Writing about travel in China

I write articles about travel in China for Suite101.com. Here's a few of my latest articles which will be helpful if you're headed to the Middle Kingdom:

• Learn Chinese online is a review of some of the sites where you can learn how to speak Mandarin online and, best of all, for free.
• If you get sick in Beijing, where do you go? Here's a list of some of the clinics which treat foreigners with Western medical techniques.
• A quick primer on Chinese vegetables.
• Chinese papercuts make great inexpensive souvenirs, and they're practically weightless in your luggage!
• Trains in China provide an efficient way to move around this huge country.
• The Wangfujing night food market, pictured here, is one of my favorite places to eat in Beijing. It was one of the first China travel articles I wrote for Suite101.

I'm not the only one who writes about China travel for Suite101. Here are some others:

• Solange Hando is the feature writer for Southeast Asia and China. She gave a very positive review to my Parents Guide to Beijing, on sale at GuideGecko. Order your copy soon if you'll be giving it as a Christmas present. And don't forget to order a copy of DIY Beijing while you're at it.
• Mistie Shaw is an American who now lives in Luoyang in central China where she teaches English as a second language.
• Bridget Coila is another American who now lives in Beijing. Some of her articles offer tips on nightlife and the arts.

If you're planning a trip to China, check out my website for more articles, tips and recommended reading. If you have questions about China, please feel free to email me.

DIY Beijing

An update of my very first Beijing guide was published today: DIY Beijing: A guide for the independent traveler.

My pride-and-joy guide was initially published as 17 really neat things to see and do in Beijing and other good stuff I learned the hard way in 1996. It grew out of an article I was writing for a newspaper travel section. The newspaper wanted 750 words on things to see and do in Beijing. 750 words! Impossible! I kept on writing when I hit 750 words. When I got done, I counted up my favorite things to do in Beijing, and there were 17. So that's what I named my guide.

Two years later, I expanded it by 20 pages and renamed it Do-it-yourself Beijing. It was only available for sale on my website, and I didn't accept credit cards, payment in advance only. It was self-published in the truest sense of the term: I did it all myself at Office Depot., and mailed it to my customers. I sold about 500 books over a two-year period.

DIY Beijing is positively upscale compared to those early efforts. It's available as both an ebook and print from http://www.guidegecko.com/. (They accept credit cards, too!) GuideGecko is a relatively new travel book company; DIY Beijing is the third guide I've published with them. The others are Parents Guide to Beijing and Cuandixia: an ancient mountain village in China. Cuandixia is only available as an ebook, but Parents Guide is both an e- and print book.

All three guides are geared for the independent traveler, but it's also good for travelers on organized tours who want to break away for a few hours. Parents and DIY Beijing takes them to the off-the-beaten path places that I love so much. The major attractions aren't neglected, however, especially if they're sites I like to visit again and again. And like 17 really neat things, DIY Beijing is still filled with tips I learned the hard way during the years I lived in Beijing.

Just click on the links above to find the books on GuideGecko. GuideGecko will feature both Parents and DIY at the Frankfurt Book Fair next month. This is exciting news for me!

If you're planning a trip to China, check out my website. If you have questions about travel in China, please email me.

Shameless self-promotion!

I need more votes!

GuideGecko.com is having a travel writing contest for books self-published through their site. The winner gets a trip to the Frankfurt, Germany, Book Fair in October. The book fair is the world's largest, annually attracting some 300,000 visitors and more than 7,000 publishers.

Books about a different country are featured each year. This year China is the honored country. GuideGecko will be promoting by Parents Guide to Beijing there. Hopefully, with that many people they'll be able to sell a few of my books.

I've entered my book in their travel writing contest, and need votes so I can be at the fair with my book. The winner is determined by popular vote. You can vote for Parents Guide here. Buying the book is not required to vote for it, but you're very welcome to buy it if you want.

I got an email on 9/7 from GuideGecko saying I was third out of 44 guides entered, and only 10 votes out of first place. This is another election where every vote is going to count! You must be registered with them for your vote to count.

Even if I don't win the contest, I'm excited my books will be there. Books? What's this? Well, for the last month or so, I've been working on a major overhaul of my Do-it-yourself Beijing guide which I first published in 1999. I just finished the first draft last week. GuideGecko also wants to promote the updated book at the book fair, so I've got to hustle and finish it quickly. Looks like I'll spend the next couple of weeks chained to my computer.

My eguide, Cuandixia: an ancient mountain village in China, is also on GuideGecko, but, unfortunately it long enough and will be staying home.

