China Romance
General Discussion and Useful Links => Ask An Experienced Member => Topic started by: ttwjr32 on May 10, 2010, 11:01:52 pm
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just thought with the weather getting nicer does anyone have any plans to visit China in the upcoming few months and were and what city
will you be in?
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I'm going to Nanning in July. If I can figure out how to get a ticket. It's not an international airport but Brenda assures me there are 3 flights daily from Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.
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Currently I am planning on visiting China, (Changsha, Hunan) in mid August.
Hopefully I am not screwed over by the agency, but if I am I hope there is enough in the region to keep me occupied for 12 days of toursim. Which is my only ireal issue with going to Changsha, and Hunan. While it does have some good tourist stuff to do, other parts of China would be better for pure tourist things
Which of course makes me hope that this particular communication with a lady from Changsha Love Bridge Agency is truely with the lady I believe it is. She has sent enough non proffessional photos to make me believe that she is real, and has dealt with the agency before ( the photos were not all taken at once, and have shown a friend of hers)
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I'm going to Guangzhou and Foshan in June-July. My lady's told me it's been up to 30 degrees in Foshan the past weeks. Looking forward to some warm weather.
After going to the consulate and applying for her visa to Sweden we will travel to Kunming for some vacation together. It will be her first flight. Our plan is to get engaged in Foshan on June 27.
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Good luck to both of you on your trips, and keep us posted. Mike, Beijing is the better embassy to be dealing with. The waiting times are not nearly as long as Hong Kong. Will you be able to be her sponsor? If you need any help filling out the application forms, let me know.
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If its the Single Certificate you are after, Chong and I both paid for ours to get done in Toronto. If I recall, it was $300 to go through an Immigration place. I had to go visit a couple of times, but they took care of everything. You will need your divorce certificate (They also asked for my divorce judgment, but I didn't have this, and it did not seem to affect anything), passport, birth certificate (I might have given my drivers license as well).
I took all these documents to the company on a Friday. The following Friday, they had all the documents translated into Chinese, as well as a declaration in both Chinese and English, that said I was not married, that I was divorced from my former wife, that I was intending to marry Zhifang, etc. On that Friday, I went to the office, where they set me up with a Chinese lawyer. He went over all the documents, and then I signed them, to swear they were true.
This company then took the documents to the Ontario Provincial Government to get a verification stamp that the lawyer who also signed, was indeed a lawyer. From there, they took it to the Consulate in downtown Toronto, where they put their stamp of approval on it. Once that step is done, it is a legal Chinese document. I picked it up at this company a week later. So two weeks total.
I can't remember how much it would cost to do it on your own, but Chong had found this place, and if I remember, we would have saved maybe $30 to do it on our own. When it comes to the actual immigration papers, I can be of more help.
This company I am talking about is http://www.chiaris.ca (http://www.chiaris.ca) Both Chong and I used this company. The single certificate is good for 6 months after this.
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well anyone coming to Guangzhou give me a call and i will show you around
if you can fit it in
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Ted,
I hope to make it to Shenzhen in July. It will be a little tricky as my son graduates from basic training July 12th or 13th in San Antonio. I have to be back to work August 9th but really should be back no later than the 4th. I will have to miss a July 23rd meeting and the boss is already angry about it. So I am not sure what I will do.
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Thanks Martin, I will be contacting them soon as I want to get this setup for my trip in July
Mike O.
Here is a map of where they are located. And next door on the east of this building is a plaza, where the dumpling restaurant is.[attachment=2104][attachment=2105]
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dumpling place next door thats a good deal
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dumpling place next door thats a good deal
That sounds good. Where I used to live in London there was only a dump of a place next door. :icon_cheesygrin:
Willy
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what about your place Willy?? lol!!!!!
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I'm about ready to head to China so here is what I have been up to.
