Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - Trip Report Very long trip report Vietnam, Cambodia, China

Where to begin. Our adventure started back in April of 08 when I first cashed in our miles on United Airlines for two tickets. At the time, I knew I wanted to visit Vietnam but not much more. However, since the routing took us through Beijing, I decided to stop there for four nights on the way over. It also broke up the long flights. From Florida we were routed through Chicago, then Beijing and on to Saigon. On the return, we were originally routed through Hong Kong with no stopover. However, later due to a delay in Chicago, we were allowed a three night stopover. It greatly helped to break up the return which included a seven hour layover in Chicago.

PRE DEPARTURE AND TRIP PLANNING

I did not work on the trip until fall. Initially, on the advice of my sister, I had a trip planned out by Buffalo Tours with private guides all the way. However, due to the high cost, I had to look at alternatives. I read the talk and forums on Fodors, Trip Advisor, Frommers's and the the Frommer's guides to Vietnam and Beijing. On the recommendation of other travelers, I subsequently contacted Tonkin Travel and asked them to prepare a guided tour and while their rate was substantially lower than Buffalo Tours, it was still higher than I wanted to spend. I had also read that in many places guides were not necessary and I knew how much we like to wander on our own with no set schedule. Nevertheless, I had Tonkin book our air and later Lifestyle Resorts in Hoi An because I could not get a room over New Years when I tried the first time. All other reservations I did myself contacting the hotels directly via email.

First, I would like to say that Tonkin was most reliable and responsive to our requests. I changed our itinerary frequently and the services I wanted and each time Hien from Tonkin Travel responded promptly within a day or two. No pressure was put on me to get services others than those I decided and Hien gave me ample time to send a deposit. I was requested to send either copies of the front and back of my credit card, or to wire transfer funds with an additional thirty dollar fee. I inquired about using a virtual credit card but they responded their bank would not accept it; however, I did use virtual credit card numbers to hold and for a deposit at other hotels in Vietnam. Nevertheless, after I sent my deposit and it was received (about a week-10 days later), Hien emailed us our air and hotel confirmations. Final payment was requested prior to us leaving and again we wire transferred funds with an additional $30 payment. There was no bank charge from our bank to do the wire transfers. All the arrangements made by Tonkin Travel worked as planned. The email contact for Hien at Tonkin Travel is [email protected]. Now, I believe Vietnam Airlines has or will shortly start allowing e-tickets to be made directly on their website, but I have not checked.

Our original itinerary was as follows:

12/21- Fly Miami-Chicago, then Chicago-Beijing arriving 12/22
12/22-26 Beijing-Park Plaza Hotel
12/26-29 Saigon-Oscar Hotel
12/29-01/02 Hoi An Lifestlye Resorts
1/02-1/04 Hue-Orchid Hotel
1/04-/07 Hanoi-Hanoi Elegance IV
1/07-1/10 Siem Reap-Shinta Mani
1/10-12 Saigon-Oscar Hotel

Later added

1/12-15 Hong Kong Salisbury YMCA

When booking hotels, I usually look for price and location. We like to be able to go out the hotel and be able to walk or easily get to public transportation. We like clean and reasonably nice hotels often with some character, but three and four star hotels are fine since we do not spend much time in the room. I booked the Park Plaza Beijing through their 800 number. Originally, I had a rate of about $105 a night. However, upon checking closer to the date of departure, I found they had a rate of about $$85 a night and called the 800 number to have the rate adjusted. Be aware that they do offer AAA and Senior rates, if you ask for them, which at my time of booking was the best. The other hotels I booked through direct email to the hotel. Sometimes, I did not receive their return email or their email went in my spam folder, so I needed to resend emails but eventually all hotels were confirmed. Just prior to leaving, I sent several emails to the Oscar Hotel in Saigon to reconfirm and they were not responded to, so I phoned. They subsequently gave me another email address and correspondence worked. All the hotels required a credit card guarantee but the Hanoi Elegance IV actually required a $100 deposit which I used my virtual credit card number for.

In addition to booking our hotels, I also booked Konglin for two days as our guide in Beijing, [email protected] and Ponheary as our guide in Siem Reap [email protected]. I also emailed [email protected] and [email protected] requesting guides. These guides are students who like to practice their English. There is no cost for the guiding services but the travelers pays all costs of transportation, admission and meals. For us it was a great way to see the sites and meet local people.

