Here's the official group letter handed out by Rona at the "team meeting" in Israel.
בס"ד
" שהחיינו, וקיימנו והגיענו ..."
Tour to China- May 8 - 22, 2012
We are delighted that you have chosen to travel with us to this fabulous area of the world and we promise you an experience that you will cherish for a lifetime!
We are sending you this letter to acquaint you with information you need in order to enjoy this tour to the fullest.
Your guides are Dr. Rona Michelson and Rabbi Aaron Michelson,
In Israel: mobile: 052-574-0573, home: 08-970-7684
From the US: mobile: 972-52-574-0573, home: 972-8-970-7684
For those traveling from Israel:
On El Al:
You will depart Ben Gurion airport on LY 095 on 07 May at 2255 and arrive in Beijing on 08 May at 1330 local time.
For your return flight, you will depart Beijing on LY096 on 22 May at 2200 and arrive in Tel Aviv on 23 May at 0400 local time.
On Aeroflot:
You will depart Ben Gurion Airport on SU 503 on 07 May at 1505 and arrive in Moscow at 2010.
You will depart Moscow at on SU 204 at 2225 and arrive in Beijing at 0950.
For your return flights, you will depart Beijing on SU 201 on 23 May at 0230 and arrive in Moscow at 0640.
You will depart Moscow at on SU 502 at 1030 and arrive at Ben Gurion at 1345.
For those traveling on their own:
We will have specific information for each of you about transfers as we get closer to the time of arrival.
Passports and visas:
You must have a valid passport with an expiration date at least 6 months later than the end of the tour and return flight. You must also have a valid Chinese visa which our office can help you obtain.
Food on internal flights:
Kosher food is not available on internal Chinese flights. These flights are relatively short and water, juice, and soft drinks are served.
Chinese money:
The Chinese currency is the Yuan (also called RMB). The exchange rate as of March 2012 is:
$1 US = 6.30 Yuan or 1 Yuan = $0.16
1 NIS = 1.69 Yuan or 1 Yuan = NIS 0.59
We suggest you convert currency only at the front desk of our hotel as money conversion at hotels is regulated by the government. We suggest you bring US currency and convert it when you expect to buy things for cash. Chinese will not accept old dollars (before the faces were enlarged) and dollars that have markings on them or are torn. Markets normally accept only Chinese money, but street vendors will accept US dollars as well. It is advisable, then, to bring both large currency (50 or 100 dollar bills) for exchanging at the hotel and small currency (1, 5, and 10 dollar bills) for street vendors. Government stores will accept dollars or international credit cards. ATMs may be available in some places.
Hotel Information:
You will be receiving a list of all of our hotels with their telephone and fax numbers as soon as our office receives final confirmation.
Taking care of your money:
We have never had an incident of theft on our trips to China, however we will be moving among large numbers of people and it would be wise to keep your money and passport in a money belt or hidden pocket. We have had excellent experience wearing multi-pocketed vests which have room for your passport, your phone, several types of currency, a digital camera, and tissues, etc.
Luggage:
Because we have several internal flights, and Chinese airlines have their own regulations, even if you are a business traveler who can take a second suitcase, we ask that you please bring not more than one large suitcase as your checked luggage that will go under the plane and one small suitcase which is your hand luggage (maximum dimensions 23x36x56 cm/ 9x14x22 inches). While your weight allowance is 20 kilos (44 pounds) for the large suitcase, we strongly suggest that you keep it under 15 kilo (33 pounds).
You will probably acquire things in China that you will wish to bring home. Your hand luggage allowance is 8 kilos (17 pounds), but please try to bring less. In your hand luggage, pack things you wish to have available to you. Our larger bags are sent by truck to the hotels and placed in our rooms for us while we go to see the sights. We suggest that you keep cameras, medication, tfilin, humash, siddur, and rain gear with you.
Remember airline regulations on sharp objects and liquids. For purposes of Chinese security, peanut butter is considered a liquid. If you have any of the above, pack them in your checked suitcase. Security at the airports will confiscate them if they are in your hand luggage.
Cellular Phones:
Please check with your supplier if your mobile phone will work in China. Alternately, you can purchase a local SIM card. We find it most economical to contact our loved ones with SMS text messages.
Clothing:
Plan to travel light and bring only casual, comfortable clothing and comfortable walking shoes. We will not be climbing over rough terrain, but you should bring shoes that provide some support and you might also want to bring sandals. The weather is likely to range from warm to cool so bring clothing that you can layer. It would be wise to bring a light sweater, a warmer sweater, and a light raincoat or plastic poncho. You may also want to bring an umbrella. Bring sunscreen as sometimes we will be walking outside in places where there is no shade. For men, jackets and ties are not necessary, even on shabbat.
Meals:
We will have breakfast and dinner provided daily. At breakfast, we will prepare our picnic lunch. Some of our travelers bring small plastic containers for fresh vegetables and fruit.
Water:
We do not drink the regular tap water in China. We will provide one bottle of water a day per person free of charge. The hotels will also supply one free bottle of water per day except in hotels that pipe in potable water. (Should we use such a hotel, the potable water tap will be clearly marked as such). In our hotels there are electric kettles for tea in which you can boil water. After boiling, the water is safe to drink. If you are refilling a plastic bottle, wait until the water has cooled. Use bottled water for brushing your teeth.
