May 2013

Below are some of the common questions I wanted to know when I was applying for my tourist visa to China. Hope they help.

1) This is the official site. Use it to print off all the forms.
2) You need to send ONE photo measured at 48mm high X 33mm wide. I couldn't find anywhere that did this specific size so I got a standard passport photo and trimmed it. 
3) Doing it by post is expensive. If you take the passport to the visa office it costs £36, by post it costs £54. You also need to send it Royal Mail special delivery and provide a pre-paid envelope which also needs to be special delivery. This is an additional £13. 
4) According to the official website, you have to book your flights and hotels before applying for the visa. I tried searching online to see how strict they are about this, but couldn't see much information and therefore I booked these before applying. 
5) You need to apply about a month before you go. It says on their website that applying by post takes between 7-10 working days for the visa process to be completed. I sent mine on a Thursday and it came back to me the following Friday. 
7) I sent mine to the Manchester office and the address is -  

Visa Application Service Centre
First floor, 
75 Mosley Street
Manchester M2 3HR


Other tips... 

Emirates seemed to the best airline both in terms of price and total journey time. Emriates flies from Birmingham daily which is great if you don't live in London. 

For information on the bullet train and how to book tickets, this guy is a hero and gives you all the information you need for both trains in China and everywhere else in the world - http://www.seat61.com/China.htm#.UaXiV5ywfsc

I sent out a random tweet about local food and the Hilton replied back with the following. Thanks, guys.

Still thinking of going to China and need that nudge? Check out these videos...


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How to get a Chinese Visa - and other things.

Posted on

Wednesday 29 May 2013

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Budapest. The facts:-
1 - It's a 2.5 hour flight from London Stansted. We went with RyanAir. 
2 - A taxi from the airport for 4 people cost us 8000 HUF
3 - We stayed here, which was a great location
4 - We went between March 28th & April 1st and it was cold - pack layers!!
5 - As mentioned in the previous most, Onyx is well worth a visit 
6 - The Terror Museum, Castle Hill and Ludwig museum are all great
7 - Tram numbers 4 and 6 run through the centre of the city all day and night
8 - Do make sure you go to Instant and Corvinteto, both are fantastic nights out and you wont leave before 5am. 
9 - We went to Szechenyi Baths, and although they were really clean and everything you would expect, because they're the biggest in Budapest, it's extremely  busy. I'd suggest going somewhere smaller.
10 - Note: there is a 24 hour McDonalds by Oktogon metro stop which is heaven after a late night at Instant.
11 - And PLEASE go to the ruin pubs! Click here for a list
    12. A great source for information is http://visitbudapest.travel/


Budapest

Posted on

Wednesday 1 May 2013

Category