As for other predeparture issues such as visas, I waited until rather late and used the service www.visaexpress.net to get both our China and Vietnam visas. The visas were obtained within the time quoted and the service was easy to use although a little expensive. The Cambodia visas I got online using the e-visa. At first I was not sure how to do the photographs but I just scanned our passport fotos and it was very easy to do. For vaccinations, I went to the government site, www.cdc.gov and went to the travel section. I researched the clinics and private doctors listed and found the best priced and most convenient option in South Florida to be the Broward County Health Department browardchd.org. I was pleasantly pleased by the professional and prompt service we got. I called and made an appointment and we got all our shots in one day followed by a second HepA/Hep B shot a month later. We also got our malaria medicine, doxycycline, there and it cost under $6.00 each for all the pills. By the way, we took the pills and had no reaction to them. Lastly, we decided to get travel insurance, in part since I have a high deductible on my insurance in the US and also because we wanted to be sure we could get flown home in case of something serious. We contacted Steve at the www.tripinsurancestore.com and he was most knowledgeable and spent considerable time explaining the policies and options. Thankfully we never had to use the insurance. The insurance cost under $300 for the two of us; however when we extended our trip, we could not extend the insurance and getting a new good policy was very difficult and we did not have insurance our last three days. The lesson to be learned here is if you think you might extend your trip get a few extra days of insurance.

As for luggage two 26 inch high bag and one 24 inch high bag which I put in one of the 26 inch bags going over. We also took two carry on bags and one hand bag. On the way back we accumulated another suitcase. While flying internationally, we were allowed two 50 pound bags each, flying locally in Vietnam and Cambodia we were only allowed one 44 pound bag each. Since we were flying in and out of Saigon, we left one bag there. As for clothes, the less the better is the motto here. There is so much to buy and I always find that we never wear all the clothes we take.

DEPARTURE

We left our house in Miami in the wee hours of the morning for a 6:00 AM flight to Chicago, which was supposedly followed by a couple of hour layover and then a flight to Beijing. However, the flight to Bejing was first delayed, and then subsequently cancelled due to a mechanical problem. Although many passengers were upset, we felt United Airlines handled the situation well with complimentary hotel and dinner vouchers. Additionally, the next morning, when the flight was again delayed we got breakfast vouchers. It was also at this time, that I approached customer service and asked because of the inconvenience, if they would change our tickets and they agreed to the extension in Hong Kong. We also received by email a $250 voucher to use on a subsequent United Airlines flight. We canceled one night of our hotel in Beijing in time and did not incur any hotel penalty. Needless to say we arrived a day later in the afternoon in Beijing. One thing, I noticed in all the airports in Asia we visited, getting through immigration, receiving our bags and going through customs, is a lot quicker process than in most US airports.

After getting our bags and clearing customs in Beijing, we joined the queue outside the airport and took a metered taxi to our hotel, Park Plaza Hotel. As I had read, I downloaded the map from the website to our hotel. Still the driver was unsure where the hotel was located and had to call. Once at the hotel, we were quickly checked in and shown to our room. The hotel was very comfortable but nothing fancy; however it was well located. Even though tired, after a short rest, we went to the Silk Market. The door staff at the hotel were most pleasant and when we departed the hotel, w give were given a card with hotel’s name and various attractions, written in English and Chinese characters, which helped greatly in getting around. The Silk market can be overwhelming with many vendors trying to get you to come look at their merchandise. There are beautiful scarves of supposedly silk and cashmere, jewelery, watches, clothes, bags and more but hard hard bargaining is the name of the game. Many times when we started to walk a way, we would be called back and a price agreed upon. I usually offered a price, a little lower than what I wanted to pay, knowing that then I could go up a little bit. Then I would stay at that price and when they asked me final final price, I would stay at the same number. We often used a calculator going back and forth. People in the silk market tended to speak a little English. We paid both in Yuen and in dollars. We both had prescription glasses made and were quite pleased with the results. They even delivered the glasses to the hotel, when it was late and the market was going to close.

For breakfast, we went across the street and got coffee at Starbucks. There was Internet available in the hotel business center but it was rather pricey. The lady at the desk took pity on me and only charged me half the price. I was told there was another Internet Café but it was not that close and not open early mornings when I usually did my Internet work. The hotels in Vietnam and Cambodia all offered free computers in the lobby for guest usage.

