Buzz
There are countless ways to visit Guangzhou, whether you're on a business trip or just for leisure, the cost for a 3-day 2-night trip is only around $250.
Explore Guangzhou – a shopping paradise for just $250!
Nguyen Thu is a young woman living in Hanoi but studying abroad in Guangzhou. She has a passion for travel and shopping, so Thu travels back and forth between Hanoi and Guangzhou to pursue her studies and indulge in her passions, as well as importing goods for a small business.
Here's Thu's sharing about traveling to Guangzhou, suitable for both business travelers and tourists. The cost is around $250 or slightly more due to incidental expenses such as transportation, accommodation for 3 days 2 nights (if traveling by train) or 4 days 3 nights (if traveling by car), and dining at street food stalls. Additional expenses depend on individual shopping needs.
Preparation
Passport, visa, Chinese yuan, train or bus tickets should be booked in advance for better planning, to avoid the risk of running out of tickets or missing the trip.
– Visa: Processing is now very fast. You can use a service (around $65) or if you want to save money, go directly to the Chinese embassy in Vietnam, and it will be issued within 4 days.
– Currency: It's advisable to exchange currency in Hanoi (Hanoi Trung Street), it's not recommended to exchange money at the border (around 3,500 VND/yuan).
Transportation
Among the various means of transportation such as planes, cars, or high-speed trains, based on Nguyen Thu's experience traveling frequently between Hanoi and Guangzhou, she finds that traveling by road is the most convenient.
* High-speed train (morning departure, evening arrival)
Day 1: Departure from Hanoi at 5 AM, arrival at the border gate around 9 AM. Bus ticket: 130,000 VND, breakfast with chicken noodle soup in Lang Son: 35,000 VND.
– Check-in procedures at the border gate.
– Catch a bus to Nanning, where you'll meet many Vietnamese people. Sharing a ride will be the cheapest option, with luxury bus tickets costing around 100 yuan per person.
– Arrive at the Nanning bus station around 1 PM or slightly later depending on the driver.
– It's advisable to buy train tickets around 3-4 PM to have extra time buffer and avoid being late due to unexpected situations. Train tickets cost around 330 yuan for a round trip.
– Reach Guangzhou around 7-8 PM, check-in at the hotel, dine out, explore, and shop.
– Accommodation: There are two hotels where you'll meet Vietnamese people and get relatively good prices: Duc Chinh (owned by a Vietnamese) and Gia Vien (green color) near warehouse 7. Hotel prices are around 180-200 yuan/night.
* Bus (ticket price around 540 yuan round trip)
Day 1: Pick-up at Hanoi from 9-10 AM. Check-in at the border gate from 1-2 PM.
– Take a taxi to Bang Tuong bus station (30 yuan). Wait until 5:30 PM to board the bus, sleep until 7 AM the next morning when you arrive at Viet Tu Nam bus station. This bus station is only 100-200 meters away from Duc Chinh and Gia Vien hotels.
Day 2: Morning market visit, afternoon market visit, evening leisure activities, shopping, photography, dining...
Day 3: Same as day 2
Day 4: Check out at noon, leave luggage at the hotel lobby, then take a taxi and do some last-minute shopping before departure. Just make sure to be at the bus station by 7 PM (if traveling by car) or at the train station by 5 PM (if traveling by high-speed train). The next day, check-in at the border gate and board the vehicle back to Hanoi.
Some tips when traveling
– You can totally skip hiring a translator, self-traveling will save you 250 yuan/day for translation services.
– Without a translator, you can go in any direction you like without worrying about influencing anyone. Negotiating prices or making requests won't affect your dignity. Most translators are not meticulous when negotiating prices, unlike buyers.
– Just point and nod, ask for prices with simple English phrases because most locals here don't speak super English, but they can understand your gestures and guess what you want. Especially, you don't have to worry about being ripped off for looking clueless. Sellers quote prices, you consider whether to buy or not, and no one will scold or force you to buy.
– When you need to shop at large malls, brand stores, or dine out, you need a local guide. Or write down the places you want to go on paper before handing it to the driver and go. If you don't know Chinese, you can ask people at the hotel to write down the destinations you want to go on paper.
– In Guangzhou, there are specific markets for each type of product, so you should spend the first day exploring and selecting. Then, go to each place to get the items you need. Sometimes, there are places with beautiful yet affordable items, while some may be pricey but not of good quality.
– Products in Guangzhou vary according to the season, and the climate greatly affects the aesthetics and goods sold in each shop. It's best to go during the summer as the items will suit Vietnam's climate better.
– You don't need to carry cash when buying and selling because in China, they also have cash to exchange when needed. Especially when doing business, carry plenty of cash to avoid being short-handed.
– The markets in Guangzhou are essentially large centers with robust security forces, so you don't need to worry about theft. Just be cautious with your handbag and not get lost.
– Shopping wholesale at the 13th market in Guangzhou offers the cheapest fashion clothes compared to all other places in China. You should explore more to find unique items at good prices. However, this market closes at noon. At that time, you can go to the stalls opposite the market center to buy at very reasonable prices. Additionally, you can visit Zhanxi, Huimei, Baima, etc. in the evening, and Tianhecheng, Beijing Road for dining and shopping.
– It's advisable to buy or rent a small luggage cart at the hotel for transportation. Because most of the time, you'll carry back loads of items, which can be too heavy to carry alone. It's better to go with two people, one to watch the items while the other selects, to speed up the process and reduce transportation costs. Or if you're alone, select and gather the items, then go to the main gate to hire a vendor to gather the items for you (around 50 yuan, negotiate if they ask for more, they'll agree after a while).
– Alternatively, you can ask each shop owner to bring the goods to your waiting location (saving a few tens of yuan on hiring a vendor, but it requires you to be fluent and precise in language, otherwise it's time-consuming, searching back and forth, and inspecting goods for a long time).
– Remember, no matter how busy you are, always unpack and check each item. Clothes are often mixed with different sizes, wrong tags, old items with missing buttons, torn or repaired items... sometimes they even make mistakes on your invoice. Absolutely pay only after you have received the complete order. Because you cannot return or exchange goods with them.
– Food in China is generally easy to eat, only the prices vary greatly. Avoid eating at large restaurants as they are very expensive.
– Don't buy SIM cards at the border because they are expensive and have limited call time, mostly promotional SIMs (like Viettel). Just buy a SIM card near the hotel and top it up, it's the best option. Or use voice chat to save costs.
– If you want to stay longer for your business trips, it's better to buy a map and take the bus, which is ten times cheaper than a taxi, costing only 1.2 yuan per trip, or take the subway. But it will be very difficult for first-time or second-time visitors.
– Shipping warehouse: There are many shipping warehouses here for you to choose from, right next to the two hotels mentioned above. It costs 60 yuan for packing and 22,000 VND/kg to Hanoi, other provinces will be more expensive. It costs 100,000 VND for a motorbike taxi to deliver to your home or store. Make sure to clearly write down the recipient's name, phone number in Vietnam.
Attention
From Ngoisao.net
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Reference: Travel Guide from Mytour
MytourNovember 24, 2015
