Some Do's and Some Don't's

[MarkLuvsShuPing]

Here are some things I found out the hard way on. I post them here and hope that you will not fall prey to the ignorance that I did.

 

Do take a letter from your employer stating when you were hired, how much money you make and what you do there. No matter what type of interview you're going for K-1, K-3, CR-1, it doesn't matter, bring it. We ended up not needing it, but the VO did ask for it.

 

Do not, I repeat, do not buy your honey a round-trip ticket just because it's cheaper than a one-way. Most airlines will void the ticket if you don't show up for the first half of the ticket and you'll lose all the money for that ticket.

 

Do wait until she has the visa in hand to buy a one-way ticket for her. You can get pretty cheap last minute tickets there in GZ. You probably even want to buy yourself a one-way both ways so you're sure to be together and sit together and, God forbid, she gets a blue slip and you're tied to a return flight.

 

Don't assume that your trans-Pacific filght will have those nifty little TV screens in the back of the seats or that they'll even work. Bring your own entertainment.

 

Don't ever plug your electric shaver into a Chinese wall socket, unless it specifically says "110 volts" or "for electric shavers". I burned out my charger and now I have to use a blade until I can afford to get a new charger.

 

Do make sure that you know what you're eating before you eat it. One night in GZ my wife and nephew ordered food brought up to the room. We ate and it was very good. One dish had the texture of calamari or octopus and was smothered in a dark sauce. I took a bite and was ready to eat more when ShuPing asked me to try it. I told her I already had and asked what it was. She wouldn't tell me, because, she said, I might not eat it if I knew. I told her I already had and I'd like to know what the heck I'd just ate. Using the dictionary, she informed me that I'd just enjoyed a mouthful of donkey guts. An aware consumer is a happy consumer.

 

Do buy good luggage, if you need to buy it at all. I know the 100Yuan - 300 Yuan priced luggage looks good and sturdy, but it will fall apart as soon as you need it to stay together.

 

Don't take the bus to GZ from HK unless you are traveling light. That goes for the return trip. Life is hell when you cross the boarder with 7 pieces of luggage, (most of which are broken)(see the above note about cheap luggage). Not only do you have to go through customs to get out of China, but you have to pass through customs to go into HK. They are not in the same location, they are at least a half mile apart. So, you must remove your luggage from the bus when you exit China, put it back on the bus, travel that half mile and then remove the luggage again, only to have to put it back on again once you come out on the other side. We missed our bus and had to wait on the next one because it took so long to get through.

 

If you are on a low budget and staying in Hong Kong, don't take the high speed train to your hotel, don't bother with a taxi or shuttle bus (which you must pay for), ride the city bus. The price drops from 300+HKD to 14HKD and you get there with little or no frustration. Just make sure you know the return trip route and give yourself plenty of time.

 

Don't assume that any internet connection you get at a internet bar will be high speed enough for you to take a timed test for an internet class. I was only able to answer 74 out of the 100 questions on the test because it took a good 30 seconds for the question page to load each time I entered an answer.

 

I'm sure I'll think of more and others can contribute to the list. If only I had known these things before I went, I could have saved myself a lot of stress and worry.

[BobandNicole]

Thing is about asking what it is you're eating, you're wife gave you the wrong answer, must not be from this part of China. Correct answer when you don't think the person really wants to know what their eating is "Don't worry, it's good for the man"

 

Or, as I found out, don't ask questions, you really dont want to know the answer to.

 

Bob

[DaveR]

I will add my 2 yuan worth.

 

My fiancee lives in ShenZhen so I went across the border a few times. The lsast time we caught a bus (realy a van), that we loaded my luggage on. There were a total of 7 on the bus. It took us through the check points and straight to the airport. Probably a little more than a regular bus, but the convience was worth it, because we never got out of the bus.

 

I know the hotels in ShenZhen are cheaper than the hotels in HK. Just something to consider.

 

Dave

[awch]

The part about the luggage is quite true. Even expensive luggage you have to be careful. For a visit back to the US I bought an expensive duffel bag. On the way back to China the side compartment zipper broke and everything spilled out en flight. I lost everything that was in there- supplies that were supposed to hold me over in China for a few months.

