User blogs

Tagalong would like to Wish everyone a Happy New Year filled with health, happiness, fortune, and love!

( Japanese Garden )
One word can spark a moment,
One flower can wake the dream;
One tree can start a forest,
One bird can herald Spring.

One smile can bring a friendship,
One handclasp can lift a soul;
One star can guide a ship at sea,
One cheer can obtain a goal.

One vote can change a Nation,
One sunbeam can lift a room;
One candle wipes out darkness,
One laugh will conquer gloom.
One look can change two lives;
One kiss can make love bloom.

One step must start each journey,
One word must start each prayer;
One hope can raise our spirits,
One touch can show you care.

One voice can speak with wisdom,
One heart can know what's true;
One life can make a difference,
One life is me and you....

One
by Shawnee Kellie

1. Scrambled eggs with tomatoes, an all time favorite that can be cooked anywhere, it’s easy to order anywhere in China or any Chinese cafe in the world. It is so easy to cook and really tasty Chinese families cook it at home often.


2. Red-Braised Belly Pork. We know that some Westerners flinch when they first see the amount of fat served on belly pork; however, please don’t be put off. This is a China tour favorite – it’s an elegant combination of all the flavors of the pork combined with sugar, soy, a few spices and some local wine. It goes particularly well with noodles or rice.

3. Fried peanuts are something that hints of your home during your China vacation, they are usually mixed with a little salt, spice and some sugar and are served at nearly every restaurant in the nation. They are a little challenging to eat with chopsticks though.


4. Beijing Duck you can’t travel to China and not try this. It’s served very differently from most Chinese restaurants in the West, but it’s just as tasty. Pancakes, soybean paste, spring onions, etc. are all available and it tends to be incredibly well presented in most places.


5. “Fish-flavored shredded pork” is a bit of a misnomer as the dish has never seen a fish or indeed resemble seafood in its life. The spices used to prepare it are more commonly used in seafood preparation – hence the name.

6. Chicken soup. If there’s one thing most people agree on during a China vacation, it’s that Chinese chicken soup is superb. It takes at least a day to prepare and the rich broth, soft chicken with a hint of ginger and black pepper is both nourishing and a tasty sensation.

7. Potatoes with vinegar. We don’t know if it’s true that this lowers the blood pressure, but it's  an interesting dish. It’s very easy to cook but takes an age to prepare. Crisp with salt and sour edge, it’s quite lovely.

8. Mitten/Hairy Crabs. These are a big deal when they’re in season. Steamed crabs are very good to eat and most places keep serving them until you’re full.

9. One for the vegetarians, braised tofu. Not to be confused with the somewhat less easy on the nostrils – stinky tofu. This is usually served in soy sauce with a hint of onions and sugar.

10. Cucumbers and soybean paste – this is nearly ubiquitous throughout China and may be the healthiest food around with next to zero calories.

Have more favorites please add to my list...

Catch airport bus A43 and get off at the Sheung Shui Stop, then catch the East Rail Line train to either Lok Ma Chau or Lo Wu border crossings, Bus costs HK$30.90 (or buy a Octopus Card in the airport's Arrival Hall) and takes around 90 minutes. Note you can buy the bus ticket on the bus but must pay the exact amount of HK$ because the bus driver will not give you change. See map below.

To catch the bus you need to take Exit B (Arrival Hall B) after clearing customs and walk straight ahead, exiting out of the airport via the ramp then immediately turn right and you will see the airport public bus terminal (Ground Transportation Centre). Keep walking down the ramp and as you approach the bottom, look back on to the left and you'll see the ticket offices of 3 bus operators where you can buy your bus ticket before boarding your bus.

To cross the border at Lok Ma Chau, just follow the signs through the Hong Kong border check point, go through China Customs into mainland China and you’ll be in Futian Port. In the same building is Futian Kou An Metro Station, this metro station is part of line 4 which connects with line 1. Lok Ma Chau border crossing is newer than the one at Lo Wu and can be quieter, however both border crossings do get really busy during weekends, holidays and during the morning and afternoon ‘rush hours’ of people heading home/to work.

The border crossing from Hong Kong into Shenzhen at Lo Wu (LuoHu} is straightforward, it’s more or less going through two buildings on either side of the border connected via an enclosed bridge, for all purposes it feels like the same building. After departing the train simply follow the signs, have a completed departure card and your passport ready to show the Hong Kong border officer as you officially leave HK, then walk more or less straight ahead for a few minutes to reach the China mainland border officers. Show your completed arrival card and passport. After passing that point you’ll walk straight ahead and be in Luohu, where, if you are outside at ground level, you’ll see a large public square to one side of which will be Shenzhen Railway Station and to the other side Luohu Commercial City (the railway station is the longer of the two buildings) and two levels beneath you will be the Metro (aka subway). To catch a taxi, if you are at ground level, go down one level and kind of underneath the Luohu Commercial building you’ll find a large taxi rank.

