Viking China (Part 2)

Thank you for the helpful responses Caribill and Mitina.

Regards the external battery packs. Is this referring to the fairly substantial external packs that some DSLR cameras use ? I just carry a small pocket Lumix camera but was planning taking a spare battery ie the small internal battery.

The spare small internal batteries are OK.

What they do not like are portable batter charger packs such as the ones shown here https://www.frys.com/search?query_string=9192358+9192368&nearbyStoreName=false&site=sunlanding040118

We were on the Undiscovered China tour in October of 2017.

This is what we experienced:

No External Battery CHARGERS (like the ones in the link above) were allowed through security. The ones that plug into the wall to recharge your camera batteries are ok.

NO LIQUIDS IN CARRYONS. All liquids need to go into checked baggage. Take wipes instead of hand sanitizer for flight days.

NO BATTERIES IN CHECKED BAGS. All batteries need to be in your carryons. They x-ray checked luggage and if they find a battery or cell phone in them they will call you and have you remove it.

On our internal China flights we were only allowed ONE checked bag.

We were allowed a personal item (purse) and one carryon. I carried on a pretty large purse and a backpack without issue. My husband had a camera roller bag.

The entire trip is amazing and Viking does a very nice job. Beijing had tons of interesting things to see.

Enjoy!

Thanks again for the information. I think we will make do with our one checked case each, and a small backpack as carry on plus my wife's hand bag.

However, one other question about liquids. OK I understand all liquids are to be in your checked bag. What about a liquid medication ? I carry a small GTN spray ( maybe 25ml ) due to a heart problem some years ago. It's prescribed as a precaution and never had to use it, but sods law if I do and it's in the hold ! It occurs to me that I could talk to my pharmacist and get a tablet form for this one trip, but I can't be the first person to travel inside China with such medication. It's never been an issue as anywhere else operates a 100ml liquid contain limit ( or similar ) in carry on.

zimmer46, you should be fine and you are advised to bring all medications in your carry on. This is interesting and may give some clarification. Hope the link works

http://traveltips.usatoday.com/rules-medication-airplane-102553.html

Safe travels and enjoy!

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Thanks again for the information. I think we will make do with our one checked case each, and a small backpack as carry on plus my wife's hand bag.

 

However, one other question about liquids. OK I understand all liquids are to be in your checked bag. What about a liquid medication ? I carry a small GTN spray ( maybe 25ml ) due to a heart problem some years ago. It's prescribed as a precaution and never had to use it, but sods law if I do and it's in the hold ! It occurs to me that I could talk to my pharmacist and get a tablet form for this one trip, but I can't be the first person to travel inside China with such medication. It's never been an issue as anywhere else operates a 100ml liquid contain limit ( or similar ) in carry on.

Don't mess around with second hand information. Contact Viking before you leave and discuss it with them. Tellus@vikingcruises.com--include your booking number and a phone number in the e-mail and they will call you. When you arrive in China, discuss your meds with your group escort and ask him how he wants you to handle it on the airplanes.You may feel more comfortable if you arrange to go through screening with your escort at your side.

zimmer46, you should be fine and you are advised to bring all medications in your carry on. This is interesting and may give some clarification. Hope the link works

 

http://traveltips.usatoday.com/rules-medication-airplane-102553.html

 

Safe travels and enjoy!

Yes, the link works, but TSA rules do not apply in China. They have their own set of more restrictive rules. For example, even if you buy a bottle of water after going through security, it cannot be taken onto a plane.

Granted we did this trip/cruise a few years ago but I don’t recall having a problem with any meds in our carry on luggage and 25ml is a small amount. Hope all works out well and there are no problems.

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It seems like, just like TSA rules here, the rules in China change quickly.

We were on the Imperial Jewels tour in July 2017 and had no issues carrying our battery packs through security.

We did the Shanghai to Beijing route and the only airport where we saw the liquid restrictions was in Beijing on our way out of China. It must have been new there, too. They had a small sheet in the ticket jacket that explained you couldn't carry on any liquids (besides the small bottles that were approved through the security line). Even in the duty free shop, where they sold bottles of liquor, there were no signs telling you that, while you could buy all you wanted, you wouldn't be able to take it on the plane.

