Topic Wiki

TRs:
Eli, Chuchem, aussiebochur, world2see, chucksterace


Thing to do:
 - wall at mutinyahu
 - Ming vase company (or silk or other companies...)
-summer palace
-forbidden city
-tain'anmen square
-silk/pearl/ yaxiu antique markets
-Panda zoo
-Drum tower, nightly acrobatic shows,
Kong fu show,
Back lake,
Hutong area?
-Olympic park (birds nest, cube) ,
-Chairman Mao?

Only place to eat:
dinis restaurant -( chabad)
(www.kosherbeijing.com)

Places to stay;
St Regis (downtown chabad) with bowling! And Massage across the street .
Westin (chaoyang)-near chabad,
Rosemary
Shrangila, trade west town

Get around:
-car service +8613051258776
(They are unofficial but good service and prices.)
-yellowcar John <johnyellowcar@hotmail.com>
( The price will be around 1000 rmb for everything (gas,toll,parking) except ticket and food.
reocmmendtions from : www.tripadvisor.com  )

Author Topic: Beijing Master Thread  (Read 73238 times)

Offline moish

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Re: Beijing Master Thread
« Reply #180 on: October 28, 2015, 12:38:38 PM »
Does it "close" in the cold, or will it just not be comfortable to visit?
i dont think it closes, just extremely cold

Offline Yehoshua

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Re: Beijing Master Thread
« Reply #181 on: October 28, 2015, 12:40:36 PM »
i dont think it closes, just extremely cold
Given that I'll be there anyway, I might as well see it even in the cold, no? On the upside, there'll be a lot fewer tourists.

Offline Yehoshua

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Re: Beijing Master Thread
« Reply #182 on: November 04, 2015, 12:58:56 AM »
Does anyone have any good recommendations of a driver/private tour guide for the Mutianyu Great Wall+Forbidden City? I saw this one that charges $175/1 person for a 8-9 hour all day tour. Is that reasonable? Does anyone have anyone in particular to recommend?

ETA: Also I noticed some sites saying that certain parts of the Great Wall (like hikes) could be closed in winter. Does anyone have any experience going during the winter?
« Last Edit: November 04, 2015, 01:09:37 AM by Yehoshua »

Offline AJK

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Re: Beijing Master Thread
« Reply #183 on: November 04, 2015, 01:26:16 AM »
We paid $112 for the taxi total for 2 people (but didn't come with a "guide"). The wall costs an additional $25/pp with luge.
2015: 116K bkd | 1.6M brnd | F: OZ,NH,AA,EK | J: UA,CA,TK,DL,TN,AF,VA | LIH,NRT,ROR,PEK,CNS,BOB,MEL,TLV & Pacific Hopper

Offline Yehoshua

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Re: Beijing Master Thread
« Reply #184 on: November 04, 2015, 01:27:38 AM »
We paid $112 for the taxi total for 2 people. The wall costs an additional $25/pp with luge.
So you didn't take a tour guide, just a regular taxi? Did the guy wait for you and or speak English? I don't know how good my Chinese will be by then.

Offline AJK

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Re: Beijing Master Thread
« Reply #185 on: November 04, 2015, 01:38:01 AM »
So you didn't take a tour guide, just a regular taxi? Did the guy wait for you and or speak English? I don't know how good my Chinese will be by then.

Wasn't a regular taxi. I found a number online IIRC. We were able to communicate fine, but he was far from fluent.
2015: 116K bkd | 1.6M brnd | F: OZ,NH,AA,EK | J: UA,CA,TK,DL,TN,AF,VA | LIH,NRT,ROR,PEK,CNS,BOB,MEL,TLV & Pacific Hopper

Offline Yehoshua

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Re: Beijing Master Thread
« Reply #186 on: November 04, 2015, 09:32:41 AM »
Wasn't a regular taxi. I found a number online IIRC. We were able to communicate fine, but he was far from fluent.
Did he wait for you at the wall? What's his name and number?

Offline AJK

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Re: Beijing Master Thread
« Reply #187 on: November 04, 2015, 10:03:47 AM »
He did wait for us. I don't know if I saved his number. But I remember his website had a yellow background.
2015: 116K bkd | 1.6M brnd | F: OZ,NH,AA,EK | J: UA,CA,TK,DL,TN,AF,VA | LIH,NRT,ROR,PEK,CNS,BOB,MEL,TLV & Pacific Hopper

Offline Yehoshua

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Re: Beijing Master Thread
« Reply #188 on: November 04, 2015, 10:34:38 AM »
He did wait for us. I don't know if I saved his number. But I remember his website had a yellow background.
Do you remember anything more about him? His name or company name?

Offline AJK

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Re: Beijing Master Thread
« Reply #189 on: November 04, 2015, 11:22:16 AM »
Do you remember anything more about him? His name or company name?

Nope, but just look on TA and find one in your price range and who is available.
2015: 116K bkd | 1.6M brnd | F: OZ,NH,AA,EK | J: UA,CA,TK,DL,TN,AF,VA | LIH,NRT,ROR,PEK,CNS,BOB,MEL,TLV & Pacific Hopper

Offline Yehoshua

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Re: Beijing Master Thread
« Reply #190 on: November 04, 2015, 11:28:26 AM »
Nope, but just look on TA and find one in your price range and who is available.
Since my flight lands at 7am, does it make sense to get picked up at the airport instead of trying to get to the PH (where I'll be staying) and get picked up from there? Also are these tours truly private or group tours?

