@tommann, I agree. One moderate advantage of being Japanese though is that the Chinese can't generally distinguish them from their own by appearence alone. What that'll mean is that a random Japanese person walking in the wrong area wouldn't be targeted unless they're heard speaking Japanese, by their clothing or something like that. Sure, that doesn't bring any extra comfort to anyone though as personally, calling for the murder of an otherwise peaceful nation is absolutely bonkers.
Sure, we should all be careful as per the OP's warning, but since most users on this forum are not Japanese, I don't see why there should be additional concerns if you are a westerner, Thai or any other non-Japanese provided you steer clear of demonstrations and the like.
Speaking of demonstrations, I thought they were illegal in China? I have never personally witnessed one and many Chinese people whom I like to get an opinion about something that could be deemed controversial, they generally choose not to answer despite me asking in English (to be safe) and talking amongst friends in a busy restaurant or at home, where nobody else would be able to take much notice of what we're talking about anyway.
@newbe This is an old thread, but if it's still relevant to you, this is how: you generally have to pay for the classes even if you don't show up. It's a little expensive since you're looking at around 4,000+ Yuan and another 400 on top of that for the visa costs just to stay half a year or around 6,000-8,000 for one year + 400 for the visa (student visa i.e. residence permit valid for studying is always 400 no matter if you extend it for 6 months or a year).
The problem with Chinese that nobody mentioned is that it probably has one of the largest number of homophones (words that sound the same but have a different meaning) of any language in the world. I believe there are only 2000 unique syllables in Chinese, whereas English could easily have tens of thousands or 100,000+ (could a linguist please confirm this number?) When I say 2000 syllables I'm talking about 400 "words" with 5 different tone combinations so you end up with roughly 2000. The only way of effectively differentiating them is using Chinese characters or Hanzi.
Without characters, your life will be a lot more difficult. Don't worry too much about being able to write them, as many locals especially the younger generation are no longer good at that either, due to technology. You want to be able to read or at least recognize them and thus avoid confusion.
While I'm making progress with my Chinese, I can tell you that it's a pain trying to distinguish between words that all seemingly sound the same - I also have trouble trying to get myself to understand that just because a word is a homonym in English doesn't imply that Chinese will use a homonym for that same word or concept. I'm much better at learning languages with more words like Thai and Lao (which I am now fluent in because both languages have a large vocabulary, despite being tonal languages. They also borrow frequently from English and other languages, particularly for technology based words, which generally come from English).
Another confusing aspect of Chinese is the logic. Electricity + brain = computer? (diannao).
The funny thing is that when I used to teach English in Kunming some of my students preparing to go overseas for study would ask me: "How can we possibly remember all these words? Chinese only has a small number of words, but English has so many!"
I wouldn't be starting work until my residence permit for work is approved, a process that should take only 5 working days if all the paperwork is in order. At this point though, I am wondering about what my options are to get into Kunming on a tourist visa and then get it converted to a residence permit valid for work. I've received some conflicting information, but still nothing definitive.
I also like Dai food, but unfortunately many places in Kunming also make it really oily which is sad because if there was less oil the food would be superb. Down near Mengla I had a great meal with some friends and these locals from Jinghong we met at the national park place where you can walk along a walkway in the treetops. For some strange reason the park has a Thai name called "Pa Aranya".
Anyway, we had a superb Dai meal at this local restaurant located near Mengla on the way back from the park. Had excellent sticky rice with all sorts of fruits and nuts in it and about 15 different dishes most of which I have never had before. It wasn't oily at all, unlike Dai food in Kunming.
I'm surprised his car was still driveable and didn't end up with a zillion dents (or maybe it did). I wouldn't dare drive like that knowing that damaging my car is almost certain if I were to attempt that and secondly I have more regard for the safety of pedestrians than this bozo did.
Yep...though I'm more used to getting hassled than ignored. I thought we were all walking atms to these guys! Haha...anyway, it really depends though, because those taxi drivers that constantly pester you in places like Vietnam often rip you off, but if you go for the ones that are not specifically looking for fares they'll actually use the meters. Of course, taxis are better than motorcycle taxis though since they are less likely to rip you off. Also, you can almost always find a taxi or something else when you need one in those countries, even during rush hour. Something that's hard to do in Kunming and even Shanghai...
Also, apart from the occassional three-wheeled scooter or electric scooter driver willing to drive you somewhere, there are few alternative forms of transport in Kunming apart from the standard forms you'd see in the west: buses and taxis (and eventually, a subway). Only on the outskirts of town will you find motorcycle taxis who congregate around tourist spots such as the Nationalities Village, but these guys don't pick up fares inside town, probably because they aren't allowed to, I presume.
What i find that's totally bizarre to me is that in a developing country like China, no taxi driver follows a foreigner like would happen in neighboring Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia or elsewhere. In those countries, you don't look for the taxis, they look for you! In Kunming and China in general, you can walk down the street and no taxi driver will ever stop for you unless you want them to.
Tell the people to look at the signs and see what their reaction is! If they don't react, tell them that they can't read (which is what I would assume, if someone was just so oblivious to a sign right above their head).
What do you mean by "foreigners"? Everyone who is a non-citizen of Myanmar and wants to travel there is a foreigner. I doubt Burmese citizens require visas to return to their homeland.
Horrible tasteless, thick-crusted "cardboard" like pizzas that are a far cry from what they should be like. Way overpriced too. Wine may be good, but why bother when the nearby Prague Cafe makes much better pizza at a more reasonable price?
Great Mexican food and ice cream, excellent Raspberry smoothies and an overall good atmosphere. Can't do much about the low ceilings on the second floor, but the early closing time could be adjusted, after all, the nearby French Cafe closes at 1am.
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Video: Kunming driver crosses pedestrian bridge
发布者I'm surprised his car was still driveable and didn't end up with a zillion dents (or maybe it did). I wouldn't dare drive like that knowing that damaging my car is almost certain if I were to attempt that and secondly I have more regard for the safety of pedestrians than this bozo did.
Still, this was an entertaining piece of news.
Kunming addresses taxi shift change troubles
发布者Yep...though I'm more used to getting hassled than ignored. I thought we were all walking atms to these guys! Haha...anyway, it really depends though, because those taxi drivers that constantly pester you in places like Vietnam often rip you off, but if you go for the ones that are not specifically looking for fares they'll actually use the meters. Of course, taxis are better than motorcycle taxis though since they are less likely to rip you off. Also, you can almost always find a taxi or something else when you need one in those countries, even during rush hour. Something that's hard to do in Kunming and even Shanghai...
Also, apart from the occassional three-wheeled scooter or electric scooter driver willing to drive you somewhere, there are few alternative forms of transport in Kunming apart from the standard forms you'd see in the west: buses and taxis (and eventually, a subway). Only on the outskirts of town will you find motorcycle taxis who congregate around tourist spots such as the Nationalities Village, but these guys don't pick up fares inside town, probably because they aren't allowed to, I presume.
Kunming addresses taxi shift change troubles
发布者What i find that's totally bizarre to me is that in a developing country like China, no taxi driver follows a foreigner like would happen in neighboring Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia or elsewhere. In those countries, you don't look for the taxis, they look for you! In Kunming and China in general, you can walk down the street and no taxi driver will ever stop for you unless you want them to.
Yunnan preparing warily for China smoking ban
发布者Tell the people to look at the signs and see what their reaction is! If they don't react, tell them that they can't read (which is what I would assume, if someone was just so oblivious to a sign right above their head).