Posts by Fastkoala

Chongqing isn’t polluted—it’s just that there’s a lot of mist.

Me neither, I don’t speak Chinese. There are only 2 banks that exchange money in Chongqing: Bank of China and ICBC, both located near the Liberation Monument. Their branches don’t exchange currency. It’s true that it’s a hassle. It took me 20 minutes—you sit down, they scan your passport, you need the name of your hotel (a business card is better), whether it’s for business or tourism, your arrival and departure dates, etc... and it takes forever to type all that into the computer. I exchanged 200 € at ICBC, and the teller didn’t speak English, so you’ll need a translation app on your phone.

Trips.com works better for China because there's more availability. Agoda for Southeast Asia. Booking.com is international. But all of them are clear and easy to use. Personally, I prefer to book hotels with zero advance payment, paying directly to the owner.

I'm currently in Chengdu, coming back from Chongqing. I only brought cash. No need for Alipay, WeChat Pay, or anything like that... No problem for tourists—only the Chinese pay with their phones. I pay for EVERYTHING in cash, and they manage to give me change. Also, it's illegal for a merchant to refuse cash. EDIT: Exchange at banks. 7 yuan/1 €

personally, I wouldn’t risk it, not even a 50-minute overstay. everything’s computerized—they’ve got the list of passengers who need to board

okay, it's official—visa exemption until December 31, 2026 🙂

thanks... let's hope

We’ll have to wait until early October—China will announce whether or not they’re extending the visa exemption.

Any ideas now? The embassy website is confusing. On top of that, the visa office has moved to Neuilly in a cramped location.

get off at People's Park station. Very central

Hi there,

It’s been 8 days since I sent an email but no reply—looks like they haven’t even read it. Lol.

Keep us posted!

Normally, the 30-day visa exemption is supposed to be extended in 2026—that’s what the tourist office in Paris told me. Wait until November to confirm in case there’s any hiccup between Paris and Beijing. For your situation, it’s 30 days from entry into China now or at Christmas.

ok thanks ;)

for China, the 30-day visa exemption is valid until the end of December 2025. What if I want to leave in January 2026?

there's a good chance the visa exemption will be extended to 30 days. It's currently being validated by the authorities...

the visa exemption might go back to 30 days. 😕 but in crg23’s case, that’s more than enough

the embassy website is not up to date

Hi there, The Thai embassy in Paris website is completely up to date. They’re not going to waste time sharing non-existent info like some forums or Facebook pages that spread all kinds of nonsense. For example: The visa exemption was extended from 30 to 60 days, officially on July 15, 2024. The Thai embassy in Paris website was updated on July 15, 2024, and not before.

And: - What about the "Happy Songkran 2020" notice? - And the public reception when you can’t even enter without an appointment? ""The consular section of the Embassy will reopen to the public on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays starting May 11, 2020."" - Or the embassy being closed on September 14, 2020, etc...

We’re in 2025 now...

the embassy website isn't up to date

hi, thanks for the info. any idea if it’ll be free or not?

it’s 6 months after the arrival date in Thailand