fredd

I am going to vacation in China this summer and have some questions that I hope someone with more experience can answer. Is it safe to go to the Kowloon night market? Are the subways safe at night? Is it possible to get a cellular phone in Beijeing and use it for about 3 or 4 weeks? Will out work throughout China? If not, what is the best way to call back to the United States to keep tabs on my family?

Andrea

First of all, although the party line is "One Country, Two Systems" Hong Kong is generally not considered to be "China." It's a very sensitive political and social issue here - for example, in professional presentations, we can't say "We have offices in China, including Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong" - we should say "In Greater China." On the other hand, we can't say "Offices in 4 countries in Asia: China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Thailand," because they're not COUNTRIES either. Just an FYI.<BR><BR>In Hong Kong, the Kowloon night market is absolutely safe. I'm in my 20's and have been there a few times w. my husband, and there are plenty of younger Westerners there, even 2 girls alone. The atmosphere is like a big party - the whole thing is well-lit, and there is dance music blaring from stall to stall. Think of it as a shopping carnival - a safe one!<BR><BR>Any cell phone that you get here would work in most commonly visited areas of China (and throughout Asia, if you subscribe to international services). I have no idea if they have temporary services, here, though. If I were you, I'd just buy/get an international calling card before you leave. They will be much less expensive than international calls on a cell phone, anyway. They don't have competing long distance carriers here who offer special deals - you're likely to be paying over $1 per minute from China to the states, and with a calling card, you can call for half that. Even calling direct from your hotel should be cheaper.<BR><BR>Good luck!

Andrea

Was just re-reading my post, and after 24 hours, my own intro now sounds rude to me - sorry! I just meant the HK vs. China thing as an informative FYI.

Paul

The night market is safe, so as the MTR (subway). <BR> <BR>For cellphone, i don't know about Beijing. In Hong Kong you can rent a cell phone from HK Telcom's desk at the airport for something like HK$250 a week (GSM system). You can also buy a "roaming" phone card from either HKT or other service providers (Smartone, Organge, new world), you can always find one on the main streets throughout HK. The phone together the roaming phone card works in the whole asia except Japan.

cynthia

Dear Fredd: <BR> <BR>A business person I know bought a special phone for $69 before going to China; he had to keep in daily contact with his office, and did not want the hassle of finding a regular phone. Unfortunately, I do not know what kind of phone. <BR> <BR>For most travellers (like myself), a calling card is best. I have one from SAMS CLUB that gets China for under $0.75 per minute. It is less per minute for calls in Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan. <BR> <BR>I think a calling card is best. If its lost/stolen, your loss is small. Also, it fits in with your travellers checks and is not "just another thing" to carry (IE: Cell Phone). <BR> <BR>Happy Travels! <BR>CYNTHIA

terry

for calling from HK to about anywhere else, Net2phone is great. It's 3.4 cents USD to the United States from HK. It's a local call from your hotel, so sometimes you can avoid the hotel charges too. It is sometimes down though, usually you can count on it about 80% of time, so have a cheap back-up plan. <BR>Go to their web site for more info.