Thanks to all for the feedback. It seems the "rules" are fluid, if you will forgive the pun ;-)

It's quite likely I could carry the small amount of liquid and not have a problem, but we all see inconsistencies in the enforcement of these rules, so with three internal flights, it's a high risk and could end up with the med being confiscated. Decided to play safe and the doc has given me the tablet form for this trip.

Now that that's sorted, looking forward to a great trip and experience, and I will report back here with anything I can update.

We just returned from independent travel in China after about a month. Upon arrival in Shanghai on 4/28/18 we were fingerprinted and photographed as we passed through customs. I don't know if this is a new policy in China or just at Shanghai because I was not fingerprinted flying into Beijing in November of 2017. We took 5 internal flights in China on various Chinese airlines from Shanghai, Zhengzhou, Lijiang, Kunming, Zhangjiajie, and Changsha. At each airport, our battery chargers were checked for their ratings but never confiscated. Absolutely no batteries were allowed in our checked luggage including AA or AAA batteries. We did the same thing with liquids as we do in the US and had no issues carrying small quantities of hand sanitizer and the like. We found the biggest advantage of traveling in China independently is the western toilets are always open since the Chinese refuse to use them except in an emergency.

I thought this may be of help to any Brits travelling to China. I was shocked at the price that the visa company recommended by Viking was going to charge so I used http://www.travel-direct.com/visas/china instead. Their price was only a bit more than what the Chinese embassy charges for its postal service with the peace of mind that someone will check your forms through before they submit them. Once I informed Viking that I was getting my visa independently they sent me through a FAQ sheet which basically walked me through the visa form step by step, including all the hotel addresses for our stay. Travel-direct also had a FAQ sheet to double check my answers and the process was quite easy. I chose the 5 day processing and exactly one week from sending my forms off I received my visa. I was very happy with their service and I hope this helps someone.

Once I informed Viking that I was getting my visa independently they sent me through a FAQ sheet which basically walked me through the visa form step by step, including all the hotel addresses for our stay.

Once you have the sheet from Viking it really is very easy to complete the visa process without further help.

I thought this may be of help to any Brits travelling to China. I was shocked at the price that the visa company recommended by Viking was going to charge so I used www.travel-direct.com/visas/china instead. Their price was only a bit more than what the Chinese embassy charges for its postal service with the peace of mind that someone will check your forms through before they submit them. Once I informed Viking that I was getting my visa independently they sent me through a FAQ sheet which basically walked me through the visa form step by step, including all the hotel addresses for our stay. Travel-direct also had a FAQ sheet to double check my answers and the process was quite easy. I chose the 5 day processing and exactly one week from sending my forms off I received my visa. I was very happy with their service and I hope this helps someone.

Thanks for this. Wet helpful, could you share with me your cost comparison. We are travelling next May it’s on my to do list but not quite at the top!

Thanks for this. Wet helpful, could you share with me your cost comparison. We are travelling next May it’s on my to do list but not quite at the top!

We were charged £175 each which is roughly £5 more than the price the Chinese Embassy charges for its postal service. I still had to pay for recorded delivery there and for the return too but I assume I would need to pay for at least half of it going direct. The visa company that Viking recommended charges roughly £260 each plus a postage fee.

We were told to apply for our visa between 2 and 3 months prior to our trip. I was quite anxious but it went smoothly even though the forms are quite daunting. We even took our photos on our iPad and used a free program to make them the correct size for the visa.

Hello all. Time to recap our trip. Roof of the World

First of all to packing.

