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Post by manulike on Feb 10, 2018 23:51:43 GMT
HAPPY NEW YEAR OF THE DOG ;-J
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Post by Gary Williams on Feb 13, 2018 10:46:23 GMT
we will be on are way 4 of us visa sorted
just manulike to sort his
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Post by manulike on Feb 13, 2018 21:41:25 GMT
we will be on are way 4 of us visa sorted just manulike to sort his I have been so many times to the Middle Kingdom, and had so many visas off the Hong Kong Office, that they have my name on Speed Dial ;-) |
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Post by E17 on Feb 16, 2018 12:05:28 GMT
Sorry i haven't read through all the pages, could someone please give me a link for where they can apply VISA via post? And how long does it take?
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Post by Gary Williams on Feb 16, 2018 12:28:15 GMT
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Post by gwernybwch on Feb 17, 2018 11:22:30 GMT
From my readings on TripAdvisor, I had the impression that the two-year visa was now given as standard. Yes. I assume best put it under 'other'. If its an issue, they will automatically downgrade you, but not necessarily upgrade you from one year to two. Received my visa back today and have been given a two-year multi-entry visa. I put "two-year multi-entry" under the other bit and attached a print-out from the embassy saying that they now give two year visas. I'm not sure if that changed anything or they would have given me a two year as standard anyway. |
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Post by manulike on Feb 17, 2018 20:03:43 GMT
USING YOUR MOBILE IN CHINAI am not an expert, but from a little research that I did, you will be ill advised to purchase a mobile phone in mainland China. The main reason being, that the majority of phones manufactured in China are designed to only receive the local (limited) Network signal. Think they use a very specific form of TDD-LTE for use in Mainland China and FDD-LTE for use in Hong Kong. If all you are buying is a CHINESE SIM CARD - then be sure to stick ONLY TO CHINA UNICOM - as all other Networks will only give you a maximum of 2G connection. As far as I understand it, regular UK phones on a China Unicom SIM will give you 3G. If coming from Hong Kong, then you can get a simple 500Mb package for HK$48 to $108 (£5-£10) - Note that this SIM helps you bypass the Great Firewall, and you will easily get Google / Maps, Yahoo, Skype, Whatapp and ... Tindr ... www.cuniq.com/hk_en/data-card/great-china/cross-border-king-hkno.html Inside China, the basic UNICOM package is 200 mins + 800 MB for 76 RMB (£9) - they only have rolling one-month contracts, so this is not strictly a PAYG. You will need a VPN to bypass the Great Firewall ... Also, be aware that you must cancel your Chinese SIM in person before leaving the country, as otherwise you will get blacklisted! NOTEThat as of October 2017 there are no longer any roaming charges inside mainland China. So SIMs bought in Nanning will work freely everywhere else! There used to be massive roaming charges between provinces! See willmyphonework.net/
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Post by gwernybwch on Feb 17, 2018 21:07:05 GMT
If coming from Hong Kong, then you can get a simple 500Mb package for HK$48 to $108 (£5-£10) - Note that this SIM helps you bypass the Great Firewall, and you will easily get Google / Maps, Yahoo, Skype, Whatapp and ... Tindr ... www.cuniq.com/hk_en/data-card/great-china/cross-border-king-hkno.html Inside China, the basic UNICOM package is 200 mins + 800 MB for 76 RMB (£9) - they only have rolling one-month contracts, so this is not strictly a PAYG. You will need a VPN to bypass the Great Firewall ... Also, be aware that you must cancel your Chinese SIM in person before leaving the country, as otherwise you will get blacklisted! Been doing some research on VPN's this evening and it seems that it seems that Express VPN is well thought of. Even better, they do a 30 day money back guarantee. So you can sign-up at the start of the trip and then cancel at the end and pay nothing :-) |
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Post by manulike on Feb 17, 2018 21:39:58 GMT
If coming from Hong Kong, then you can get a simple 500Mb package for HK$48 to $108 (£5-£10) - Note that this SIM helps you bypass the Great Firewall, and you will easily get Google / Maps, Yahoo, Skype, Whatapp and ... Tindr ... www.cuniq.com/hk_en/data-card/great-china/cross-border-king-hkno.html Inside China, the basic UNICOM package is 200 mins + 800 MB for 76 RMB (£9) - they only have rolling one-month contracts, so this is not strictly a PAYG. You will need a VPN to bypass the Great Firewall ... Also, be aware that you must cancel your Chinese SIM in person before leaving the country, as otherwise you will get blacklisted! Been doing some research on VPN's this evening and it seems that it seems that Express VPN is well thought of. Even better, they do a 30 day money back guarantee. So you can sign-up at the start of the trip and then cancel at the end and pay nothing :-) You can use the same VPN to watch MOTD and S4C etc while out there, if you don't mind the very early morning time-difference thing ... Also worth noting for anyone that has THREE UK SIM, you can use this in Hong Kong, Macau and in Vietnam as if you were at home. This includes all your data, calling and getting phone calls from UK numbers as well as receiving calls from local numbers, but not calling local numbers. The cheapest Three PAYG SIM is £10, which might be worth it - www.three.co.uk/Store/SIM/Pay_As_You_Go |
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Post by soton1927 on Feb 18, 2018 8:59:28 GMT
Does anyone have any recommendations for where to go between the two games? A group of us are considering going on the train to Guilin and then the bus to Yangshuo for a couple of days.
