china
China has completely surprised us and in a good way. To be honest, we really had no idea what we were in for when we first booked our 26 hour train trip from Hong Kong up to Beijing.
Over the 26 days that we have spent in China, its safe to say we have fallen in love. There have been plenty of times where we have wanted to rip our hair out, as the language barrier has been harder than any other country we have visited. But after your worries/confusions/frustrations are over you can take a deep breath and allow yourself to dive into the beautiful scenery, temples and sites that China offers you. |
IMPORTANT LINKS
Newly Nomads blog on our 26 day trip in Hong Kong and China. Here you'll not only find our daily blog, but also places to stay, eat and visit.
Jaide Photography's website, go here to view Justin's awesome snaps of our time in China. *All prices on this page are of AUD and are current from Septemeber/October 2014* |
the budget
This is broken down into two sections: Hong Kong (marked with HK) and Mainland China (marked with MC). The prices vary a lot between the two. Overall, for a couple in HK we were spending between $70-$80 a day whilst in MC we were getting by on $50 a day. You can view our planning guide here.
* Food/Drink: HK- $30-$35.
MC - $20 -$25
Both of these prices include breakfast, lunch and dinner. Breakfast for us was usually some sort of baked goods from the many local (and delicious) bakeries in China. For lunch and dinner we would either share a main or order one for each of us.
* Accommodation: HK $30 - $40 a night.
MC $10 - $20 a night.
HK's accommodation is very pricey, your best bet is to check out Air BnB, we found these much cheaper than booking.com. Unless you're willing to stay in Chungking Mansion, even then you can be looking at the same price for a loud, dirty and small room. MC's accommodation is very budget friendly, the only time we spent over $20 a night was in Beijing, however, cheaper accommodation can be found there.
* Transportation: HK $10 a day
MC $3 - $5 a day
We will go into more depth of the transportation in China below, this price is enough to catch the subways for a day however, it does not include inter-city travel, as train ticket prices vary from location to location.
* Other: $20 a day. This one is mainly for entrance fees (which are everywhere in MC, not so much in HK) if you have one, use your student card, you will get at least 50% off entrance fees.
* Food/Drink: HK- $30-$35.
MC - $20 -$25
Both of these prices include breakfast, lunch and dinner. Breakfast for us was usually some sort of baked goods from the many local (and delicious) bakeries in China. For lunch and dinner we would either share a main or order one for each of us.
* Accommodation: HK $30 - $40 a night.
MC $10 - $20 a night.
HK's accommodation is very pricey, your best bet is to check out Air BnB, we found these much cheaper than booking.com. Unless you're willing to stay in Chungking Mansion, even then you can be looking at the same price for a loud, dirty and small room. MC's accommodation is very budget friendly, the only time we spent over $20 a night was in Beijing, however, cheaper accommodation can be found there.
* Transportation: HK $10 a day
MC $3 - $5 a day
We will go into more depth of the transportation in China below, this price is enough to catch the subways for a day however, it does not include inter-city travel, as train ticket prices vary from location to location.
* Other: $20 a day. This one is mainly for entrance fees (which are everywhere in MC, not so much in HK) if you have one, use your student card, you will get at least 50% off entrance fees.
food/drinks
Chinese food is very, very different to what you're served at a western Chinese restaurant. If you're looking for a honey chicken or chicken chow mien, you can pretty much forget it. Instead, china has a vast, delicious array of authentic food which specialises from province to province.
For breakfast we usually would buy a couple of muffins or Chinese bakery goods, costing us no more than $5, you can also get a Chinese breakfast (usually noodles) for very cheap. For lunch or dinner in a restaurant your meal can cost you $3-$10 depending on what you're after/what sort of restaurant you go to. Try to stick to the local restaurants, they are always the best. The portions are normally quite big, meaning we could easily share. Eating in restaurants can be extremely difficult in China if you cannot speak or read Mandarin. Every time we ate we would choose a restaurant with pictures on their walls, this way, we could easily point and then indicate with our fingers how many we would like. Unfortunately, or fortunately if you're 'burger-aholics' like us, fast food in China is extremely cheap. If you're after a western meal, head to any McDonalds where you are bound to get 2 large meals for $10. |
Try to find local food markets as much as you can, of course, the more localised, the cheaper. We found a market in Beijing where we could get a big spread of Chinese food (spicy mashed potato, 6 dumplings, spiced bread/pastry, meat and salad wraps) for about $5, yes, all of this for just $5.
