Using Verizon in China

One of the quandaries when traveling over to China is what to do about a Cell Phone while in country. At my last job we had an AT&T International rate plan and our Palm phones worked most places and we had data, etc... Now that I am independently owned and operated that kind of plush plan seems a little spendy.

Here in Wyoming we are fairly limited our choice of cell providers. Verizon is the big dog in the game, Union is the "local" option, and AT&T is sketchy at best. No other carrier is even present.

The end result of all this is that because we spend 48+ weeks of our year in the good ole USA we pick our provider based on Domestic capabilities, vs. International. This does create the potential for HUGE charges when traveling in China. Below are some key suggestions for avoiding some of the bigger pitfalls.

1. TURN OFF ALL DATA. I mean ALL. Background, browsing, hotspot, you name it. A data plan for 25MB is about $40, with a $1 per MB charge for all over. No plan at all? It is $20 per MB! Imagine, downloading 1 picture from a friend, $30. Call your Help Line to find out the best way to make sure all data is off.
2. Enable roaming. For most Verizon phones this means calling in to your phones Setup and activating. It adds about $4 a month, but your phone is a brick without it.
3. Minimize calls - Even with all the roaming set up correctly it is still $2 per minute to talk to US. That adds up quick.

OK, ways to stay in communication without racking up a huge phone bill.

1. SKYPE - assuming your hotel has internet (which most do) and you have a device that can access it (Laptop, tablet, etc...) using SKYPE to chat and call is the most cost effective way to talk. Chat/video chat? Free, PC to phone? $.02 per minute (compare to $2 from Verizon, which is 100X more expensive)
2. Get the people you are visiting to help you get a "Chinese" cell phone (or a SIM card for your phone, if it can take one). This is especially useful for in-country calls, given that many Chinese phones cannot call International, rendering your US phone number useless.
3. TXT Messages - at .50 outbound and .05 inbound these are great on the fly ways to communicate with people both in and out of China.

Talk to your provider about the best options for your destination country, the phones you have, and what your needs are. I have also used some of the International Rental Phones available in the US market and I say skip it. Using the above techniques and some common sense you'll be OK without it.

China by Train

Getting around China has become so much easier in the last 5 years. There has been a huge Government backed push to expand high-speed rail to every major city. The train pictured above is the "fastest" train in the world. Even though Europe has some trains that have set speed records, this train actually runs a schedule at the incredible speed of 349 KPH (or 217 MPH). this train runs from Guangzhou to Wuhan, with 6 schedule stops in between (including Changsha South, which is where we got off)

The price for a ticket is about 335 RMB ($50 US), so you don't see a lot of locals on the train, but compared to a 3-4 hour car ride, or a $250 plane ticket this is truly the way to travel.

There is a local Chinese saying that says "If you have the time you take the plane, if you have the money you take the train". This refers to the airline delays that China is famous for, and the expense/convenience of the extensive train network.

In 2 years they plan to have a Shanghai-Kunming train running, which will make it possible to traverse the majority of the Country in about 5 hours. Can't wait to take it next time we are there.

Guangzhou (广州), Part 1 - getting there

Getting to Guangzhou is fairly easy. As host to the Canton Fair, China's largest trade fair (and therefore one of the worlds largest) this city has some great transportation options and sees a lot of international business travel.

Note: US Citizens require a Visa for entry in to China. Single-entry, short-stay Visas may be applied for at the border, or in Hong Kong, but it is better to get your Visa before traveling. I recommend using ZVS and applying at least 45 days in advance

For ease of travel, I recommend going to Hong Kong first, enjoying some of the sites there, then heading inland.

Already in Hong Kong? Getting to Guangzhou couldn't be easier. Here are 3 options, listed in order of ease:

1. From Hung Hom MTR station buy a ticket on the Express ($190 HKG, Cash only!).

There are twelve trains daily between the two cities. Travel time is around two hours. There is 1 stop along the way (Dong Guan).