[beijingjenny]

You can't win with luggage these days. Even if it's expensive and looks strong, it won't last long under airport security - I mean you can't even lock these days. But we still have to get a couple new ones ...

[hypoclear]

I bought a Travel Pro carry on when I first came here. it was pricey but has held up very well both as carry on and stowed.

 

Now here is the funny part.. it was most likely made here in China and perhaps Shenzhen.. I pointed these out to Bea as well as the very sturdy American Tourister sets and she told me cheaper to buy right from the factory.

 

We stopped by Dongman and bought the cheap 100 RMB.. trunk/ small thrid world village size suit case and we got it thru the weight gate at NWA. I think it was like 90LBS.. not sure but we both fretted and it turns out we had weight to spare. It made it to the states and back but we did the band thing at GZ airport and that may be the reason why.

 

But in the end you are right.. it's not so much the cost of the case but the cost of the contents. So load it up with those great light weight bargins here in China and cross your fingers.

 

Like Mao say's.. "No need to worry.. we can always make more. "

 

Mark and Bea and Elizabeth

[cosmiclobster]

Hey Mark, (you ol republican!!)

Thanks for the laugh!!! But I am glad you guys finally got home!!

 

We bought a 60 yuan suitcase and aside from the pull out handle getting pulled completely out of the suitcase, we had no problems with it.

 

Yes, one way airfare from China gets cheaper as you get closer to the departure date. But you should book your flight on a China based airline. NWA or Japan or Korea or Canada air will be a lot harder to get tickets for and will cost more.

 

Our hotels "high speed" internet was about as fast as dial up!

 

I had 6 notarized papers for the VO to look at but he only wanted one of my boss's letter of employment - wasted $54 on notaries.

 

P.S. Someone had posted that you can have papers notarized at the American Services section of the consulate. Yes, you can! For $30 a signature!!!!!!

[beijingjenny]

Like Mao say's.. "No need to worry.. we can always make more. "

You sure he wasn't talking about people?

 

When getting tickets, Jack tried to check for the next week just to see how easy, and price. They seemed to think we could get tickets but nothing immediately available and the price was the same, so we just got our tickets anyway to be safe. So they might be available and cheap, but they might not... personally I feel better just having something and paying a bit more to change it later if necessary.

[king]

A couple of saying comes to mind about asking about your food in China.

 

"Don't ask me any questions and I won't tell you any lies."

 

"Don't ask, don't tell."

 

The Chinese people I work with and go out to eat with used to do that with me all the time, don't tell. The only thing I don't know even now is whether they had me eat dog meat.

[kfman]

I think the vans to and from HK is better then the bus... easier and you dont have to walk around the checkpoint. That is what my wife and I do each time I go from Shenzhen to Hk....

 

[BobandNicole]

P.S. Someone had posted that you can have papers notarized at the American Services section of the consulate. Yes, you can! For $30 a signature!!!!!!    

I've posted that you can BUT normally state THEIR FEES- it is $30.00 for the first signature and 20.00 for each additional page. Shanghai Consulate has $100 of "notary" fees from me. I think NV. notaries are limited to $5/3.

IF the notarization is for something required by the government, such as Affidavid of Support, then there should be no charge. At least they didn't charge me at GZ to notarize my I-864.

 

Bob

[cosmiclobster]

IF the notarization is for something required by the government, such as Affidavid of Support, then there should be no charge.  At least they didn't charge me at GZ to notarize my I-864.

 

Bob

Well, that's nice to know.

Where I was there, I didn't see anything about required forms are gratis. Only the bottom line, $30 !!

[philb]

Mark:

ConGrats on getting thru...

It sounds like something you could send to Chevy Chase and he could make a movie about...Low road out of China!!!!!

 

Phil

[oregonknl]

Glad to have you back, RMark...

 

And thanks for the interesting post!

 

King .. about the dog ...

 

.... during my first visit to GZ in 1997, there was a huge open-air public market just off the island... (gone now) maybe you know of it?

 

Have a great photo of a lean, skinned dog hanging from a meat hook......

 

---- Kim

[beijingjenny]

The I-864 was also notarized free for me. The woman told me "this is a free of charge service", I suppose asking for appreciation for my generous government...