Hotel charges:
When you check into your room please look around and notify the desk if any equipment is obviously missing or broken. Do not open any sealed packages other than complimentary items such as toothbrush, soap, shampoo, slippers and the like unless you are prepared to pay for them. If there is a mini-bar in your room, drinks in the mini-bar are for purchase. Free items such as water and tea will normally be on the desk or on a table. Be careful not to discolor pillow cases or towels with makeup or other things that cause stains. If you wish to have an ashtray as a souvenir please arrange payment with the desk or chambermaid.
Handy items, snacks and special foods:
We suggest you bring small packages of tissues, hand wipes in small sealed packets or alcohol gel, and that the women who wear makeup bring makeup removal pads. Please bring enough small plastic sandwich bags for the duration of the trip. For snacks, you may want to bring along dried fruits, nuts, seeds, crackers, and/or granola bars. Some people may choose to bring along peanut butter, canned tuna or other favorite non-perishable foods for lunch to supplement what is supplied. If you use sugar substitutes, please bring them along as they may not be available in many of the places we visit. If you drink chalav yisrael only or soy milk, or use only pat yisrael, you need to bring it or suitable substitutes with you.
Photography:
China is a picture taker’s delight. You are permitted to photograph almost everything (although at some of the shows, video photography is not permitted.) If you are bringing a new camera, learn as much as you can about it before the trip. You might want to bring along a few pages about basic operations from the manual. Bring a large enough memory card and extra batteries or a recharger.
Medication:
Bring all the medications you will need. This includes regular prescription drugs and any remedies you may use for allergy, cold symptoms, stomach upsets, headaches, etc.
Alarm Clock:
Although we will leave wake-up calls each evening, you may want to bring along an alarm clock.
Electricity:
China uses 220 volt (50 cycle) electricity, but Israeli plugs may not always fit Chinese sockets. Regular two prong Israeli plugs should fit. If you have three prong plugs or are concerned about fit, we suggest you bring a set of plug adaptors. Most modern electronic equipment can be used at either voltage, but if you are coming from the US or other country with 110 volt electricity, please check your camera/computer/etc. before you leave home to be sure that they are able to be used with 220 volts.
Internet:
Our hotels should have wifi or cable internet. Some hotels charge for wireless access in your room but make it available for free in the lobby. Hotel business centers may not have computers available for your use when you want them.
Safety and security:
Even though most of our hotels have safes in the room, we advise against bringing anything valuable that might be lost. Remember, we will be moving from one city to another frequently.
If you become separated from the group:
This is a very active, very full tour. We do multiple things every day and it is important that we adhere to our schedule so that we not miss anything. We ask you to be considerate of each other.
If we stop and announce a time to regroup, please be there on time. If you are separated from the group, remain at the place where you last had contact with the group. Stay there! Don’t try to find us. We will come looking for you. Please carry a business card or a room key card cover with the address of our hotel.
Hats:
Everyone traveling with us will be given a yellow “Shai Bar Ilan” hat (baseball cap) which in addition to keeping the sun out of your eyes, serves another important purpose. We ask you all to wear them since it makes it easier for you to see the group and for the group to see you.
Seating:
In the bus, the first row on each side is for the guides. Please follow a daily rotation by having people who were in the front of the bus take seats in the rear (or as close to the rear as necessary)
while everyone else moves forward one row. In the dining room, try to sit with different people so that you can get to know as many members of the group as possible.
Tfilot:
Except for Shabbat, we will order a wake up call for each room each day. Typically, tfilot will be one half hour after the wake up call and breakfast will be one hour after the call. We usually will leave the hotel one hour after the beginning of breakfast so that people are able to go back to their rooms before we leave for the day. Those people who want an earlier or later wake up call can arrange it with the desk.
Shabbat:
We will, of course, have tfilot on shabbat and have special shabbat meals. We also will take a walking tour on each shabbat.
Shopping:
Prices in China are still relatively low. However, with a few exceptions, it is not possible to know if what you are buying is genuine or a fake. Assume that any item is a fake for purposes of buying. Prices are not fixed and it is impossible to know how much over the real price the first one quoted is. You are expected to bargain. Know that if five people on the bus bought the same item, it is likely that they paid five different prices. The best way to handle this is never to pay more than you think is a bargain and so if you bought something that would normally cost $50 for $20, you shouldn’t worry that someone else bought it for $17. That’s China! In the government stores, no fakes are allowed and in most of them the prices are fixed. We may be visiting one or two government pearl factories. If you may be tempted to buy pearls, please price them at home before you leave for China so that you have a basis for comparison.
Insurance:
You must have health insurance while you are away. Please arrange for insurance either through our office or on your own for the entire period from your departure to your return. If you have insurance through an international credit card, you must call and have them give you a policy number for this trip.
Smiles and Schedules:
Part of the enjoyment of the trip is sharing it with others. This is the time to leave your worries behind and just smile and have fun. It is the guides’ job to worry, so if you have any concerns, kindly transfer them
We wish you a fascinating and enjoyable trip. We will make every effort to satisfy you. Nesiah Tova!!
