Since S2Ki's Off Topic section has been so helpful for travel tips in the past, here I am posting again.

My girlfriend and I are planning a trip to China and the Philippines for either May or June. It'll probably cover about 3 weeks total. Right now I'm thinking of the following rough itinerary...

Beijing: 4 days, will visit the Great Wall, Forbidden City, and whatever else comes up.

Shanghai: 5 days, during which I'll also visit Hangzhou and Gaungzhou.

Philippines: 7 days, during which I'll visit Manila as well as Boracay and other tourist beaches.

For those of you who have been there, does the above itinerary sound sane, and what destinations/landmarks would you suggest visiting? Are there certain modes of transport that you'd recommend, and why? What things should I be watching out for?

Basically any advice is welcome. I speak Mandarin Chinese fluently, and my girlfriend speaks Tagalog fluently, so that will hopefully cut down on the number of potential hilarities that could ensue, but I'd still like to be as informed as possible. Thanks!

 

everyone speaks english in the philippines, and if you can speak mandarin fluently you wont have any problems in beijing. shanghai i'm sure is similar to beijing, but i've never been there.

i think my two favorite things i saw in beijing were the great wall and either summer palace or winter palace(?). forbidden city was cool cuz it was so big, but it was very boring. once you've seen one building and courtyard you've seen em all. we went to a mall once, and i remember that day it was so windy...it was crazy, almost like walking through a dust storm. that got me thinking, is that how/why asians developed slanted eyes? haha. can't recommend transportation as my friend's family provided us with a driver. taxi's were cheap, though (this was 6 years ago).

philippines...first time ever i encountered anything resembling a "culture shock". it's...pretty poor there. lots of giant shopping malls. i recommend taking at least one ride in a jeepney, which are old wwii US vehicles turned into something like a bus. rides are very cheap...maybe USD0.25 per ride. everything in general is pretty cheap.

 

well you picked a pretty good beach in boracay. the sand is incredible. it's like silk. i'd recommend getting your scuba license or taking an intro to scuba course. food's pretty cheap, i'd recommend trying halo-halo (dessert) if you have the chance. for manila, the traffic's pretty crazy and the driving's even worse. make sure you bring some deet for the mosquitoes and drink bottled water the first few days you get there. and yes, the mega-mall are quite impressive.

 

Have fun with the prostitutes! Just kidding!

Enjoy some of the beaches in the Philippines. They are very nice!

 

guangzhou sucks. was stuck there for 2 weeks. food is bland, NO one speaks english, so its very difficult to communicate. chicks arent as hot in other part of china.

 

bring bug spray. lots of it.

 

bug spray, when youre in manila, try and stay in doors to avoid the heavy pollution
also try to keep track of your valuables, lots of pickpockets ya kno? try to dress simply, if you're too flamboyant you attract all sorts of bad attention

 

Well, actually, I'd recommend drinking ONLY bottled water while out in the Phillippines...that's the general rule of thumb my family and I use while visiting the family out there...

Watch out for the pickpockets out there...try to keep jewelry to a minimum (or leave it at home), and try not to wear anything too fancy...sadly, as poor as the population is out there, lots of folks are just waiting to pounce on an unsuspecting tourist...

 

I'll be on my way to the Philippines in 1 week. I'll be there for 10 days. This will be my second time there. The first time I spent 18 days. I can't recommend too much in the way of places to go. I spent much of the time with a girl I know there and skipped most of the touristy stuff. She lives in Tarlac and I can tell you don't go there, it's boring. The only bright spot was that supposedly one of the top restaurants in the country is there. It is an absolutely fantastic restaurant. I also went to Bagiuo, Subic Bay, and a short time in Manila. The beaches at Subic Bay are dirty. Bagiou was beautiful, but the trip is long and rough. I wish I could have spent more time there. This time, I'm doing the vacation my way, Manila, and Boracay with a short trip to Tarlac to see her family.

 

Sweet, thanks for the input everyone! Has anyone been to Palawan? It's been suggested that we check out Palawan rather than Boracay. Yay or nay?