I have gotten really cautious about these online dating websites. I have memberships at CLL, CLM and Blossom. Maybe too cautious. But I have been fooled, lied to, scammed and redirected to scamming websites and have even met a couple hookers. So I hold my breath when I hear a lady tell me she is in love with me and needs me and would do anything for me after only knowing me for a few days. This is driving me nuts. You spend a lot of time online communicating only to find that there is some incompatibility in the way. A lot of the ones that look very interesting to me turn out to have kid at home which is a show stopper for me at my age. But their profile said they don’t have kids or they don’t live at home. ARRRG! And then there are the fake photos. I have got really good at spotting fakes and photo shopped photos. ( I Learned the hard way) Now I won’t even consider a lady who’s profile contains only professional studio photos. It is a waste of time to ask for real photos and then find out their face would stop a clock. ( sorry but I am here because I want a beautiful Chinese woman), I am also wary (warning , warning) when the profile photos are of the lady waving at you from half a mile away and all you can tell about her is that she is female and the color of her hair. And my timing sucks. I finally figure out I have discovered a diamond in the rough and want to carry it further only to find out that while I was scratching my head making up my mind, some other clever fellow discovered her too and didn’t hesitate to snatch her up. I don’t know what it is about me but I seem to attract school teachers and young girls. The teachers want to chat all day about culture, Chinese economics and politics and the young girls are looking for an escape from their miserable economic situation in China. I don’t mind chatting but not all day every day. So now I am in stealth mode most of the time. My online status is hidden from the public. But I’ll be darn these clever girls have figure out that if they look at your profile it shows the time of your last log in and they can somehow figure out that you are online. So you’re not really stealth to the really clever ones.
I’m enjoying this meeting and making new friends from all over China. I have learned a lot about China geography for sure. I have also met a lot of different personalities and I feel enriched by this experience. But I am not making any progress towards my goals and I am getting tired.
And now, my long awaited trip is just a few weeks away. I had a plan to contact several women in China and see if I can make up my mind while I was there. But I have slowly eliminated nearly all of them from my list. I only have a couple of confirmed meetings and I think I am going to cancel one of them because of the age gap. So I am going to be wandering about China with my laptop trying to make some connections. I need to come up with a new list and make some new contacts before I go. I have commitments in Beijing, Shenyang, Guangzhou, and Liuzhou. I arrive Sept-15 and I plan to stay for as long as it takes.(up to a month)
This was supposed to be so simple. Find some, meet some, choose one and I’m done! Right? I need a new plan. .
Willy, So I will make my to way to Guangzhou and thought I would stop and say hello and take you to lunch.
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Pineau ,
knowing these problems you been through haven't happened to me , but it does make one think ? This could have happened to me too and what would I have done under those circumstance's ? I would be in your Shoe's and totally looking in from a very different viewpoint . Believe me , it always frost's me seeing any of our Member's having this kind of hard time finding the " Just " right Lady . It all comes down to .. how we deal with it and showing a lot of patience which varies of course . You have shown to have more then your share of that , so it will eventually lead you to the " One " .
Wish you all the best on your upcoming Trip of course and good Luck .. of which one can never have enough of .
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Flying out from Manchester (UK) on monday morning 30th August, arriving in Qingdao on Tuesday 31st August, then 3 hour car drive to Zhucheng... ;D
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Rob,
Right on! A three hour drive in China. That is dedication. Good luck man!
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Could it be that I am being too picky? Maybe miss perfect match does not exist. And if she did would she even take a second glance at me. ( I have a beard and I am about 30 pounds over ideal). And if she meets or exceeds my criteria she is probably already in one or more on-line relationships.
I get a lot of hits on CLM and CLL (I a lot) a few come back for a second glance and maybe 10% come back more than 5-10 times (those are the ones i focus on). You think they are turned off by the beard? Anyone know what Chinese women think about facial hair? So far the ones that like me say they like me with or with the beard. Some suggest that I would look younger without it. But have asked me to shave it. I have had it for 7 years and I can remember what I looked like without it. Maybe I should shave before I leave on my trip?
Man, I know she is out there and I sure would like to bring her home. Perseverance and patience...
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Shaving the Beard is a big plus with MOST Ladies there . Look at Martin , shaving it all gained him a beautiful Wife . There are exceptions , but why lenghten your search with something you have control over ? Pineau , take two photo's and we'll give you a God's honest answer which looks better .
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I don't think this is a fair comparison because the one without the beard is 11 years old. I don't have any recent pictures without it.
