How to Stay on Budget when in Beijing

Photo by Ling Tang 

Contrary to the belief of others, it is definitely not a difficult thing to go around Beijing, China without shedding so much cash. Spending a fortune and making the most out of the experience when in this beautiful city could be rendered as an option as long as you know what to do. And mind you, the list of tips on keeping your trip to Beijing low-budget and worth it does not end after you purchase cheap air tickets.

Here are the top three suggestions to make your flights to Beijing really economical:

      STAY AT BACKPACKERS' INN

Photo by zhang kaiyv

If you can go on without too much luxury in terms of accommodation, why not grab the chance? Sure, there are a lot of opulent hotels in Beijing and each offers very tempting packages. But there are also a lot of simple dormitories and inns around the city which provide the same comfort and security. Although it would require more effort in finding nice and cheap places, at least it would save you from paying a lot for a place you would most likely see only during the night.

      SETTLE FOR CHEAPER FOOD

Photo by zhang kaiyv

First-class restaurants are abundant in Beijing; but if you want to stay on budget, skip those lavish places and resort to the clean canteens and street food stalls around the city. The presentation of the meals may not be as pretty, but the taste of food sold in those smaller establishments could totally rival those in classy ones.

      PLAN AN ITINERARY BEFORE THE TRIP

Photo by Clay Banks

Being impulsive will surely make you spend more money. Thus, you should design an itinerary prior to your tour around the city. Plan ahead and find the places where entrance fees are cheap, if not free; and if possible, categorize these destinations according to their place so you won’t have to pay so much for transportation.



It is easy to stay on a budget as long as you want it. So buy those air tickets and do not hesitate about your trip. Just relax and enjoy.

TRAVEL NEWS: Banyan Tree in Kerala, India Opens on December

source: Google Images

Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts will be opening ‘Banyan Tree Kerala’, its first resort in India by December of this year.

Banyan Tree Kerala is situated in Nedithuruthu, midway between Kochi and Alleppey in the southern state of Kerala. It will feature 59 villas and one houseboat for a maximum of four guests. All villas will have two private pools – one lap pool and one regular – in addition to a common outdoor swimming pool.

The resort will also offer four meeting rooms, two F&B outlets, a kid’s club, a gym, and a spa with six treatment rooms.

Assistant Director Key Accounts of Banyan Tree Hotels and Resorts, Manas Sinha is quoted saying: “Our focus for Banyan Tree Kerala will be on the domestic luxury market. We are adopting a different business plan from what we practice elsewhere.”

Meanwhile, in order to boost brand recognition in the domestic market, Banyan Tree has organised a series of one-on-one meetings between high-end local tour operators and marketing representatives from its resorts in Asia, starting with one such meeting in Kolkata on March 20.

“Banyan Tree opening in India is very welcome, as we now have an option to send our high-end clients to a resort within the country. This will be handy for last minute decision-making by clients, and we will not have to bother about visas as in the case of overseas destinations”, Managing Director of Gainwell Travel Leisure Kolkata, Manoj Saraf said.

Banyan Tree had just acquired a plot of land in Goa for its second property in India which will be a 50 to 60-key resort, scheduled to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2014.

Within this year, the group will be opening a total of four resorts worldwide, including two in China and one in Vietnam while 2013 will see the launch of one Angsana in Vietnam and one Banyan Tree each in China and the Philippines.

TRAVEL NEWS: Making the Distance between Seoul and Chuncheon Closer through ITX Cheongchun High Speed Train

Image source

With the operations having officially begun on February 28, 2012, at 6:00 PM, the ITX Cheongchun High-Speed Train marked the reality of faster travel from Yongsan Station in Seoul to Chuncheon in Gangwon-do Province.

As the train speeds off to 180 km/hour, passengers could expect to cover the distance between the two places in just 73 minutes. A train departs from Yongsan Station every hour, and ten minutes after, one from Chuncheon would leave.

The route intersects four stations: Cheongnyangni, Pyeongnaehopyeong, Gapyeong and Namchuncheon. During rush hours on weekdays though, every train stops at Sangbong Station in Seoul and Sareung and Maseok Stations in Namnyangju.

The double decker-train is provided with facilities assuring every passenger of utmost convenience. There are restrooms and nursing rooms for mothers.

Train tickets are sold through easily-operated ticket vending machines positioned at every station. A trip from Yongsan to Chuncheon, and back, will cost 6,900 won while a trip starting from or to Cheongnyangni will cost 6,000 won.

ITX Cheongchun High-Speed Train operates daily from 6:00 AM to 10:00 PM.

Revised Flight Surcharge Rates from Emirates, Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 

Starting March 1, 2012, there will be a slight increase in the number of fuel surcharges of airline companies Emirates, Cathay Pacific, and Singapore Air. This applies to tickets issued on or after the given date, including those of infants and children.

A summary of the revised amounts of fuel surcharges is charted below:

EMIRATES (one-way surcharges only) From UAE to GCC, Middle East, South Asian Region	Economy Class : Dh60 First Class/Business Class : Dh390
From UAE to Africa, Europe, Far East, Australasia	Economy Class : Dh120 First Class/Business Class: Dh500
From UAE to the Americas	Economy Class : Dh170 First Class/Business Class: Dh610
CATHAY PACIFIC Between Hong Kong, Southwest Pacific, North America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Indian Subcontinent	USD 133.20 HKD 1039.00 CAD 135.80 NZD 162.00
Between Japan and Korea Between New York and Vancouver	USD 29.50 HKD 230.00 NZD 36.00
SINGAPORE AIR Between Singapore and Hong Kong	USD 29.50
Between Hong Kong and San Francisco	USD 133.20

The revision on the amount of fuel surcharges is implemented with the guarantee to improve the facilities of the said airline companies. 

