China Travel Guide 3

[tart]

mga sis! who's travelling to beijing between oct 30 to nov 7? 2 kasi kami magtratravel makikijoin sana kami sa tour para makamura. inaayos pa lang namin visa pero sobrang strict nila! travelling with my niece and need pa ng affidavit of support/ sponsorship and documents that will prove related sya dun sa magfifinance ng trip. in our case, lola nya magbabayad pero sabi, dahil retired, baka di daw tanggapin ng embassy! waiting pa for update!

[Cari]

200 to 300 dollars yung tour sis? Per person?

[vain_kixie]

Yes, per person. Well depends how many you guys are in that group. Yung pina quote ko is for 2 pax only, one day tour 4 days hotel umabot ng 236USD. Pag mga 10 kayo sa group baka 100 something lang yan.

Just google for accredited china travel agencies and email them for a quote. They reply amazingly fast, like in 2 hours. It is more expensive than DIY pero you don't have to show any ITR or bank statements if you will go this route.

[Cari]

Sis vain, whats ur travel agency? And sure ba na kapag may confirmation letter sa travel agency , ma-aapprove ang visa? At dapat naka base sa china?

Sorry ha ang daming tanong kasi nade-depressed na ako...

Thanks

[vain_kixie]

I won't be getting a tour from a travel agency. Mag DIY lang ako. I found a way to have that show money. I will PM you. Pero naka email ko sila to inquire. And yes sure that the embassy will grant you a visa basta original na invitation letter tapos may red stamp yung letter. Tapos no ITR na or bank certificate.

looks like this: http://pakprobiz.com/China-offical-invitation-letter-agent-looking-for-partners-China-4775

They will have to send you the original letter by FEDEX or whatever.

[Cari]

Mga sis, sino nga yung hahanapin sa uni-orient travel agency sa bi ondo? Ano nga ulit name? Salamat

[Cari]

Mga sis, sino nga yung hahanapin sa uni-orient travel agency sa bi ondo? Ano nga ulit name? Salamat

[tammy1979]

^^Sis cari..matagal pa naman yata ang travel mo, wag ka masyado ma depress, may solution jan sa problem mo, ni share ko na yun kay sis vain, paki antay mo na lang PM nya. and just be a little careful sharing the info kasi baka malaman ng mga taga embassy ang strategy eh maghigpit na naman hehe..kung na-experience mo ang na experience namin, isusumpa mo ang embassy nila, as in nasayang ang ticket namin pa-Shanghai sa sobrang higpit ng pagkuha ng visa. Pero ngayon excited na ko since this Thurs na ang Beijing namin, sana walana naman maging problem sa immigration dun.

Goodluck sis, sana makagawa ka din ng paraan sa pagkuha ng visa..

[Cari]

Thank you sis tammy and sis vain.

[vain_kixie]

tammy, ilang months valid yung visa mo? Gusto ko na kasi mag apply na ng visa end of October for my January trip para I can get the visa application over with. Yung iba kasi sabi 3 months daw valid yung visa, yung iba one month lang.

Welcome Cari, basta secret lang yung sinabi ko sayo ha. Pero if you cant find a way, booking through an accredited travel agency in China is the way to go kesa naman masayang yung ticket.

[tammy1979]

last minute help mga sis!! bukas na ang flight namin to Beijing and i still haven't booked any hotel yet near the airport. I was torn between staying sa airport na lang and wait for the express train in the morning or book a hotel nearby. Midnight na kasi ang dating namin sa Beijing. I was searching for a hotel near the airport na may free transfer pero yung mga nakikita ko sa Agoda na mura parang nakakatakot naman yung mga reviews kesyo may bedbugs, malamok, liblib yung lugar, etc. Mahirap din kasi mag rely sa reviews ng ibang tao since iba-iba naman ang standards nila depende kung taga saan diba?