The next day, Konglin, our guide, picked us up at the agreed upon time and since the weather was sunny and not as cold as other days, took us to Great Wall. We were very happy with his choice of days since the next day was even colder. You cannot help but be impressed by the Great Wall. As others have reported, we took the cable car up, then walked to the toboggan area and took the toboggan down. Lunch was at a delicious dumpling restaurant. The restaurant was filled with locals and there did not appear to be any other tourists. We then visited the Pearl Market and went to see the acrobat show, which Konglin had gotten us tickets for. When we tried to get a taxi at rush hour, it was extremely difficult. We met some locals and they tried for us and then encouraged us to go by subway. One of the locals even rode with us to our stop and then pointed us in the direction to our hotel. At then end of the day, we had spent over $100 dollars for lunch, admission and tickets, in addition to the guide fee. That evening, we had dinner with some Chinese friends of my sister’s and it was quite a feast. We were a group of seven and had a private banquet room with private server. Platter after platter of food was served on this circular table which rotated in the center. The server was constantly replenishing the glasses, removing used plates and moving partly eaten dishes to smaller plates. Close to midnight and exhausted we returned to our hotel by taxi.

The next day Violet acted as our guide, saying that Konglin did not feel that well. She took us to the Temple of Heaven, Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City and for a delicious lunch in a hot pot restaurant, which I liken to Swiss meat fondue. In the afternoon, we returned to the Silk Market, where Violet was a great asset in helping us negotiate prices. We used a combination of subway, walking and taxis. Violet tended to be more talkative than Konglin but we enjoyed both guides and would recommend them.

Our last day in Bejing we were on our own. With the help of the concierge at the hotel, we planned our route. He suggested using the nearby subway, and we found it quite easy. Despite the freezing cold weather, especially for us Floridians, we walked around the colorful Lama temple with its beautiful incense burners. We were impressed both days by the numerous groups of people exercising to music. From there we took the subway to Liulichang, an area with art shops, antiques and other curios. A fellow train rider, decided to escort us from the subway to the area to practice his English. To keep warm, we dashed in and out of the many shops. While the invitation for some warm tea sounded so good at first, after an hour of trying various teas, we left with a much lighter wallet, a big bag of tea and a tea set, we will probably never use since we really don’t drink much tea at home. Nevertheless, it was a fun experience. We cabbed it to the Noodle Loft, a restaurant recommended by Anthony Boudain and on several websites. Here, they make noodles in a center station; however, the food was not that exciting and considering the time to get there, we did not feel it worthwhile. Our last afternoon was spent back at the Silk market buying more souvenirs. At the time, it seemed like I had bought so many scarves and pashminas, now I am home, I only wish I had bought more. They make such excellent gifts and if you bargain right are so inexpensive, although probably not great quality!

That evening we flew via Air China to Saigon with a short stopover where we exited China. Due to delays, we did not make it to Saigon until around 4:00 AM. Nevertheless, the taxi, I had requested from the Oscar Hotel was waiting for us. Let it be noted that a pick up cost around $25.00 but that a regular taxi to the airport cost less that $10.00 or if I remember correctly 100,000 dong. The only reason I prearranged transportation was because of the middle of the night arrival. Also beware of the numerous persons who come up to you offering rides. Legitimate taxis are available and we always negotiated the fare ahead of time.

On arrival at the Oscar Hotel, www.oscar-saigonhotel.com, check-in was quickly accomplished and the bags brought to the room. They took and held our passports at check-in, which seemed to be very common in Vietnam. Next morning, we awoke at 8:00 AM to horrific banging, only to find out that they were in the process of remodeling the room next door. Downstairs, we went to complain and were later moved to an upgrade room on a higher floor away from the noise. The included breakfast was on the top floor and offered a large selection of American and Vietnamese breakfast options. Maps of the area were available at the front desk and the doorman was helpful with getting taxis. The shopping district, big market and other attractions were all within walking distance. For its central location, the Oscar was the best value in hotel options at the time of my booking with a special providing one free night on a two night stay.

Just as prearranged, at 10:00 AM, two student guides from Saigon Hotpot met us at our hotel, groceries in hand. We then all took a cab to another student’s house, where the students along with the mother cooked lunch and chatted with us. I was a little nervous since the food was washed in the local tap water but we did not suffer any ill consequences. Despite being extremely tired from our late arrival the night before, we enjoyed our time with the students and seeing a traditional house. One of the students accompanied us back to our hotel. The afternoon was spent resting and walking in the numerous shops in the area with beautiful handbags, scarves, artwork and other items. That evening we enjoyed drinks a top the famous Caravelle Hotel at the Saigon Saigon bar. The place was crowded with numerous foreigners.

