Interim China trip

[Gus 97]

It looks increasingly likely that my forthcoming trip will be for around 30 days. My travel insurance is valid for only 31 days, Thai tourist non-visa thingy 30 days.

These can be overcome relatively easy but 30 days seems OK anyway, but who knows TIT

 

I will be staying Pattaya and perhaps Koh Samet or Chang for total of 12 nights then up tp Bangers for 3 nights.

It would then be Bangkok Air to Guilin, China 4 nights inc Yungshuo then Dragonair or similar to HKG for 3 nights.

Next up Bangkok Air direct to Koh Samui for 6 nights back at Lamai then Bangkok Air USM-BKK and EVA home.

I would have to pay for a seperate Guilin-HKG flight but a Bangkok Air Discovery pass works out well for the other flights (about 250usd).

 

Now I assume I would need a Chinese visa to visit Guilin, are these easy to obtain? If it is to costly or too time consuming then Fuck It

Any tips welcome, but not your Penis Tip

ps Nothing will be written in stone until I get to LOS anyway.

Edited October 19, 2005 by Gus

[neilri2001 42]

At the chinese embassy in London you take your application in the morning and pick it up in the afternoon for a slightly higher fee and next day for a slightly lower fee. It's probably a good idea to arrive 1 hour before doors opening. for an additional fee travel agencies in Chinatown will do it for you. Their reps automatically go straight to the front of the queue.

The visa will be good for 1 trip and will probably have a six month time scale.

 

maybe someone else will have experience of the Chinese embasssy in Bangkok. i prefered to get the visa before i set off.

Neil

[Gus 97]

Thanks for that Neil, I am not 100% sure that I will go to China, I want to just go with the flow and see what happens when I am in LOS.

However, I have several ideas in the back of my mind, I'll just see what unfolds.

 

Knowing the Thais as long as the travel agent made a few baht they would sort it out for me when I booked the flights, just need to find a Bangkok Airways agent or their Bangkok office, I think they'll help.

[PATFAN 2]

Gus,

You do need to apply for a visa for Mainland China. The cost for a Single visit...30 day visa is 30-50 USD. This is according to a Chinese embassy site. I have gotten visa's by visiting their embassy in NY (got it on the same day) and also thru travel agencies (this took about 7-10 days). I believe a visa for Hong Kong is similar to the way we get a visa for Thailand (at the airport).

Gulin is a small city. It is fairly modernize. It is a city where Chinese and westerners go for vacation. Yangshuo is a nearby town where you can shop. I believe they have artist community there also. You can shop for Chinese painting there. Between the two places there are touristy things that you can do there. Such as boat rides down the river, explore caves, go to minority parks, see the Elephant rock, eat, shop for cystals and gems and such things. I believe Yangshuo is on the backpacker map. They say the Guilin area is very beautiful. I think this area should be a bit more expense than the Pattaya area.

HongKong is a very big modern city. It is more expensive. I think they offer everything but at a price. Hongkong has a special status and is treated as part of China..but different. If you you want to travel back and forth from mainland China and HongKong (several times) then you will need a multistay visa. I hope this info help you. I am hoping to visit China and do a side trip to Thailand at the end of the year. Good Luck and enjoy.

[Gus 97]

Patfan

Many thanks for that info, I am from the UK and do not require a visa for HKG. I would probably get a Bangkok travel agent to sort out a one entry visa for Guilin although I may need to go to the Chinese embassy in Bangkok.

The Bangkok Airways discovery pass seems quite good value.

I have heard that girls are available in Guilin and there is certainly no shortage in HKG although not a girlfriend experience as in LOS.

 

When I am in LOS I will take it day by day and see where I finish up

probably in the gutter