A Travel Chicken in China

Old Aug 20th, 2005, 05:03 AM
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A Travel Chicken in China

I and three others are planning an October trip to China – Beijing, Xian, and Hong Kong. I’m afraid, though, that some of us are “travel chickens.” Never having traveled to China it seems a bit intimidating. I’ve read so many reports of others traveling to China, hiring a driver and a guide at the hotel and even making transportation arrangements for domestic flights in-country. My “William Wallace” instincts jump in and tempt me to do likewise. However, my “travel chicken” worries about not making prior arrangements (actually my husband is far worse than my own “travel chicken”). I’m working with a couple travel agents who have each estimated the trip, including transportation from Okinawa (which is where we live courtesy of Uncle Sam), at approx. $2300, which seems rather high to me.
My question to all of you brave Magellans out there is can we really do it? Can we hire a driver and a guide from the hotel for our sightseeing? Can we easily arrange transportation (flights) to Xian and Hong Kong in country for far more reasonable rates? How much can we expect to pay a driver/guide for his services?
I know you have answered these questions probably a thousand times. Reading your posts make me feel so brave and capable. You stir the adventurer in me. Now, steel my courage!
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Old Aug 20th, 2005, 05:14 AM
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Read the thread "wake up and smell the service" where trip girl gives a lot of details about Beijing and also recommends a guide whom you can contact directly but BEFORE you get there -- thus it will be cheaper than going through a travel agent but you will have someone good booked in advance to ease nervousness. thus the best of both worlds.

I've been traveling to asia since the mid 1980s ande have always booked my guides etc before I got there. That way I can exercise some control over who I get. But these days with the internet and forums like this you can do it without having to pay a middle man (travel agent).
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Old Aug 20th, 2005, 06:09 AM
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You can definitely do it, and you've read all the reports. But you must have a mindset that allows flexibility. If you get upset when you can't fly the 3pm flight and has to take the 6pm, or if one 4* hotel is not available so you need to go the one next door, then don't do it. Or if a 3* hotel wants to charge for $2 for a missing towel, you'd argue with them for 30 minutes, then don't it.

As for the flights, what does the $2,300 include? One person, two persons? And what's the fare for just roundtrip Okinawa to Beijing or Hong Kong, or open-jaw Beijing/Hong Kong?
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Old Aug 20th, 2005, 08:54 PM
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The $2300 is per person. Fare from Okinawa to Beijing/Hong Kong to Okinawa is arond $950. The remainder covers hotel, tours, and domestic flights. What is an "open jaw"? I've heard this term before but don't know what it means. (sounds painful)...
As for hiring Tripgirl's guide, I did print her report but not sure I know how to contact him. Any info?
thanks!
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Old Aug 20th, 2005, 09:16 PM
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Open-jaw roundtrip ticket is like:

OKA-PEK
HKG-OKA

Looks like the ~$950 fare is an open-jaw already.

Anyways, it should be cheaper to go by yourself. Briefly, a 4* hotel in all 3 cities is about US$120 per room per night. PEK-XIY, oh, perhaps $80. [Overnight train, soft sleeper is about US$50. Save yourself a night of hotel.]

XIY-HKG about $120-150. May save some money flying to Shenzhen instead of HKG, but add time and hassle.

With 4 people, you can share the cost of the hire car and driver/guide. And if you are willing to read up on places, you don't even need a guide in any of those places. Just hire a car/driver in Beijing for Great Wall and Summer Palace. Public transportation or taxi for rest of sites.

No car/guide needed in Hong Kong at all.
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Old Aug 21st, 2005, 07:05 AM
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Here is Mr Li's e mail addressfor Beijing. Follow my advice and be very specific with him and make sure HE is your driver. Don't be afraid to e mail him alot; he does not mind; he also responds very quickly.

You can tell him Robyn and Allan Webb recommended you contact him

[email protected]

As you noted from my report we did use him for in town excursions, but that is up to you; for a first time visit we just wanted to make it a little easier.

Let me know if you have any questions
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Old Aug 21st, 2005, 08:58 AM
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I went on an 17 day trip to China last October (the perfect time to go). It was a small group tour with an alumni association. We stayed in 5* hotels (although some were more like 4*) and the cost included a Yangtze river excursion, almost all meals, gratuities and transportation. The total cost including 5 internal flights was $4995. This should give you a sense of pricing for an organized trip.

I was amazed at how easy it would have been to do the on our own. We took a tour because we thought it would be hard to navigate China by ourselves. This is such a wrong assumption. I would never take an organized tour again. That being said, like all traveling, the more you have organized in advance, the less wasted time you will have in these great destinations.
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Old Aug 21st, 2005, 05:39 PM
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I can get lost in my hometown and my Mandarin consists of--well, pretty much nothing--yet I was able to get about in China with no problems at all. The only thing that booked in advance was my hotel for the first nights in Beijing, as I didn't want to go looking after the 14 hour plane ride.

You may have read this
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...7&tid=34656568 but it didn't come up on the search engine (surprise, surprise ) so, just in case, here it is again: the not-only-chicken-but-also-directionless-solo-female's trip to China.

Have a great trip!
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