China Travel - Solo.

[PanShiBo]

I am on my second solo travel trip to China. The more I travel the more I want to travel. Wanted to share and hear shared experience from people who have done this kind of things before.

Under solo travel I assume these things:

1. Be on the road longer than one month.

2. Move on average at least 50 km/day. (1,500 km / month )

3. Travel alone.

4. Chinese is not your first language.

[skylee]

I haven’t done much long-term travelling in China, but have spent plenty of time travelling solo in Europe. I’ve done many one-month trips, and the longest one was for 40 days from August to October 1996. (But this was really not that long as people seemed to spend a lot of time travelling in Europe.) And I took all those long trips a long time ago (IIRC I took my last one-month trip in 2001). I am not sure about the distance thing ... but none of the European languages is my first language.

My experience is probably not relevant. But I agree that the more I travelled the more I wanted to travel, up to a point.

[PanShiBo]

My experience is probably not relevant...

Certain things can be generic, they are true in any place. For example, smile coming from one's heart goes long way. Sometimes it makes impossible things become possible.

[WestTexas]

Is the 50km/day an average or does that mean you don't stay in the same city for more than one day? Because personally I always like to stay in each city for at least 3 days, or a week in bigger more interesting cities.

[abcdefg]

Your criteria are real specific and my trips are shorter than one month. I suspect our travel styles may differ in other ways as well. I keep an apartment in Kunming and take solo trips of about two weeks duration to different areas of interest as my Kunming schedule permits. I spend six to eight months of each year in China. Sounds like you may be doing more of a Jack Kerouac type of extended road journey without a fixed "base camp."

But for what it's worth, so far this year I’ve made three little trips outside Yunnan:

1. In mid March I went to Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macau. Flew Kunming to Guangzhou. Bus to Dongguan; train to Shenzhen. Crossed into Hong Kong and took the ferry to Macau. Back to Zhuhai and up to Zongshan by bus. From there I headed to Guangzhou by bus and flew back to Kunming. This was actually an extended visa run that I turned into a bit of an exploring trip. Also needed to get some dental work done.

2. In late April I flew from Kunming to Chongqing; then from Chongqing took a bus west towards Chengdu to visit Dazu (famous for rock carvings) and then back to Chongqing. Rode a boat east down the Yangtze to Yichang; from there went to the Three Gorges Dam and back on a tour bus. On to Wuhan by express bus and down to Changsha by train. Took day trips out of the above cities to see historical sights, then in early May I flew back to Kunming from Changsha.

The only reservation I made in advance was the initial Kunming to Chongqing flight; arranged the rest as I went along. When I liked a place a lot, I stayed longer; when I didn’t like it much, I moved on more quickly. That’s usually how I do it when traveling alone.

3. In late May I flew from Kunming to Zhengzhou, Henan; train from Zhengzhou west to Luoyang. Took day trips out of Zhengzhou and Luoyang to visit the Yellow River, Song Shan, Shaolin Temple, and Longmen Grottoes. From Luoyang proceeded further west into Shaanxi to Xi’an by train and saw the usual sights there. Flew back to Kunming from Xi’an in early June.

Towards the end of this month I plan to head into the Northwest and visit Gansu, Xinjiang, and Qinghai for two weeks or so. Then I must head home to the US for a while. I have no illusions of "seeing everything" when I go on these trips. They are only small "sampling runs" to let me get a feel for regions and places I would like to return to later for a more extended and comprehensive experience.

[PanShiBo]

I flew back to Kunming from Changsha

You seem always fly in/out off Kunming. I suppose the reason is to save time as bus will take longer. I am in Changsha today last night (just got my visa extension), heading to Pu'er tomorrow by land, next stop will be ShaoYang, then not sure, probably Guiyang or something in between (can be Huaihua).

Your strategy matches mine, but I do travel "alpine" style (no base camp). I never make reservations, even for hotels. I don't determine my next city until last day. But I do know end point of current leg. I stay in one city as long as I like it. I buy bus tickets on the same day at the bus station.

I also never claim to know the land, it is so huge and different. Just sampling here and there.

[skylee]

My recent trips were often 17-18 days long (which had to do with some rules of my office). I tend to plan a lot and have most things pre-arranged as I found it very frustrating to have to sort things out at the destinations if I had not booked a room or planned the train/bus routes. Same with travelling in China. I dislike changing hotels, so I usually stay at a place and make day trips to nearby sights/cities, like Jinan + Qufu & Taishan and Bari + Matera & Alberobello.

