Regarding visas... If you have an F visa, there are agencies that can extend your visa for 6 mo. for 2500RMB.

However, if you have multiple entry F visa with 90 day duration of stay for each visit, a run to HK is probably your best bet.

If you want to save money, you can go by train straight from BJ. One way train ticket to HK from BJ in hard berth (6 bunks per cabin [3 bunks on each side] and cabins open to the corridor) is 504RMB according to http://search.huochepiao.com/chaxun/...?txtCheCi=T97B, but I just bought a ticket today at Beijing West station for 454RMB. The train takes about 24 hours, leaving at 1:08pm and arriving at 12:56pm the following day. If you want a more comfortable trip, soft berths are ~800RMB. They have only 2 bunk beds on each side of the cabin, and the cabin is closed to the corridor, i.e. more private.

Wow perfect. This is the kind of information I need. Thanks

pay for the soft

K. Thx.

Hey, does anyone know when the best time to go to Hong Kong. Like when is it cheaper? Are there specific times that are a very nice time to go?

It's pretty much always nice in HK. If you're looking for inexpensive, I'd look into a hostel. Hotel rooms are not cheap. Dragon Boat festival is June 16.

Yea, I might do something like that.

China tel, I pay 2800 rmb for a year. Its a decent service

The sooner the better, before the weather gets any hotter. Going outdoors in Hong Kong in the summer is like stepping into a sauna. You're drenched in your own sweat the second you step outside.

Total lapse on my part. This is correct.

Will be in Macau / HK in about a week with a friend who lives there, are there any 2p2 there currently.

Will there be anyone for the next monthish PM and let me know

Thanks, ordered today, 4MB right? I guess in a few days they will come to install. Until now I had from Guangdong network or something similar for 880rmb a year which I don't recommend at all, each day it seems to work worse, today it disconnects like each 15min... can't even watch lost lol, pathetic. Of course it was thanks to a Chinese from my office which thought I would be so happy under the cheapest connection

I hope the china tel at least doesn't disconnect for me

if have nothing to do in hongkong, you can even make your visa at the border with hong kong, in shenzhen. basically what u do is just go outside china in shenzhen, as if u were going to hongkong, then, u go through the hong kong border and u do as if u were going to take the train to hong kong, but u dont. there is a starbucks cofee there, and just next to it is a CTS agency. they can make u a 3 months visa here in a couple hours for 500 hkd (2 entries = 750HKD). all u have to do is apply for the visa before 4pm (a little before because making the correct photo plus paperwork takes you half an hour)

this way u can save some time, and money coz shenzhen is a lot cheaper than hong kong in every possible ways.

All this information was valid in april 2010 since this is what i did then...

As a Canadian travelling to HK is it easy adn how long is the proces to getting my Visa to travel in China(mainland), I wanna do this in HK, if thats not obvious as I have no time to do it here.

Leaving in like 10 hours, man I'm the worst planner ever.

If you get it in to the tarvel agency in the morning and pay a higher fee, they can often return your passport with the visa in the evening. Sometimes your hotel will have a travel desk that can do it, or you can go do it yourself. I've used both my hotel service and gone to the China Travel Service office. There's one right off Nathan Road.

i've done the visa stuff in hong kong with an agency named fbt in the new mandarin plaza in kowloon, if u give ur visa before 9 in the morning and pay 350hkd u can get a 3 month tourist visa and pick it up at 2 in the afternoon. this is working for french passport, dont know canadian. i guess if u leave ur passport later in the day u can pick up ur visa in the evening but never tried it. pretty happy with this company and i think they are slightly cheaper than hotels and CTS. they have a website with a map so easy to find.

ty

In airport now, boarding in 40 min pretty stoked.

I have been in Buenos Aires for 4 months, I am planning on moving now to Hong Kong, I have relatives there, will probably live there for 6 months or something, is anyway taking chinesse classes?

"New Chung King Mansion"? 150-200HKD/night. How "not very nice" are we talking here? Any amenities: wireless, windows, lockers?

I just stayed couple of weeks on Mirador mansion(next to chungking mansion)(min lung guest house or something) for 150hk a night. Got own very small room with air con bathroom and wireless(fast when it worked but couple of days was off).... Oh yeah no window

I stayed at a place in Chung King mansions for a night once. LOL! Tiny room and an uncomfortable bed, but that is probably true for a lot of places in Hong Kong. Tons of Pakistani and African street hustlers in the lobby accosting you in the lobby. The money changers in the lobby give awesome rates exchanging HKDs.

If you're on a tight budget, I'd probably look for something in Mongkok instead. Just as cheap, but there's a lot more restaurants and nightlife in Mongkok. In general, location is not so much of an issue in Hong Kong because the subway is so good. just look for something close to a subway stop and well reviewed on the internet.

Private rooms are about what you said, will have wireless, no locker, no window probably. Communal rooms can be less than 50 HKD.

hmmm, where do you look for hostels online? I'm using asiarooms and not seeing any communal offerings anywhere. I just assumed HK didn't have those sorts of arrangements, but that's probably not correct. I assume that if it did, they would have proper lockers, right?

I'll probably drop for the private anyway, but down the road this would help.

Hostelbookers.com, hostels.com, and hostelworld.com

Anyone staying at Macau right now shoot me a PM please. Staying here for a week and would be interested in meeting some of the Macau 2+2ers. Thank you