Offline AJK

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Re: Beijing Master Thread
« Reply #191 on: November 04, 2015, 11:53:45 AM »
Since my flight lands at 7am, does it make sense to get picked up at the airport instead of trying to get to the PH (where I'll be staying) and get picked up from there? Also are these tours truly private or group tours?

Our "tour" was just us. Driver waited for us as long as we wanted.

You only have one day in PEK? If not, I'd prefer being able to go to PH, drop off bags, and freshen up before heading out. But if scheduling forbids that, I'm not sure it makes sense time-wise: land 7am, earliest you'd get to PH is probably 8:30. Unless you can be out by 9 the latest (and that's late because the drive is an hour plus), I'd save it for a different day.
2015: 116K bkd | 1.6M brnd | F: OZ,NH,AA,EK | J: UA,CA,TK,DL,TN,AF,VA | LIH,NRT,ROR,PEK,CNS,BOB,MEL,TLV & Pacific Hopper

Offline Yehoshua

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Re: Beijing Master Thread
« Reply #192 on: November 04, 2015, 12:00:31 PM »
Our "tour" was just us. Driver waited for us as long as we wanted.

You only have one day in PEK? If not, I'd prefer being able to go to PH, drop off bags, and freshen up before heading out. But if scheduling forbids that, I'm not sure it makes sense time-wise: land 7am, earliest you'd get to PH is probably 8:30. Unless you can be out by 9 the latest (and that's late because the drive is an hour plus), I'd save it for a different day.
I'll be in PEK for 2 days, landing 7am Tue and flying out 5:30p Wed. I'd prefer to go to the PH since that way I won't be leaving all my stuff in a stranger's car (unless you don't think that's a concern). Is leaving at 9am really that late when most tours leave at 8am? I know sunset is early (like 5:30ish), so it would seem like enough time, no? Or better to go on Wed earlier and the go straight to the airport?

Offline AJK

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Re: Beijing Master Thread
« Reply #193 on: November 04, 2015, 12:09:54 PM »
I'll be in PEK for 2 days, landing 7am Tue and flying out 5:30p Wed. I'd prefer to go to the PH since that way I won't be leaving all my stuff in a stranger's car (unless you don't think that's a concern). Is leaving at 9am really that late when most tours leave at 8am? I know sunset is early (like 5:30ish), so it would seem like enough time, no? Or better to go on Wed earlier and the go straight to the airport?

In your case, I'd simply hightail it to PH and have him meet you there. Or, even better, have the guy pick you up from airport, wait for you for a half hour at PH and then continue on.

I wouldn't risk traffic doing mutianyu on Weds in your case.
2015: 116K bkd | 1.6M brnd | F: OZ,NH,AA,EK | J: UA,CA,TK,DL,TN,AF,VA | LIH,NRT,ROR,PEK,CNS,BOB,MEL,TLV & Pacific Hopper

Offline Yehoshua

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Re: Beijing Master Thread
« Reply #194 on: November 04, 2015, 12:58:51 PM »
In your case, I'd simply hightail it to PH and have him meet you there. Or, even better, have the guy pick you up from airport, wait for you for a half hour at PH and then continue on.

I wouldn't risk traffic doing mutianyu on Weds in your case.
It'd be great if he could pick up at PEK, go to PH and then to Mutianyu. Can I assume it'll cost around $175 for that or do you think it'll be cheaper/more expensive?

Offline Hatastah

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Re: Beijing Master Thread
« Reply #195 on: November 04, 2015, 06:32:04 PM »

It'd be great if he could pick up at PEK, go to PH and then to Mutianyu. Can I assume it'll cost around $175 for that or do you think it'll be cheaper/more expensive?
I would suggest contacting Chabad there. When I was there they mentioned they have affordable and trustworthy drivers they work with

Offline Yehoshua

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Re: Beijing Master Thread
« Reply #196 on: November 04, 2015, 06:43:10 PM »
I would suggest contacting Chabad there. When I was there they mentioned they have affordable and trustworthy drivers they work with
I was actually going to do that. Thanks for the idea! With so many options on TA and no one really offering any first hand experience here (where they can remember more than a yellow website) it's a bit hard to decide.

Offline Yehoshua

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Re: Beijing Master Thread
« Reply #197 on: November 09, 2015, 12:30:10 AM »
Does anyone have experience with Uber in Beijing? It looks to be available from the airport as well as all over the city, but does it work well there? UberPeople's seem to be the cheapest with UberX the next level up. Are UberX drivers in Beijing official, licensed drivers like UberX is in Paris, or are they just regular people like in the US?

Offline Yehoshua

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Re: Beijing Master Thread
« Reply #198 on: November 11, 2015, 02:43:15 PM »
I'll be in Beijing by myself, and I'm not looking to spend $200+ on a private tour. I found a company, China Highlights, that got very good reviews on TA. They have a group tour with no more than 6 people, though if less sign up the price stays the same (even if I'm the only one). The price ($134) would include the tour ($109 without food) and an airport transfer ($25). Does this sound reasonable? Would you still recommend a private tour? Keep in mind it'll be January, so the chances of having others in the group are less.

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Re: Beijing Master Thread
« Reply #199 on: November 11, 2015, 08:19:40 PM »
I'd have no issue with a tour where the largest it'd be would be 6. Good reviews, $25 airport, and $100 tour sounds good to me.
2015: 116K bkd | 1.6M brnd | F: OZ,NH,AA,EK | J: UA,CA,TK,DL,TN,AF,VA | LIH,NRT,ROR,PEK,CNS,BOB,MEL,TLV & Pacific Hopper