(http://www.niwot.net/gerry/P5310016.JPG)
(http://www.niwot.net/gerry/untitled.jpg)
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Sujuan was looking at your 2 photo's , and said to me very few ladies would like beard photo , she also said you can always grow it back if lady wants to see you with it [ now that is a thought ] . I do not know what age group you are looking at , but 9 out of every 10 in the 35 and over group will have been married and most will have a child , my other half is 38 and her daughter who is here with us is 16 and an angel , good luck with your quest , regards Sujuan and Robert .
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Well , I say .. the one without looks much younger of course (11 yrs.ago ) . But if you shaved now it will of course make you younger anyway you look at it . I was also under the impression of a full beard . This is not bad at all , but NO is still better for most chinese Lady's and most here can agree with me here .
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Ok Pineau I've read the entire thread twice now.So tell me what Am I missing here?You searched threw all these different ladies.You can't find the one you think suites you.So now your discouraged.Granted we are talking a life long commitment here.So One should choose very carefully.
My Question to you is what is the problem? I don't think it is the beard thing.I think your getting twisted up inside your own head.And over thinking this thing.Get out of your head.Get out of trying to think what the woman thinks.And let it go.Flow with it move with it.You are trying to determine how this will turn out.From a few pictures.And some letters.Not a good plan.I see you are going to China.So that is a plus.You are on the right track.
I know it sounds like I'm a asshole.I am I freely acknowledge That.So it isn't a big secrete.My point is get outside of your head.Stack the deck in your favor.Go to Willy and Ted's dating site.Pick a woman.Talk to Ted and Willy about your choice.Ted and Willy Know all the girls pretty good.Thiere are the ones who took the pictures.And interviewed the girls.So by doing this you are taking the guess work out of this.I bet they can set you up.With a nice lady.That fulfills all your requirements.
Thiere web site is www.chinaloveagency.com.So (http://www.chinaloveagency.com.So) give it a try.And then let us know how it all works out.To the rest of the members here who are having the same problem as Pineau.You all have this tool at your disposal.So my question is why not give it a try.What do you have to lose.You have direct contact.With the head of the agency.If thiere is a problem.Ore your not sure about.one of thiere ladies.I'm sure Ted or Willy can look into it.And get it all sorted out.
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This was supposed to be so simple. Find some, meet some, choose one and I’m done! Right? I need a new plan. .
Willy, So I will make my to way to Guangzhou and thought I would stop and say hello and take you to lunch.
Just one flaw in your planning. I will be in the UK with my wife fo a holiday from 10th - 22nd of September. I am then planning to travel to Guangzhou on Thursday 23rd ready for the Irishmans nuptuals on Friday 24th. If your around GZ at that time come and join the celebrations. You may even be in time to see an almost naked Irishman chained to a lamp post in Guangzhou main street maybe wearing possibly a Flowery shirt, after imbiding to much Chinese liquer on his stag night. An Irish stag night no less.
Willy
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I have a beard and I am about 30 pounds over ideal.
Anyone know what Chinese women think about facial hair?
Mate I can tell you from my experience with Xia that she did not like the goatee I had when I met her. She asked me to shave it off, but only if I wanted to. But of course that meant no kissing etc. So the next morning a razor appeared and now I have no more goatee. It does make me appear younger and this was the whole reason behind it.
Also do not be surprised if your lady asks you to loose weight too. I am a little overweight myself and Xia asked me to loose some weight. Do not take this to heart it is the lady just trying to make you take better care of yourself and be more healthy. This is very important in Chinese culture and not a bad thing anyway.
Just my thoughts and what I have been told to do by Xia (no I am not under the thumb).
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Thanks, there are some really good thoughts and ideas here
As for youth and good looks. What can I say? Jing spoiled me. After ten years of looking at a face and body that is 20 years younger than you deserve, you get spoiled. I know it makes me look shallow and I probably am, but I am trying to make a correction and I am committed to finding someone older and more mature than her.
As for kids at home. It probably looks like on the surface that I don’t like kids. But that is wrong. I have raised 5 of my own and 2 step children. They are all grown and doing fine and I am proud of the job I have done. But I am nearly 60 years old. What are the chances of me raising a youngster to maturity and sending them off into the world? I would even consider giving a woman another child if I thought there was any chance I would live long enough to see it start college. Maybe if the child were a bit older there would be more wiggle room but some of the women in there 40s have pre-teen children at home. This would be a tough decision for me. I would rather just spoil our grandkids.