This will drop you at Guangzhou East (Guangzhoudong) station. From here you can take a taxi to your hotel, or walk if it is located in the area (Lilac, Westin, and many others are less than 5 minutes walk away)

2. Have some money left on your Octopus Card? Take the MTR to Lo Wu station, walk across the border (clearing customs) in to Shenzhen China, then take the express train from here to Guangzhou East. This will not save you much money, and cost a lot of time, but your call.

3. There is also a Ferry service running from Hong Kong to various Mainland China ports. I have used this service to get to Zhuhai, Zhongshan, and Panyu, but never with the intent of getting to downtown Guangzhou. Panyu is a southern suburb of Guangzhou and once there you can take a bus or taxi to your destination. I would only recommend this method if you needed to visit someone in Panyu first, and they could help you arrange to get in to downtown.

Don't want to go thru Hong Kong? Here is option 4

Fly there - The Baiyun International Airport (CAN) has flights directly from many major cities in the Pacific Rim, but I have found that getting there from the US is more difficult. You can take a connection in Narita (Japan) or Incheon (Korea) or even Hong Kong, but with the added time, connections, and my biased preference for Honk Kong I recommend flying in to Hong Kong, staying the night, and traveling in from there there. If you do fly in, be aware that the airport is a good 30-45 minutes away from any of the major downtown area.

Stay tuned for Part 2 - What to do while in Guangzhou

A new post

Stumbled upon my old Blog by accident, and I found the timing funny as I am getting ready for another trip to Asia. I will be visiting Honk Kong, Guangzhou, Hanan, Quanzhou, Fuzhou, Ninghai, Ningbo, Hangzhou, Weihai, and Beijing. I am impressed that I have had 26 visitors this month, and I haven't posted in 3 years. I will throw some more stuff on here shortly and see if the visitors come pouring in :)

See you in 3 weeks, when I get back from my trip around China.

Business Class...

...RULES!!!

OK, I just had to post to say that I finally (after 6 previous trips) got the chance to sit in Business Class on an international flight.

For most Global travelers this might seem mundane, but for a lifelong Economy flyer this was living the dream.

Pre-Departure:
1: "Would you like some Champagne, juice or water?"
2: In your seat you find an "amenity" kit filled with eye covers, ear plugs, fresh socks, and hygiene items
3: A menu is handed out, offering your choice of entrees (3 options) desert choices, salad options, and wine pairings.

Take Off:
After launching in to the air I find that the seat reclined almost flat, with a "recliner" like leg rest as well. Individual screens allow you to watch the movie you choose, and extra large blankets help those of us that are a little wider/longer than others to cover our fat butts

In-Flight:
Water service in continuous, sip a little, get some more refilled ASAP. Bathrooms have soap, lotion, and some other bottle, all there to make you feel clean and pretty.
Lunch is served. All on china, with metal silverware (including knives), i receive my first choice, which was a Pork Short Rib designed by Charlie Trotter. Best airline food I have ever had.
Movie snacks are put out in case you get hungry, jump up and grab a sandwich, chips, a crunch bar, whatever.

Landing:
Nothing special, just more comfortable (and you do get to leave the plane earlier than most)

It is going to be hard to go back to Cattle Class, but I can't count on the free bump everytime and I am NOT paying the extra $3000 for that seat, even though it might be worth every penny...

Am I Too Cheap?

As far back as I can remember I have always been a little frugal. I compare the price per oz. when buying cereal, I drive across town to save $.03 on gas (unless I calculate that I will use more than that amount in gas to get to the station), and I always turn off a light when leaving a room (thanks Dad!)

In my job I have the opportunity to spend money that is not my own. And even though it isn't my own, I still am very careful about how I spend. I book cheaper flights, even if it costs me some time, I stay in cheaper hotels (as long as they are clean) and I eat the free breakfast instead of going out for something better.

BUT, on my last trip I realized I might be TOO cheap.

A typical travel day to Asia looks like this for me:

4:30 AM (MST) Depart house for Airport
Wyoming-Denver Flight
Layover
Denver- (SFO) San Francisco
Layover
SFO - HKG (Arrive 24 hours after leaving home)

Then somewhere on the trip I will make my way to Korea, then fly back from there, with the return trip looking roughly the same, but in reverse.

