2006 Schedule
We have just posted our planned trip dates for 2006. You can access the schedule for all trips at this page or by going to the individual trip detail pages themselves--the Magic of Beijing, the Silk Road Adventure, the Many Faces of China, and the Southern Explorer.

 Some changes
In between the trips this summer, we embarked on another mission. We completed revamped the web site. We trimmed here, cut there, and generally tried to make the pages load faster and make it easier to navigate. Grimble work indeed, but long overdue. More importantly, we completely changed the.... read more

 Less Money!
We have also made some significant changes as to how the money flows. The biggest news is our revised payment terms. They're simpler and allow you to hang on to your money a little longer. The trip deposit....read more

 5-Star Upgrade
Many of our clients have opted to upgrade hotels on our trips. So we have taken the bull by the horns and now offer a 5-star upgrade option on all our trips. This options upgrades into international 5-star hotels such as Sheratons, Hiltons, Hyatts, Shangri-La's, and Marriotts, You can find more information by visiting our revised Trip Elements and About China pages. Pricing can be found on the appropriate trip page.

 Bank cards in China
It's always one of the first questions asked. Will my debit card or credit card work in China? Well, the quick answer is...maybe. Continue....

 Chinese anyone?
One of the things we want to do in this newsletter is share some of the "recipes" visitors to Chinese ask for. We believe you have to start with the basics, so our first recipe is for....rice. Yeah, rice. It's a staple so you don't want to mess it up. And if you are like we were before we lived here, it wasn't that much of a "no-brainer." But here is a method of cooking rice that would put Uncle Ben to shame.....

Well, that's probably enough for our initial foray into the newsletter scene. If you are interested in reading more about any of the topics, simply click the link and it will take you to that section of this newsletter. If you want to read the entire contents, just keep scrolling down. Some of the topics we plan to cover in future issues include an update on the 2008 Beijing Olympics, what to pack for a visit to China, an in-depth look at Xi'An, the truth about the Great Wall, and of course more cooking hints.

See you in China!

Some changes
In between the trips this summer, we embarked on another mission. We completed revamped the web site. We trimmed here, cut there, and generally tried to make the pages load faster and make it easier to navigate. Grimble work . More importantly, we completely changed the About China page to present a better idea of what traveling in this country is really like, including the annoyances. The Trip Details page was changed to better give you an idea of our traveling style. The Why pages (here, here, and here) were changed to offer a more accurate argument for spending your time and money with us. And of course, the Recommendations page is always being revised as we continue to add selections.

Less money
We have also made some significant changes as to how the money flows. The biggest news is our revised payment terms. They're simpler and allow you to hang on to your money a little longer. The trip deposit has been reduced from $400 a person to $300 a person. And more importantly, you can pay for half of your trip upon your arrival in China! The balance of the trip payment can be made on the mainland. You can see all the details at our Terms and Conditions page.

Bank cards in China
It's always one of the first questions asked. Will my debit card or credit card work in China? Well, the quick answer is...maybe.
In the last six or seven years, using ATM cards has turned into the smartest way to handle money traveling internationally. You avoid carrying a bundle of cash in a money belt or "hidden" in your luggage. And if the card is lost or stolen, a simple phone call shuts it down and prevents you from further financial loss. It also offers you an excellent rate of exchange, often times only a few points off the official rate. Travelers checks are okay but truthfully we've always found them a hassle, especially in China.

The costs involved in using a bank card will depend on the issuing institution and whether the card is a debit card or a conventional credit card. You would do well to contact your card issuer and find out exactly what their international fees are. These fees can change often. Without a doubt, the debit card will incur less cost, usually a small charged by the issuer and one by the dispenser. Credit cards are all over the board with international fees, exchange fees, non-member bank fees, foreign-ATM withdrawal fees, conversion fees, using-it-on-a-Friday fee, etc. Expect something in the neighborhood of 2-4 % of the transaction amount. ATM withdrawals are treated as cash advances and interest usually starts accruing from day 1. Individually, these fees are small, but it can add up to several dinners at a nice restaurant.

