China - never a dull moment!

[Cruiser Elite]

Might see the sales growth decline this year I think.

Or it might increase - 1st 12 Hours

 

[Scarlett]

Facebook and Google back to China - maybe!

About 90% of the way down that page is a really good TED talk from Eric Li. Very thought provoking in the way it contrasts the Chinese political system with modern democratic systems. As someone who hasn't been to China, it's not a train of thought I'd ever likely have followed. Very glad to have seen it.

And to link back to AFF: Delta have plenty of very interesting TED talks as part of their AVOD...

 

[dlam]

Fantastic thread. I live in China half the year so it's great to compare experiences, especially travel experiences. I too have given up planes when a fast train is available. It's just too chaotic to rely on making transfers when you have flights constantly delayed and cancelled.

Bravo on some great pics and comments

 

[Cruiser Elite]

Might see the sales growth decline this year I think.

But not so - this years total sales figure up 30% to $18bil - $5bil in first hour alone.

 

[Gnaroots]

Loving this travel blog, post more

 

[Cruiser Elite]

Received an email overnight from a mate in PEK who says I must go with him when I next visit in Dec to check out some of these - Qi Xinghua Street Art - too cold there now actually and I was going to avoid but I might have to head there for a couple day - More images here

 

[Cruiser Elite]

This sounds like a good plan to employ at next MEL AFF Function!

 

[Cruiser Elite]

Just announced - Ctrip to buy Skyscanner - hope it doesn't go like the China Uber purchase and become Chines only site.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Just announced - Ctrip to buy Skyscanner - hope it doesn't go like the China Uber purchase and become Chines only site.

should be ok... ctrip can be used now by foreigners, no reason to change?

 

[Cruiser Elite]

should be ok... ctrip can be used now by foreigners, no reason to change?

It was meant to be a bit tounge in cheek MEL - you are aware that DiDi swallowed Uber in China ands now Uber is Chinese only?

 

[MEL_Traveller]

It was meant to be a bit tounge in cheek MEL - you are aware that DiDi swallowed Uber in China ands now Uber is Chinese only?

Indeed - but DiDi was chinese only to start with? Ctrip is not, hence the difference.

 

[hummel]

It was meant to be a bit tounge in cheek MEL - you are aware that DiDi swallowed Uber in China ands now Uber is Chinese only?

spacebar

I am.. our driver has seen lots of use this week!

Curious about Ctrip - I've never really looked into it, does it serve any benefit over booking with anyone else?

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Curious about Ctrip - I've never really looked into it, does it serve any benefit over booking with anyone else?

It's a great comparison site.... with a huge range of fares readily accessible. It also highlights the discounted Fcl providers on a given route... in many cases the discount F is the same as the normal Y fare for the primary carrier. So in that respect ctrip works well.

 

[Cruiser Elite]

They are really quite good - excellent customer service with excellent English speaking staff. For dom China flts I only you use them - not that I fly much now though.

For trains they are good also - at least you can use foreign CC to pay and scoop up a few FF pts - 40RMB service fee on train tix and youi have to collect at train stations only - you cannot buy from Ctrip and collect at the tix booths dotted all over most Chinese cities. That is a bummer as the queues at major stations can be up to 30mins to collect tix.

Never really used them for hotels as I book direct - I know some of the China based FT guys use them regularly also - hope that helps.

 

[seanpodge]

Ctrip (and elong) are both pretty good sites for booking flights, hotels et cetera in mainland China. Both have Chinese and English version websites and take western credit cards and so are very useful for anglophone foreigners. They also usually have better deals than Expedia et al, especially for smaller Chinese cities/rural areas. Would recommend both websites for internal travel in China.

 

[Bolthead]

We used Ctrip last year to purchase internal flights in China with airlines that didn't have an english portal. Worked well with no issues and some excellent J and F pricing. My son who lives in Shanghai also uses them frequently for most of his internal travel.

 

[Cruiser Elite]

This dude is amost as cool at penegal and Tommy when they cut sick on the dance floor! Chinese Michal Jackson

 

[Cruiser Elite]

Wanna buy a house or commercial property in China? here ya go - How to Buy a House in China

 

[legroom]

Slightly off topic

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...rritory-six-seats-busy-airport-UNDERWEAR.html

I offer no comment.

 

[Cruiser Elite]

Dep immigration PVG somewhat civilized today - APEC Card gets me priority obviously - but the security lines out of this world? Lines are like 50 deep Thank god for Channel 26 - only 2 in front of me.