ghostrider

When your body is cold and rotting six feet under, what are the things about you and your life that will resonate through the generations? Anything at all? I have squinted at the shimmer of heaven from the highest clouds and I've had my breath ripped from my chest by the cold wind of hell. Life is wonderful. Your life is wonderful. It is the gift you have been given, my friend.

That's a good question. I'm sure my wife would like to know that, too.

CR-1/K3 here, too. (Whichever one comes through first.)

I wonder if they'll show the Super Bowl on airplanes? Because I'll be flying to China when the game will be played. Actually, I don't care about the game too much because the 49ers won't be playing. And probably not for many years to come, either. Oh, well.

Just thought I'd update this thread since it's finally been resolved. And just in case anyone else finds themselves walking down my path in need of some helpful experience. So, here goes... I originally wanted to fly to Luzhou (Sichuan province) because that's where my wife lives. The problem was that it's a small city and, at the time of this writing, the only way to get there is through Guangzhou. Also, the travel agents and websites I contacted didn't even recognize Luzhou's airport. The next problem was that I wanted to get there the first week of February so that I could be with my wife for the new year celebrations. So, after I found out that I could only get to Luzhou through Guangzhou, I then found out that all the tickets were supposedly sold. Mind you, this is an entire month before. That didn't make any sense to me. The situation was looking grim and I told my wife what I found out. So, she called some travel agents in China and found out that "they" locked all the tickets from Guangzhou to Luzhou from January 25th through the second week of February. She also read in the newspaper that "they" were going to do this and that "they" were going to add new flights. So, that's why I (and everyone else) couldn't get tickets from Guangzhou to Luzhou. However, since the newspaper article said that they were going to be adding flights, I figured that I could wait about a week and then I should be able to get a ticket. But, somehow, even though the tickets were supposedly locked and nobody could buy them for that time frame, I was still never able to buy a ticket. My guess is that somebody bought a lot of the tickets to later resell at a premium. So, I decided to just forget about this option and try to get a flight to Chengdu. From Chengdu, I could take a 3 hour bus trip to Luzhou. This is what I did last year but this year that same ticket was coming up at about $1300 everywhere I looked. After checking every website and calling numerous travel agents, I was finally able to get a ticket for $1000 from a woman named Star who works at a New Jersey travel agency. ($300 is a LOT of money, when you don't have much to begin with.) I highly recommend this lady for your travel purchases because not only did she get me a great price but she worked over several weeks to find a good itinerary for me. (PM me if you want her contact info.) So, the moral of this story is that, if you're planning on traveling domestically in China anytime around the new year celebration, just forget it. At least, that's been my experience. And, if you need to get to Luzhou and you can't get a direct flight from Guangzhou, the best way is to just fly to Chengdu and take the bus to Luzhou. It's actually a nice bus. They have big, comfy seats and monitors so you can watch a movie. Maybe they'll show "The Road to Morocco." The End.

I'm going. But I don't know exactly when because I haven't been able to buy a ticket yet. I plan on staying for the whole month of February and having a friggin scha-weet time! Can I get a hell yeah?!

I think some people are confused. I'm trying to get to the city of Luzhou in the Sichuan province. There's another city called Liuzhou which is in the Guangxi province. I think some people who've posted messages here are confusing the two cities. Just thought I'd point that out.

Just wanted to give a big THANK YOU to everyone that's posted helpful info for my desperate cry for help. I sincerely appreciate it. Doug, can you PM me the phone number for your travel agent? By the way, my sense of humor has been finely honed through years and years of a life of suffering (and watching Mystery Science Theater 3000). Just to be clear, the problem that I'm having is finding out info for domestic flights in China. I mean, I think I can get tickets online to Shanghai/Beijing/Guangzhou for about $700 - $800. But I cannot (so far) get info about the Chinese domestic flights. I haven't found anyone yet who can tell me flight schedules or prices. And, like I said before, it didn't help that Chinese travel agents I called and websites didn't even know Luzhou had an airport. So, for me to plan this trip, obviously I need to know what flights go to Luzhou, what times they fly, how much do they cost and if there are any seats left. Whether it's from Beijing or Guangzhou or Shanghai or even Hong Kong. That's the information that I haven't been able to get so far. And, yes, it looks like I'll have to head out the first day or two of February to beat the Chinese New Year travel rush. I may not have a lot of money but at least I have time, so I'm lucky for that much. Anywho... Thanks again to everyone for taking the time to reply and help me out. Michael

I haven't figured all that out yet. All I know is that I need to be there before the 8th. So, I guess I'll have to head out the first couple days of February. And I'm leaving out of Miami. You know any good travel agencies/websites I can check out? I've been all over the place trying to plan this trip but it's been a nightmare. I'm trying to find a way to go straight to Luzhou from anywhere in China, but I can't get flight schedules or prices from anybody. I called two China travel agencies (in America) and neither one of them knew Luzhou even had an airport. This isn't fun.

Here's the skinny: My wife lives in Luzhou. I have very little money to my name. I'm trying to plan a trip to be with her for February. Last year I flew to Chengdu then took a bus to Luzhou. This year, that same trip would be about $400 more. This is money I don't have. Flying to Guangzhou seems to be the cheapest route. But how do I get to Luzhou? I'll take a plane, train or bus. I don't care. I just need a good price and to get there before the 8th (for the New Year). It seems like everyone here has an SO that lives in a big city that's easy to get to by plane. I'm not that fortunate. So, any help would be appreciated. Anyone? Thanks. Michael

I think I already know the answer to this question, but I just want to check to make sure. Is there a hotel inside the airport? Or one right next to the airport? I'm trying to plan a trip for February and, from what I gather, I would have to spend the night in Guangzhou because the flight gets there late at night then hop on a flight to Luzhou the next morning. So, I was wondering if there's a hotel in the airport or a cheap place to sleep close to the airport so I don't have to waste a lot of money on cabs or busses and whatnot. Or will they just let you crash for the night at the airport? HAPPY NEW YEAR! Michael

Mark, Congratulations. You should actually consider yourself lucky. I also live in Florida and I also sent my 130 and 129 in May/June but I still haven't gotten my P2 yet. So, you may have waited a while but realize that there are some people who are still waiting. Sorry but this wait is REALLY pissing me off and I need to vent. Michael

My $.02 I filed the I-130 and the I-129f (K3) six months ago but I haven't received a P-2 for either. My case was also transferred to CSC in the beginning of October but I don't have crap yet. And this is really starting to piss me off. Seriously.

"Oh, the humanity!" ,I exclaim as my personal Hindenberg comes crashing to the ground.

First, let me apologize for posting this. I know this has already been discussed here because I remember reading about this several months ago. But I can't remember the details and I've searched through the posts but I can't find the topic again. Anyway... I'm going the K3 route, so I submitted the I-130 (CR1) and then the I-129f because everything I've read said the I-129f will make it through the system faster. Well, I just checked the USCIS website and my I-130 was transferred from TSC to CSC. And the CSC is now processing cases from September 2nd, 2004. (I filed in May/June.) I haven't gotten anything in the mail yet but I'm assuming my case will be approved. Meanwhile, the NBC is still working on cases from March 25th, 2004. So, the way it's looking (unless I'm totally off-base with this) is that my I-130 will be approved long before my I-129f. Now the question becomes, what do I do if that happens? Do I just forget about the I-129f? Do I have to notify anyone to stop my I-129f? Can I get my money back for the I-129f? Will there be any effect if my I-130 is approved but my I-129f is still "running"? Anyone out there know anything about this? Much appreciated. ~Michael