Really no need for a umbrella, all the hotels have them either in the roomor at the concierge desk. And they just cause problems in your checked bagswith the scanners. Weight of Max 44 pounds is only in forced going toTibet in and out. Other wise they just collect all our bags and averageout the weight. Do bring extra tissues and wet wipes. you will needthem on trips and in the local bathrooms. Some have paper and somedon't.. For our trip the weather was warm and humid so went thru alot of shirts. Good walking shoes or sandals is a must. Good shade hatsare a must. A good Small backpack for trip travels to carry paper, water andsuch is a good idea. Lite weight sun shirts come in handy in Tibetwhere the sun is hot and much closer. More people got sun burned therethan any where else on the trip. Light weight synthetics (shirts,underwear, pants) that can wash out and dry quick help keep your loadlight and manageable. When you fly between locations your check baggageis collected and you only carry your small carry on bags on the flights.

Locations,

Beijing, has 22 Mil in the city and is very busy. no trees grass or plants seem to be around. The Hotel was great and thefood was ok. Going to the wall was cool and walking on it was very steepand crowded They offer a group pic and book for a 100 RMB (about $14) and it isworth it. you are with a travel guide the whole way from arrival todeparture. We had Ray and from what I observer he was the best of them.They will go out of their way to make the trip as easy as they can. Wewent on a few local trips in Beijing and they filled the time up well. You can exchange money at the hotel or use plastic on most trips. At mostplaces you can bargain on the prices, and at 100% of the tourist shops andstreet flee market shops which primarily take local currency.

Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City was a good tour the Square wasclosed but the city was interesting. Lots of history and information on the how and why of the city. The old Beijing Hutong tour (sort of arikshaw ride on a bike and home tour) was ok

Xian, seeing the Terra Cotta solderswas really neat, amazing how they were found and restored. This city only has 32 Mil in it so not crowedat all. As in Beijing the Hotel is 5star and very nice. Food again was notgreat but was good.

Lhasa Tibet, this was the best partof the trip in my opinion. This is where you need to be sure your check in bagsare less than 44 LBS each, coming and going. At close to 13 K altitude it is agood idea to have the air sick ness pills, I had Diomox 250mg and took half a pill thenight before and half a pill twice a day while there. Some slight tingling in my hand but otherthan that not bad. Another person had a500mg pill and had several problems of not feeling well and extreme fatigue for4 days after we left Tibet. The familyvisit was interesting and no sales pitch. The Temple Tour was good and was give a lot of background history onTibet and the area. Then to the marketwhich was fun and colorful we bought several items and got good prices in thebargain. Potala Palace (the Dali Lamas Place) was a good trip. Close to 300 steps up and down and as long asyou go slow and rest you should not have any issues. If Lisa and I could make it most otherscan. It was very crowded but worthit. Fascinating history and infor on howand what the Dali Lamas did and how they were revered. Then on to the Sera Monastery Tour. It was interesting and watching the Monksdebate was fun

Chongqing, the tour to the ShibaozhaiPagoda was very good. Lots of goodpictures and a very bigh flea market all the way up and down to thePagoda. Make sure you have plenty oflocal currency for it. Good prices andlots of variety Haggle well and get the best price, start to walk away and theprice will drop lower. The next was the boatride down a tributary of the river and it was relaxing and interesting. The 3 gorges Dam tour was informative andshowed how they came to the decision on where and why they built it. The Scholl visit was fun and the kids werecute and like the poperatizi wanting your autograph and to say hi. Very cute. Then off to the Hubei Museum and Bell performance. A very nice and modern Museum and the BronzeBells were amazing

Shanghai, the lights and the buildings in Shanghai are truly amazing. We stayed at the Peace Hotel and it was byfar the best of the hotels The Garden Tour was very nice. And the Bund (riverwalk) tour was great. That is where yousee the night lights at their best. TheShangHai Museum is a great Museum. Both inEnglish and Chinese.

Overall the Emerald is a nice ship. You cannot compare it with a Viking Long ship as it is not up to theirstandards. It is old andmaintained. The floors are a littlewarped but still nice. The food ismostly buffet style and good. If youhave a suit or Jr suit REMEMBER that laundry is free so get your clothes washedit is worth it. We had a suite and noone told us that until the day before we got off. The ship will not exchange money they are notallowed to. But you can check with yourguide and most of the time they can exchange money for you to use at themarkets.

