Quickies: Short Getaways: Beijing China - My First International Trip

Well hello strangers.. I'm sorry it's been a while. I've been a busy bee since we last chatted (I went back to school!) - I have missed you! But.. I got to go on my first international trip!!!! I spent 9 jam packed days in Beijing, China. I went for a class trip so I definitely had to use my quickie trip planning skills to be able to make the most of it.

PRE-TRIP MUST DOs:

VISA
China requires a visa to visit so I had to take some time off to be able to stand in line at the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco. They close at 2 pm and the lines are huge! Dress warm and get there early! This is a 2 day task because you have to file for your visa and then pick it up the next day.
TIP: make sure you have copies of everything so you don't have to go back and forth or try to get pictures and copies there--complete nightmare when I was trying to make one copy of my passport. I also suggest picking the longer time frame (if they allow it- depending on the reason you are visiting) when applying for your visa so you don't have to do it again for 10 years. After all, it's for the same price as getting a one time visa. It was $140 for a single trip visa. Note: They don't accept cash or checks.

Ways of Communication (Hot Spot and VPN to get around Firewall)

China has a firewall so you won't be able to do social media unless you have these things prepared before getting to China. I purchase Air VPN for about $7.36 for the month. Well worth it to be able to "Google" things and update my Facebook posts of my adventures as I am doing them. I also rented a portable hotspot from Tep for unlimited internet. It was $62.33 for the time I was gone which is definitely cheaper than AT&T's roaming charges (use discount coupon: Tepbook). I only had problems with my device because it wouldn't hold a charge so I wasn't able to use it for parts of the trip:'( The set up for these devices was straight forward, but I would work out the kinks before departure. Make sure to check reviews for the country you are going to. WeChat is a great app to use while you are in China as well. Everyone in China uses WeChat for mobile payments, but that requires a Chinese bank account.

Flights

Tickets were super cheap to China with Air China. I used Ebates to make sure I got some money back (use my link to get $10). Remember when booking your flights that you need to account for the time difference. I booked my returning flight a day early so I missed some of the festivities. I booked my flight through Orbitz for $513.19 and I got $10.26 in Orbucks.

Hotel

Luckily, my tuition paid for the hotel we stayed at - Ariva. It was a very nice hotel and I got a loft room all to myself! Woooo! The only sad part was that in China they don't turn on the air conditioning until a certain month so I was melting in the heat and slept downstairs. The bed looked nice and fancy, but it wasn't very comfortable.
TIP: In the lobby there is an ATM that I was able to use my CapitalOne360 interest debit card. I didn't get charged any fees and got a higher exchange rate than at the airport.

Things you might need:

Airplane pillow, melatonin, headphones, music, entertainment, air face mask for the smoggy days, allergy medicine, Kaiser has some recommended immunizations but I did fine as long as I stayed to restaurant food and bottled water - the water isn't supposed to be the best.

China here I come!!

Bro to the rescue!

My brother is the best so he took me to the airport. I quickly checked in because I only had a carry on. I make it to airport security and find out that I'm not allowed to have a wine bottle in my carry on so I had to leave the line to check my bag. I rushed back though security and made it to my terminal with a couple minutes to spare! Without a bag I was free!
TIP: For international flights you can get up to 2 free bags to check depending on airline.

I made it!

My classmate was on the same flight so the nice girl that was going to sit next to me switched. This made my nerves calm since she's a seasoned flyer and knows the native tongue:)

Mei & I

On my 12 hour flight, we got fed twice and had drinks:) I took some melatonin and passed out for most of the flight thankfully. My coworker suggested a stay moisturized so she gave me a face mask- made my flight so much more comfy!

BOO!!

We have landed!!!

PEK airport

Once we landed, I got to experience customs. Here you have to fill out a form and verify your passport and visa before entry into China.

We took a taxi to our hotel then ventured out for food. This BBQ place was just down the street and we got a table full of food for like $25 USD. It was definitely a culture shock to get a lukewarm drink since it might not be safe to have ice cubes in my drink.