Category: travel

z-visa checklist

These are the things you need to get your Z-visa. In this case, I’m visiting the protectorate, Hong Kong.

  • Passport: – At least 3 spare pages.
  • Experts certificate.
  • Invitation letter: – Obtained from your employer.
  • Medical examination: – Get this IN CHINA. One from anywhere else isn’t worth the paper it’s written on. Don’t let anyone tell you any different.
  • Completed v2011A – Fill in your forms!
  • Completed v2011B

Without all of these, plus your fee, you won’t be getting a work permit, or residents permit.

I usually use the Sunrise agency, and I have this time.

Now in Hong Kong

After 15 hour flight from London Heathrow I’m now back in Hong Kong.

The flight NZ 38 from London Heathrow to Hong Kong

Direct. They’ve put restrictions on the hand luggage for Air NewZealand flights. Which made my hand luggage 12kg or 4kg overweight. I had to move the books and stuff out of my hand-luggage and into checked, which was a slight hold-up, not much problem.Heathrow was mostly dead. Traffic was quite getting down there. Went for a meal in Windsor rather than getting straight off. Went to Browns down by the river, which decided to close as we were going in. Then went for Bella Pizza on the main road. Quick meal with dad, then loaded stuff.

Cracked the screen on my Ipod 3g, just from having it in my pocket. Bit of a bummer. My have to fix that later in Shanghai, I hear it’s pretty easy.

Arrived in Hong Kong. Took the airport shuttle into town. $110 HKD. Then got out at Central Station. Caught the tram from here on down, that was another $2.30, much cheaper and better fun. Even with lots of luggage.

Hostel

Checked in at the hostel $380 hkd. Went out for some food: $45 Hoegarden, $68 San Miguel, $55 Garlic Bread. $168 hkd. Did a bit of shopping at the supermarket; sushi and beer $78 hkd.

Totting that up, in the 12 or so hours I’ve been here, I’ve spent $740hkd, or £62. Not as bad as I thought actually. Maybe I need to go out more.

My visa documents should be arriving soon.

Basic Knowledge Test – china foreign language experts

Just sat this test.

A new thing for teachers wishing to work in the United States of China. This test consists of 40 questions.

Most of the stuff is to do with your teaching theory, classroom approaches, methodology.

Then be prepared for a few questions on Chinese and European culture. These can be googled.

You’ve only got 20 minutes for the test, and the test will self submit once you’ve finished.

Escape from Israel – The truth about Israeli Border Control


Getting in was never going to be easy.
Getting out proved more difficult.

All said and done, I had 2 missed bookings, 2 additional nights and a missed flight directly attributable to Israel’s over-dominant tourist police.

Getting In
Crossing from Taba, Israel.

As I had to yell into the face of the border guard in Taba in order for him to stop kicking at my feet, “I’m a tourist, I’m visiting your country as a tourist. LEAVE ME ALONE”.
You may think I’m joking. I’m not.
I was physically and mentally poked and prodded, detained to 8pm, the time the border was closed, in the knowledge that I would not make it to the crossing in time.
I had a hotel booking in Jordan that night.

I had to sleep on a bench after having walked across Elat with a 14kilo backpack no money and no way of getting any.

Welcome to Israel. Sounds like your ideal destination doesn’t it?

Getting Out
After having waited at the airport for 6 hours the border guards detained me, again for no reason.
After having answered their questions and being searched for 20 minutes, they informed me I would not be allowed to board the plain because I was ‘Intoxicated’.

After sitting in the lounge for six hours, I had drunk a few beers, no more than a few.
So, the Israeli authorities finally let me know, after questioning me, searching my gear and finding nothing, that I was not being allowed on the plane because the “ThomsonFly authorities” had deemed I was too drunk to fly.

Only afterwards when I was escorted away, I met the “ThomsonFly authorities” who was a girl behind a desk.

Ultimately this decision lies with the cabin crew, it is at their discretion who boards the plane or not.
I was made to wait 2 days for another connecting flight.
Again, a ludicrous, un-necessary, illegal and in my view spiteful domination by the Israeli authorities.

Unnecessary, Pointless – Don’t expect an easy time
No explanation was ever given for any of the searches, detentions or delays I suffered at the hands of the Israeli authorities.
Once inside, I found Israel a chilled and generally welcoming bunch of people, but my treatment by the authorities made the difference between a country I would recommend, and one I would avoid.

If you are if in the region with stamps in your passport, I’m going to have to go with the latter; Avoid. Not because I didn’t like it, because the treatment you can expect may not justify your wanting to get in.
Consider your options, if you don’t particularly want to go there, don’t.

Top Hotel Scams

Here’s some top 3 ways hotels will try and save/make money on you:

Laundry

Never do laundry in amounts through the hotel laundry, it will cost you an arm and a leg. The odd shirt or T-shirt, pair of pumps or whatever, save the rest for the launderrette.

Often hotels are reluctant to tell you where the nearest launderrette is or flatly refuse. This is because they make so much money on the people who pay $2 to wash a pair of socks.

Avoid.

 

Mini-bar

One way hotels save money it take the cooling elements OUT of the minibar, turn the fridge elements off, or just leave the lights working to save them that extra cash. You may have noticed this when you grab a nice warm beer or that tepid bottle of water.

It’s not a weird co-incidence, hotels will do this on purpose. All very well, but when you’re paying 5 stars, you expect the fridge to work and the drinks to be cold.

Sad little hotel scam.

 

Internet

This has got to be the biggest scam of the lot.

How much does it cost to connect to the Internet at home, $20-30 a month for unlimited connection?

Unless you’re connecting from Tibuktoo through satellite uplink, you’re getting that identical connection, multiplying that by say 10 guests paying $20 per day, that’s $6,000 per month for that same connection.

Big money for the hotels, rip off for the common consumer.