Maxx, maybe you are right. Maybe I am over thinking this but I am scared sh**less. I would love to let go and just let it "happen" but that didn't work out so well the last time. I am not getting any younger and I don't have a lot of room for another horrible mistake. I want this to be the only time I go through this process. That is why I am being so cautious. But your point is taken. I'm probably being selfish too and expecting too much. I should spend some time at Ted and Willy’s site and find a good quality lady and see if it works out. I could make any relationship work if I try hard enough. I just don’t want to be taken for another ride.
mpo4747, If they are your wife’s friends and come with her recommendation they must be worth looking at. Can you PM me with more information.
Meanwhile I am going to go look some more at Ted and Willy’s. (that sounds like a good name for a pub or a fish-n-chips)
I do know, I’m still thinking about shaving.
Thanks guys
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As for kids at home. It probably looks like on the surface that I don’t like kids. But that is wrong. I have raised 5 of my own and 2 step children. They are all grown and doing fine and I am proud of the job I have done. But I am nearly 60 years old. What are the chances of me raising a youngster to maturity and sending them off into the world? I would even consider giving a woman another child if I thought there was any chance I would live long enough to see it start college. Maybe if the child were a bit older there would be more wiggle room but some of the women in there 40s have pre-teen children at home. This would be a tough decision for me. I would rather just spoil our grandkids.
I don't think it looks like you don't want kids. I think it looks like you know what you want. I don't think you need to apologize, or give reasons for why you do, or do not want children. Its all a preference thing, and there is nothing wrong with that.
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Guys, you wont believe this but with 16 days left before I fly off to Beijing I decide to follow some advice here and I shave off my beard. I posted the new photo two days ago on all three matchmaking sites. For the past two days I have had 3 times the messages and smiles and kisses as before. In my eyes the missing beard really shows my age and I think I look better with it. But it sure makes a difference with Chinese ladies of all ages. I am surprised.
Before I was having trouble maintaining a list of potential " meetings". Now my cup is overflowing and I am having trouble deciding where and when and how long stay. Its nice !
I still plan to get to Guangzhou and meet with Willy if he has time. I need to learn how to blog so I can keep track of my trip on-line.
Gerry
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Ha , Sujuan told you so , now she would like to see the difference , but watch out probably lining up her sister for you ha ha , regards Robert and Sujuan .
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Willy is in zhongshan so dont make the old man come all the way to guangzhou he always falls
asleep on the bus and ends up in Guilin
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OK. but I think it really makes me look older. But it seems to be working. My mailbox had several letters from ladies I had expressed an intrest in last month. They have been ignoring me for weeks but now they are suddenly interested.
I am going to take my laptop with me and rather than rely on hotel hotspots I found a company in Shanghai that will hook you up with broadband wireless that is good all over China. They will rent you the hardware ( a small USB dongle, looks like a flash drive) Deliver it to the hotel of your choice. They will either pick it up when you leave or you can post it back to them when you are finished with it. Which is great for me because I will be arriving in Beijing but departing from God knows where. The service comes prepaid. Just plug it in, follow the prompts and in a few minutes you are on-line. They will also deliver a prepaid SIM card for your (unlocked) 3G phone so you have a telephone the first day. Sounds like a great service but I will reserve judgment until I have tried it myself. The company is @3GSolutions www.3gsolutions.com.cn (http://www.3gsolutions.com.cn) They have some other gadgets for travelers. They were very helpful in answering questions and recommend the right stuff for what I needed. And they take paypal.
I will probably make it to Guangzhou on the 24th. I hope he is back then.
(http://www.niwot.net/gerry/SAM_0018.JPG)
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I have read a horror story about a man who was injured in China and needed to go to the hospital. He did not have medical insurance and was ripped off royaly. Does anyone know where to purchase travelers medical insurance?
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I bought my medical insurance from my bank, online. it was cheap.
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I have read a horror story about a man who was injured in China and needed to go to the hospital. He did not have medical insurance and was ripped off royaly. Does anyone know where to purchase travelers medical insurance?
I wonder which medical insurance company planted that story?