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Post by gwernybwch on Feb 18, 2018 10:11:55 GMT
Does anyone have any recommendations for where to go between the two games? A group of us are considering going on the train to Guilin and then the bus to Yangshuo for a couple of days. Was planning to do something similar. Have booked accommodation in Yangshuo and was planning to take the bullet train from Nanning to Guilin (3hr). From what I have read the actual "cruise" on the Li River, isn't a cruise as such, more of a float down the river to stunning scenery and Yangshuo has a backpacker / party town vibe to it. That is as far as my research has got me. |
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Post by Gary Williams on Feb 18, 2018 12:34:13 GMT
do the same
theres a bullet train direct to yangshou(xingping) and back you have to take bus from train staion is yangshou
going friday morning and back sunday evening
things to do rafting to see views and hiking and cycle
and do forget sound and light show
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Post by manulike on Feb 18, 2018 14:43:56 GMT
do the same theres a bullet train direct to yangshou(xingping) and back you have to take bus from train staion is yangshou going friday morning and back sunday evening things to do rafting to see views and hiking and cycle and do forget sound and light show Unless you wish to stay in Xingping village (which has a wonderful youth hostel) but no party/nightlife ... I'd say you may as well either take the train to Gulilin from Nanning central (Dept 07:25 arrive 10am) or the later one (Dept 10:35 and arrive 13:28). If you organise a transfer in advance from Guilin station, you might be able to catch the last morning Li River cruise to co-incide with the 10am arrival. The twice-daily train to Yangshou departs from Nanning EAST station at 09:30 and arrives at 12:42. If you don't mind changing accommodation, I'd recommend train to Guilin Friday morning with Li River cruise, then stay the night in Yangshou. Saturday morning, chech-out from your hotel/hostel and take the downriver bamboo rafting from Yangdi to Xingping (also Li river, but more scenic). Yangdi is a 30 minutes bus ride from Yangshou – Y150-Y180 per 2-man raft. Upstream, from Xingping it is by PVC motorised raft - so noisy and you are likely to get much wetter! Stay the night in Xingping. Take the evening train back from XINGPING (Yagshou station) on Sunday to Nanning East Dept 18:42 and arrive at 22:11. Note that the distance by bus from both "Yangshou" station and Guilin stations to downtown Yangshou is similar circa 50 minutes to an hour and costing circa Y14. The bus fare between Yangshou town centre and Xingping is Y10 (every 15 mins until 1830). The 4km shuttle bus to Xingping from Yangshou station costs Y4. |
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Post by manulike on Feb 18, 2018 19:35:31 GMT
BUSES FROM HONG KONG TO SHENZHEN NORTH TRAIN STATIONAlthough taking the MTR from HK to Lok Ma Chau / Lo Wu stations only costs ca. $45 and connects directly to the Shenzhen MTR in Lok Ma Chau or directly to the Shenzhen main railway station - the direct train to Nanning goes from Shenzhen North Station. A DIRECT BUS goes from Sheung Wan (HK Macau Ferry Terminal on HK Island) via Tsim Sha Tsui / Harbour City and Mong Kok and Prince Edward. This bus stops at the Shenzhen Bay Port for clearing immigration (very few people and both exit and entry formalities are done in the same building). You then hop on the next bus to the train station. There are buses every 30 minutes. You will be given a sticker in Chinese to be placed on your clothing saying "I am an idiot, show me where my bus is waiting" - and it all works seamlessly. Price HK to Shenzhen North Station is HK$80 (£7) Total time ca. 2 hours, which is about the same as the MTR with much less hassle at the border crossing, and no need to change four MTR lines. www.trans-island.com.hk/en/servicedetails.php?id=91#logo_tag Their Tsim Sha Tsui / Harbour City office is Near Hermes, Harbour City, Canton Road, Tsim Sha Tsui (the left of Marco Polo Hong Kong Hotel) www.trans-island.com.hk/en/contactus.php?goSend From SZN to Nanning two main departuresG291412:22 Shenzhen North 16:41 Nanning East G291616:20 Shenzhen North 20:18 Nanning East Ticket cost is Y245 (£27)
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Post by CrackityJones on Feb 19, 2018 8:17:15 GMT
Also going to Yangshuo Friday morning back Monday morning. Not booked the train yet but probably getting a return to Xingping.
