Beijing Olympics 2008 - Preparation

Whenever I travel internationally, I always like to have most of my logistics figured out before arrival. This leaves for more time touring and exploring. Frequently, I visit Europe that has become very easy for international travelers. China, on the other hand, is going to be a bit more challenging. Here is what I’m going to prepare.

Money
Even the latest guidebooks on Beijing say western credit cards are generally not accepted at local merchants and ATM’s. Starting off with some Chinese Yuan seems like a good idea. Luckily, here in Boulder, the Pearl Street branch of Wells Fargo has an international desk. I called ahead to be sure they had Yuan on hand. Turns out the teller has anticipated Boulderites needing Chinese currency, and is keeping it on hand. Since my wife has an account, I saved the reasonable five dollar exchange fee and got a good rate at .157 Yuan to the dollar.

I’ve gone further to check out the ATM situation. My ATM card is on the CIRRUS network. CIRRUS is part of VISA, who is a sponsor of the Olympics. They conveniently have a link on their web site to locate ATM machines in Beijing.
http://visa.via.infonow.net/usa_atm/InstitutionCandidatesPagingAction.do?startIndex=0
Apparently, all 441 branches of the Bank of China have ATM’s that will work with CIRRUS. Well, after I run out of my initial 1900 Yuan, I will give it a try.

Cell Phone
There are other Americans that I will need to contact while in Beijing and I will also need to stay in touch at with folks at home. Beijing requires 900 GSM service, commonly found on quad band cell phones sold in the US. I have a phone, but my service provider, T-Mobile, charges $2.99 a minute! A Search on the internet lists a Chinese cell phone service that has an office in the US. PandaPhone.com will mail me a SIM card for $10. This will give me a local number in China and charge me only .40 a minute for calls back to the US. After getting my cell phone unlocked, I’ll be able to put in the Chinese SIM card upon arrival in Beijing and will be active on their network.

Health
A good start for health advisory is the Center for Disease Control (CDC) web site. The CDC has created a special page just for travelers to the Olympics. (http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/contentOlympicsArticle.aspx)
After reading this information, I decided to see one of Boulder local doctors that specialize in infectious disease and traveler’s health maintenance. I will consult with Dr. Brandt at the Boulder Medical Center next week. I need to check on my hepatitis A and tetanus immunizations. Also, I am always concerned about getting sick from food or water. Perhaps Dr. Brandt can recommend a prescription or over the counter medications to bring in case of Montezuma’s revenge!

Navigation
I’ve printed off the Chinese version of my hotel’s web page to show my taxi driver. I’m not going to expect him to speak English. I also obtained an ENGLISH map of Beijing from Boulder’s Map Gallery.

Communication
Finally, I got a basic learn Mandarin CD and book that I can study on the 12 hour flight from San Francisco to Beijing. Hopefully, I will at least be able to say hello, good-bye, thank you and “Do you speak English?”