Booking a Beijing Hotel Room Online a Savior

My previous voyage outside of Tatarstan, Russia & Malaysia was to Beijing where I went for a one week holiday in September of 2007. I looked for hotel accommodations in newspapers & at travel agencies. The problem was that the local travel agencies in Malaysia offered competitive priced packages only for 2 persons while it was the only me traveling to Beijing from Malaysia on my trip. I was going to meet with my girl in Beijing & she's traveling from Russia. Hence, booking a hotel in Beijing online was my savior! After evaluating & short listing affordable hotels in Beijing, I concluded to go with the Forest & Land Hotel Beijing.

It's a three star hotel with internet connection, hot water in a private bath, & daily house keeping service. I booked a room at the hotel & the deal was that I pay for the full amount of days stayed upon arrival. Great! At about $23 per night & a good location in Beijing city; I was happy. My girl was happy about the hotel room reservation too! Note that you can change a room that you find unsatisfactory to another larger room with a much better window size & view for example. You can use me as reference as I was given a room with virtually no windows & next to hotel laundry store. Ridiculous!

My girl did not want anything to do with the claustrophobic room & she quickly told the staff of the Forest & Land Hotel Beijing for a room change! Also note that the rates have risen, probably due to the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Also, while browsing about for some Beijing attractions, I found an informative website named The Beijing Guide that provided some useful tips; which of course I practiced while in Beijing, like buying international calling cards, taxi rates, foreign currency exchange, & etc.

In the near future, I am planning to voyage to India with New Delhi, Agra (Taj Mahal), & Goa being in the itinerary. I know it's going to be a tough task as the multiple destinations are pretty far away from each other in India. However, with help from HotelsCombined.com, I think I can find the hotels that I want easier online. The site has a vast database of hotels, virtually in any major city or popular tourist attraction worldwide; complete with rates & booking facility. Besides, I find it more convenient to make hotel arrangements online.