Just got a call from my Visa agent that my Chinese tourist visa has arrived. W00t very excited! I've sold my house, my last day of work is this Thursday, and then I'm off to China Baby!!!
Monday, 25 March 2013
Thursday, 21 March 2013
Fire in Lijiang Old Town!
Oh no! I just booked a hotel "in the heart of Lijiang Old Town"!
http://www.gokunming.com/en/blog/item/2923/lijiang_blaze_destroys_old_town_businesses#.UT7dWNAprAo.reddit
I hope it's still there :-S
http://www.gokunming.com/en/blog/item/2923/lijiang_blaze_destroys_old_town_businesses#.UT7dWNAprAo.reddit
I hope it's still there :-S
我的旅行计划 (My Itinerary v0.2)
I've started investigating some specific hotels, as well as the actual logistics of how I'm going to get from place to place. The total distance of my planned trip (from Beijing to Xi'an, Chengdu, Kunming, Shanghai, etc) is roughly the same distance as driving from Victoria to Montreal! I had a lot of romantic notions of taking the train from place to place, however FORGET IT, for the most part I'm just going to fly.
(Case in point: from Xi'an to Chengdu is 19 hours by train, or 1 1.5 hour flight.)
There are a couple of legs I'll do by train, to get the local flavour, because the trip is relatively short (5 or 6 hours) and there aren't any convenient flights.
This baloons my travel budget - the total $$$ of all my domestic China flights will be in the $1500 to $2000 range (vs $400-$500 or less if I take the train).
Here are my latest thoughts:
April 5/6: Flight Victoria to Beijing.
April 6-20: Hutong School in Beijing. I'll be in Chinese classes for 4 hours a day, but hopefully will have lots of free time to see the sights of Beijing. (Otherwise I may tack a few days in Beijing onto the end of my itinerary.)
April 20-27: Datong. Fly Beijing to Datong. Lots to see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datong.
April 27-May 4: Dengfeng (near Luoyang). Fly Datong to Luoyang (connecting through Beijing, possibly stay a couple of days in Luoyang) followed by a 2-hour bus trip to Dengfeng. For some reason the hotels in Luoyang are more expensive than usual (and very pricey too!) at this time, possibly because of the May 1 holiday. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dengfeng near http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luoyang.
May 4-18: Xi'an. Bus Dengfeng to Luoyang and then train to Xi'an. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xi'an. Lots to see, and one of the high points of my trip, I get to meet my Chinese teacher Valarie (a.k.a. 王老师).
May 18-25: Chengdu. Fly Xi'an to Chengdu. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chengdu.
May 25-June 1: Lijiang. Fly Chengdu to Lijiang. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lijiang,_Yunnan.
June 1-8: Kunming. Take the train from Lijiang to Kunming. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kunming.
June 8-15: Guilin. Fly Kunming to Guilin. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guilin.
June 15-26: Shanghai, or ???. Still working on this part of the itinerary. Possibly take a Yangtze cruise from Chongqing to Yichang (3 or 4 nights http://www.yangtzeriver.org/cruisedate.asp?year=2013&month=6) and then fly to Shanghai. Possibly fly to Changhai, and then immediately take the train to Tunxi and explore the Yellow Mountain area. Many possibilities. In any case, spend the last few days in Shanghai http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghai, and finally fly to Beijing for my ...
June 26: Return flight Beijing to Victoria.
I'm spending at least a week in each location, to have lots of time to see the sights and experience the local flavour. We'll see how it works out. It means I miss out on a lot of places I'd like to visit, but my usual approach to a vacation is to rush around wuickly and try to see everything, and this time I'd like to do things a little bit differently!
(Case in point: from Xi'an to Chengdu is 19 hours by train, or 1 1.5 hour flight.)
There are a couple of legs I'll do by train, to get the local flavour, because the trip is relatively short (5 or 6 hours) and there aren't any convenient flights.
This baloons my travel budget - the total $$$ of all my domestic China flights will be in the $1500 to $2000 range (vs $400-$500 or less if I take the train).
Here are my latest thoughts:
April 5/6: Flight Victoria to Beijing.
April 6-20: Hutong School in Beijing. I'll be in Chinese classes for 4 hours a day, but hopefully will have lots of free time to see the sights of Beijing. (Otherwise I may tack a few days in Beijing onto the end of my itinerary.)
April 20-27: Datong. Fly Beijing to Datong. Lots to see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datong.
April 27-May 4: Dengfeng (near Luoyang). Fly Datong to Luoyang (connecting through Beijing, possibly stay a couple of days in Luoyang) followed by a 2-hour bus trip to Dengfeng. For some reason the hotels in Luoyang are more expensive than usual (and very pricey too!) at this time, possibly because of the May 1 holiday. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dengfeng near http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luoyang.
May 4-18: Xi'an. Bus Dengfeng to Luoyang and then train to Xi'an. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xi'an. Lots to see, and one of the high points of my trip, I get to meet my Chinese teacher Valarie (a.k.a. 王老师).
May 18-25: Chengdu. Fly Xi'an to Chengdu. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chengdu.
May 25-June 1: Lijiang. Fly Chengdu to Lijiang. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lijiang,_Yunnan.
June 1-8: Kunming. Take the train from Lijiang to Kunming. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kunming.
June 8-15: Guilin. Fly Kunming to Guilin. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guilin.
