Viking China

[kkbay]

Thank you for your input.

Anyone know about the Pearl Market and the Silk Market in Beijing?

Thanks!:)

[Osnab]

Has anyone used hotmail from China or should I open a GMail account so I am able to send e-mail while there?

 

For those who flew to Xian, did you have time to go the hotel to change before dinner?

Someone had posted they didn't have time so wondered if this happens on all the flights to Xian. We go on the rickshaw ride and then tours before the flight so was hoping we would be able to change into clean clothes.

 

 

Yes you have time, but not a lot. Maybe an hour?

Felicia

[Osnab]

We went in Oct 09. Both were included in cost.

 

I would skip the Opera! Meal OK but nothing to write home about.

 

The acrobat show was excellent!

 

I SO agree about the acrobat show. If you have to pick only one, that's definitely the one to choose.

 

I thought that Chinese opera would be brutal to my ears, as I'm not a fan of the opera, but it wasn't so bad. And it was short, something like 30 mins.

 

Felicia

[kkbay]

I'm taking a pic of Pelosi in her pearls with me to show vendors at the pearl market exactly what I'm looking for. Considering what others have said about taking old clothes and leaving them in China so I will have room to pack items I buy! :)

[Lady Meer]

Since everyone on the ship cannot be on a single plane on the internal flights, how many planes do the passengers get split up for? How it is chosen which passengers travel on the earlier flights and which on the later?

 

Thanks

 

Sorry, don't know how it was decided who went on which flight! We were divided into groups of 60 before we arrived - each group staying in a different hotel and transported on 2 coaches of 30 per coach. Our group of 60 all went on the same flight but have no idea when the others went.

[Romeosc]

Thank you for your input.

Anyone know about the Pearl Market and the Silk Market in Beijing?

Thanks!:)

 

 

You get great bargains at the Silk Market in Beijing (Xiushui Silk Market)

 

Shanghai has great shopping as well.... http://www.travelchinaguide.com/cityguides/shanghai/shopping.htm

 

 

ALWAYS OFFER 10-15% OF OFFERED PRICE!

[no fuss travel]

The two shows not to miss are the Tang dynasty and the acrobat show. If you are going from Beijing to Shanghai, the opera dinner show is usually where jet lag hits. Most people in our group kept nodding off during the performance. I am not a fan of opera, but did enjoy the acrobatic dancing in the show. The singing I did not enjoy.

The Tang dynasty show was much better than the Beijing dinner opera. If I had to do it again I would go shopping rather than the opera.

If you are flying from Beijing to Xian, then you go straight from the airport to the show with no time for changing. I believe the other way they had time to change.

[1rocky]

If going to the silk markets in Beijing . Great markets and fairly cheap just prepare to bargain and have fun. Went to china in December 2009 with China best tours which included the Yangteze River . It was the best holiday. and would love to return one day. Stayed several days in Beijing . the national museum was excellent . Also the ming tombs. i side trip taken was the cctv tower great views and a good insight into Beijing tv. Have a great time.

[travelfirst]

The two shows not to miss are the Tang dynasty and the acrobat show. If you are going from Beijing to Shanghai, the opera dinner show is usually where jet lag hits. Most people in our group kept nodding off during the performance. I am not a fan of opera, but did enjoy the acrobatic dancing in the show. The singing I did not enjoy.

The Tang dynasty show was much better than the Beijing dinner opera. If I had to do it again I would go shopping rather than the opera.

If you are flying from Beijing to Xian, then you go straight from the airport to the show with no time for changing. I believe the other way they had time to change.

 

Is the Acrobat show at the Peking Duck dinner?

 

I guess we will have to go to dinner in our dusty clothes...

Do your clothes really get dusty on the tours like some people say?

[no fuss travel]

Is the Acrobat show at the Peking Duck dinner?

 

I guess we will have to go to dinner in our dusty clothes...

Do your clothes really get dusty on the tours like some people say?

 

 

No, the Peking Duck dinner is in Beijing with the Opera. The acrobat show is in Shanghai. It was a wonderful end to our trip to China.

 

No, we did not get that dusty on our tour. Everyone looks the same so you really do not have to worry about how you look. We were there in July and with the humidity we found our clothes were more damp than dusty.

[Begete]

I am not on this cruise, but have been a long time member of Cruisecritic and a friend asked me to look at this site.

