Various travel questions

[xuechengfeng]

1) I would be flying out of columbus, ohio, which is 18hr + flight. I have ridden on one tiny plane within the past 10 yrs and know nothing about travel. What is the flight like when they are this long? Beds? Better seats? Movies? Meals? What do you do during a flight this long? I get a little nervous on planes, and I couldn't see myself sleeping much or long.

2) Would it be cheapest/best to go individually or through a tour service? If tour service, any recommendations?

3) Do you recommend staying in hostels? If so, how do I find ones that aren't too far outside of a city, since I do not know addresses?

4) What are "must-see" places and places to avoid?

5) If I want to travel from city to city, what is the cheapest method -- train, plane, etc.?

6) When is the cheapest time of the year to fly? My dates of availability are pretty much mid to late march, june to september, and mid to late december.

7) Any other tips..............................leave 'em.

[Song You Shen]

Well, it would help a lot if we knew where you were planning on going. Some of the questions you asked can't be answered without knowing where you plan to visit. ;)

Q: What is the flight like when they are this long?

A: They are not as bad as everyone says. The experience is different depending on who you use. I used Korean Air to go to Korea and the seating was fine (it wasn't too bad). But they only had a few movie screens (on long trips they play movies, show TV, etc). On the other hand, I took Japan Air when I went to the Philippines and the seats were much smaller, but each seat had it's own TV where you could watch as many movies as you wanted (much better entertainment, but less comfortable). You'd be suprised how short 18 hours really is.

Q: Would it be cheapest/best to go individually or through a tour service?

A: Naturally it is cheaper to go individually (by yourself) because you won't have to pay any extra fees. However, if you were going with a group, you might get a group discount. I recommend trying to do it yourself... if you're comfortable with that.

Q: What are "must-see" places and places to avoid?

A: This depends on what type of person you are. Do you like tourist traps? Or do you like to see the rustic, more day-to-day life? This is a big decision to make before going over there. There are consequences on each side.

Q: Any other tips?

A: Remember that to be successful in interacting with other cutlures, it is best to remain culturally neutral. By this, I mean, try not to be a typical "american" tourist. ;)

Youshen

[skylee]

You'd be suprised how short 18 hours really is.

I doubt it.

I think Flights shorter than 10 hours (like HK to Sydney) are not that really hard to endure. Flights over 10 hours long (like HK to Europe) can be trying. I will be flying from HK to Rio de Janeiro tonight and the journey will take over 24 hours, and I find it very "challenging". I plan to take a long sleep (but it is not always possible because of the narrow seat and the dry air in the cabin). And I will bring two books, a portable DVD player with two fully charged batteries and many DVDs.

Individual entertainment units (TV/games) provided on airlines like Cathay are really helpful. There were times when I felt that the journeys were not long enough for me to finish all the movies.

xuechengfeng, you might also consider group-tickets, i.e. cheaper tickets issued to travel agencies with a lot of restrictions. They are a good option if you could accept the restrictions.

[xuechengfeng]

Youshen, thanks for the advice. I'm afraid of an 18 hour plane flight because I recently took my first trip out in a long time (from columbus to las vegas), and the flight was 4 hours, which seemed like eternity to me. Also, I really am not sure yet where I want to go. I want to stay for a month or so, and try anything from Beijing, shanghai, Suzhou, Hangzhou, HK, etc., as well as going out to very rural areas and checking out scenery all around.

Skylee, what do you mean accept tickets with restrictions? What types of restrictions would there be?

[skylee]

What types of restrictions would there be?

Like fixed departure and return dates that cannot be changed. These tickets are ususally non-refundable, non-reroutable, non-endorsable, etc. And open-jaw (i.e. you fly to City A but return from City B) is usually not allowed.

[Song You Shen]

I doubt it.

hehe, I guess I am pretty disturbed... I enjoy long flights. I am so excited about traveling that I can't even sleep, no matter how long the trip is! On my way home from the Philippines I was up for more than 52 hours straight!