The next day, we were met by another student guide who took us to the see the sights-the Post Office, the Notre Dame Cathedral, and the Reunification Museum. We then told our student guide that we wanted to go to Lang du Lich Binh Quoi Tourist Village where they had traditional Vietnamese food booths set up all over this beautiful large landscaped park. The location is away from the city and if I remember about and $8.00 cab ride and another $8.00 per person to get in. I have also heard they have a bus there. The food was delicious and we worked our way around from booth to booth. For a good introduction to Vietnamese cuisine, see
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuisine_of_Vietnam. For more information visit on the Tourist Village, see http://www.crowdedworld.com/vietnam/binhquoi.html. We had to wait a long time to get a taxi back to the city so if possible arrange to have the taxi wait or pick you up for the return. I am not sure how many booths there are during the week but on Sunday it was quite crowded.

On Monday, we walked around the shops near the Oscar Hotel and I had a manicure at L’Apothiquaire Artisan Beauté, right around the corner from our hotel. They also have a big spa with a variety of treatments in District 3 too. See http://www.lapothiquaire.com. The manicure was well done, although the manicurist does not use a table but holds your hand. The price was high for Vietnam standards at $10 but a manicure and pedicure which I had done before leaving Vietnam was only $14. I also saw them doing manicures and pedicures at the market crowded in this small space but I was not sure how clean everything was.

That afternoon we took a taxi to the Chinese area Cholon and wandered around the temples. The sights were somewhat spread out and a little difficult to find. We had to stop many people to ask directions. Many were unfamiliar with what we were looking for, or did not know how to get there or did not understand us or speak English. We returned to the Oscar hotel to pick up our bags. We had arranged with the hotel to leave some of our bags there since we were only allowed 20 kilos each on our Vietnam Airlines flights. The cab ride to the airport was uneventful and are flight to Danang was on time.

On arrival in Danang, we shared a taxi to the Life Resort. The resort has a great location on the edge of the town but within walking distance to everything. The rooms were large, attractive and comfortable, some of which had Jacuzzi tubs for two. The pool area looked very inviting; however, almost the entire time we were there it was raining. There is a computer in the café for guests use free of charge. That evening, we walked to Morning Glory restaurant and had the best and least meal of the entire stay in Hoi An.

Despite the almost constant rain in Hoi An, we enjoyed our stay. It reminded me of an Ubud in Bali or a Sante Fe, New Mexico in that it was filled with tourist shops but had atmosphere and was colorful. There was also a market serving local foods and having the usual market artifacts and fruits and vegetables. The first day, I braved the rain, with an umbrella but my clothes and shoes were soaked. The hotel has umbrellas in the room and around the property for guest usage. The next day we bought a flimsy poncho for $2.00 and then a better one for $4.00. We also later learned that the hotel offered guests free of charge the flimsy ponchos, and that taxis to most places around the town only cost $1.00 each way.

We checked out numerous of the tailoring shops and finally decided to go to Yaly Couture. You get a girl who works with you for your entire purchase. My boyfriend had some linen pants and a shirt made and I had a pair of pants and a top made. As everyone else has written, you need to be specific as what you want done. My boyfriend had to pay extra to have top stitching and embroidery on the shirts. The clothes required at least three fittings and they had to be reminded to put on buttons. I also had some machine embroidery done on a jean jacket I had brought from home. The cost for the embroidery was $10. The men’s shirts were about $35 and the linen pants about $49 each. A hem on a pair of jeans was $3.00. The other shop, which I thought had the most stylish clothes was C and C boutique. http://www.uyentrinh.com. The store is on the other side of town but within walking distance. It is a much much smaller operation than Yaly with only one or two sales persons and they can be somewhat disorganized. However, in the end, they were the clothes I liked the best. They also do handpainted t-shirts, which though not cheap at $25 each are lovely. Additionally, my boyfriend had boots made at Thang II right near Yaly and was pleased with the results for $60.00.