Hong Kong Airport buses  are high quality, double deck buses with air-conditioning and luggage racks.
The buses run daily from 7:00am to 12:00am with a frequency every 15-30 minutes

UPDATE:

East Rail Fares from Sheung Shui to Lo Wu or Lok Ma Chau is 13.50HKD

If you are in Hong Kong and you want to visit China, then one of the best place to get your China visa in Hong Kong is to use tour agencies such as Forever Bright or the CTS. Depending on the "speed" you can have your passport back in 4 to 1 days, standard service is 4 days.

Anyway 4 days isn't really a lot of time in Hong Kong and if you want some ideas on what to see and shop in Hong Kong get this shopping guide and map of Hong Kong.

NOW, for that visa, Forever Bright Agency's address and contact information below...

Rooms 916-917, New Mandarin Plaza Tower B
14 Science Museum Road,
T.S.T. East, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Tel: 852-2369 3188
Website:  fbt-chinavisa.com.hk (link to their latest charges)

To get to the agency, take the subway to Tsim Sha Tsui East Station, leave through exit P2 and walk North on Mody Road (just turn left at the exit) up until the intersection at Science Museum Road, where the agency is located. From the P2 exit, it takes about ten minutes to get to the office.

The CTS (China Travel Service HK)
Tak Bo Building
62-72 Sai Yee Street
Mong Kok

The two nearest subway stations are Mong Kok or Mong Kok East. Walk to the corner of Sai Yee Street and Nelson Street and look for the red sign with white letters. Go to the second floor and take a number to be called.

One advantage of getting your Chinese Visa in Hong Kong rather than in your home country is the potential savings. Many countries, especially Western countries such as Canada, charge extremely high fees for Chinese Visas.

But where you apply for your Chinese Visa is really up to you and your circumstances.

If you like to plan and like to have everything in place before you leave for your tag-along, applying at home may be a better option. However, if you are like me, a spontaneous traveler who likes to take my trips day by day, applying in Hong Kong better suit my needs.

If you do decide to get your China visa in Hong Kong keep in mind is that the Visa Office is closed on weekends and holidays so if you arrive on a Saturday you will have to wait until Monday to apply.

UPDATE:

As is the nature of "Trax2 Tag-Along" with no fixed itinerary we have modify the places and dates, so this last leg started in Hong Kong on the 17th November 2016, after 2 nights in HK we than crossed the border into Shenzhen where we visited the wholesale area of mobile phones picking up a top of the range Mi mobile 4C for just 638yuan (USD93, AUD125) with the specs of Qualcommn Snapdragon 808 CPU, 2GB RAM; 16GB storage; 4G bandwidth; HDR 16MB back & 8MB front  camera - great specs that matched the LG4 just 12 months ago

After Shenzhen we caught the C train to GuangZhou (the D trains are the fastest trains in China) arriving in GZ Monday night 8pm 21 Nov 2016 in light rain.

Next morning we had "YUM CHA" breakfast at one of the most famous and oldest yumcha restaurants in Guangzhou situated beside the Pearl River.

Rest of the day we spent visiting some of the best wholesale markets in China

Next day - 23 Nov 2016 - after lunch we caught the fast train to Yuangshuo Station which is really located a little north of XingPing on the Li River. In XP we stayed 2 nights than moved on to Yangshuo - 24-25 Nov 2016 - staying 2 nights in the countryside at Giggling Tree Hotel.

Because of bad cold wet weather since Guangzhou our stay in Yangshuo did not give us the full experience of what Yangshuo has to offer in the way of activities and scenery, with the redevelopment of the road into YS causing muddy traffic jams all over the town adding to the problems.

Sat 26-Mon 28 Nov 2016 Guilin 3 nights

Sun came out on the Sunday

Tue 29 Nov 2016 Tagalong flew Guilin to Kunming and than caught the overnight train to Dali arriving early on the 30 Nov in XiangGuan

Nov 30 - Dec 1 2016 Dali Old Towm

Dec 2- 4 2016 Lijang Ancient Town

5-6 Dec Shanghai

7 Dec Hong Kong

Tj's “Tag-Along” China will start on the 10 Oct in Shanghai and all you will need to do is be in Shanghai on that date, if you cannot make it on that date then you will have other opportunities to tag-along at any of the other dates and places shown below:

10 Oct Shanghai START
17 Oct Beijing,
24 Oct Xian,
27 Oct Chengdu,
1 Nov Lijiang YN,
8 Nov Dali YN,
16 Nov Kunming
20 Nov Guilin/Yangshuo,
29 Nov Guangzhou,
6 Dec Hong Kong END

So all you need to do is get your airfare, visa and travel insurance and leave the rest to Tj once you are in China

Just some of the places you will be visiting on the China Tag-Along