Examiner.com interviewed me

Glen Loveland, the Asia headlines specialist for Examiner.com, interviewed me about my travel writing on China. It's a nice article, in Q & A format, and, of course, the answers are stunningly brilliant! You can read it here.

In the "it's a small world" department, Glen is originally from Yakima, Washington, about 75 miles north of Kennewick, where I live. He's lived in Beijing since 2007.

For more information about travel in China, please see my website. If you have any questions about traveling in China, please email me.

P.S. The photo above is of Beihai Park's White Dagoba Temple, a landmark sight in central Beijing.

Saving on travel costs, part 2

Air fares are probably going to account for the biggest chunk of your trip expenses. But there are ways to cut down the cost of a plane ticket.

We try to fly United as much as possible. I'm not that keen on the airline service and I think the meals are pitiful. But back in the days when United was a better airline, we racked up a lot of frequent flyer miles, and decided to keep flying United, rather than splinter the miles off to different airlines. Actually, in Pasco, Washington, we don't have a whole lot of airline choices, anyway. United, which is convenient for Europe, especially now that the airline flys nonstop to London from Denver; Delta, which also is convenient for Europe; and Alaska/Northwest which goes to Seattle and points beyond. Delta and Northwest are in the process of merging, so that will cut down on our options. We frquently find it is cheaper to drive to Portland or Seattle and pay parking than to fly Pasco to Portland or Seattle. If you have that luxury, check out ticket prices from nearby airports.

So I always check the airlines' websites first to get my price bearings. If nothing else, this lets me know the price I have to beat. Sometimes the cost of the ticket is surprisingly reasonable, and I'll book from the website. You can usually earn a few extra frequent flyer miles booking this way.

Most airlines now will provide fares for two or three days on each side of your estimated departure date. If your dates are really flexible, try plugging in the same day of the week for the weeks before and after you want to leave, to see what those prices are. Generally, prices for weekend departures/returns are higher.

I may do this check many times, as fares change frequently. You should also do these checks at different times. I once snagged a pretty good Beijing/Portland fare at 1 p.m. on a Wednesday. This fare was only up about three hours, so if I hadn't decided to do a spur-of-the-moment price check on my lunch hour at work, I wouldn't have found it.

There also are a lot of ticket agencies out there which appear to offer pretty good fares. Some sites, like sidestep.com, just search for the fares and then tell you where to find them. Checking one of these sites is good for comparison purposes. However, be aware that some of the fares quoted on comparison sites don't always include departure taxes and fees, which can add up quickly.

And sometimes booking airfare and accommodations through an online travel agency such as Expedia or Travelocity is the best way to go. I'll write more on that in a future blog.

Update on Parents Guide to Beijing

Solange Hando, feature writer for China travel on Suite101, has favorably reviewed by new eguide, Parents Guide to Beijing. : “This new Parents Guide to Beijing offers sound practical advice and reveals a city full of exciting attractions for all the family.” Read the full review here. The ebook is available for sale on GuideGecko.com.

If you're planning a trip to China, please see my website for information on travel in China.

Parents Guide to Beijing

After much anguish and pain, (almost as if I were giving birth to a real baby), my Parents Guide to Beijing is for sale as an ebook on GuideGecko.com.

Getting to this point wasn't easy. The book practically wrote itself, but then there was the design to do. Everything went well, up until it came time to PDF the book. That's where the real pain began. It is best left unsaid what I went through in this process. But it's done. Finally.

The ebook got its start as a podcast, Beijing for kids, that I did for VisualTravelTours.com. (They specialize in tours which are downloadable to mobile devices while you're on the scene.) It was a really fun tour to write, but I had so much information left over when I finished it, it begged for a book. So I kept on writing, and Parents Guide to Beijing is the result.

The name may be a misnomer, because it's about things that kids of all ages (even those in their 80s!) can do in Beijing, Beijing is such a kid-friendly city that even if you don't know the language, you can still have a good time. The book includes some very common phrases and numbers in Mandarin. I've given phonetic pronunciations and if you or your kids are anywhere in the ballpark with them, the Chinese will compliment you on your speaking skills.

The ebook takes in major sites to see, such as the Great Wall, as well as mentions kid-friendly things to do at them. There are sections on restroom tips and how to eat kao ya, as Peking Duck is called in Beijing.

The picture here is on the book's cover. It's one of many playful statues outside the Gulou ditie (subway station) on Second Ring Road. I really love those whimsical statues!

Parents Guide to Beijing is only available in ebook form now. As soon as I work out some more bugs, it will be available as a print book also.

Please see my website for more information about travel in China, especially Beijing.