The availability of ATMs on the mainland is exploding. Unfortunately, there are only three major Chinese banks that will accept foreign bank cards; Bank of China (BOC), Industrial and Commercial Bank, and China Merchant Bank .The first two banks maintain branches in all major cities. Other foreign banks, like Citibank and HSBC, will accept foreign cards but they have a very small footprint at the present. Expect that to change in 2006, as China opens the retail banking industry under their WTO accession agreement.

For most travelers visiting China for two or three weeks, BOC would be the bank of choice. They offer the most branches, the machines (or most of them) are bilingual, and if there's a problem, usually someone inside will speak some English. But even BOC isn't everywhere. The small town (pop. 30,000) of Pingyao, which we visit on two of our trips, does not have any bank that will accept a foreign card. More than one traveler (not a RMT traveler!) has had to travel forty miles to the nearest BOC branch.

To know if your bank card will work at any particular ATM (assuming you didn't call before you left) is easy. Look at the back of the card. Most will show several logos, such as Visa, Visa Plus, Cirrus, Star, NYCE, Citi, etc. Next, look at the corresponding logos on the ATM. If there is at least one match, bingo, you've got cash.

The ATMs on the mainland have a tendency to be anything but trouble-free. They are occassionally broken, out of cash, or just plain not working. The daily withdrawal amount is officially 2500 Yuan at the BOC, but this seems to vary by branch and by cloud formation, sometime dropping to 1500.

Here are several tips for using bank cards in China and keeping the costs as low as possible:

• Write your PIN down and don't forget where you hide it. Avoid six-digit PINs if possible. Avoid PINs that begin with a zero.
• Call the financial institution and let them know you will be traveling overseas. Most have an early warning system that stops activity on the card if unusual charges start appearing.
• Carry two cards, one for a back up in emergencies.
• Take the cash from the machine quickly. Most machines are programmed to withdraw the notes if not taken within one minute or so. You will then have to wait until the machine's account has been reconciled (read: the next day) before you will get your cash.
• Check the receipt (and always respond yes to such request) carefully. If in doubt, go inside the branch and ask.
• For conventional credit cards, set up a credit balance before you go to avoid interest charges accruing before you can return home and pay the balance. (Note: some banks will not allow this.)
• Write the information from the credit card on a piece of paper and place it in your luggage. But do not write your PIN! Or send yourself an email with the same information.
• Carry your bank card with your cash and you passport in a money belt or in another hidden location. Never in a wallet!
• If the ATM is down, you can always go inside the bank and complete the transaction manually.

The beauty to this method of cooking rice is there is no measuring involved and no fancy rice cooker that never works right. Both ingredients, water and rice, are in proportion to each other. The only cooking tools are a bowl and a pot. The only thing to know is how many people to you want to feed. Let's get started..

1. Fill the bowls to just about half the bowl, not half by volume, but half the height of the bowl. The bowl on the left in the picture will feed 2-3 people, on the right, 3-5 people. If you have a group of 6 or more fill the bowl up a tad more or use a bigger bowl.

2. Fill the bowl with water and let it soak for about 10-15 minutes. Precision timing is not important. It's almost impossible to let it soak too long. Use the time to prepare the vegetables (forthcoming recipes!).

3. Gently knead the rice under a slow-running faucet until that starchy coating is gone and the water "runs" clean. This will prevent the rice from globbing and being sticky. Yuk.

4. Fill the bowl with clean water to just about one finger's width above the rice. You don't have to be exact. Fill a boiling pot with about one inch of water. Again, you don't have to be precise. The important thing is not to let the water in the pot boil dry. Better too much than too little.

5. Place the bowl of rice in the pot. Once the water in the pot is boiling, bring the heat down. You have created a steamer! Perfect for steamed rice.

6. Let cook for at least 30 minutes. Avoid lifting the lid! Use a pot with a glass lid or be very quick if you have to lift the lid to check on the water level.

7. You can turn off the fire and let the rice just sit there until ready for serving. Good job!

A couple of notes. We prefer using what is called jasmine rice (over here it's called fragrant rice) from Thailand. If you want to experiment, throw in some slivers of bell peppers, corn kernels, carrots, or mushrooms (just a few) to give the rice a bit of a taste. To prepare any leftover rice, just add a bit of water to the bowl and reheat using the same method.