We spent New Year’s eve at Life Resort and had the mandatory $45,00 dinner, which was rather enjoyable. The evening started with cocktails and a performance, I believe by staff members and then continued with a lovely buffet dinner. The food was well-prepared with a good variety of items and lots of wine. We were seated with a lovely family from the UK. The evening continued downstairs were they had a disco set up with a very bright strobe and toasts at midnight. Since, it was raining quite hard, we did not venture out to see what else was happening in town.
A day before, we were ready to leave, I easily walked into a local agency in town and negotiated for a driver to take us from Hoi An to for $45.00. The driver told me, he only got 10% plus whatever tip we gave him and the ride was 4 hours each way. It seemed like a lot of work for only a very small sum. Since it was raining we did not go over the mountain but took the quickest way with a short stop at Marble Mountain and the Sham Museum. Arriving in Hue, it was again pouring rain. The driver dropped us at the Orchid Hotel. Originally, we had booked the honeymoon room; however the heat was not working in the room and they switched us to another slightly less expensive room. The accommodations, although, clean were adequate, and this was probably our least favorite hotel and also by the way the least expensive. Nevertheless, the staff tried hard to please and the doorman met us with an umbrella when arriving and leaving.

The next day was again pouring rain most of the day. I arranged with the hotel for a car with driver and guide, which I believe was about $60.00 for the day. We saw the main tourist sights and had lunch. We were supposed to visit the tombs in the afternoon but because we were tired of being wet and walking in the rain, we talked our guide into taking us to psychic. You know what, as much as I do not believe in them, so far the majority of what she said has been true. One night we went to the La Residence Hotel and Spa which looked beautiful all lit up and the hotel has the typical old world charm. We had dinner in their restaurant which was quite good and not too expensive. I had a whole list of additional restaurants, I had wanted to try but because it was raining, we ate at places near our hotel. Although the food, was good, none of it was memorable. There was not much shopping in this town and I strongly believe the rain put a big damper on my overall memory of our time here.

After a two night stay we flew to Hanoi and thankfully, the rain stopped and the temperatures were warmer. We stayed at the Hanoi Elegance IV which had just recently opened. When we pulled up, the taxi stopped in front of an alley way/street and said we needed to walk to the hotel. The area did not look that great and my boyfriend wondered what I had done. I went ahead and located the hotel, which turned out to be just lovely. Once we got used to the location in the Old Quarter and realized there were many small streets, we felt perfectly at home and very safe. The hotel was extremely central and we could walk most places. We had chosen the best room at the hotel at $85.00 a night and were quite pleased. The room was large, in new like condition, with a computer and a shower with many different settings. There was a fruit plate and welcome bottle of wine. The breakfast, was very good, with dishes prepared to order. When my boyfriend did not feel good one morning, they offered to have the breakfast delivered to the room.

Despite the maddening motorbikes, Hanoi is a wonderful town and our four nights and five days flew by, with so many art galleries, clothing shops and attractions to see. I had made arrangements with Hello Hanoi Club to have student guides and two adorable girls showed up to spend the day with us. One spoke better English than the other but it was still a fun day. They took us to the Temple of Literature and to Hoan Kiem Lake and to lunch at Quan an Ngon, a not to be missed restaurant with food booths. They also helped us bargain for scarves. Another day, we just wondered the Old Quarter, walking in and out of shops and seeing the sights. Other things we did included the water puppets show and the Vietnam National Museum of Fine Arts, both of which were good. One night we splurged for dinner at the Le Beaulieu in the Sofitel Metropole Hanoi, supposedly one of the best restaurants, and were sadly disappointed with the food and service for an over one hundred dollar dinner. The better food was definitely in the smaller more quaint restaurants.

Prior to going to dinner, I had been tired of frizzy hair from the rain and having very thick hair which quickly burns out small hotel hair dryers, I opted to have my hair done in one of the local beauty salons down the street. The salon, if I can call it that, was open air and I lay down flat with my head in a sink bowl to have my hair washed. They washed my hair twice massaging my scalp for what seemed like a really long time. Then after one person partially dried my hair, two girls flat ironed my hair. The outcome was quite good and all for under $5.00.

Since, I am now writing this almost two months after my trip, my memory is getting a little less clear especially since I did not take any notes. We next flew on to Siem Reap, where Ponheary met us at the airport and took us to our hotel. We had gotten evisas and our customs and immigration went very quickly. I should not that in Siem Reap, the ATMs give US dollar bills and that it is possible to check your bank balances in dollars. In Vietnam too, ATMs are plentiful and easy to use. The dollar maximum in Vietnam seemed to be $120 whereas in Cambodia, we got up to $300 at one time.