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I just spent 7 days in the Hospital here in China. I don't have any insurance. They had no problem taking cash.
And I am poor. Health care is cheap.
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Old sales trick. create a need, and the internet helps these companies get fake stories out there for them to get an income.
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health care is cheap here but you also need to watch were you go. not all hospitals are the same.
ive had a few things done here and it was cheap complete physical was 300 rmb xrays included
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I don't know if it was scare tatics or not but they got me. I just bought travelers medical insurance. $50,000 with $0 deductible for $160.00 premium. I may not need it but I will have peace of mind.
Gerry.
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It depends on you... I usually buy traveller's insurance, but for me, the coverage isn't that expensive... I forget the exact criteria, but it usually costs me around $75 (Canadian) and that's good enough to last me for a two week vacation in Asia. I usually get it through the bank (or the bank affiliated with my travel agent).
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just a thought will hospitals take insurance here??? you know that chinese people either pay cash
or they have their medical card which is more like a credit card with money on it rather than like
what we are used to a billing insurance card. good thought i will have to check this out
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Along with all the other worries that have crossed my mind while preparing for this trip was carrying large amounts of cash and carrying a credit card with a sky high spending limit. This is how I solved it to my satisfaction.
For Cash. I went to the Western Union website and opened an account for myself. Its was not difficult at all. Now when I am in China and running low on cash I can go online to western union and send money to myself at 1000s of locations in China. Follow this link to get started.
https://wumt.westernunion.com/WUCOMWEB/staticMid.do?method=load&countryCode=US&languageCode=en&pagename=osMoneyTransferOptions
For a credit card that can be stolen and maxed out. (For USA residents) I went to Wal-Mart and got a prepaid Wal-Mart VISA Credit card and loaded it with about 500 bucks.. It’s a temporary card and you need to go online to activate it and get a real permanent card mailed to you that can be reloaded with cash. (The temporary one can’t be reloaded)
This takes about a week so you should start NOW just so you will have it in your wallet when the time arrives. I’m sure other countries have prepaid credit cards I just don’t know the specifics. I only put a few hundred dollars on it at a time and I have been using it for internet purchases and what not.
To be able to reload it from China there is an option to transfer funds from you bank account to the card. I went to my wells Fargo account online and added the Wal-Mart card as one of my transfer options. So now when I want to recharge my credit card I go online from anywhere in the world and transfer the funds directly to the VISA card. For security reason and to verify that you are the owner of the card and the bank account this will take about 5 business days to complete.
So now I don’t need to carry large sums of money and I don’t fret (too much) about my credit card being stolen.
Its all a little hassle to get set up but in the end it is really convenient and gives you peace of mind.
Gerry
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Yes Gerry I have had one of these load'em cards (Netspend) for a few years now. Basically for online purchases. Though it is a Visa card and they say it will work in China as well? There isn't any other logo's on the card (Plus, interlink, etc) so I am not sure if it will work at an ATM there? I have been looking for another way to get money if needed once in China without having my regular bank card on me. I'll book mark and check out the Western Union site. Thanks
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In my experience, the pre-loads don't always work. I had a pre-loaded VISA and it wouldn't work. They tried running it through (different hotels) and it just wouldn't accept it.
In general when I go overseas, I find a trusted bank and withdraw from their ATM if I need cash. As for credit cards, I maintain a low limit credit card for exactly this purpose.
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For some of you coming to China for the first time, keep in mind and this is from personal experience
some hotels will check you in and ask for a cash deposit to be left at the desk during your stay. And
at checkout you can then pay for your stay with whatever manner you want to pay with wether cash
or credit crad.
But i also want to tell you it is just as safe here to use your card as it is in your home country so there
really isnt any need to overthink this and take all kinds of other cards with you or other options to pay
for your trip.
anything cheap enough or worth buying here is usually done on a cash transaction anyway as buying with
credit usually comes with a higher price than what is needed to spend for an item. just some insight from
inside China
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Hi guys, just wanted to add my name to the list of guys who will be in China soon. I will be in Shenyang from September 24th for a few weeks or less, then in Changsha until the 18th October visiting a lady I am very keen on. Am I excited or what? So I will touch base and definitely be asking for advice in both practical and matters of the heart. Thanks for a great website and forum, Peter from good old Oz.