June 15-26: Shanghai, or ???. Still working on this part of the itinerary. Possibly take a Yangtze cruise from Chongqing to Yichang (3 or 4 nights http://www.yangtzeriver.org/cruisedate.asp?year=2013&month=6) and then fly to Shanghai. Possibly fly to Changhai, and then immediately take the train to Tunxi and explore the Yellow Mountain area. Many possibilities. In any case, spend the last few days in Shanghai http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghai, and finally fly to Beijing for my ...
June 26: Return flight Beijing to Victoria.
I'm spending at least a week in each location, to have lots of time to see the sights and experience the local flavour. We'll see how it works out. It means I miss out on a lot of places I'd like to visit, but my usual approach to a vacation is to rush around wuickly and try to see everything, and this time I'd like to do things a little bit differently!
Monday, 18 March 2013
你的签证有问题 (There is a problem with your Visa)
So I've sold my house, and I'm in the process of packing up my meagre belongings to put into storage for 6 months. I've booked my flight to Beijing and paid for 2 weeks of language immersion at Hutong School. I've researched my itinerary and spent the past 2 years learning Chinese. I submitted my application for my Chinese Tourist Visa last week.
Today I got a call: 一安，你的签证有问题. Ian, there is a problem with your Visa.
So what's the problem? I applied for a 6-month Visa with multi-entry. I've booked 3 months from April to June, and have been considering a visit to Hong Kong. Since HK is not considered Mainland China, that's a separate Visa, and a separate entry. I've got September off work with no plans, so (if the $$$ holds out) might consider another trip in the fall to visit any interesting locations I couldn't make it to in the first trip.
Well, first time China tourists can only get a 60 day Visa, maximum. Single or double entry. And they prefer that you have a pre-booked and pre-paid itinerary, preferably with a tour group. My first two weeks are booked and paid for, but after that my itinerary is just a notion, and subject to the advice of my new Chinese friends.
Fortunately the call came from my Visa consultant and not the Chinese embassy. They changed my application to a 60-day single entry, and clarified my plans. Tomorrow they submit my application to the consulate, so I'm keeping my fingers and toes crossed until I hear back!
Today I got a call: 一安，你的签证有问题. Ian, there is a problem with your Visa.
So what's the problem? I applied for a 6-month Visa with multi-entry. I've booked 3 months from April to June, and have been considering a visit to Hong Kong. Since HK is not considered Mainland China, that's a separate Visa, and a separate entry. I've got September off work with no plans, so (if the $$$ holds out) might consider another trip in the fall to visit any interesting locations I couldn't make it to in the first trip.
Well, first time China tourists can only get a 60 day Visa, maximum. Single or double entry. And they prefer that you have a pre-booked and pre-paid itinerary, preferably with a tour group. My first two weeks are booked and paid for, but after that my itinerary is just a notion, and subject to the advice of my new Chinese friends.
Fortunately the call came from my Visa consultant and not the Chinese embassy. They changed my application to a 60-day single entry, and clarified my plans. Tomorrow they submit my application to the consulate, so I'm keeping my fingers and toes crossed until I hear back!
Thursday, 7 March 2013
我的中文名字 (My Chinese Name)
After much deliberation I've adopted 柯一安 as my Chinese name.
Last name 柯 (ke), first name 一安 (yi an). 我姓柯，叫一安。一二三的一，西安的安。
I'm not sure of the meaning of 柯 (ke), other than it's used as a Chinese surname. (And a handy shorthand for Costanzo.)
I picked 一安 after discarding a couple of more complicated options - 伊恩 (which is the default when you run "Ian" through Google Translate), and 毅验 (yi yan - the first character means "firm, resolute, decisive"). 一安 is a short form of 一生平安 (yi sheng ping an), which means "a life at peace". This is a pretty cool name! However mainly I picked it because it would be easy to remember.
My blog name: My previous blog was http://sendageektoaustralia.blogspot.com. This was in support of my campaign for the "Best job in the world", which sadly I wasn't selected for :-( However I decided to recycle the theme of "Send a geek to ..." for my China blog.
Next step - profit!!!
PS I'll also be blogging on the Hutong School blogger site. In the event that I can't tunnel through the Great Firewall of China to update my Blogspot blog, I'll be blogging here: http://hutong-school.com/blog/iancostanzo.
Last name 柯 (ke), first name 一安 (yi an). 我姓柯，叫一安。一二三的一，西安的安。
I'm not sure of the meaning of 柯 (ke), other than it's used as a Chinese surname. (And a handy shorthand for Costanzo.)
I picked 一安 after discarding a couple of more complicated options - 伊恩 (which is the default when you run "Ian" through Google Translate), and 毅验 (yi yan - the first character means "firm, resolute, decisive"). 一安 is a short form of 一生平安 (yi sheng ping an), which means "a life at peace". This is a pretty cool name! However mainly I picked it because it would be easy to remember.
My blog name: My previous blog was http://sendageektoaustralia.blogspot.com. This was in support of my campaign for the "Best job in the world", which sadly I wasn't selected for :-( However I decided to recycle the theme of "Send a geek to ..." for my China blog.
Next step - profit!!!
PS I'll also be blogging on the Hutong School blogger site. In the event that I can't tunnel through the Great Firewall of China to update my Blogspot blog, I'll be blogging here: http://hutong-school.com/blog/iancostanzo.
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