China Travel Guide 3

[supladitang cute]

^ ay sorry naman. what i meant was siguro hindi ko makita yung mga hinahanap ko sa thread. nasanay lang siguro ako sa malaysia thread and dun sa kabila. Stand corrected. Sana pwede pa ring magtanong, hehe

[vain_kixie]

l_neverph, we took the trains from Beijing to Harbin parang RMB240 one way. 9-10 hours din siya. We went bought at the Beijing Railway station the day after our arrival at Beijing. Pag may kids ka I suggest you fly nalang or make sure the train is CRH kasi pag hindi yung mga locals ng yoyosi inside the train.

Mga -18 to -26 when we were at Harbin. I just bought a bubble jacket sa Wangfungjing, yung 100RMB lang and furry ugg boots like for 100 din. I wore socks tapos 3 thermal leggings, one uniqlo heatech thermal tapos 2 uniqlo heatech turtle neck tops, 2 knit tops then the bubble jacket. Tapos huge earmuffs then yung gloves ko I doubled it.Mga 6 hours din kami roaming around.

Sis when it comes to 2 year olds, no idea ako sa children and their tolerance with that kind of temperature. Baka kaya naman. Pero yung mga nakikita ko ng lalaro sa Ice and Snow World mga 5-7 years old na.

[akthung]

^sis, have you been back reading on this thread?    Halos lahat ng GT na nag-post dito DIY ang trip nila, me included. And we have shared our experiences on this thread. Medyo off naman yung sinabi mo na wala ka makitang informative post dito on DIY.

Not to offend you but kaya nga DIY, kasi you read and gather info then start planning on your own. If you have questions, then ask away. Surely meron at meron na sasagot sa yo. Isn't it evident with all the replies to your earlier questions on this thread?

 

Baka kasi gusto ay i spoon feed. na detalyado lahat na tipong susunod na lang siya.

re: Harbin,

I've tried both plane and train. Plane -- we left 7:20am and arrived 9am. the food was okay. -26 is quite okay pag walang wind. we stayed up to late night sa Ice Festival and it was nowhere near -26 sa tapang ng lamig noon.

Damit wise, its all on the QUALITY of the layering system. I wore only 1 base layer and one down jacket. it was more than enough. legs wise, just a base layer and a pants with liner.

i was more comfortable with a Beanie hat and the hood of my jacket than the Bomber hat i brought with me.

I brought with me ski gloves. but it was just a middle level ski gloves. so na penetrate pa din ng lamig. ginawa ko, naglagay na lang ako ng handwarmers. lalo na't ang daming photos na kinuha ko. talagang mabubugbog mo ang hands mo.

my down jacket has a face mask, tipong ninja ang dating pag you zip all the way. so i never had problems with my face. although in the few occasions kong tinanggal. nag red yung cheeks ko and sumakit yung tip ng nose ko.

malaki tulong ng handwarmers. you can put them sa pockets, shoes, gloves, head wear.

important yung local boots na bibilin mo sis. its so cold in Harbin na lalamig ang shoes mo. ganito ang feeling, lets say naka socks ka, tapos natapon yung water sa side mo nahindi mo alam. then unti unti mong nafefeel na nababasa socks mo. and you say "dang! san galing to?"

ganun din sa cold. the cold will creep up until uncomfortable na ang paa mo. again nasa quality ng layering system, i only wore one thin pair of wool socks and those Ugg like boots.

we took the sleeper train back to beijing,a good 10-11 hours.

[mama squeak!]

^Eh bro hindi na DIY yun. Packaged tour tawag ko dun.   

Anyway, I envy you too. Three months? Wow! I would love to spend that much time there. Pero not during the dead of winter though.

About the sleeper trains, how many bunks do they come in? Are there compartments with their own banyo? I love train travel but I don't like common toilets.   

[Cari]

Mga kapatid,

Mahirap pa rin ba kumuha ng visa? Kailangan pa rin ang 100k chuva?

TIA!

[vain_kixie]

yes sis still at 100k average daily balance for 6 months.

[akthung]

^Eh bro hindi na DIY yun. Packaged tour tawag ko dun.   

Anyway, I envy you too. Three months? Wow! I would love to spend that much time there. Pero not during the dead of winter though.

About the sleeper trains, how many bunks do they come in? Are there compartments with their own banyo? I love train travel but I don't like common toilets.   