I bring my laptop with me. Since it only weighs 4.5lbs it is lightweight, can play DVDs, music, games (real computer games), or whatever else I have on my laptop. I also bring books, study materials, etc. Although, i always bring more than I ever need.

Extra Stuff to bring on the plane:

- A water bottle or 2. There will be times when you will want to drink something, but the stewardess is no where to be seen (especially during the sleeping time).

- Headphones, if you have music, dvds, or whatever, you obviously can't play them without headphones.

- A small sleeping pillow (like one of those theraputic neck pillows).

- Ear plugs (the soft moldable kind), this might help you relax more, and possible get a chance to sleep.

- A sleeping mask (the ones that cover your eyes) - (combine this with the ear plugs help you out a little bit.

- Comfortable clothing. Make sure you wear comfortable clothing! Shoes that slid on/off are nice (sometimes your feet swell with the altitude).

Youshen

[roddy]

To be honest I think the first thing you need to do is buy a guide book - something like the Lonely Planet or the Rough Guide will answer a lot of your questions on what you should see, plus give you details of accomodation, travel, etc. No need to follow the guide book like a bible, but on a first trip a decent guide book is invaluable.

As it sounds like you aren't the world's most experienced tourist you might want to look at tour packages. I don't think it's necessary - China isn't that difficult to travel in - but if you don't like the idea of arranging a lot of stuff yourself, then go ahead. Just make sure you get recommendations on tour companies. There's also the middle option of arranging the travel and accomodation yourself, but getting tours during the day around the local site.

Personally, I think you should buy a guide book or two, get a big map of China and start doing a lot of reading and planning. Come up with a route, put it on here for comments, and be prepared to be flexible.

I can't imagine an 18 hour flight being fun, but there's not much alternative. Bring plenty of reading material / music / sleeping pills.

Roddy

[Gary Soup]

My two cents:

1) The length of the flight may not be as burdensome as you think. On the Transpacific part of the flight, at least, you will be on a 747 or equivalent, with enough room to get up and walk around as much as you like. To me, that's a big factor compared with being cramped up in a small plane with narrow aisles. There as many as four movies, or a multiple-channel monitor with lots of choices, and of course the booze is free :-)

2) There are some bargain tour prices, which will save you the work of planning how to get around by yourself (especially if you don't speak Chinese), but you'll be very limited in what you get to see, and they are seldom longer than 10 days or two weeks. It will be more of a challenge to get around by yourself, but it will be more rewarding.

3) I think you will be able to find hostels or hostel-grade accomodations right IN most major cities.

4) I guess that's up to you and what you are interested in seeing. I'm biased toward the Shanghai region (both Suzhou and Hangzhou,which you mentioned, are short hops from Shanghai) and I can't think of anyplace I would really want to avoid, except perhaps Shenzhen.

5) Train is very cheap.

6) Travel (to Shanghai) tends to be most expensive in the summer. Otherwise, it doesn't seem to vary too much. Oddly, some of the cheapest flights we have seen have been around Chinese New Year

7) Just be adventurous.

[stephanhodges]

One more piece of advice.

Visit a local travel clinic, and get information, travel advisories, etc. for your destination. You might have an out of date tetanus shot, for example.

Also, they can give you prescriptions for a small amount of antibiotics, and other anti-diarhea issues. I'd also include an anti-histanine (in case you have a cold when returning, etc.). You don't want stuffed up ears on an airplane.

Be sure that you pack all of the above in your carry on. (Guess why I'm telling you this ).

On the trip back, be more careful of what you eat the last day, and also the travelling day (at airport cafeterias).

I got sick 4 hours over the atlantic returning from Europe. There's no place to go but the back of the plane.

Enjoy. Wish I was going with.

[johnd]

Make sure your guide book is the latest edition, because Chinese cities are changing so much.