[PanShiBo]

Tip #1 - Use GPS.

I rely on my hand held GPS, which is most important gadget I always carry with me. I never book hotels so I don't know their addresses in advance. I find them after I arrive by walking the streets. First thing I do after check-in is to mark my location. It helps me navigate through the city, especially getting back. When I move to the next city I always mark location of its downtown or train station. This makes sure I won't miss my stop and I always know how much distance left. Another unexpected aspect I discovered that locals for some reasons are fascinated by its design, so many times it was the reason to start conversation: is it a cell phone or what?

[Silent]

I've done a fair bit of traveling, but not specific China. My general policy is every trip another destination. During my trips I tend to keep moving. Staying more than 3 nights at one place is exceptional for me. I used to travel mostly by bicycle, but my last 3 trips I traveled by public transport. Apart from the flight and first 1 or two nights I don't book anything. In general I have a rough global plan, and depending on what I encounter I fill it in or may change it entirely. My trips usually last 3-6 weeks. Only exceptions 1 year Australia/Thailand and 3 months China. After my trip to China (2008) I decided that China will be the first country outside of Europe I'll visit on more than one trip. One of my main motivations to start learning Chinese.

[abcdefg]

You seem always fly in/out off Kunming. I suppose the reason is to save time as bus will take longer.

Right. Last year and the year before I relied more on bus and train. This year time is a bit tighter. Also the airport is only about 20 minutes from my apartment, which makes it convenient. When I travel within Yunnan, however, I still generally use bus and train.

[PanShiBo]

Tip 2 - use public pus for sight seeing.

Inexpensive, convenient and fun way to explore city.

[paike]

Where to begin?

Over 6 years in China, I've done 5 trips over 50 days. Just recently finished a Shandong, Henan, Shanxi 25 day Buddhist Art trip.

1) The touts who stop you by bus stations with their hotels, those are actually ok. Years ago, not so. Now lots of people have opened up their own rooms with showers. Cheaper than Home Inn or Jinjiang zhi Xing. Hostels work too, I'm just done with that now.

2) When you reach a city, check your big bag at the train station (I travel by train). With your small bag go and see the city, take a bus around the city, find a cheap place. Go back to the train station and get your stuff. Its so stressful to carry that big bag in a new place. Makes me angry anyways, enough to deal with.

3) Always ask more than one person, I go with three, for directions. If someone says "that way", go that way and then ask another person 20 meters away again, is this the way?

4) Plan your exit when you arrive, get necessary train tickets accordingly (at least check out the bus station, make sure its the right one for the place you want to do to). I hate being stuck in places.

There are more. You will figure them out, that's part of traveling.

One last thing: I personally feel China has inflated to the point where its not really "worth it" to travel extensively anymore. Tourist places are 80 for a temple, 220 a couple weeks ago for Wutai Shan. Just ridiculous. Id rather couchsurf in New York City and hang out at in Queens eating bagels and listening to great bands. Its inflated to sky, sky high prices.

Oh, Courchsurfing works, I use it. I speak chinese though. I think you'd be ok without it.

p.s. My first big hurrah was between year one and two in the summer. Guangdong, to Shaanxi, to Sichuan, north by Jeep into Gansu, all the way to Western Xinjiang to Kashgar and then back. Several 35 hour hard seat train tickets. I was younger though. My chinese got better. Just travel, China is really safe, and always make sure you keep whats important in your day bag that you keep track of always. Then really nothing that happens can be so bad.

[Silent]

1) The touts who stop you by bus stations with their hotels, those are actually ok.

Why wouldn't they be? It's quite simple, they offer a service, take it or leave it. Touts may sometimes be something of a nuisance, but usually they know something that passes for English. You can communicate with them and they're a great source of information.

2) When you reach a city, check your big bag at the train station (I travel by train).

What's the point? Check it at the station, find a place to sleep, go back to the station..... Takes far too much time and hassle. If it's really a drag to carry your backpack you've packed too much.

4) Plan your exit when you arrive, get necessary train tickets accordingly

Sometimes it may be necessary, but if possible don't. The moment you buy a ticket you loose flexibility. Maybe you don't like the town and want to get out asap. Maybe you really like it and want to stay a bit longer. Maybe you get new info and want to change your plans entirely. I prefer to keep my options open as long as possible!