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Peter I want to wish you good luck.And don't hesitate to post your trip details here.We will try to help you any way we can.
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Hi guys, just wanted to add my name to the list of guys who will be in China soon. I will be in Shenyang from September 24th for a few weeks or less, then in Changsha until the 18th October visiting a lady I am very keen on. Am I excited or what? So I will touch base and definitely be asking for advice in both practical and matters of the heart. Thanks for a great website and forum, Peter from good old Oz.
Hey Peter, Good luck to you. Maybe we will cross paths once or twice. I am leaving for China on Wednesday. I am in Beijing until the 24th then I'm going to Shenyang for about a week then to several other cities along the coast, and I will cross your path again in Changsha about mid October. I hope we are not meeting the same ladies...haha
IM me if you want to meet and say hello in Shenyang.
Its a small, small world. Pineau
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Hi Peter from OZ
Welcome aboard this wierd roller coaster ....fraught with danger and minefields...but ultimately worth all the pain !!!
Everyone here is standing by with help, advice and wise words.....but dont let that fool you (haha).
Seriously...just ask, we will all dig in to help in whatever way you need it
Cheers...David from OZ
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Peter , safe trip and have fun , as they say , you aint seen nothing yet , but everyone knows someone who can help you out , never spend more than 5 minutes moping about if things don't work out , cause there is another 1 million ladies awaiting , regards Sujuan and Robert .
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I think there are a few of us who can tesitify to that mate... ;D
Above all else 'Enjoy'
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Like Ted said Just use your regular bank card. I go to Bank of China and get usually 2500 rmb at a wack cost $370 I do that twice a month.
Now be sure to call the 800 number on the back of your card before you leave tell them what you are up to. Otherwise they will shut you down after a couple transactions to find out if it is you or your card has been stolen. And if you have a low daily limit you may want to go to the bank and ask them to raise it for you.
I had mine raised to $500 a day without any question. This has been the easiest road for me.
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BEWARE CHEAP TICKETS
I thought I got a bargain getting from Denver to Beijing and it would have been if they had put me on different airlines. They (cheap-o air) booked me on frontier from Denver to San Francisco and Air China from San Francisco to Beijing. The only problem is that Frontier and Air China dont have recprical contracts. That means Frontier cant check my bags through to Beijing. I need to exit security, goto baggage claim in San Francisco and collect my bags and take them to Air China ticket counter then make my way to the Departure gate. All in about one hour. Idiots !
So I will forgo the large suitcase and cram everything I can into my carry on items. Ill purchase what got left behind when I get to Beijing.
Sooo, if you get one of these type of flights, beware and make sure you have enough layover time to collect your bags and recheck them 30 minutes before your connecting flight is ready to board.
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Jimmy
Last time i was in South Korea, both my bank and mastercard were informed. Also a client in back in Sweden had asked me if i could find a brand new super camera from Canon there, because it was several months shortage worldwide. So, i happen to find it. It costed about 5000 US $ with the extras he wanted. So i told him to transfer money. He did. I then called bank and told them im gonna make a big purchase in South Korea. I then call the card center at mastercard and tell them the same thing, that tomorrow bla bla..
I have always only relied on my card there , never had cash. Best exchange rate is the ATM. So i buy the camera the following day. 1 hour later my card is blocked.
We were in the middle of Seoul, and lived in Gwangju thats like 4-5 hours busride. Cant even take the bus home. Have to make tons of phonecalls and finally they solve it.
About 4 days later, we go to the supermarket to do some bigger shopping, they also have nice clothes there so u easily buy more then you need. So imagine the embarassment when we are through with everything at the cashier, i swipe the card and its blocked again.
It took a while to solve but the embarassment was pretty shit.
When i came back home to Sweden i called them up and demanded compensation for their idiocracy. And guet the answer that these are all automated security measures that are in place to protect ME. Haha... so i said, who did it protect, me or YOU? It all ends with a formal forgiveness, And a week later they sent 5 cinematickets in the mail. lol
Is it no-go to get a bank acc with Bank of china?
