A friend is headed to China and asked for my 2c on traveling in China and some logistical info so here it is.
Hi Firend,
In terms of China; You might also want to check out our trip on http://triptracker.net/trip/1420/ for details and a map of our trip through China.
First up I would really recommend having a look at a Lonely Planet China book before you get there. Because they are black listed in the country, so if you change you mind you will find it most difficult to get one (although it is not impossible, just don’t leave them in Taxi like I did after 2days tracking them down). They are great because they have details about transport, maps for most places you are likely to visit, and accommodation info. This way you know where to head when you get of a bus/train and won’t be left to do battle with the hawkers who usually try and take advantage of the fact you don’t know squat. You should also spend a bit of time looking googling “China travel blogs” there are some great sites out there and since we didn’t have a guide book for much of our time in China (because I left the silly thing in a taxi) this was our primarily source of travel information. Some of the sites have China broken down into regions, and even cities. So you can look over all the posts for a particular area and review posts to find out what others did.
There are many internet cafes in China and are very cheep. Although I they will all be in Chinese which can be a little disorienting. I found a inivative solution to this problem by downloading “Portable Apps Suite” and installing it on my USB drive. This essentially puts a copy of programs like Firefox, Open Office Word, an Email client like Thunderbird on you USB stick so you can run them from any computer. Well worth looking into.
You might find that you really have to put your foot down and be very direct with some people. Try not to let this bother you. You might also want to look up single women traveling in China. As it was usually me who put my foot down in tough situations and it might be different if your a woman. Not sure. Let me know your experience.
As a general rule, we would always look at two places before deciding on the room. This gives you an easy way out of a situation if you don’t like a room. Always ask to see the room first, and ALWAYS ask if that is there best price. They will often drop the price… you can use the walk out tactic… say its to expensive, I am willing to pay xxx this is my limit, can you do this, they say NO. You say ok I will have to go somewhere else, turn around a start for the door and the price might drop. Don’t be afraid to ask places that look expensive if they have a room within your range. In the south there are some less busy/poorer regions that would rather have someone than noone stay.
You can learn the symbols for hotel and walk up and down the main streets looking for them, but it can be very tiering after a long trip on the train. Hostels are usually more expensive that hotels, this is because the people there are likely to speak English well and they will cater to western particulars. They usually have a western kitchen which although not great food, is sometime a nice change especially when you might be home sick.
We mostly got around with bus in the south, and trains in the north of china. Write out what ticket you want in Chinese characters, 1 person, from x to x, date and time, class before you try and buy a ticket. Also try and get a seat in the middle of the cabin, this will be aways from the (smelly) toilet, loud banging door, and cigarette smoke. Or alternatively have someone buy it for you. Have a map handy, and use page numbers of a book to indicate prices… ask for non smoking - and be prepared when people light up in small confined spaces with no windows!!!… China still has a long way to go in relation to health. You can ask them to stop smoking, sometimes they will sometimes they will be cheeky, sometimes just plain rude.
We have an account with Westpac and had debit credit cards, and thus were able to use Bank of China ATMs (for a fee). Although bare in mind there are not always alot around. So it pays to carry enough money for a 3/4 days and ensure that you will be around a Bank of China when you run dry. It also makes sense to get lots of money at one time, as fees are chaged on every withdrawal.
Hope I haven’t bored you with tedious details, but there is much to learn. I didn’t actually realize how much I had learned… there is much more I could say but something are left to discover yourself.
Perhaps you can create an account on trip tracker so we can keep an eye on your adventures!
Best of wishes on your travels,
Nathan