Suggestions for Having to Leave China Cost-Effectively & at Short Notice?

[TravellingGuy]

Hey,

So. My first month in China has been pretty awesome overall.

Some family stuff took place ( I'll spare the details ) and I ideally need to leave at short notice and, more importantly, cost effectively.

I was wondering if anyone had suggestions for nearby countries I could travel to cost effectively at short notice. Looking around, the cheapest I could find were flights to Taiwan for around 2500 RMB leaving on Thurs 8th August.

I can go anywhere with decent internet. Just looking for an easy way to leave the country for minimal cost.

Any suggestions welcome. I'll do the Google work after that.

Thanks.

[ChTTay]

Hong Kong.

You can fly to Shenzhen or Guangzhou cheaply then go across by land. This way is often cheaper than taking a flight direct into HK.

You could also take a train to Shenzhen/Guangzhou also. I recently took the 10 hour bullet train from Beijing to Shenzhen. It was a pretty good journey. I took a flight for the return leg and, overall, preferred the train.

Edit:

Also, what about Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur). Air Asia can have some pretty reasonably priced flights if you're lucky.

[TravellingGuy]

Thanks, ChTTay

Are there cost effective hostels in Hong Kong? I'd probably look to stay for a couple of weeks or so before moving on.

[xuefang]

I recommend Cosmic Guest Hostel in Hong Kong. The rooms are tiny, like anywhere in Hong Kong, but the owner is a nice woman, sheets pretty clean and location excellent in Mirador Mansion. http://www.cosmicguesthouse.com/

[TravellingGuy]

Both awesome suggestions, just looking into them now.

Thanks so much.

Flights to Guangzhou are 770RMB (much more what i was looking for) and the rooms are more than affordable at Cosmic Guest Hostel.

I'm just now checking out the trains from Ningbo to Hong Kong.

Looks like it's possible to book a train all the way. Are there any sites anyone would recommend for English speakers to book a Ningbo to Hongkong train?

[cultureyard]

Hi "Traveling Guy",

Not sure where you are in China (sorry if missed it in your post), but generally there are a few ways to get out of China and not paying much:

a) From Beijing you can take a night bus to the Mongolian border (less than 200Y)

b) There are a few budget airlines flying to and from China that won't appear on the usual flight booking websites- airasia.com, jetair & cebupacificair.com

c) you can take a long distance slow train to a border crossing with any of China's neighboring countries and take a seat or a hard-sleeper (check on travelchinaguide for schedules)

Hope it helps.

Cheers.

Ilya

[TravellingGuy]

Awesome, thanks for the reply. I'll check out the airlines now.

Are there any good websites for English speakers to book Chinese trains?

[ChTTay]

"Cost effective" means different things to different people. What you have said so far makes me think you are looking for a very cheap way to leave China, rather than just being "cost effective". Maybe you should just say what your budget is...

If you are on a tight budget then I wouldn't go to Hong Kong.

Also, why are you leaving? Are you looking to leave then come back to China? Just looking for another place to go?

If you don't read Chinese or have a Chinese bank account then the easiest way to book a train is in person at a ticket office or at the train station itself. Just go there to book your train and have the train number, time, date etc all written down. Alternatively, hostels often provide train booking services for a small fee.

[abcdefg]

There are a few budget airlines flying to and from China that won't appear on the usual flight booking websites- airasia.com, jetair & cebupacificair.com

Spring Airlines is another. http://www.china-sss.com/en

Are there any good websites for English speakers to book Chinese trains?

These involve agents and (sometimes hefty) fees.

[xiaoxiaocao]

Flights from Guangzhou to Manila are usually under RMB 1,000 each way (and sometimes much less), plus you probably won't need a visa which is handy.

http://www.cebupacificair.com

[roddy]

Sounds to me like your best option is a train to Shenzhen, then walk over the border to Hong Kong. Hong Kong's got plenty of Internet, cheap hostels, and excellent onward connections. Can't see any direct trains from Ningbo though, maybe pop up to Shanghai first? Or Hangzhou?

So, what went wrong?

[Lu]

Taiwan is a great place to be, but not a very good choice if you need to leave China cheaply and conveniently. For starters I can't imagine it being the cheapest option, and secondly if you want/need to return to China, it's (in my limited experience) hugely inconvenient to almost impossible to get Chinese visa stuff worked out in Taiwan. Some better ideas have already been mentioned, fortunately.

[TravellingGuy]

Thanks again for the responses.

I think I'm going to take a train from Ningbo to Guangzhou and then get a bus (or whatever's easiest) to Hong Kong. I'll probably turn up to the station early and get a ticket.

Seems like it's an overnighter 24hr-ish train which is fine.

There are a few sites with timetables such as this one: http://www.chinatrainguide.com/ningbo-railway-station/guangzhou.html

It's tricky to know whether or not they're up-to-date and recent. Any thoughts or suggestions or where to check schedules?

Right now, my plan is to get to the station early, take a screenshot on my phone of the translation for "Cheapest ticket on the next train to Guangzhou, please" and then jump onboard.

[abcdefg]

Right now, my plan is to get to the station early, take a screenshot on my phone of the translation for "Cheapest ticket on the next train to Guangzhou, please" and then jump onboard.

Are you really willing to ride hard seat for 24 hours? That's what you might wind up with if you ask the question like that. I'd suggest hard sleeper, which is hugely more comfortable, since you can at least lie down. Take a screen shot of your question with that instead. If you don't have much China train experience, take a look at this site: http://www.seat61.com/China.htm

Some larger stations, I don't know specifically about Ningbo, have one window staffed by an English speaker. The way to find out is to ask at the information desk near the entrance. Even if you can only say one word, you can find out. 英文/yīng wén/means English, You can also write that one word out. The service desk can then point you to the right window.

[ChTTay]

You can catch a train direct from Guangzhou to Hong Kong. It takes two hours.

[TravellingGuy]

Okay,

After looking into all suggestions posted up a forum on Friday decided to get a flight to Shenzhen and found a great website but budget seats:

http://english.ctrip.com/

The flight was RMB800 all told and takes two hours.

I plan on getting the bus to Hong Kong when I arrive.

I've found some cheap hostels there but it seems like quite an expensive place to live if you want to get a room in the flatshare, for example. If anyone knows a good websites to find a room in an expat households let me know

Thanks again for all the help.

[Lu]

Couchsurfing? Or try the hostels in Chungking Mansions, they're legendary and have a reputation of being cheap.