Goungzhou

[beerlaodrinker]

Any members been there?
im planning to go in april, never been anywhere in china before but as Lao airlines have a pretty good deal on at the moment from vientiane, and i want to get the fuk outa town during Pi mai i thought i might take the wife, The kids can stay home with there granny, Anything on the must see or do list? good hotel recommendations? Nightlife? Shopping? etc

Thanks in advance

Oh, and is the beer drinkable?

[cheekyman]

Was there in 2005 for canton fair - hotels treble their price during this period - bars were few expensive and crap - virtually no one spoke english including taxi drivers - after 3 days suffering the place I took a train to HK -

[beerlaodrinker]

^Damn, you dont paint a pretty picture, but thanks for telling it like it is. How longs it take to go by train to hongkong> Im guessing if we went to hongkong then i would need a re entry visa to fly back to Laos from Guanzhou, might be an alternative if its shite, What time of year is the canton fair, i know the fokkers have just finished chinese new year so i didnt want to go anywhere near china with that going on , would canton fair be the same scenario, ?

[cheekyman]

The canton fair lasts for approx 3 weeks it is a trade fair only - starting around 15th April - do not even consider going during this period - everything is priced for business travellers as I said 3 times normal prices. The fair has nothing to offer unless you are a major importer wishing to buy container loads of whatever you are sourcing - ie not for tourists.

The bars offered me a choice of local beer - I forget the name of the brew - or a bottle of Chivas Regal - I opted for the beer and had to buy 6 which were promptly put on my table warm!!!

Train to HK was about 4 hours as I remember it stopped f...ing everywhere.

When you board the train to HK you go through a customs set - up and have now left China - you need a re-entry visa to get back in - get a multiple entry visa when you apply if HK is an option.

The language barrier was so bad I hired an english speaking student to get us around - She was good but spoke english from text books 400 years old, when I asked her if there was any action or good bars she replied - "am I to presume you are looking for the harlots"

[Necron99]

^ ahh, the old warm six pack experience.

Go to shanghai BLD.

[sabang]

Frankly, it's a dump. Shamian Island has (or had) some nice old colonial architecture. That's about it really. People flock to Guangzhou to make money, not merit. I suppose you should do the obligatory Pearl River cruise too (I hope they don't just tip the garbage over the side any more).

Down towards the border, Shek Ou is actually quite pleasant- it's got a small gweilo scene, a couple of theme parks (Windows on the World is a decent day out), and you can easily hop on the ferry to Hong Kong, which after a few days in southern China is a very tempting proposition. Don't confuse Shek Ou with nearby Shenzhen though- that makes Guangzhou look good.

[beerlaodrinker]

Thanks cheeky man and necron, I googled that canton fair and as it happens its occuring on the date that i wanted to go. Also this morning when i tried to book the tickets online they had gone from $390 each to $1288 for 2 of us, ive been trying to call MRS BLD to give lao airlines a bell and see if the promo is still on and get her to buy the tickets direct from the office which is usually cheaper . thank fuck she isnt answering, That trade fair sounds like a royal fucking pain in the arse, i am so glad i posted this question this morning , I will be giving guanzhou a big miss, The attraction was the promo fare and its a short flight to guangzhou,
Looks like Plan B now, KUNMING, even shorter flight and i have 2 options of airline china southern who fly everyday or Lao airlines 3 times a week. any info on kunming would also be great.Bit to much fucking about to get to shanghai from here only got 9 days of work
Oh and did your guide presume correctly you were looking for the harlots ? How would you rate those harlots?

China's No.1 Fair
Your First Stop for Business

Why Exhibit at Canton Fair
Why Visit Canton Fair
Exhibit Category
Layout

China boasts boundless opportunities as usual. The 113th session of China Import and Export Fair from April 15 to May 5, 2013, will be the best platform for you to grow your business.

[sabang]

That trade fair sounds like a royal fucking pain in the arse

You have no idea. Suffice to say, even within China the Cantonese carry a reputation for being mercenary. Unless for business, the very worse time to go there imo.

[beerlaodrinker]

Thanks also sabang,

[cheekyman]

Oh and did your guide presume correctly you were looking for the harlots ? How would you rate those harlots?

As the bars were crap the "harlots" had to be hunted down - I was shown two - The first had a face like Susan Boyle licking piss off a nettle. The second won the award for proving that entire ugliness can be absolute.

Both were quoting in excess of U$100 - after making my excuses I made a dash back to the hotel for a quick tryst with the 5 fingered widow. (this was after the translator rejected me)

[sabang]

Get thee to Shek Ou....

[beerlaodrinker]

where be shek ou?

[beerlaodrinker]

Google is my freind, i will answer my own question



Would this be it?

[pseudolus]

^ Oil mans village east of Shenzhen - completely boring and fuck all to do. Besides, if you are going to trek down there from GZ you might as well go to Hong Kong.

[sabang]

On the same bank of the Pearl River as HK, across the bay. shek ou means dragons mouth. It's about a 40 minute ferry ride to HK, which is a major attribute in China. Reckon I'd be headed there or Macau, if I landed in Guangzhou- you can 'do' the city in a daytrip, and there is better shopping in Shenzhen, if the wifes a shopaholic- it was a regular destination for hordes of HK's rapacious womenfolk.

^ I had me some good nights out in Shek Ou actually. One time I was there with the ex-wife, staying at this kind of half decent hotel on the waterfront near the pier. Came back from a nice but fiery szechuan meal, and the doormen wanted to charge me for bringing back a prostitute, and spoke to mrs sab (early chinese model) much as doormen speak to prostitutes in China. Hell hath no fury....

[baldrick]

Tsingtao beer

or small snow beer if you can find it



as just to broaden your horizons - you need to sample the worst motocycle fuel on the planet - chinese sorghum alcohol from Guiyang - Maotai



bring some back so you can disgust your mates - this stuff will repeat on you for about 2 days every time you burp

but you have to give it a go just to know for sure

the chinese will just whack it back amid cries of Gumbei and get shattered

[sabang]

Maotai

bottled essence of disgust.

[jizzybloke]

Never been but had a bird that was from there, 5'10" stunning and absolute filth she was..

[beerlaodrinker]

bring some back so you can disgust your mates

My mates are already disgusting, but that small snow beer sounds like the go, I just wanted somewhere close to Lao, spoke to her indoors earlier and i reckon we might as well just go to Kunming, easy flight and never been there either, got 9 days off work that roster, but really only want to be gone 4 or 5 days because the MIL is looking after the nippers, Thanks for all the top info all you blokes if i was doing a longer trip i wouldnt mind going through that way and on to hong kong and perhaps the philippines, That would be a different way of getting to the philippines,

[beerlaodrinker]

Never been but had a bird that was from there, 5'10" stunning and absolute filth she was..

Pictures and a phone number please

[pseudolus]

Yadda yadda yadda

[beerlaodrinker]

Hmm
maybe, this shek ou place is worth a gander , I dont know how im going to break it to mrs BLD that she,s not coming anymore

[Norton]

I dont know how im going to break it to mrs BLD that she,s not coming anymore

Lie....
If that doesn't work take her to Xi'an. I enjoyed it. Terracotta warriors are worth a see.

[beerlaodrinker]

They would definately be worth a look, i will have to do a bit of research to see how easy it is to get there from kunming, looks like plenty of domestic transport options

[S Landreth]

I did a nice thread years ago (not here) and although Goungzhou was on our itinerary I never posted anything about it. Skip it.

Like others have mentioned Xi’an, Shanghai or Hong Kong. You shouldn’t miss these cities.