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Mikael , if you have a B o C in your capital city should be no problems , we have one here in Melbourne and no hassles , but even then I think there is a limit , so I always withdraw 2000 yuan at a time in China and you can do this if need be am and pm , but I don't spend more than 4000 yuan per 7 days , regards Sujuan and Robert .
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Thanks! i will check, but i actually doubt we do here. And this is one of those things you easily forget before u head away. Since im planning to stay for a rather long time i do need to find a working system for this.
The debit cards (visa or master/eurocard) that you can "prepay" or just transfer to have been 50/50 for me, just like someone else mentioned here. I can get an account in HK but thats gonna cost about 300$. What do everyone else do that are longtime "vistors" ?
I suppose that means you get payed cash when u work? Or cheque? Gerrys solution isnt that bad after all. Its alot better then having it all accessible on your CC. Or worse , under the pillow.
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Bank Of China accepts Visa and Mastercard Credit Cards and Debit Card (your own money).
There is a daily withdrawal limit per card of 2500 RMB from the automatic tellers, but you can get more if you go into the Bank and deal with a human Teller...but be prepared for a VERY long wait.
Next to eating, Chinese people love to spend hours and hours in the Bank...must be the smell of all that money !!!!!
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I would check out about daily limits, some people have mentioned about reaching their daily limits in one withdrawal. When I was there in July I don't know if I had a daily limit but one day I did withdraw 7500 RMB in 3 transactions of 2500 each time (2500 being the maximum allowed to withdraw).
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I think the concern, or main issue if ur gonna practically live there was to not have all your cash accessible on your CC. And not to much cash in the pockets. But as long as i can access online banking it shouldnt be a problem, just leave the fundings on the account which does not have a CC connected to it. However, if i then were to loose my CC it will probably be abit pain in the arse getting a new one. Amex will fix u up no matter where u are but i doubt Amex would be very popular there. In Korea only expensive shops would accept it even.
Safest for me would be BoC, but then Forex or WU would probably work fine too.
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Bank Of China accepts Visa and Mastercard Credit Cards and Debit Card (your own money).
There is a daily withdrawal limit per card of 2500 RMB from the automatic tellers, but you can get more if you go into the Bank and deal with a human Teller...but be prepared for a VERY long wait.
Next to eating, Chinese people love to spend hours and hours in the Bank...must be the smell of all that money !!!!!
Actually it's not a daily limit, It's a transaction limit. If your bank has given you a higher limit than what 2500 will buy.
Get the 2500 put your card in again and get more. If your limit is $500 you get like 3300 rmb and you come under your limit just a few bucks.
But you do pay the transaction charge every time money falls out of the machine for you.
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I guess u could get in a potential problem if you needed a larger amount quickly for something. Is it really that common with breakins? i saw someone post that it could happen anyone anytime... more then once.
I guess that probability depends abit on how and where u live too. But i need to put my stuff somewhere hehe, and some of it is pretty damn expensive to loose. But .. well its China. I have a whole box leftover with wireless motionsensors from a job i did a year ago. They are pretty nasty screamers when they go off @122db. But dunno if it would be a particularly wise thing to setup in ur apartment either. Hella nice if they go off by something else and ur not home ;D
I will just quit worry that for now and see what happens hehe
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As far as more money.
I have a second account at the same bank along with credit Union Acct. And it works for me.
even If I could get more I don't have so it works for me.
Break-ins Myself I have heard much about I feel pretty safe in the building we are in. And like any place if they don't know what you have, I would think you are less of a target. Keep a low profile.
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....... Keep a low profile.
Kinda hard for me too do brother hahahaha... :o ;D ;D
I think my smallness is a major point of interest to the Chinese mate LOL
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Mike,
i dont think we ever really blend in but if you keep quiet and they see you here for a while then
they do want to become freinds with you. they learn to respect and trust you when they see you more
around the neighborhood.
im almost 6 foot and i weigh 240 pds not kg so i dont think i blend well here lol!!!
case in point when i went to the hospital to get my visa for another year these guys are getting on the
scale and not topping 75 kg i get on and it goes to 114 they looked at it for a minute probably to big a
number to write so no blending here 8)
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[
darn ..... and I thought I had them fooled !!!!!
must be my blue eyes that give me away .... ::)
Or your dashing good looks mate... ;D ;D
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Mike....you are NOT Chinese??
