Going to Guangzhou in August - Very Nervous and excited

[UK Mark]

Hi All , Just joined the site tonight and think its great , i've got a lot of info from chlove and im taking the plunge and going to visit my girl !

The nearest airport to my girl in pingxiang is Nanning but as you can't seem to get a direct flight there from the Uk im flying into Guangzhou , there seems to be a lot of flights between there and Nanning so im confident i've made a good choice :s heheh

Chatted to a few women in the past but clicked with Ning straight away , she seems so modest and down to earth , she was surprised i was interested in her as im 39 and she is 35 hehe seems to think it strange that someone ''so young'' wants to know her , i thought that was really sweet , but having read so many comments about chinese culture i do understand what she means.

Been chatting for about 6 weeks via emails which a friend translates for her , although i feel a independant translator would be best when we are together , keeps things a bit more personel for her.

Anyway off i fly from LHR to CAN landing on the 6th August .. Any of you guys been to Guanzhou / Nanning .. anything i have to be really careful about .. any comments will be very appreciated ! And id love to post a commentary on what happens

Thanks to all the moderators and posters on the site!

Best Regarsd UKM   Mark

[Scottish_Rob]

Welcome to the brotherhood mate, hope you have a blast, and findthe lady of your dreams:)

[Martin]

I flew into Guangzhou.  A very easy airport to navigate...had no problems at all clearing customs.  My piece of advice for you...have a blast!

And welcome to the site.

[UK Mark]

Thx for the welcome guys !  .. I intend to have a great time and if all goes to plan will return in the new year to get engaged .. Wah! planning ahead already :S heheh,who knows .. if everything is fantastic i might come back engaged on my first trip , might be better waiting till the second trip that way theres no risk of getting caught up in the moment , im going to go with the flow!, that may sound weird to some guys and make sense to others  but im crossing the world to look for my first and only wife and im sure China is where i will find her , On a serious note , i really have clicked with this girl ! if by some chance it all goes wrong i will still make the most of my visit there and whatever happens im sure i will return soon ... For now its researching hotels , reading advice on here and learning some more of the Language !

[Paul Todd]

Hi Mark,
Good to meet you!  Go with an open heart and an open mind and enjoy yourself. Oh, and read everything you can get your hands on.  All the best to you my friend.

[maxx]

Welcome Mark.Just have a good time open eyes and a open mind go along way in China.

[RobertBfrom aust]

Welcome Mark to this site , with reference to translating when you and Ning are together a lot of our members have found the Besta range of electronic translators very good , they have internal battery recharge , just make sure if you do purchase one that it has a stylus pen as this lets mandarin figures to be drawn and it will convert sentences both ways and even speak to you in either English or Mandarin all to simple and is invaluable .

[Shane]

good luck man .. may you find every happiness and yours and her dreams be fulfilled

[Irishman]

Best of luck Mark. GZ airport will be fine, I had no problems at all navigating it last time I was there.
Are you just changing flights there or will you be staying in the city for a while? The airport is a fair distance outside the city so if you have a long layover bring a book as there isn't much to do in the airport.

[UK Mark]

wow ! what a great welcome , thanks guys ! Will take your advice on board and will let you all know how it goes ..

Ref getting a translator (besta) is it better to get one in China (by better i mean cheaper to be honest) or am i better off buying one in the UK?

[Arnold]

Have yourself a great Trip . It will be an Life changing experience for you . I myself might be in Guangzhou in August too , for my Wife's interview . I might need your help ... killing the interviewer if he say's NO . Hehe

Please keep us posted as your Adventure unfolds , if time permit's of course .
Good Luck , wish you and Ning the best .

[RobertBfrom aust]

Mark , good question on the Besta , a lot of electronic gear is not cheap in China , but they do run on 220/240 volt system , I bought mine in China and I think I paid about 30 percent to much as against on Ebay or Powerdictionary.com who are a world wide discount store , the Besta can be plugged into computer also as a translator and can be set up for lessons but as I purchased mine in China the instructions are all in Mandarin  haha , but my lady was able to use it in an instant and only took me 10 minutes to work out .just remember to keep on power wherever possible as you will find it invaluable , but does not work to well on flat battery regards Robert .

[JimB]

The Besta is great.  But I also carried a pocket Dictionary.  We ran the battery down so we used it. Not a bad idea to have a backup.  I also bought ours in China.  I dont remember exactly how much or which model but it cost about 1900 yuan in an upscale department store in Beijing. It is easy to use and no matter which one you get make sure it has OCR. (optical character recognition)  Which means it recognizes handwriting as Robert Said.  She uses it on QQ also when she needs a word or meaning.  and welcome to the brothas.  Ashas been said.  Read everything on here and most of your questions will be answered, but ask and you shall receive.

[UK Mark]

Sounds like a Besta is a must have item ! .. The Besta CD218 seems good value at about £150 delivered from www.powerdictionary.com

[Martin]

Like Ronan said, the airport is a fair way out of the city.  So you know, if you plan to take a taxi downtown, it will cost around 100 RMB, and probly take a minimum of an hour during the day.