certain tickets cannot be bought on the day but must be booked in advance. Outside of the major cities (Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen) you will find very little English spoken and may need to rely heavily on either your phrase book, the generous help of any passer-by who might know a few English words, or on your ability to express yourself through creative gesticulations.

    That said, don't worry too much about it all - I'm sure you'll muddle through, somehow, and will have a great time with plenty of stories to tell when you get back. Just watch out for heavily tattooed men trying to befriend you late at night in KTV bars. They're most likely NOT licenced vetinary surgeons so have no business talking to you about horse tranqulisers.

    Thanks M Khan, ^ some invaluable information right there. I'll visit Page One in the coming days and buy both books. I've already been told by a number of people that the phrase book is a must - understandably!

    I'm trying not to worry about it to much - my mother seems to be the most stressed about the idea of me traveling China alone, but I think I'll be fine.

    Thanks for heads up in regards to more regional transport, I guess I'll spend atleast a day or two in most destinations, so booking ahead by 24 odd hours shouldnt be much a problem in most instances.

    How bad/unclean is the accomm. in some of the smaller cities? I've heard Beijing/Shanghai are very reasonable, but elsewhere, I may struggle..

    Keep the suggestions coming guys, greatly apprecaiated!

  6. #6

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    China is pretty advanced and civilised these days - I suspect the accommodation is going to be pretty clean but may be just "different" to what you are used to! I found major hotels in cities to be absolutely fine, I suspect smaller places are just that, smaller, not necessarily dirtier!


  7. #7

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    I've stayed in many different places in the mainland and by-and-large the hostels and hotels have been clean and not too small. In really remote places you're likely to find all manner of exotic insects in the bathrooms, however encounters with rats and cockroaches are rare.

    In some cities you will find rats sitting next to you in the local bars (litterally!) and dead cockroaches littering the streets in the mornings. In other cities you will marvel at the how shiny and clean everything seems to be. The southern parts of the mainland are plagued by mosquitos, and while these rarely turn out to be disease-bearing you should none-the-less make sure you're up-to-date with all your jabs before you make the trip.


  8. #8

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    Quote Originally Posted by M Khan:
    The southern parts of the mainland are plagued by mosquitos, and while these rarely turn out to be disease-bearing you should none-the-less make sure you're up-to-date with all your jabs before you make the trip.
    Visiting the travel clinic on Friday to make sure I'm up to date.
    Will probably pick up some Malaria medication as well.
    But are these southern regions even plagued at this time of year? Things are getting pretty cool, no?..

  9. #9

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    Be very careful with malaria medication. I agree - it's abit too cool for mossies right now and malaria meds can make you more sick than malaria....


  10. #10

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    There are definitely far fewer mosquitos at this time of year than in the summer months, however don't forget that southern Guangdong Province is sub-tropical and there may still be a few of the little blighters hanging around even in winter. I've received the occasional mosquito bite in every Chinese winter I've seen (4 winters so far, including two of the coldest winters on record).

    Having said that, I have never taken malaria medication in China and the vast majority of the locals get by just fine their entire lives. There really isn't a big malaria problem in China. The principal health threat from mosquitos in China is actually Dengue fever, though, again, you're very unlikely to encounter this. The bites are more irritating than threatening. Your doctor will be able to advise you better on what meds you might want.

    You should also check out the forum pages of travelchinaguide.com, if you haven't already. There are a lot of well-seasoned veterans of the mainland hanging around there who can probably give you more detailed and specific advice.

    My mother worried and worried before I flew out. She went out to the shops and bought phrase books, dictionaries and lots of pocket-sized packs of Kleenex. She was spot-on with the Kleenex and I would add a good hand sanitiser to that, too. You are almost certain to encounter toilet facilities that have neither soap nor running water. Just remember - it's all part of the Adventure.

    I loved every minute of my time there and I'm sure you will, too. Just don't forget the most important thing: you must buy some cheap, tourist trinket to take home to your mum (preferrably with an amusing story about how you haggled over the price with an old Chinese guy who couldn't speak a word of English).


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