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Jefe:
Hotel expenses- anywhere from 200-600 yuan per night ($25-75 USD). Totally depends on what hotel you chose and how nice a room you want. In general, you'll probably be choosing to stay in middle tier lodgings. Unfortunately, hotel rates in China aren't cheap. When I first travelled through southern China in 1997 I budgeted myself 300 yuan ($37 USD) per night, but ended up staying in group dorm-style backpacker rooms and paid much less. However, you and Cathy probably won't be adopting this approach on your short excursion. In Shanghai Ai Ping and I usually stay in an old hotel named the Pujiang (built in 1846 by a Brit). It's strategically placed on the Bund (waterfront) and is quite decrepit yet funky. We pay about 200 yuan for a double bed. This is probably the cheapest double in Shanghai, and thusly all the backpackers flock here. If we want a newer, cleaner and more comfortable double we usually pay anywhere between 350-600 yuan per night ($43-75 USD). Because you are a white-skinned foreigner (and in China this automatically means you're a millionaire) and because you can't speak Chinese you'll probably be quoted the highest fare the hotel clerks can dream up. Remember: in China every price is negotiable, and if you don't play the role of greedy Westerner and bargain for 2-3 minutes to get a lower price THEY WILL EAT YOU ALIVE. If you don't haggle with them over the price you are considered a fool and automatically deemed unworthy of their regard- and they will make you pay five times the actual price of the room AND THEN THEY WILL CONSUME YOUR LIVER. This is what makes me wary of sending you out on your own with little or no language skills. You will be preyed upon by everyone in every business transaction. You are not a human, you are a dollar sign with two legs in China. < Basically, it goes something like this... You walk into a hotel that claims to be of 4 star quality. In truth, this means that the hotel is probably desperately clinging to a 2 star level. You stroll up to the front desk and ask what the room rates are. The clerks will give you a schmaltzy brochure with photos of the rooms and a price list AND THEN THEY'LL DECIDE WHAT SAUCE TO COOK YOU IN. The double-bed room is listed as 700 yuan. You then ask the clerks if this is the real price. They'll probably say yes AND WONDER AMONGST THEMSELVES WHETHER OR NOT IT WOULD BE BETTER TO MAKE A SOUP OUT OF YOU. You then ask them if they can give you a lower price. If they refuse you smile benignly and offer to pay them 300 yuan for one night. And then the fun begins AND THEY'LL BEGIN TO GORGE THEMSELVES ON YOUR STEAMING INTESTINES. < Meals- anywhere from 4 yuan to 1000 yuan (50 cents - $125 USD). You can get a huge bowl of steaming rice and two big dishes of wok-fried bliss for a buck in China. You can also go to the other extreme and spend thousands of yuan on a meal if you want to get ridiculous. In China food is religion. They dissed Buddha, adopted Mao as supreme being for a couple decades, and then retreated to their one true love: eating. Every Chinese city has about 9 billion restaurants ranging from hovels that cater to the peasant/construction workers (these are the ones I frequented, but Ai Ping won't let me go anymore) to the new rich. Don't worry about food prices. You'll probably be choosing semi-decent establishments. Expect to pay between 30-80 yuan per meal ($4-$10 USD). < Speaking of meals, did you know that the Australian aborigines LOVED to eat Chinese seamen? It's actually very well documented. The Chinese sailed throughout the South China Sea which borders the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam etc. It seems that the aborigines thought the Chinese had very sweet-tasting meat and considered them a delicacy. They were a highly sought-after food item 500 years ago. My Australian boss uses this small fact against his Chinese students whenever they begin to spew racist theories about the cosmic worthlessness of aboriginal cultures in Australia: and it horrifies them. < Airfare- cheaper than the states. Let me get exact airfares from Ai Ping. She made a list of fares between cities, but it's not available at the moment. < Trains- cheap. To give you an idea... Taiyuan<Wuxi (22 hours/hard-sleeper class) is about 300 yuan ($37 USD). Basically, this train goes from Shanxi province (north-central China) to Jiangsu province (southeast China). Can supply you with more examples if you need them. < Money- bring travellers checks and some cash (fifty-hundred dollar bills). Yes, some bigger hotels and banks offer ATM services but don't rely on credit in China. < Duration of stay- your call. Sounds like you are dealing with two busy work schedules. Come up with a trip that you're both comfortable with. You should see some places other than Shanghai and Qingdao, but you needn't create a breakneck schedule either. Destinations- talk it over with the folks. Do you want history or nature? Northern or Southern China? Han culture or minority cultures? Villages or cities? Think it over and get back to me. < <From: "Jgillaspieci3" <Jgillaspieci3@netzero.net< < <To: "Jon W Gillaspie" <jongill78@hotmail.com< < <CC: "Eric A Gillaspie" <Eric.Gillaspie@enron.com<, "RODGER GILLASPIE" < <<ragillaspie@hotmail.com<, <CCGROOVES@aol.com< < <Subject: Our Journey to the Land of 10,000 Heavens < <Date: Fri, 23 Mar 2001 14:15:03 -0600 < <Jonny, < <Cathy and I are trying to plan for the upcoming expenses in China. What should we expect to pay for hotels, for airfare (Shanghai to Quingdao), any trains, meals, etc. etc. If you could give me ballpark on these items it would be very helpful. Also, I'm assuming that there is not an ATM on very corner, or even credit card machines in restaurants and hotels, (I'm sure in some.) < <Also let me know what you think about the duration of stay, touristy plans, etc. Cathy and I may not stay as long as Mom and Dad, depending on vacation available from work etc. Thanks in advance for the info. We are all looking forward to this experience. < <Love, < <Jeff Eric Gillaspie 713-345-7667 Enron Building 3886
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