Translation fees

[zook144]

Hello, All!  I was going to ask this on an old thread, but it said I may want to start a new one. So here it is.
My question is a simple one.  Is 600 rmb per day too much for a translation fee. I have been to China twice
and each time paid no more than 300.  When I tell my lady this, she says they tell her it is because of their location.
Different area's, different prices I guess. But it aggravates me to think I may be being taken.  I know it is only about $50
difference, but hey, it adds up over days. One part of me says, "hey, don't argue about it. My lady trusts this
translator and it makes her happy." But then there's the other part I mentioned. By the way its the Wuhan Oriental agency.
I have no problem with the agency otherwise. After about 3 letters we were talking on QQ. I only use emf letters now
if something needs more clarification.   And that is not often.  Anyone else used this agency and paid translation fees?
By the way, I am heading over for their New Year in February.

Thanks
Don

[maxx]

Don way to much for a translator.Keep the peace in your ladies heart.Till after you two meet.Then dump the translator after a couple of days..Tell your lady you feel comfortable enough.With your handheld translator.Good luck to you and your lady.

[Neil]

I agreed to 800 RMB per day before I went to meet Nina, but when Nina found out, she flipped and got it down to 400 per day (100 of which was a tip).  That said, it also depends on the quality of said translation.  An excellent translator can have a great effect on your trip. 

I've heard it mentioned that a great resource could be students.  They would work for less money, and would probably place huge value on a letter of recommendation from you at the end.  Quality would be difficult to determine until you've done some interviews or are able to check references. 

I did a quick search and came up with http://www.interpretersky.com/  when I went to meet Alice.  I didn't use their services and the struggle and misunderstandings only helped strengthen our relationship by showing how we both dealt with the language issues.  Hand-held translation can have real benefits for bonding, and can become quite fun. 

[Pineau]

I think that is way too much unless it includes a car and driver.

[joeswuhandream]

  Hi don
i am afraid that is right   i was in Wuhan in Sept 2009 to meet a women through this Wuhan oriental agency and the charges were  RMB  600  per seven hour day  i find expensive but that is what they charge  however they are GOOD AGENCY
since then i have been to china in Feb2010 and Sept 2010 and the agency's i used  charges were rmb 300 per day
with regards  Joe

[zook144]

Thanks Everyone,
This is what I pretty much thought.   Joe, glad to know you have used this agency and they charge everyone this price. I'll probably go along with it for a couple days. Just to keep my lady happy.  But I'm sure I'll have to tell them they charge too much.
Thanks again.
Don

[Jason B]

Don, depending on how good your ladies English is to begin with or her confidence you may find that you will be able to ditch the translator fairly quickly and save yourself some money

[JOHN1964]

Hey Don, I recently spent sometime in Beijing with my lady for the first time, She brought along a young student translator with her and the cost was 300rmb per day, Night or day she was with us when we wanted her, My lady asked her to leave after a few days and we communicated better when together, Minying brought along a pocket translator with her and this was invaluable,
Try to ditch the translator as soon as you can and enjoy the good times and laughs you will both have trying to communicate yourself s.

[Irishman]

A translator i know in Guangzhou charges 400RMB a day, I told her she should charge more but she said 400 RMB is the fair price and that was that!

[zook144]

Thanks again for your advice. When my lady saw I was not happy with the translators price, she said she would find someone local to translate for us. But i could see she was not overly happy about that either. So I told her to go ahead and tell her translator i would pay the 600 RMB's for 2 days.  So now she is major happy again.  I scored BIG points with that one. 
So that part of it is settled.  Now if I could just get the flights i want without a 10-14 hour layover. i would be happy, too. haha
Don

[mustfocus]

Zook, I think you definitely scored points...you gave her a boundary (if she's testing for that) of price and you also took into account her feelings... 

Why would you have a 10-14 hour layover?  That sounds extremely odd in today's world of moving people.

[zook144]

Well, it depends on how much you are willing to pay.   I like flying Delta, but their cheaper flights have a looonng layover in China.  If I want to pay $500 more, well, yes I could probably avoid that.  I just got off the phone to One Travel.  They had a flight with United and Continental total for everything with insurance was 1444.00.  No long layovers.  I was going to book it, gave him all my info, then he tells me he can't confirm the reservation.  Gets his supervisor and comes back and says....we can't offer that flight to you because of airline agreements of some kind . So why the h=ll do they have it advertised on their website?  I guess I will stick to my original flight plan.  US Air to JFK, then Asiana to Seoul then on to Chengdu.  Not proud of the time I have to leave Chengdu, but at least I'll be there. 
Don

[mustfocus]

Ok, not sure if this will help you as I don't know where you're flying out of, but I found this on expedia.ca (although I'm sure you can find it on the .com site) for C$1085 (might as well treat it at par)...

Departing Jan 23rd from JFK @ 15:50 Air China ft. 982
Arriving Jan 24th at PEK @ 18:20
Departing Jan24th from PEK @ 20:00 Air China ft. 4106
Arriving Jan 24th at CTU @ 23:00

Depart Feb 4th from CTU @ 9:00 Air China ft. 4101
Arriving Feb 4th at PEK @ 11:30 Air China ft. 981
Departing Feb 4th from PEK @ 13:00 Air China ft. 981
Arriving Feb 4th at JFK @ 13:30

My problem with this is that it doesn't leave you much leeway if there are any flight delays (I like to have 2-3 full hours between flights myself), but that said, not much waiting time.  If you can sync a feeder flight from your nearest airport...

One other thing is that I don't know anything about One Travel (but am guessing they're a "western" travel agency).  But if you have a chinese travel agency (such as in your local chinatown or chinese mall or wherever the local chinese gather), you stand a better chance of finding a flight better suited to you.


Hope that helps.

[mustfocus]

Also forgot to mention that I'm not a big fan of Air China (their planes didn't have in-seat video systems or anything else...bring a book) for a few reasons, but it looks like it might meet your needs.

[Kiwi303]

Also, don't think you have to go direct by the shortest route to get the best deals. I've been looking into NZ-Chongqing prices, and for direct flights Auckland-Shanghai/Beijing-Chongqing they come to $1800-2200 NZD direct. Flying to Bangkok and then Chengdu and catching the bullet train Chengdu-Chongqing brings that down to $1100-$1200 NZD all up.

Look for "Holiday" destinations close to china where large numbers of your fellow countrymen/women go for sunny beach destinations, and you may find the price will be a LOT cheaper to there, and then switch flights once there to carry onwards to China. you may have to book each separately, but the savings will probably be worth it.