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 I'm going to China soon, Last recommendations etc. leaving 21st November |
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| rauri |
 Oct 18 2009, 08:35 AM
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Hello Everyone! Sorry that I haven't been very active lately; I have approximately three weeks left of my High-school...forever, So there is a lot of work for me to complete. I'll be traveling to China on the 21st November, I'm happy how it has all worked-out, I'm ready; the only thing I need to do now is the Visa, which I will complete at the end of October. I will get it extended so that I can stay for 2 months. I've spoken to travel-agents who specialize in Visas and they told me what I 'Require' to get it extended...shouldn't be a problem. Does anyone have any final recommendations? Final tips or items I should get? I'm feeling well prepared! Will take lots of photos and post them here  Thanks for all your help up to this moment 
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Traveling to China at the end of 2009. Any recommendations or tips would be well appreciated :)
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| rauri |
Oct 18 2009, 10:26 AM
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QUOTE(prairiedogg @ Oct 18 2009, 10:19 AM) 
As for general advice, I'd say try and learn a little bit of Chinese before you come over, if even just a taste. Pimsleur mandarin tapes are good (but expensive, yikes!) I think ChinesePod still has free lessons somewhere online but I've never used them so I can't vouch for 'em.
Where are you planning to go on your trip? If you have specific destinations I can probably give you some more specific advice about the places you'll be traveling.
PD
Hello, Thanks for your tips, they're well appreciated I've learnt some basics of Mandarin, what I have learnt was in a previous post of mine, probably a while ago haha. I'm going to Sichuan province mainly, So I land in Chengdu. I may visit Chongqing at one point. I'm going around Sichuan, to places like Emei, Huang Long Valley etc.
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Traveling to China at the end of 2009. Any recommendations or tips would be well appreciated :)
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| skylab |
Oct 18 2009, 10:45 AM
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If you're going to Chengdu, do the tourist spot and see panda's! heh
I survived China in just learning hello, thank you, a few numbers, how much, noodles.. i think a few more. I only did a month and it was certainly not enough time. Wish I stayed longer really and thats why im planning on going back next year.
Highly highly recommend going to Yunnan province!!!! beautiful views, mountains, and towns. Lijang is kick ass.
have fun!!
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DJSkylab.com: My blog :) ArtOfBackpacking.com: Backpacking Independent International Traveler Facebook"They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself." -Andy Warhol"My body has certainly wandered a good deal, but I have an uneasy suspicion that my mind has not wandered enough." -Noel Coward
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| rauri |
Oct 18 2009, 08:21 PM
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QUOTE(skylab @ Oct 18 2009, 10:45 AM)
If you're going to Chengdu, do the tourist spot and see panda's! heh
I survived China in just learning hello, thank you, a few numbers, how much, noodles.. i think a few more. I only did a month and it was certainly not enough time. Wish I stayed longer really and thats why im planning on going back next year.
Highly highly recommend going to Yunnan province!!!! beautiful views, mountains, and towns. Lijang is kick ass.
have fun!!
Hey mate Yeah I really want to see the Pandas! I don't think I've ever seen one before (understandable). I'll be really glad if my visa is able to get extended to 2 months, from my research it is highly possible. That's about the amount of Chinese I know also, I do have a Phrase-book/chinese dictionary that I will take. And my friend in China can help me  Oh, if I have time i'll go to Yunnan Province, i've heard about Lijiang and it looks beautiful. Thanks for your help.
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Traveling to China at the end of 2009. Any recommendations or tips would be well appreciated :)
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| rauri |
Oct 18 2009, 08:29 PM
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QUOTE(robjstaples @ Oct 18 2009, 05:45 PM)
Sichuan is a great place to visit. I've only ever been in the summer, but I'd be expecting it to be pretty cold in the winter so make sure you're ready for that. I'm sure you'll pick up the Chinese you need while travelling, but have a look at Chinesepod as unless they changed things you can download stuff to your MP3 for free. Don't forget a plug adapter if you're heading outside the cities. One thing I'd suggest is to try to memorise ten or fifteen really basic characters for things like noodles, meat, hotel, train station, ticket etc. It'll make your life much easier once you're off the beaten track.
Happy Travels
Ooh Summer would have been hot and humid ah? Winter will be a good time for me, I do prefer the cold. As I live in Australia I don't have much winter clothes that are thick, i'm going to buy a jacket that i think will do me well in China: http://www.thenorthface.com/webapp/wcs/sto...variationId=001I'll see if it's any good in person. thanks for your help, i'll check out that MP3 download thing, sounds pretty good!
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Traveling to China at the end of 2009. Any recommendations or tips would be well appreciated :)
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| rauri |
Oct 18 2009, 08:31 PM
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QUOTE(prairiedogg @ Oct 18 2009, 10:40 AM) Great choice of destination. Chengdu is one of my favorite cities in China. For tourist stuff within striking distance of Chengdu, Jiuzhaigou is very high on the list. Another not-as-often visited places is San Xing Dui, which is just a quick day trip outside of Chengdu. It is an archeological site where they found amazing bronze statues and sculptures from a culture that appears to have no part in the continuity of Chinese culture - the artifacts bear a weird resemblance to Central American art and the culture vanished without a trace. Hey PrairieDogg, Thanks for your help. I've heard of Juizhaigou and it looks wonderful! I'll definitely put that on my list. I'll look into the other places more, they seem interesting. thanks again
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Traveling to China at the end of 2009. Any recommendations or tips would be well appreciated :)
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| rauri |
 Oct 19 2009, 04:14 PM
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QUOTE(skylab @ Oct 18 2009, 10:11 PM)
oooh just thought of this. where are you going exactly? Beijing gets extremely cold in the winter. just mind the weather. Winter is very cold and the summer is very hot.
Hey mate, I'm not heading to Beijing, mainly just around Sichuan. I heard it gets about 5-8degreesC on average there. So i'll buy a thick coat before I go. I'm not used to the cold like I used to be when I used to live in England. Australia has converted me...although now i can't handle the COLD very well or the HOT haha. What is the average temperature in Beijing in winter? thanks
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Traveling to China at the end of 2009. Any recommendations or tips would be well appreciated :)
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| rauri |
Oct 31 2009, 01:10 AM
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QUOTE(bruceshaw @ Oct 30 2009, 10:49 PM) QUOTE(rauri @ Oct 19 2009, 04:14 PM) QUOTE(skylab @ Oct 18 2009, 10:11 PM)
oooh just thought of this. where are you going exactly? Beijing gets extremely cold in the winter. just mind the weather. Winter is very cold and the summer is very hot.
Hey mate, I'm not heading to Beijing, mainly just around Sichuan. I heard it gets about 5-8degreesC on average there. So i'll buy a thick coat before I go. I'm not used to the cold like I used to be when I used to live in England. Australia has converted me...although now i can't handle the COLD very well or the HOT haha. What is the average temperature in Beijing in winter? thanks Hi, Beijing is -10C at worst in winter. See my youtube get more language informations about Chinese. http://www.youtube.com/user/swfcomThanks Thank you I will look at some of your videos soon, they seem like they will help me a lot. Rauri
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Traveling to China at the end of 2009. Any recommendations or tips would be well appreciated :)
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