 

The Silk Market in Beijing is NOT a good place to shop compared with other markets that may or may not be on your tour. Example: since Beijing was NOT our first stop, I paid $15 for a Mao watch at the Silk Market, having negotiated the price down from the $25 asking price, and was quite proud of myself UNTIL I bought three more of them in the Muslim Quarter in Xian for $3 each - identical watch.

 

Aside from the Muslim quarter in Xian, the very best place to shop in all of China is the open air bazarre in Shanghai near the gardens.

 

Many products, especially garments, sold in the US are made in China, as you know, and are sold at incredible discounts there. Some are seconds, so be careful to examine them. Example :Northface winter jackets with zip in/out linings in perfect condition for $35.

 

I speak Mandarin/North Chinese dialect even tho I am caucasion, so I do tend to get good prices there, but the Silk market is NOT a good place to shop - pricewise.

[Romeosc]

I am not on this cruise, but have been a long time member of Cruisecritic and a friend asked me to look at this site.

 

The Silk Market in Beijing is NOT a good place to shop compared with other markets that may or may not be on your tour. Example: since Beijing was NOT our first stop, I paid $15 for a Mao watch at the Silk Market, having negotiated the price down from the $25 asking price, and was quite proud of myself UNTIL I bought three more of them in the Muslim Quarter in Xian for $3 each - identical watch.

 

Aside from the Muslim quarter in Xian, the very best place to shop in all of China is the open air bazarre in Shanghai near the gardens.

 

Many products, especially garments, sold in the US are made in China, as you know, and are sold at incredible discounts there. Some are seconds, so be careful to examine them. Example :Northface winter jackets with zip in/out linings in perfect condition for $35.

 

I speak Mandarin/North Chinese dialect even tho I am caucasion, so I do tend to get good prices there, but the Silk market is NOT a good place to shop - pricewise.

 

I found all merchandise could be bought for 10-15% of original starting price. NEGOTIATE!

 

In Shanghai at open market and underground and also in the large shopping building (we took cab from hotel) everyone bargained. If you negotiate well, one vendor will follow you to introduce you to another!

 

I made one young man as a friend after giving him an Elvis pin and he took us around and showed us the bargains! He often told the vendors that they were too high!

 

I will be back and stay longer!

 

 

Also bought a suitcase full at the stop at Shibaozhai Temple. They have over a hundred booths along side road!

[Begete]

I goofed. I meant to say Beijing was not our last stop. It was our first stop, so I had not yet gotten into the rhythm of negotiation and fully tested the limits.

 

Unless things have significantly changed, a good negotiator can buy things for significantly less than half of the original asking price....all over....including in Beijing.

 

The only thing that can mess up a successful negotiation is when there are a ton of other tourists standing around paying the asking price or 10 or 15% less. Then the merchant will hold out until the other tourists are gone.

 

That's exactly what happened when I paid $15 for the Mao watch. I got them for $3 later on. The reason he took you to see his friends was because he "took you."

 

Since we were travelling with all Asians, I was able to negotiate the same prices an Asian person would be able to negotiate, and in some cases even less because the merchants did not expect that an older white lady could understand what they were saying to each other.

 

If you are paying more than half the asking price, you are paying too much. Remember: asking price for a Mao watch was $25. I paid $3.

 

One technique that works well to get the prices down is to buy more than one of an item.

 

This got a group of us a very nice silver Saki pot each for about $7 when the original asking price for one was $40. But a group of us bought them together - about 12 were sold at the $7 each.

[Romeosc]

I goofed. I meant to say Beijing was not our last stop. It was our first stop, so I had not yet gotten into the rhythm of negotiation and fully tested the limits.

 

Unless things have significantly changed, a good negotiator can buy things for significantly less than half of the original asking price....all over....including in Beijing.

 

The only thing that can mess up a successful negotiation is when there are a ton of other tourists standing around paying the asking price or 10 or 15% less. Then the merchant will hold out until the other tourists are gone.

 

That's exactly what happened when I paid $15 for the Mao watch. I got them for $3 later on. The reason he took you to see his friends was because he "took you."

 

Since we were travelling with all Asians, I was able to negotiate the same prices an Asian person would be able to negotiate, and in some cases even less because the merchants did not expect that an older white lady could understand what they were saying to each other.

 

If you are paying more than half the asking price, you are paying too much. Remember: asking price for a Mao watch was $25. I paid $3.

