hi im travelling to bangkok on the 20th of july 2011. im staying there for a week with the girlfriend and then going to phuket for 2 weeks. then where going back to bangkok for max-7days before my 30day stamp runs out. then we plan on going to china for a month but unsure where to go in china. im not sure wheather i can afford to do the hole of china in one go or to come back next year and finish the other half off. after which the plan was to go back to thailand get another 30day stamp which i believe i can? and go see chang mai and the surrounding area's for a few weeks. toward the end of the 30 day stamp we were going to go to (savannanket)laos and get a 60day visa for thailand and then back to the girlfriends home in sakon nankon. and maybe go see some national parks and things in and around that area.
Hi there!
Getting china visa - 1 month, single entry (L - tourist visa): you can easily get it either in thailand (bangkok or chang mai) or in laos (vientien, luang prabang, vengvieng). I would recommend using an agent and paying like $5-10 more, but then you save the hassle.
Once you are in China. You can apply for 1 month extension twice at a local PSB (public security bureau) - in any hostel they will be able to give you guidance. Recommended to inquiry first, to know how flexible is at that moment the specific PSB. If you don't manage in a "busier" tourist place, just travel to another big city and apply there. Important: you have to apply at least on week before expiry, and you will get a new visa in your passport. The date of new visa start from the day of issue, so you may loose some days in that sense, in case you receive your new visa a few days before your old visa would have expired.
Should you want to stay longer: there is a possibility to obtain a business (F) visa. They can get a 3/6 or occasionally a 12 months visa, with either single/double or multiple entry. This is quite pricey - as you will have to use an agent. A 6 month visa may cost you about 300-400 euros. There is a very reliable agent who's specialized in this in beijing. They will probably have the best quote in the country. Best is to look on google and find an ad from a person. Call that person and inquire from him directly. He will likely work for this big company. I even mailed my passport via EMS and deposited 50% of the money on their account. I received my passport back in due turn, it was all reliable.
Budget: transportation may add a lot to your budget - due to long distances, so if you don't cover long distances, you should be able to get by fairly cheap: max 10 euros a day per person. see my previous comment:
http://www.travellerspoint.com/forum.cfm?thread=72327
I have been to app 20 provinces in china.
South China: If you want to travel overland from thailand/laos - best to visit Yunnan, Sichuan, Guanxi and Guizhou provinces in the south. (see other post by me on the forum). All these provinces are very beautiful. North of laos also nicer than south, so it would make sense to go this way.
East coast: fujian is very nice, as well as the yellow-mountain, and shanghai-beijing are very interesting cities. The rest - even though very touristy, not so great compared to the rest of china.
Central: yangze, etc - unfortunately i haven't been there yet.
Wild-west: gansu, quinghai, xinjiang, inner-mongolia are for ultimate adventurers. They can be truly fascinating. Tough but very rewarding places.
See more posts i added/commented - for prices, how to get around, etc.
Bangkok is a cheap place to buy an LP book, however wrap it and hide it in your bag - as chinese custom may confiscate it for political reasons...
http://www.travellerspoint.com/forum.cfm?thread=76681
http://www.travellerspoint.com/forum.cfm?thread=77483
http://www.travellerspoint.com/forum.cfm?thread=76845
Let me know if you have more questions.
Enjoy china, it's a great country!
sorry, i am not sure how easy or difficult to get chinese visa for thai citizens... best to ask at embassy/consulate in thailand...
you might want to read this entry. there might be limitations on visa availability due to upcoming asian games in guangzhou...
http://www.travellerspoint.com/forum.cfm?thread=77571
$1000
Allowed for +$400
• Guangzhou 18th august
• Guangzhou-huangyao 20th august
• Huangyao-Guilin
• Guilin-Kunming
• Kunming-xishuangbanna
• Xishuangbanna-lijang
• Lijang-Guiyang
• Guiyang-Hengyang
• Hengyang-Shaoguan
• Shaoguan-guangzhou
• Guangzhou-Bangkok 16th September
My idea is to follow this route roughly from lonely planet book,not including Hong Kong and Macao I’m going to go to Hong Kong and Macao next year if you’re wondering why I’m not going to them this year.
I’m wondering is my budget ok? Do I need to allow for more cash? (Money is in AUD) I intend on hiking as much as I can. Or to use a bicycle where I can.
Thanks for your help and any tips I’m going to go there august 18th 2011 and finish September 16th 2011.
I’m in Australia on a working holiday visa I’m from the uk what’s the best way for me to get the 30day visa for china? Note: I’m in Thailand for 1month prior to this.
Thanks Simon
Hi Simon,
Your plan sounds pretty good. Just to add a few points:
• Huangyao-Guilin: you can skip guilin, it's an ugly city, good for transit only. Head instead to nearby Yangshou. Nice town, better to cycle around to see the area. And don't miss the incredible Dragon Backbone rice terraces! They are really beautiful! It's not too far north of guilin. You can go hiking there!
• Guilin-Kunming
• Kunming-xishuangbanna
• Xishuangbanna-lijang: dali is also nice. But Tiger Leaping Gorge is amazing! only two hours from lijiang - it's a nice max two day hiking. Imagine a 3500 m deep gorge that you walk along!
• Lijang-Guiyang: guizhou province is very nice. I would rather try to get to some rural area there and do some hiking there.
• Guiyang-Hengyang
• Hengyang-Shaoguan: if you are north of guandong province, i highly recommend visiting the area just very south of fujian. there are 30,000 earth houses! don't visit any that is designed for tourists. they are just refabricated copies of the original. try to get into one where people still live their life! If you have the time, i can also recommend Xiamen along the coast. It's one of my favourite cities in china, with an incredible and crazy market (they sell tiger palm too)!
• Shaoguan-guangzhou
Your budget estimation seems pretty right.
Buy a map in a bookshop in guangzhou, it will help you a lot to navigate around.
LP book for china, is just ok, don't 100% rely on transportation info, usually there are more buses running. Sometimes i had the impression that the writer had never been there...
But the good thing is, that if you follow your route, there will be places where you can hang out with other travellers. And there will be days or weeks where you will be enjoying your lonely but great adventure!
Have a great trip!
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