In Siem Reap, we stayed at the Shinta Mani Hotel which was very nice with a good-sized room. The restaurant was very good but not cheap and the pool area was nice but we did not have much time. We could walk in to town and the markets and the shops. Ponheary gave us a choice of an early or late start. My boyfriend not being one who likes mornings, opted for the late start around 9 or 9:30 I do not remember exactly. With a late start, you get back a little later in the morning and start a little later in the afternoon. However, by 5:00-5:30 we were done each day. What can I say but that the temples were awesome and we took literally over a hundred pictures during the three days in Siem Reap. I did not realize until we got home, that Ponheary had taken a picture with my nose abutting the nose of one of the figures in the temple. A three day pass was $40 per person and the guiding services ran about $60 a day with additions for the boat, airport pick up and the far away temples. We had Ponheary for two days and one day her brother Daria. Daria seemed a little more knowledgeable when it came to the temples and providing information. Both of them talked a lot about their lives and struggles during the occupation by the different governments and countries. Now, however, they seem to be doing quite well with their guiding services and they also have a lodge. When I expressed interest, Ponheary took me to one of the schools which her foundation supports and I got to see the children. We took pictures together and I the kids sang their ABCs for me. Ponheary also arranged for me do a private boat trip with her and see the floating villages. It was since to be out on the water and watch the sunset, although it got a little chilly and windy. I was amazed, that the houses although very basic, had plants outside. They also had TVs which Ponheary said they operated off car batteries. There is also lots of shopping in Siem Reap and a great large day and night market. Again the word is bargain, bargain. The silk scarves are lovely and now again, I wish I had bought more. Some of the items are obviously imported from other countries but the prices are still reasonable.

We flew back to Saigon for our last two nights and again stayed at the Oscar Hotel. Once again, we woke up to banging noise but since we had only one more night we opted not to change rooms. Our last day was spent going to the fine arts museum which was nothing special and visiting the Ben Thanh Market. Check prices before you buy anything as we found out the stalls nearer the entrances tend to charge more and also stay together with you partner as it’s easy to get lost in the many narrow aisles. We also had four pictures framed at a local gallery for $26, which now I am so thankful for since the prices are so much cheaper than stateside. We carried the pictures in our hand luggage and they made it home safely. Other larger pictures, which I had bought framed, I placed in my luggage and unfortunately the glass broken. I had the glass replaced in the states with plexiglass which they are now sometimes using and the cost was only $10.00 each. It was still incredibly a lot cheaper than if I had tried to have them framed in the US. We also bought another suitcase. We had started with two small carryons and one bag each which were not full and now needed four big bags to get everything home.

We had a very early morning flight to Hong Kong and the front desk checked us out at 3:30 AM in the morning. We had a taxi driver who flew to the airport barely stopping at any light. Our flight to Hong Kong was on schedule and we arrived just after 9:30 AM. Since we had so much luggage we opted to take the private charter bus rather than the subway. I had booked reservations at the YMCA Salisbury which is a large hotel right near the Peninsula. The rooms and accommodations are clean but nothing special but the location is good. There is a Starbucks across the street for morning coffee. While computer usage was free for guests in Cambodia and Vietnam, here and in Bejing they charged.

In Hong Kong, we walked several different districts and we probably, because I did not have any guide books or printed research, use our time as best we could have. One day we spend in Shenzhen, back in mainland China. Luckily, even though, we had not planned to go to China twice, the agency which did our visa had gotten us a multiple entry visa. Before US citizens could get a visa at the border, but now I do not think it is possible. We took the train from Hong Kong to Shenzhen, where we had to show our passports and visas. Once you get to Shenzhen, there is a huge shopping center, the Lowu Commercial center filled with numerous levels and stores. They have catalogues they show with all the fakes you could ever wanted. You select what you want to see and minutes later, they bring it to you. If one of the guards comes by the shop, they quickly hide everything. People come and fill up suitcases. For suggestions of stores to visit see http://www.shopinshenzhen.com. There are restaurants in the building for lunch. Preferably bring Chinese currency but they will also take Hong Kong and US dollars in the shops. The restaurant did not take US currency or charge cards. Going back to Hong Kong posed no difficulty with our purchases.

Our trip back to the US was an extremely long ordeal which took over 24 hours and included a seven hour layover in Chicago. It took over two weeks to get back on US time and into the swing of things. It’s now almost two months later and although I have very fond memories, the details are fading so I’ll end here.