 

One technique that works well to get the prices down is to buy more than one of an item.

 

This got a group of us a very nice silver Saki pot each for about $7 when the original asking price for one was $40. But a group of us bought them together - about 12 were sold at the $7 each.

 

 

I very rarely got taken .... I bought quantity. 12-48 if price was right!

 

I checked prices with others and always negotiated for less. I bought 24 "I climbed Great Wall" T shirts for $100 and gave to friends!

 

 

Wish I had bought more..... everyone wanted them!

[whales43]

We have waited 5 weeks now for our visas. Getting quite concerned as we leave in 2 weeks. Our passports came back 2 weeks ago. I'll try calling tomorrow.

 

Sometimes, in the original college thesis by Fred Smith, that FedEx was founded on, all packages were picked up sent to Memphis and redistributed!

 

Now they have several regional distribution centers.

[PK9]

We have waited 5 weeks now for our visas. Getting quite concerned as we leave in 2 weeks. Our passports came back 2 weeks ago. I'll try calling tomorrow.

 

Maybe I'm wrong, but aren't the visas now entered in your passports.

 

PK

[wallygator]

Maybe I'm wrong, but aren't the visas now entered in your passports.

 

PK

 

 

Ours were in/attached to our passports.:confused:

[kkbay]

whales 43, are you leaving the us on 3/26 on the first Viking RIver Cruise of the season? If so, we are, too.

[kkbay]

Did any of you former China visitors visit the Pearl Market by the Temple of Heaven in Beijing? If so, how didcompare to the Silk Market there?

Thanks!

[Dale]

We have waited 5 weeks now for our visas. Getting quite concerned as we leave in 2 weeks. Our passports came back 2 weeks ago. I'll try calling tomorrow.

Have you looked inside your passport? Our visas were pasted to a page inside.

 

:D The following are some rambling thoughts about deals and prices paid. :D

 

Discussions about deals and prices paid, end up proving nothing. When someone buys something and they are satisfied with the price they paid at the time of purchase, they have made a deal they were satisfied with. Not necessarily a good deal sometimes but still a deal that was satisfactory at the time.

 

That being said how’s this for a deal.

 

:D :D Over the past 30 years Verna and I have been fortunate enough to traveled over a good part of the world for “FREE”. Our son has paid for it all. For all his generosity we have made arrangements in our “wills” to guarantee there will be enough money left behind to pay the needed tolls to get the hearses through the toll gate.:D :D

[no fuss travel]

Our visas were stamped into our passports. Each country has a different page of your passport that they prefer to use.

[Romeosc]

Have you looked inside your passport? Our visas were pasted to a page inside.

 

:D The following are some rambling thoughts about deals and prices paid. :D

 

Discussions about deals and prices paid, end up proving nothing. When someone buys something and they are satisfied with the price they paid at the time of purchase, they have made a deal they were satisfied with. Not necessarily a good deal sometimes but still a deal that was satisfactory at the time.

 

That being said how’s this for a deal.

 

:D :D Over the past 30 years Verna and I have been fortunate enough to traveled over a good part of the world for “FREE”. Our son has paid for it all. For all his generosity we have made arrangements in our “wills” to guarantee there will be enough money left behind to pay the needed tolls to get the hearses through the toll gate.:D :D

 

 

You have great kids..... we are spending everything and wife having a portrait made with all her jewelry so the kids will tear house apart looking for it all!

 

 

"HE WHO DIES WITH MOST TOYS WINS!"

[travelfirst]

I got my Visa back last week, it is on a page in my passport near the back.

Today, our documents arrived.

[Island Gem]

If going to the silk markets in Beijing . Great markets and fairly cheap just prepare to bargain and have fun. Went to china in December 2009 with China best tours which included the Yangteze River . It was the best holiday. and would love to return one day. Stayed several days in Beijing . the national museum was excellent . Also the ming tombs. i side trip taken was the cctv tower great views and a good insight into Beijing tv. Have a great time.

 

How was the cruise? I've heard differing opinions now that the Three River Gorges are higher. I'm still looking to do this cruise either later this year or next; so all who are now signed up to go please let us know if you enjoyed the trip. Thanks.

[Peregrina651]

 

"HE WHO DIES WITH MOST TOYS WINS!"

 

 

On these boards, I thought it was he who dies with the most days at sea.

 

:)