Author Topic: Trip number four  (Read 20821 times)

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Arnold

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Re: Trip number four
« Reply #75 on: December 11, 2011, 02:34:08 pm »
We want "PHOTO"S" !!! :P

Offline shaun

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Re: Trip number four
« Reply #76 on: December 11, 2011, 08:16:46 pm »
Who wants pictures of chocolate?  I don't get it!

 :o Oh!  :o

Dirty old man!!!   >:(

Offline Neil

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Re: Trip number four
« Reply #77 on: December 12, 2011, 07:50:09 am »
Well, I bought my cell phone  - it's an international phone so it will work in China.  I thought it would be simple to pop in a sim card and go with China Telecom or something - wrong.  Bell phones sim cards are different I guess.  We tried 3 different sim cards with no luck.  $25 per mb for internet kinda rules out using google translate on my phone. 

Oh, and Beijing airport has free wireless, but you have to register at a kiosk to use it. lame

My bag came back - they left it in Vancouver.  Quick and painless.  Really helpful and friendly staff at the Xiamen airport. 

We're back in my wife's parents home.  Stopped in Zhangping for some quick visits and a meal of dog.  Surprisingly beefy.  I wouldn't have known if I hadn't seen TEETH in the bowl.  sigh
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Vince G

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Re: Trip number four
« Reply #78 on: December 12, 2011, 08:02:42 am »
Bell phones sim cards are different ?? could you clarify this? Bell? = ATT? The sim card is a different type/shape? or they just don't work? Is the phone a locked? or Unlocked phone?

Offline Pineau

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Re: Trip number four
« Reply #79 on: December 12, 2011, 01:37:02 pm »
Chances are that it is locked to the Bell carried back home and will not accept a SIM card from another carrier. Depending on the phone you can go online and purchase an unlock code for it.

I had the same problem with AT&T and they said it couldnt be unlocked. I purchased the unlock code online for 25 bucks and it works perfectly anywhere I go.
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Offline Neil

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Re: Trip number four
« Reply #80 on: December 12, 2011, 07:51:24 pm »
the sim card is the same size physically, but the chip is a different shape, slightly smaller than others.  the phone powers up fine, but says: sim card locked - contact your provider.
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Offline Willy The Londoner

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Re: Trip number four
« Reply #81 on: December 12, 2011, 07:58:03 pm »
When I came heer in 2009 I brought with me a phone from the UK. I had it unlocked there before travellinbg. It said it was intternational with many languages. Only thing is Chinese was not one of tghe languages. 

So any text I receive has to be sent in English. Any Chinese characters sent come out as little squares.

But I got a free cell phone when we got our house phone installed.

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Now in my 12th year living here,

Offline Pineau

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Re: Trip number four
« Reply #82 on: December 12, 2011, 09:13:36 pm »
Neil,
That is exactly the message you get on a phone that locked to a particular carrier.

What make and model phone is it?
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Offline Neil

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Re: Trip number four
« Reply #83 on: December 14, 2011, 01:56:32 am »
It's an HTC Incredible S - fairly new model.  I've only had it a few months, and it's my first real smartphone. I guess i don't really have any options now for using it in China do I? 
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Offline Pineau

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Re: Trip number four
« Reply #84 on: December 27, 2011, 01:12:30 pm »
just google HTC unlock and you will get a bizillion hits.

here is one of them. http://www.cellunlocker.net/htc-unlock.php?gclid=CJyYpv7soq0CFWcBQAodaTNAoQ
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Offline Neil

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Re: Trip number four
« Reply #85 on: January 01, 2012, 05:55:53 am »
Wow, I'm finally back home.  We had a wonderful 3 weeks.  First meal we had once we were back home was...dog.  I knew something was up when I saw part of a jaw - with TEETH.  It actually tasted quite good - very beefy. 

We spent 10 days in Yunnan province, seeing cool things.  I got to give my wife her first flight - unfortunately, we didn't have a good window seat, but she was very excited.  The flight back was perfect.  She took a ton of pictures out the window.   

We landed in Kunming and then caught an overnight train (soft sleeper) to Lijiang.  Half way there, I woke up with motion sickness.  I was feeling horrible when we arrived in Lijiang (fever, headache, couldn't catch my breath, fast heart-rate).  She went to the doctor and got me some pills while I looked up altitude sickness in Wikipedia - sure enough that was the issue.  The pills helped with the headache and fever, but after a couple days I was fine.  Her cousin manages a small hotel in Lijiang and he hooked us up with a beautiful room in a neighbouring hotel.  Old town is beautiful with ancient buildings and shops and restaurants everywhere. 

We visited Shangri-la - I wasn't really impressed.  It wasn't a beautiful city.  Pretty new and lots of construction, seemed to me like it was thrown together too quickly.  One cool tour we went on here was to a lake - really early in the morning and it was very cold.  My wife is from Fujian province - she's used to the warm weather.  She was ready to freeze to death.  The bus dropped us off and left us on our own.  There's a wooden catwalk around the lake - like 2.5 km.  When she saw that the lake was frozen, she started getting excited and taking pictures.  What was really cool though, the wind picked up and the ice started making the strangest sounds.  Growling and moaning and popping.  She thought it was echos of a dog across the lake.  Very cool.  She also got to hand feed chipmunks. 

We met some cool foreigners (a young guy from France and his pretty Chinese wife who have lived in China for over 6 years, an American and his Chinese coworker who worked for DHL in China, also a German couple). 

We went on too many tours to mention them all, but we really enjoyed Yunnan Province.  The history is incredible.  The local minority groups are full of character and charm - beautiful and friendly.  They really reminded me of our native indians, they have a proud and rich culture and China has embraced their culture fully, not like the way our country tried to integrate or wipe out the indian culture. 

I'm glad to be home, but I really wish I could have brought my wife back.  Hopefully next time.
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Offline RobertBfrom aust

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Re: Trip number four
« Reply #86 on: January 01, 2012, 06:29:49 am »
Thanks Neil , that was a very interesting update , I might have to put Yunnan province on my SUMMER to do list , regards Sujuan and Robert .
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Offline shaun

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Re: Trip number four
« Reply #87 on: January 01, 2012, 07:32:52 am »
Good story Neil.  Waiting to hear more.