Napilitan kami mag plane kasi, we just had to leave on that date and ubos na yung train slots. then doon na kami bumili ng tickets pauwi ng Beijing. takot nga kami baka mapilitan mag absent sa lunes. lol.  ngayon may nagyayaya nanaman mag Harbin for the Chinese New Year. 1 week kasi walang pasok. plus weekend before and after the CNY. (most of us will have the weekends as off)

hard beds ang nakuha lang namin. in one car there are about 60 or 66 beds. hindi ko maalala pero parang 66.. then divided yun into cubicles with one main corridor on one side.  6 beds per cubicle, except ata yung makibalang dulo. kung nakaupo ka sa corridor (spring back seat) you will be able see the edges of every bed.

the most expensive of the 3 beds they say are the bottom beds. i guess self explanatory. madali humiga at bumangon, you have space beneath your bed, and a table beside you. the middle and top beds are pahirapan umakyat at baba para humiga. lalo na yung top. konti na lang uuntog ka na sa kisame. you'll not be able to sit on the bed.

sobrant init ng heater nila. no wonder nung pag pasok ko eh may mga lalake na shirt less. plus syempre, kanya kanyang sleeping habits. you'll hear people snoring etc.

common toilet at the end of each car. yung toilet na parang probinsya. squat! and may mga lababo naman for personal grooming.

may thermos bawat cubicle pero i brought my own thermos flask. iba talaga pag uminom ng hot water sa malalamig na lugar. i'd just refill it sa mga resto na kinakainan namin. and in this case, i filled it up before going on the train.

[cheskacutie]

^ Is it still cold during March? We are going there 3rd week of March. Do we still need winter attire? boots,coats etc? Thanks! Replies will be appreciated.

[l_neveph]

thanks vain_kixxie and akthung for a very informative tips re outfit..i tried sa beijing dati bumili nung binebenta sa labas ng forbidden city hindi kinaya nung gloves ang lamig..mumurahin ndin kasi yung nabili namin =)

[akthung]

^ Is it still cold during March? We are going there 3rd week of March. Do we still need winter attire? boots,coats etc? Thanks! Replies will be appreciated.

Harbin or Beijing?

Sabi nila Peak daw ang Feb pag dating sa lamig. kaso parang umiinit eh. I've been here since late November and December ang pinaka malamig sa Beijing by far.

its better to check the air temperature ng Harbin or Beijing (annual forecast and annual averages) then add wind chill factor.

if it ever drops to say 1-5 degrees celsius, i guess no heavy winter wear.

but you see cold is relative. depende sa tao yan.

[supladitang cute]

Any other recommended local travel agencies which processses China visa? I just noted here Everyday travel in Binondo.  Will be travelling in April last week, pwede na ba magapply ng end of Feb? Also, there's a deal in ensogo about 2500 per person with 4D/3N accommodation with airport transfers, may nakatry na ba dito? The hotel they're offering has average reviews.

[vain_kixie]

Try Asia Pacific travel located at AIC building Escolta, Manila.


200 lang yung charge nila per pax/visa. I coursed through my visa application here and the agency is super organized.

Yes you can apply end of Feb since visa validity is usually 3 months.

[chakababe]

I'll be traveling to Beijing this April 18-26. I dont have problem with the 100k adb but my travel buddies have. I might be traveling alone if they are not approved. Anyone who wants to travel with me, I'll be booking at Holiday Inn Express Dongzhimen. Hotel rate is real cheap since i am using my employee discount rate.

[eischied_21]

Pwede ba mag-side trip to Hangzhou from Shanghai?

[supladitang cute]

Hi Everyone. Anyone who has been to Xian here?  WOuld like to check out the Terracota warriors. Any other places worth visiting near Xian? Ano kayang cheap airline ang okay from beijing? 

By the way, to those who are looking for travel agencies, panda tours charge 1600 (including the visa already).

[eischied_21]

^^ Sis, kelan dating mo ng Beijing? I have one day in Beijing April 18 (thurs)  to revisit Great Wall only. This would be my second time to go to Beijing. The last time I went there wala akong nakitang view (literal na wala) because of fog and smog.

[akthung]

Sobrang Konti ng tao at sasakyan ngayon dito dahil sa Chinese New Year. medyo lumamig ng konti pero mas malamig pa din last december

[spicy_angel]

Got our visas already. It will be our second time in Beijing

[mama squeak!]

Kung hindi mabago flight ni hubby I'll be back here on the 12th Mar. Tanong ko lang kung may nakakaalam where I can get real silk scarves? I know they are a bit pricey. I've heard of the Silk Market but my impression is pang-turista ang presyo OA na. Anyone knows where I can get reasonable priced ones?

 

[akthung]

Well silk market is really a pain in the toot when it comes to getting the real thing and/or a good deal.

if you think you've been given a good deal, think again. I was able to buy an item being sold at 85-140 RMB for only 10 RMB from the right person. So I really dislike that you have to go through all the drama just to get a good deal. The locals go to the zoo market, where one does not have to bargain that much and prices are more or less fixed. Sometimes I'd like to think that maybe mall stores are overall better since the quality is very obvious.

If you are skilled enough to know what's real silk or not (if there's ever such a thing, innocently speaking) then yeah, they do have a lot of silk there. all you have to do is look. Then there's Yashow Market in Sanlitun. but as far as knock off cashmere and pashmina scarves, madami sa mga markets, lalo na sa Silk.

I haven't tried the searching through the directory of the Beijinger, you may want to try this out.