Tips for 1 week in China (Beijing aside) in early February?

Replies: 8 - Last Post: 22-Nov-2007 11:22 Last Post By: ChrisWilliams

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vchip

21-Nov-2007 00:28
Posts: 9

Tips for 1 week in China (Beijing aside) in early February?

Hey everyone,

I'm planning a trip on the trans-Siberian railroad with a friend this winter, starting in St. Petersburg, to Moscow, Lake Baikal, Mongolia, and ending in Beijing. We're booking through Vodkatrain.com so they'll take care of all our transport and accomodations from St. Petersburg through Beijing. Instead of flying right home from Beijing however, we thought it smart to spend another week or so exploring one more city in Asia before heading home. I'm posting here to get tips on what that one final place should be, and see if there's any other useful info people might have to share.

Things to consider and questions to get discussion rolling:
-Looking for a city with some life to it. Normally exotic is great, but after weeks in Siberia and Mongolia I think getting back in touch with civilization is favorable.
-We're probably going to arrive in Beijing on February 1st 2008 and spend three or four nights there before moving on to the next destination. Guessing we'll fly home to NYC on February 9th or 10th. This is a winter trip.
-Cold weather destinations are okay, but moving south towards warmth is a plus.
-Cities we're thinking about going to after Beijing are Shanghai, Hong Kong, Bangkok, and Ho Chi Minh City (more to see & do there than Hanoi, right?). However we're completely open to other suggestions.
-If we spend additional time in China after leaving Beijing we're going to hit the Chinese New Year which begins February 7th. Is it worth it to be in China around this time? I imagine travel would be much more difficult, and accomodations much tougher to find. My inclination is to get OUT of China before New Year's, but I could be persuaded to stay if it's really something to experience, or if it's not the inconvenience I think it will be.
-I've learned that Vietnam has this Tet Celebration at the exact same time as the Chinese New Year, so all my questions/concerns about travel & accomodation apply there as well.
-Money is an issue... Tokyo would be our #1 destination, but flights are ridiculously expensive (e.g. $1500 minimum one-way Tokyo to NYC) so that's not an option. Shanghai looks like the cheapest destination from Beijing, transportation-wise at least (~$200 Beijing to Shanghai, ~$800 Shanghai to NYC). If you recommend traveling to Hong Kong or Bangkok or somewhere else OVER Shanghai, please keep in mind the cost/benefit analysis I'm always thinking about to figure out if it's really worth the extra money.
-On the money issue, I've found flychina.com and expedia.com to be good for flights. Are there other sites I should try for cheap tickets?

I'll leave it at that for now... of course I have a million other questions but hopefully this will spark some good discussion and we can go from there. Big fan of this forum... thanks in advance for the help, all.

ellyse

21-Nov-2007 00:33
Posts: 8,932

Accommodation might not be that difficult to find, but you won't be able to travel by overland transport out of Beijing, if you're going to a destination in China.
Cheers!

FireArm

21-Nov-2007 05:15
Posts: 30,299

Bangkok. Via HK and Macau.

"Hang your chemistry and electricity! If you want to make a pile of money, invent something that will enable those Europeans to cut each other's throats with greater facility."

danbrew

21-Nov-2007 06:12
Posts: 236

The train from Beijing to Hanoi is only about 40 hours. I was able to purchase a ticket from Hanoi/HK/Chicago for about $850 with little advance notice back in August. Tickets from HCMC are about the same. I'm absolutely going to slowly wander from Hanoi to HCHC one of these days...

:)

vchip

21-Nov-2007 08:47
Posts: 9

Thanks for the help. Just to follow up:

ellyse -- So Beijing to Shanghai via train looks out of the question for the Chinese New Year, but if I go by plane instead on 2/5/08 and then fly from Shanghai to NYC on 2/9/08 you don't think I'll have much difficulty?

FireArm -- That puts me over my budget unfortunately... flights are just so expensive, I can't afford to stop in HK on my way to Bangkok. Flights from Beijing to Bangkok are already ~$700 and then Bangkok to NYC is ~$900, which compared to the ~$200 Beijing to Shanghai and ~$800 Shanghai to NYC is already pushing my budget. Thanks though

danbrew -- That's good to know. However do you think it's advisable to go to Hanoi on 2/5/08 since the Tet Celebration begins on 2/7/08? Will I have difficulty getting into the country, finding accomodation, and leaving around 2/9/08?

Thanks again... more help and suggestions are appreciated!

ellyse

21-Nov-2007 09:19
Posts: 8,932

#4: Yes, that's right. I hope you already have your flight ticket out of China.
Cheers!

vchip

22-Nov-2007 08:39
Posts: 9

Thanks for the help... more input would be great.

Another question: What would people recommend -- Shanghai or Seoul, South Korea? Seoul would cost a few hundred dollars more in terms of flights, but that's okay if it's really worth seeing.

Is Shanghai an interesting city to visit? Much different from Beijing? Good place to spend the Chinese New Year?

ellyse

22-Nov-2007 10:10
Posts: 8,932

#6: Yes, Shanghai is interesting and quite different from Beijing.
Cheers!

ChrisWilliams

22-Nov-2007 11:22
Posts: 710

I agree with Shanghai, and expect that you can find a discount airfare to Bangkok. maybe not from Shanghai or Beijing tho.
If you can get 50-60% discount by looking for the best departure port in China, even if you need a transfer, could be the saving you're looking for

: )

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