T-59.days.

I bought my ticket to china! After watching the fares like a hawk over the past few months, i finally bit the bullet and will be leaving at 6am on monday may eleventh, coming back on thursday july 2nd. I figured getting up at an ungodly hour (maybe 3ish?) to fly there would be a good way to start the 20 hour trip. If i'm exhausted to begin with, there's more of a chance i'll sleep on the long flight which would make the 12 hour time difference easier to adjust to. Plus, the trip to the airport will be zippy.

I talked to the b's, and mentioned that my plan is to travel around a bit while i'm there. A. suggested sticking with mainland china because i wouldn't have to pay airfare traveling from place to place (which is where most of the money would be spent). I haven't done any research on this yet, but welcome suggestions. Just remember that i have no income, so will be sticking to more economical places- off the beaten track perhaps. 

My next item to deal with is getting a visa. While i don't need one for hong kong, i will for mainland china. Since i'll be there for almost two months, i'll likely go back and forth a bit, so would ideally get a multiple entry visa valid for six months (as opposed to a single or double entry). I hear there may be some restrictions on this, though it looks pretty straightforward on the chinese embassy's website. The main thorn is that it appears i have to either go to nyc in person to apply, convince someone else to do it for me, or pay an agency/travel agent to take care of it. And, they're only open from 9:30am-12:30pm M-F. Boo. Since funds are tight to begin with (and i want to save what i have for my trip), i may try to take the fancy $10 bus down there the day before good friday, get my visa that morning (since it appears to be open), and head back that afternoon. If anyone knows a better way to take care of this, let me know!

So that's it! Can't wait to be there and see my girls!