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Post by Gary Williams on Feb 19, 2018 13:00:47 GMT
Also going to Yangshuo Friday morning back Monday morning. Not booked the train yet but probably getting a return to Xingping. Train tickets for outward go on sale on 22nd feb i have booked through china highlights but you can use ctrip fro less booking fee but only from day then go on sale |
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Post by manulike on Feb 19, 2018 19:56:15 GMT
Also going to Yangshuo Friday morning back Monday morning. Not booked the train yet but probably getting a return to Xingping. Train tickets for outward go on sale on 22nd feb i have booked through china highlights but you can use ctrip fro less booking fee but only from day then go on sale Good advice from our train expert ;-) Ctrip charge a minimum of Y20 per booking or 3.5% of the total booking, whichever is the greater. However, they do NOT charge you for using a non-chinese credit card. In theory, as a foreigner, you may walk up to any open counter at the railway station with your booking reference, who will print your ticket out for you. As far as I am aware, all others charge a minimum of Y35 as well as 3% for using a credit card |
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Post by Gary Williams on Feb 20, 2018 0:52:12 GMT
Train tickets for outward go on sale on 22nd feb i have booked through china highlights but you can use ctrip fro less booking fee but only from day then go on sale Good advice from our train expert ;-) Ctrip charge a minimum of Y20 per booking or 3.5% of the total booking, whichever is the greater. However, they do NOT charge you for using a non-chinese credit card. In theory, as a foreigner, you may walk up to any open counter at the railway station with your booking reference, who will print your ticket out for you. As far as I am aware, all others charge a minimum of Y35 as well as 3% for using a credit card You are right you need your passport to collect from window so make sure you enter details accurately regarding given names and surname |
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Post by iot on Feb 21, 2018 12:51:49 GMT
Payment for the visas have gone out and I've just received the receipts and passport back in the post, but no visa... Does that mean they're still processing it?
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Post by mx47 on Feb 21, 2018 13:10:21 GMT
Payment for the visas have gone out and I've just received the receipts and passport back in the post, but no visa... Does that mean they're still processing it? Visa should be "stuck" on one page of the Passport!! |
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Post by manulike on Feb 21, 2018 13:17:51 GMT
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Post by iot on Feb 21, 2018 13:32:34 GMT
Payment for the visas have gone out and I've just received the receipts and passport back in the post, but no visa... Does that mean they're still processing it? Visa should be "stuck" on one page of the Passport!! Ah yes, didn't think to look there. I was expecting some sort of form! Oh dear... Thanks! |
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Post by iot on Feb 21, 2018 13:32:53 GMT
Just checked and it's in there, cheers! |
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Post by mx47 on Feb 21, 2018 14:13:05 GMT
Just checked and it's in there, cheers! Well done, all systems go.......see you out there!!! |
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Post by CrackityJones on Feb 23, 2018 12:13:52 GMT
Also going to Yangshuo Friday morning back Monday morning. Not booked the train yet but probably getting a return to Xingping. Train tickets for outward go on sale on 22nd feb i have booked through china highlights but you can use ctrip fro less booking fee but only from day then go on sale Booked on the 0930 Nanning East to Yangshuo (Xingping) - £35 for two in 2nd class.
1st class tickets were already sold out so anyone looking to do the same should book soon. The return journey is on sale tomorrow or Sunday depending on when you're heading back to Nanning.
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Post by iot on Feb 23, 2018 12:40:21 GMT
Train tickets for outward go on sale on 22nd feb i have booked through china highlights but you can use ctrip fro less booking fee but only from day then go on sale Booked on the 0930 Nanning East to Yangshuo (Xingping) - £35 for two in 2nd class.
1st class tickets were already sold out so anyone looking to do the same should book soon. The return journey is on sale tomorrow or Sunday depending on when you're heading back to Nanning.
which website did you use? |
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Post by CrackityJones on Feb 23, 2018 12:44:08 GMT
Booked on the 0930 Nanning East to Yangshuo (Xingping) - £35 for two in 2nd class.
1st class tickets were already sold out so anyone looking to do the same should book soon. The return journey is on sale tomorrow or Sunday depending on when you're heading back to Nanning.
which website did you use? english.ctrip.com/trains/
Very straight forward, just need you passport number for collection at any train station in mainland China.
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Post by manulike on Feb 23, 2018 20:41:56 GMT
which website did you use? english.ctrip.com/trains/
Very straight forward, just need you passport number for collection at any train station in mainland China.
Correct. For those staying near to Central Station (a mile north of Chaoyang Sq). You may wish to collect your tickets in advance. Also, be aware that there is a fair amount of security in the Metro as well as at the train stations, with everything going through the scanning machines and metal detectors. As far as I am aware, there is no liquid / 100ml tests, but still count on at least an EXTRA 10-12 minutes of security queues when taking the metro and trains ... |
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Post by manulike on Feb 23, 2018 21:43:24 GMT
Dragon Soccer stating that "The New Wales Away shirt set to be released on Tuesday 20th March 2018" will there be a dragon imprint to celebrate the China Cup, as per our 2002-03 shirt?
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Post by manulike on Feb 24, 2018 20:16:48 GMT
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