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no sorry that wont work either but they sure would get a kick out of it hahaha
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no sorry that wont work either but they sure would get a kick out of it hahaha
Aww Ted , we should at least let him try !!!...hahahaha
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Finally in the hotel in Beijing. Warning about connections with Air China in San Francisco. Air China closes their check-in and ticket counter 1.5 hours before the flight takes off. So when Arriving with about 45 minutes to departure the Air China counter was a ghost town. Luckily we found someone that worked for Air China that walked us throiugh security and were just able to make the gate and board the flight. What a day. Man I am tired. But I am here. Careful of connections and layovers.
Gerry
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Well hope things go well for you Gerry . My first Flight was with Air China , not bad to Beijing .. but on my return Flight to San Francisco it was switched over to United Airline . This made me never to fly Air China again . I hate United , as we were leaving Beijing .. we were sitting on the Taxiway for take-off an hour and ahalf before taking off . Not one word .. why ? This is NOT the first incidence with them . Go Asiana Airlines !!!!
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I don't know if this is the right thread but I will use it instead of starting another for travel tips. My first week in Beijing I bought a I-phone knock off. It was not that expensive but it supported Chinese characters. I got China unicom service using the 3g-solutions company I posted about earlier ( my telephone SIM card and my usb Wi-Fi modem was waiting for me when i checked into the hotel) . This worked out really great for giving and getting directions and information to use on people that dint use English. Here is how I have used it so far. When I need to meet a lady I ask her or my translator to text message me the directions to my phone (in Chinese). Bingo- just show the message to the taxi driver or some local and eventually you will get there. I also used the talk2china SMS service to text myself messages. Like locations store names train station. I just used it again to find a medicine for my sore throat. A lady sent me a message for herbal tea to fix a sore throat (in Chinese) I sent the message to my phone, walked to the nearest grocery and showed him the message and voila he took me to the to the shelf and I left with my medicine. This has really turned into a handy tool.
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Some new things I have learned.
When leaving the Beijing Airport I went to the taxi queue and just got into the next available taxi. Bad bad bad. I should wait for the queue director to assign a cab. Let them know I don't speak Chinese and they will try to find you a driver that will understand me or will give your driver directions. My driver got really pissed because he was expecting a Chinese speaking customer.
In September, October. BUY AND UMBRELLA even if the sky is clear. There is usually a someone on the sidewalk selling them but you have to find them first. It is best to get it in advance of the down pore.
Beware of people that just walk up and say they want to practice their English, or they are students and then engage you in a conversation. With me in all cases they wanted to take you somewhere and sell you something or they are a prostitute. They sound very sincere at first but your intuition will warn you something is not right. Follow your intuition. In Shenzhen this never happened to me but in Beijing it happened about every other day.
Its darn hard to get a taxi in Beijing.
The rickshaw rides in Beijing are a conn. The guy told me the ride to the temple of heaven was 3 money. I thought it was 3 Yuan. but it turned out to be 300 yuan. If you refuse to pay his friends come out to greet you. Make sure of the price and pay hime before you get in. That worked for me later on.
Most everything cheap electronic at the Pearl Market is a knock off or completely fake. I was in the market for SD memory cards for my phone and camera. The cheap ones did not work. Make them test it first.
I used a train to get from Beijing to Shenyang ( a 4 hour trip). Book your ticket well in advance. I got my ticket the day before and there were no seats left. I had to stand in a crowded isle for 4 hours.
I am still using the girl Rachel as a translator and I couldn't be happier. Every time I needed information or help she was able to steer me right. She met me in Shenyang when I arrived. She found me an nice but cheap hotel (Hanting Express) She picked me up at the train station and took me to the hotel and checked me in and took care of all the details at the front desk. Her English is quite good although she does mispronounce a word occasionally.
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Hey Pineau, I am in Shenyang at the moment. I would have sent a message to you, but haven't worked out how to. I am staying at the Ibis Hotel in the Tiexi district for the next couple of weeks. Would you like to connect somewhere in Shenyang? I have most days free as my lady works of course. I'd love to get out of the hotel and speak real English with another male. My email address is
petermiles55@gmail.com if you want to get me.
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Peter. I just sent you an email.