References:

Emirates Flight Surcharge Rates 2012

Cathay Pacific Flight Surcharge Rates 2012

TRAVEL NEWS: Hainan’s Duty-Free Stores Enjoy Huge Popularity

Image sources: China Daily

Duty-Free Stores in the Hainan province are enjoying huge popularity and profit as off-shore duty-free shops. Sanya and Haiku airport duty-free stores are drawing crowds of cash-rich Chinese who are eager to splurge on branded goods.

Unlike outlets in China international airports which can only offer duty-free goods to Chinese travellers leaving the country, the Hainan stores can sell to local tourists without requiring an outbound ticket.

The tropical island is treated as an off-shore location where Chinese returning to the mainland can buy tax-free branded goods with a wider selection, often available at lower prices.

Launched early last year, this pilot programme exempts Chinese tourists in Hainan from paying import duties which can be as high as 40% for cosmetics.

Branded goods in China are usually more expensive than the same products abroad. Coupled with hefty consumption and value-added taxes, the average total levy can add up to about 60%. This jacks up the prices of luxury goods in China and they end up costing about 70% more than similar goods in France and 50% more than those in the United States.

“Hopefully, more Chinese people will be able to enjoy better prices and convenience offered by off-shore duty-free stores without having to leave the country,” said the Sanya store’s spokesman Ms. Jessica Zhao.

The Sanya store racked up an impressive 800 million yuan (S$159 million) in sales in its first eight months of offering 100-plus brands of luxury items duty-free to Chinese tourists last year.

Experts expect to see more duty-free stores mushrooming across China in the next three to five years.

“The central government had set the trend and the conditions are in place,” said the Central University of Finance and Economics Professor Li Huan, who noted that are applying to become duty-free havens.

China’s southernmost island province hopes to take advantage of its “4S” reputation – sea, sand, sunshine, and now, shopping.

Because of the huge popularity of these duty-free stores, several travel agencies have included duty-free shopping in their Hainan tour schedules.

“We have added duty-free shopping to all our tour packages to Hainan and will arrange regular shopping-themed tours in the future,” said Zhang Lingjie, Deputy Director of the Domestic Tour department at China International Travel Service (CITS) in Beijing.

Hotels nearby the stores are also benefitting from the influx of guests, noting that the number of bookings has increased dramatically since the opening of the Sanya store.

Airline companies, too have added extra flights to meet the growing demand for Sanya flights.

EVENTS: Mardi Gras New Orleans 2012

Photo by Ugur Arpaci

Mardi Gras is one big holiday in New Orleans, it means music, parades, picnics, floats, and excitement! Everyone is wearing purple, green, and gold, some even adorned themselves with the long beads they caught from the beautiful floats. People sit on the ground throwing balls, playing music, and having a picnic while they watch the crowds walk by between parades.

During Mardi Gras, all of the businesses and roads are practically shut down -- people are walking everywhere and meeting new friends. People are dressed in crazy costumes, kids are everywhere, and the air is oozing with fun and excitement!

The highlights of the festivities are the Mardi Gras Parade Krewes where one can get treasure items being thrown from different floats like anodized aluminum that depict the parade theme on one side and the Krewe's emblem on the other called doubloons, cups, long pearl beads, and stuffed animals.

Each year there are dozens of parades in New Orleans and the surrounding area, and this year is no different. Parades begin Sunday, February 5, 2012, and continue until Mardi Gras Day, February 21, 2012. 

Each Mardi Gras Parade Krewe has a unique history and theme. Some have been around for decades, while others have been in existence for just a few years. Krewe of ZULU is well known for its interesting history and "golden nugget" (coconut) parade throws. Mardi Gras Indians are about beautiful beaded and feathered costumes they hand design throughout the entire year. Krewe of Bacchus features national celebrity monarchs each year and draws hundreds of thousands of visitors. Krewe of Rex is the origin of many traditions of Mardi Gras, including its colors of purple, green, and gold, as well as the collectible doubloon coins Krewe of Endymion quickly emerged as one of Carnival's 'Super-Krewes' in 1974 with the inclusion of more floats and celebrity guests.

Usually, days have several parades booked back to back, so whether you are on St. Charles Avenue with the family, catching beads from a Central Business District balcony, or enjoying the floats on Canal before a night in the French Quarter, plan for a day of Mardi Gras magic!

TRAVEL NEWS: Myanmar to Introduce E-visas

Photo by Cheng Q 

 

Tourists who are planning to visit Myanmar will no longer need to go to the Myanmar embassy to apply for a visa starting in March.

The country’s Ministry of Hotels and Tourism is pushing for a significant liberalisation of the country’s visa regulations and is planning to introduce an electronic visa application system beginning next month.

Union Minister, U Tint San said “We are trying to introduce an e-visa system from March, that would allow international visitors to apply for a visa from anywhere via the Internet, before visiting Myanmar”.

The ministry’s efforts to roll out an e-visa system were first unveiled in January. The pilot project will start this month before it is officially launched in March.

U Tint San mentioned that the ministry is also working to attract direct international flights to airports at Bagan and Ngapali “in the near future”.

“We are also in discussions with other ministries to allow tourists to enter or exit the country at a checkpoint by either air or land,” he added. 

Presently, tourists who would like to enter Myanmar by land need to face quite a number of travel restrictions. Only a handful of border crossings are open to foreigners and a regulation introduced in mid-2011 which requires tourists to enter and exit at the same checkpoint are just a few of them.