But, last trip I found out that if I booked a round-trip to Korea, then from Korea booked a roundtrip to Hong Kong it would save the company $300. So, here was what it looked like last time

4:30 AM (MST) Depart house for Airport
Wyoming-Denver Flight
Layover
Denver- (SFO) San Francisco
Layover
SFO - Seoul
Arrive Seoul, go through Customs, get luggage, check back in, go back through customs, 2 hour layover
Seoul - HKG (3 hour flight)
Arrive Hong Kong almost 30 hours after I left home.

Sitting in the Seoul airport I decided I was a fool. Nobody was mandating my trip cost X dollars, or that I would get any kind of bonus for saving the money. I wasted over 6 hours of my personal time, let alone my discomfort, for what? An extra stamp in my passport and saving the company some cash. (I even used my United Gold Card to get free meals in the Business class lounge)

I'll tell you, that's the last time I do that, unless the savings is $350, then i'll consider it...

A Day Like Any Other

A visit to the Port of Hong Kong is a surreal experience. An average of 11 container ships leave there each day, carrying roughly 7000-12000 containers each. Containers are stacked 6 tall and 20 deep as far as the eye can see.

When I first started buying from Asia I felt that the 30 containers I move per year were Big Time. Come to find out there are companies like Phillips/Magnavox that will move 80 containers of a single item PER DAY.

The sheer mass of stuff departing from this port alone (the 3rd busiest in the world) is mind blowing.

The process to load one of these ships is amazing. One guy sits at a computer in a building and selects which containers will go on his ship. The cranes are all automatic and will go out to the "yard" and pick the applicable container and ferry it to the ship. The average transfer time is 1 container per minute and they assign 6-8 cranes to a ship in order to get it loaded and out.

Maybe the most impressive thing to me was the casual execution of a seemingly overwhelming task. The workers are very competent, well trained, and very efficient. Maybe our ports could take a page out of their books.

Frequent Traveler Rewards

The first thing I learned when I started to travel for business was the value of joing every traveler program I could.

Many of the programs have such high minimum stays/miles/days that the average vacation traveler never hits any rewards, but one short trip can earn you more than you think.

First, Airline Miles: this seems obvious but you would be amazed how many people I travel with that aren't members of any program. Due to our limited flight options from Wyoming I mostly fly United. Many of their services are average (at best) but as soon as you meet their first "Elite" goals (35,000 miles) then you automatically get seated in Economy Plus, with no extra costs. This is a luxurious 5 extra inches of legroom. For a 6500 mile Hong Kong flight it may be the difference in sanity and craziness. Hint: Always ask which "Alliance" an airline belongs to. Don't make the mistake of getting a United and a Lufthansa FF Card since they share you can use 1 for both, but cannot combine later (I will do a more detailed entry on this later)

Second, Hotel Rewards: I made the early mistake of choosing Miles instead of Reward Points when I stayed at Mariott. Because I stay there so often I lost a lot of free nights, and ended up with a few thousand measly miles out of it. I still have a few programs that I have set to miles because I stay there infrequently. But if I plan to stay more than 3 nights a year at any chain I choose rewards so I can earn free nights

Last, Rental Car: This is by far the easiest. Sign up online to become a "preferred" member and you will get special service from your first rental. This usually includes express check-in (which has saved me many hours), free upgrades, and sometimes special covered loading areas. The rewards themselves are a little slow to rack up, but you can usually earn miles and rewards. I am a member of the Thrifty blue chip and I get a mile per $ spent and 1 free rental every 11 rental days. Since most my travel is to Asia I don't rent much, but when I do I am rewarded for it.

*Remember, your company cannot take your miles, or any other rewards you earn. These are yours to keep and use for PERSONAL travel.

After only 3 trips this year I have enough rewards to take all 4 of us on a domestic trip (includes 4 flights), 2 nights of hotels, and 1 car rental.

Lastly, I have 1 airline that I only aquired 3,600 miles on this year. Doesn't seem like that's worth anything, but I can redeem as few as 900 miles for subscriptions to some of my favorite magazines, that makes it worth about $20 per subscription, not bad.