One last thing: I personally feel China has inflated to the point where its not really "worth it" to travel extensively anymore.

It's of course a matter of personal preferences and priorities. In my experience the sites may be the excuse to go traveling but it's the people and the culture, basicly the experience, that make it really worth while. If you think the 'big' touristic sites are too expensive avoid them. On average I go there with high expectations, on average they fail to meet those expectations. The best experiences, the memories that last longest tend to occur when expectations are low and you least expect it. I remember the night I camped in the open and wild horses grazed just a couple of meters away with the backdrop of shooting stars. I remember the day I had to kill half a day and ended up chatting and negotiating in the souk for 5 hours straight. I remember the Chimps crossing the road 10 meters in front of me I was so stunned I failed to make a picture. I remember the day I got lost and was invited to a traditional wedding in a small village. I remember many invitations I received to share dinner and spend the night with local families. However I barely remember all those 'magnificent' ruins I visited. Little memory remains about the Nightwatch and the Mona Lisa and many of the national parks I visited seem completely erased from memory.

Sure, I do visit 'big' sites. The marketing works, if 'everyone' says it's a must see it's hard to skip it. The big draws are big for a reason. They tend to be good, but their greatness tends to be compensated by elevated expectations, the crowds and other negative effects of mass tourism. They are not the real value of traveling. Just my 2 cents worth.

[Meng Lelan]

I remember many invitations I received to share dinner and spend the night with local families. However I barely remember all those 'magnificent' ruins I visited.

That's a lot like me. I remember absolutely nothing about my first trip to all those mandatory sights in Beijing, but remember every detail about how I met a bunch of deaf factory workers near Wangfujing and the next thing I knew we were throwing together some impromptu dinnner in their apt building.

[PanShiBo]

Tip 3 - Better hotels are located in the back alleys: they are much cheaper, cleaner, and quieter.

[paike]

4) Plan your exit when you arrive, get necessary train tickets accordingly

Sometimes it may be necessary, but if possible don't. The moment you buy a ticket you loose flexibility. Maybe you don't like the town and want to get out asap. Maybe you really like it and want to stay a bit longer. Maybe you get new info and want to change your plans entirely. I prefer to keep my options open as long as possible!

You prefer to keep your options open? Have you been to a train station to buy tickets before? In the summer? For example: Traveling this summer, if you want a hard sleeper in most of the major cities I traveled, you need to buy it one to four days in advance. If you aren't in a major city, its much longer. If you travel solely by sleeper bus, good for you. Have you taken one of those before?

My least favorite thing about traveling is having a plan, getting to the front of the train ticket line and hearing, 没有 again and again as they tell me about tickets. I have taken 站票 for trips shorter than 8 hours, but its not pleasant and not worth "keeping my options open". That's why I ended taking a hard seat from Urumuqi to Kashgar (24 hours), Urumuqi to Xian (30+ hours) and Guangzhou to Xian 25 hours+ (?). Or else you stay for a while and do what? If you have plenty of money you can always fly everywhere.

Different opinions.

[Silent]

If you depend on long distance transport yes, booking may be a necessity. I prefer to avoid that. I mean if you take a 24hr ride you loose time and pass by a lot of interesting places. It may be worthwhile for one or two tranfers, but I see no added value for day2day travel. I'm used to my own wheels (bicycle) and local public transport. I seldom make more than 1 or 2 long transfers during a trip.

[abcdefg]

3) Always ask more than one person, I go with three, for directions. If someone says "that way", go that way and then ask another person 20 meters away again, is this the way?

That one is pure gold. I have finally learned to do it too.

[PanShiBo]

Tip 4 - use cell phone to communicate.

When someone doesn't get my pronunciation or I want to learn a new word or two (name of the dish, etc.) I am using cheap Chinese cell phone with pinyin entry. Just type want I want to say and show it to the person. Or ask person to type me new word. Used cell phones are sold on the streets, from 30-40 rmb.

[PanShiBo]

Tip 5 - expand you vocab by going to public market.

Learn a new word or two by just asking vendor what that thing is. Use your cell phone to enter text name of that thing. This also gives opportunity to practice spoken skills and communicate with simple folks who work the land. It is fun for everybody, and after they may even ask to have picture together with you.

Today I learned 海带丝, and yesterday it was 草鱼.