Please help naman po, kung meron na nakapag stay dito sa mga hotels near the airport na ok naman at wala yung mga na mention ko above pa share naman po ng info...thanks a lot

[tammy1979]

sis cari..you're welcome.

sis vain...3 mos valid yung visa ko then 14 days after entry. ganun din yung sa kasama ko altho hiwalay kami nag apply, mas nauna ako sa kanya ng ilang oras hehe.. i think mostly naman 3 mos valid yung ini-issue pero much better siguro kung ask mo na din sa kanila. ok na ba requirements mo? nagawan mo na ng paraan yung bank cert? I also suggest na mag drop by ka saglit sa embassy bago ka mag apply uli ng visa kasi we'll never know kung nagbago na naman sila ng requirements. Minsan daw kasi biglang magpo-post ng bagong requirements na iba kesa dati. I think whole week closed ang embassy ngayon dahil holiday pala sa China. Natapat pala sa week-long holiday ang trip namin kaya pala puro sold out mga hotels na tinitingnan ko, hehe..balitaan mo ko sis pagkuha mo ng visa ha? kasi baka after ilang months aaply uli ako ng visa para sa Shanghai at Xiamen naman..

[vain_kixie]

Oo holiday nga ngayon. Mga end of October or first week of November ako mag aaply. Okay na requirements ko, thank you kay Mother. Enjoy China Tammy!! Super thank you sa inputs mo dito.

Kami kasi 14 days kaya mega tour kami, Beijing,Harbin,Xian, Shanghai and Juizhaigou. Goodluck super lamig sa January -8 sa Beijing, neg 20 sa Harbin. Ahh basta kailan ko lang makita yan Great Wall at Ice Festival.


Speaking of, sino na nakapag Harbin Ice Festival dito? Okay na kaya yung 2 days?

[tammy1979]

wow bongga ka sis! ang haba ng bakasyon mo, how i wish pwede ako mag leave ng ganyan katagal sa work, hehe.. hindi ko yata kakayanin pumunta ng winter sa china, mamamatay ako sa lamig. nung nasa Macau ako ng January parang 6 degrees lang pero umiiyak na ko sa lamig at dumudugo yung ilong ko kahit ilang patong na yung damit ko, pano pa yung negative? waaaaahhh!! anyways, hindi pa naman siguro super lamig yung punta namin di ba? i checked the temperature nasa 17 deg so kaya pa, parang Baguio lang siguro, tama lang din pala yung punta namin hehe..


I was actually looking at Beijing Aulympic aiport hotel, may nakapag stay na po ba dito? sa lahat ng nabasa ko, mukang ito lang ang pinaka ok ang reviews altho hindi sya pinakamura. TIA!

[dr.smile]

^tammy1979 - we had the same dilemma.. kaya we end up sleeping sa airport.. Waited for the train to start at 6 am.. by 9 nasa beijing fuxing na kme.. good thing they allowed us naman for an early check in when we arrived..

the only down side sleeping sa airport kc madami mga inconsiderate na chinese ang lakas ng boses pag nag uusap. for a light sleeper like me, d ako nakatulog, my bro took neozep and yun nakatulog naman sya..

[tammy1979]

Hayyyy, light sleeper ako. And i also don't know if the hotel will allow us for an early check-in. So do you think it will be wiser to stay in a hotel near the airport na lang? I'm considering the latter kasi kung di kami magkakaron ng maayos na tulog, wala rin kaming energy mag start ng tour kasi baka matulog lang kami maghapon sayang naman oras, hehe.. Need ko lang talaga ng airport hotel na maayos naman..

[molybdenumstudios]

Like what other people said here, it is hard to find Filipino people in Beijing. Maybe tourists, pwede pa, but Filipinos working in Beijing? Can't tell.

Tips on shopping in Beijing:

If you're going to shop at the flea market, be careful! Some sellers there really pull you to their shop, and maybe some of you know this... and most of them really bargain it for a profit. Observation ko lang 'to. (;

[london]

@dr. smile
thank you for the review on the hotel =)

@tammy1979
you can take the taxi to your hotel. metered rate should be around 99-150RMB.

[papemelroti]

if you are going to haggle have code names for your numbers. especially at the silk market

in tried talking with my friend mixing my italian, fookien and tagalog numbers but they know more or less what i was talking about. they  are trained to KNOW other peoples languages. I gave up and told the seller im a resident of beijing (at that time) and i wont be duped (again) into falling for their high prices

start with 70% off, i make it a rule to deal if the seller agrees at 50% but be careful. some vendors are downright crazy.

[stellara]

i feel anxious in reading the requirements of China visa. 

plan pa man din namin to fly to Beijing on March.

ask ko lang, what is the "red letter stamp"? where i can get that?

thanks in advance mga sis!