The weather for Sept 1-17 was hot and muggy. Average high 80’s to low 90’s very little rain while we were there. We enjoyed the trip very much and it wasworth taking. If anyone has specificquestions I will try to answer them.

Enjoy the ride.

Mike and Lisa Sept 2018

Hello all. Time to recap our trip. Roof of the World

 

Thanks for a great report.

Can you offer any insight about you decided which of the China trips to take?

Tibet May have been the most exceptional part of the trip.

1 hour ago, deec said:

Can you offer any insight about you decided which of the China trips to take?

Deec, to get the ball rolling, when we were choosing for our 2010 cruise, we decided to take the longest one available since we did not know if we would ever get back that way again and because if we had to fly 14 hours each way, we were going to make the most of it. We did not choose Tibet because one of our group had had problems with altitude in the past--and we were in the Canadian Rockies at the time.

On 9/20/2018 at 9:46 AM, Mike1733 said:

Hello all. Time to recap our trip. Roof of the World

...snip..

Overall the Emerald is a nice ship. You cannot compare it with a Viking Long ship as it is not up to theirstandards. It is old andmaintained. The floors are a littlewarped but still nice.

 

Thank you. So glad that you enjoyed your adventure and thank you for returning here to share all that you learned--and especially the comments about the Tibet portion.

As for the Emerald, it is Chinese owned and operated. Viking leases it and runs the hotel operation. Unfortunately, Viking is not permitted to own its own ship(s) in China and must make due with what is available. Otherwise, I am sure that we would have long since seen a Longship or two plying the waters of the Yangtze.

I read on a post somewhere that the Emerald was to be refurbished soon.  Since this trip will be 2020 (doing France in 2019) perhaps there will be a new boat or redone one that is not musty with poor air-conditioning...which would be a problem for my allergy prone husband coupled with poor air quality.  The newer European Riverboats and Viking Ocean Ships sure spoil us don't they?

I am thinking we may choose the one with Tibet (were did ok in Peru). but at first glance it may not see the the Pandas.  those of you who have seen the pandas were they worth it?  or do I see as much at the ZOO?

15 minutes ago, deec said:

I am thinking we may choose the one with Tibet (were did ok in Peru). but at first glance it may not see the the Pandas.  those of you who have seen the pandas were they worth it?  or do I see as much at the ZOO?

We saw the Pandas at the zoo in Congqing. In USA zoos when we have seen Pandas they were just sleeping. In this visit, our Viking guide "bribed" the attendant to wake one up and feed him. Well worth the visit.

43 minutes ago, caribill said:

 

We saw the Pandas at the zoo in Congqing. In USA zoos when we have seen Pandas they were just sleeping. In this visit, our Viking guide "bribed" the attendant to wake one up and feed him. Well worth the visit.

 

We definitely need a few more reaction buttons and the ability to choose more than one!! Like. Ditto. Agreed.

I agree with caribill.We saw them at the Zoo in Chongqing, but not all of the buses go to the zoo. I depends on which direction you are traveling and what time your flights are. IMHO, why give up the visit to Tibet for a half day visit to the panda reserve or a half hours visit with them at the zoo? But that is just my thought and you need more input from people who have actually done the panda reserve with Viking (it wasn't an option in 2010, when I went).

For those who have been and for those who are planning to, the Peabody-Essex Museum in Salem, MA should be on your list of places to see art and artifacts from China. The museum was founded to house the " diverse collection of objects from the northwest coast of America, Asia, Africa, Oceania, India and elsewhere"  that members of the East India Merchants Society brought back from their world-wide trading expeditions. Chinese porcelain, among others, is abundance as well as the Yin Yu Tang house, which is open for touring.

Until February 10, 2019, you can see the impressive "The Empresses of China's Forbidden City" exhibition which is currently on display and featuring not only pieces from the PEM's collection but also stunning and beautifully preserved pieces from the Forbidden City's Palace Museum. DH and I finally managed to get there yesterday and now I am working on a return visit.

Definitely worth the effort to plan a visit.