It can be even more difficult to order food at the local markets than it is in restaurants. Try to take your phone or phrase book with you so you can tell them what meat you want and you can always use your calculator on your phone to indicate how many you would like. They appreciate you trying their local food even if you are a bit of a hassle. If you are worried about eating from the street markets, don't be. Buy something which you know they are cooking fresh/cooking in front of you and go for a vegetarian option if you must. Neither of us became sick from any of the food we ate, which has to vouch a little for their sanitation standards. Drinking in China is amazingly cheap. Beer at will cost you 80cents for a long neck at the convenience stalls, whilst at a restaurant it will cost you $1.50. We saw very few options for cocktails, although I'm sure the more up-market, westernised restaurants would serve them. You can find more information on China's food and drinks, as well as a list of places we ate at on our China Blog page. |
accomodationHong Kong- Air BnB- $27 a night. Our host's name was Austin, you will be able to find him on Air BnB. The room was small (as all hotels in Hong Kong are), but it was clean and had a great bed, air con and hot water. Its in a good spot, right near Austin and Jordan station. Din Dian Hotel - $33 a night. We used this hotel for our last night before the airport. Cheap enough (as Hong Kong standards go) smaller than our Air BnB room, but comfortable and clean. Right near Mong Kok station. Beijing- Air BnB- $23 a night. Our host was called Enoch. He was brilliant, he rents out a room in his apartment meaning you have access to the lounge room and bathroom (all of which are decent size) the whole house is very tidy, in a great local community with yummy markets near by. Close to the railway station. DengFeng - Climb International Youth Hostel- $17 a night. Great hotel, really friendly staff. The rooms are big enough and have a good hot water system and air con. The down stairs cafe has delicious food & a great vibe. |
Xi'An– Mirror Youth Hostel– $13 a night. Great value. The owner Helen is a lovely lady and is happy to assist you with anything you need. A little hard to find, try and get credit on your mobile phone so your driver can call the hostel to get directions. We booked the Japanese Style room which was comfortable enough for us. The hostel is under renovations and will have a cafe up and running by the end of the year. ChengDu– Henrys International Youth Hostel– $17 a night. Really good value. Hotel style rooms with hostel prices. The staff are really friendly happy to help with directions. Wish we had more time to stay here. They give you 2 free beers when you arrived & have a good cafe with a relaxed atmosphere. Guilin– Green Forest Hostel– $20 a night. One of the best places we have stayed. Good English speaking staff, good cafe, good vibe, good rooms. Good Good Good. Yangshuo– Flower Youth Hostel– $18 a night. Another good value hostel. Nice staff, helped us a lot during our stay. You can rent bicycles here. Big rooms with a good shower/aircon. In a back alley, again, have phone credit so your driver can call and the staff will meet you on the street. You can find more information on Chinas accommodation and on our blog page of China. |
transport
Subway/trains: In most cities the subway system is really cheap, reliable and easy to use - having stations everywhere. You can also get travel cards in most cities which can save you money if you will be using their subway often.
Beijing - a subway ticket costs you 2yuan to get anywhere on the lines (as long as your transfer train is in the same station) Most other cities - About 3-4yuan for a one-way subway ticket. HongKong - A little bit more expensive than MC. It will cost you from 4.50HK Dollars up to 15HK Dollars, depending on how long your trip is. Bus: Most cities also have a good bus system, however the stops are mostly in Chinese making it difficult if you cannot find someone who speaks English to translate for you Taxi: Taxi drivers all across China are super reliable and trustworthy, however, very few can speak English. Have your hotel or destination's address in Chinese as much as possible. |
Intercity transportation: This will be your biggest struggle (besides the language barrier). There is no doubt you will need to take a long distant train at one point. You can book these online using external companies, however we decided to book our tickets at the train station a few days before (to make sure we had seats together). During our stay we have done many train trips and have booked seats, hard sleepers and a deluxe cabin. All of which made for a painless journey. Try to get your hotel to write down your destination in Mandarin for you; pronunciation is extremely hard in China and you don't want to end up on the wrong train.
Our tickets were as follows: Hong Kong to Beijing 26hours/deluxe cabin/$157 pp Beijing to ZhengZhou Dong (then a bus to DengFeng) 3.5hours/hard seats/$57 pp ZhengZhou Dong to XiAn Bei 6hours/hard seat/$44 pp Xi'An to ChengDu 16hours/hard sleeper/$38 pp |
tippingNo need to tip. If you try, they will be very confused.
helpful infoTip#1 - Try your best to learn some mandarin before you head over to China. Knowing some basic phrases really comes in handy. There are very few english speaking people across China.
Tip#2 - Book long distant trains as early as possible, leaving it too late can mean you miss out. Tip#3 - Be flexible on accommodation. You may not get the train ticket you wanted - try to book accommodation once your travel details are locked in. Tip#4 - Avoid peak hour if possible (mainly in Beijing) it is a nightmare and not worth it. Tip#5 - Find your own China. It can be easy to follow the beaten path, its well known and has the major hot spots onboard. But try to at least make one independent trip on the side, you'll be rewarded. Money denominationsHong Kong Dollar:
Note denominations: Coin denominations: 1000 HKD 10 HKD 500 HKD 5 HKD 100 HKD 2 HKD 50 HKD 1 HKD 20 HKD 50/20/10 Cents. 10 HKD Chinese Renminbi Yuan (RMB): Note denominations: Coin denominations: 100 RMB 1 RMB 50 RMB 20 RMB 10 RMB 5 RMB 2 RMB 1 RMB 1/2 RMB (Smaller note marked as 5) 1/10 RMB (Smaller note marked as 1) |
moneyWe didn’t use any money changers, just ATMs, however always be careful of money exchanges offering high conversion rates, always check your money at the counter and watch them like a hawk. Just because a sign says 'Authorised Money Changer' does not mean they are safe, or authorised for that matter.
There are very few issues with Money Changers across China, Chinese are pretty trustworthy, but always be cautious. visa & departure tax3 month free visa into Hong Kong for Australian Citizens. We then went to a company called Forever Bright Trading and paid for an express 1 month Chinese Visa which took 2 business days and cost us $92 usually $110 however they sometimes have coupons on their website. If you have time, the 4 business day visa is $66 without the coupon.
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