I second sunscreen.... it is easy to forget that at this altitude, the sun is very strong. I found good sunscreen here at same price as in Sweden, but it doesnt hurt to bring some. Minimum 25+. And when you get here, get some good sunglasses with proper polaroid function.
Oh oh... and some peanut butter :D
And corn chips.
And some corn chips
And peanut butter... :D
And sun screen... seriously... its really needed here.
But those are things to bring... the thing to leave behind is:
All preconceptions of what life, the world, culture, society, food, colors, smells, fashion, taste, etc is about. Just leave half your brain behind... its full of preconceived junk anyhow, however liberal and open minded you are. You just dont need it.
Remember... China has a culture that goes back thousands of years... USA is not even 300 years old... you will meet things you think are strange, but actually are very natural.... remember that YOU are the strange bird here... not the Chinese.
:) I really envy you to see all this for the first time! Its really great! Just set your mind to the "wow" mode, and you will be fine. :)
Be a child... accept and "wow" in everything... both the good and the bad and you will be in for the treat of your life time. :)
Peanut butter.
An open mind.
Lots and lots of tolerance to none-american culture.
A fork (if you dont handle eating sticks).
A sense of self-humor and lack of self-importance.
More peanut butter.
Oh... and some corn chips.
Did I mention peanut butter?
:)
Enjoy your stay.
And please... stay away from the western eateries... buy and eat local food from small places. Same with shopping... stay away from Walmart, Carrefour et sim and buy from the small "hole-in-the-wall" shops on the off-streets or at the local market. You get better quality and better price and feed the local people instead of foreign investors.
As to point 2, Skype can only be used for calls over wifi. You can chat over 3G, but not phone. This is a limitation in the program forced by the phone companies.
I use Skype a lot for calls, especially international calls. The sound-quality on the iPhone is much much better than when I phone over the computer. Im really happy for being able to use Skype on iPhone.
@Greginchina
That is the vulnerability we have seen so far...
The reset you mention only works if your phone is alive enough to have contact with iTunes and then also to receive and install the original OS and settings... Not a risk I am willing to take. My experience is that electronics can die completely and be totally unbootable.
The warranty is - to my understanding - world wide. However, the warranty terms do say that Apple "can" limit the warranty to the country the item was bought, but not that they do so.
Anyhow, enough said by me on this topic.
BTW... I am very curious to know: does anyone know why the mainland Chinese iPhone lacks wifi? It seems strange to me, as wifi is very popular in China and - as I have heard - some cities even provide free wifi in the city centers.
@kickkick
:D No... Coco is a very cute chinese girl. _I_ am the bearded Swedish guy.... with that description, Coco will know who I am. :)
More about jailbraking:
@Greginchina
I agree.
One thing that often fails to be mentioned, is that if your iPhone goes nuts (and all electronic stuff will, eventually) and needs repair, the guarantee is void if you have jailbroken your iPhone.
Another thing is that there are malware out there now, that targets jailbroken iPhones, since jailbreaking not only modifies the carrier-lock, but opens up the root, leaving it vulnerable. Right now, you can protect yourself by changing the root password, but many jailbreak their phone without changing the root password.
As for me, I just don't want the hassle of having to block updates that will relock the phone and I feel safer having the guarantee still in power for when my iPhone decides to have a seizure.
Buck, thank you for the concern and the info.
I was trying to be witty. But I am glad you care enough to raise the issue anyhow. :)
As Moutai is made of sorghum, I guess it can contain levels of hydrogen cyanide and nitrates depending on what kind of sorghum used and at what stage its harvested. But who knows what els they add... thinking of that manufacturers of milk powder can add melamine cyanurate to fake protein levels, people making counterfeit booze (or even the real thing) could add God knows what.
An alternative is to brand it "almost" the real thing, and sell it cheap. Same as they take Apple and brand it Aepple or aPad instead of iPad.
That way, they can make some money, stay out of jail, and let us know that we buy "almost" the real thing at less price. So why not sell "Hernessy", "Martill cognacs", "Johny Wakler" and "Aboslut Vodka" (or why not "Almost Vodka")?
As long as its cheap, tastes ok, gets me drunk and doesnt make me blind, Im happy.
The one thing I have had a hard time getting acclimatized to, is the flavor of the hard liquor in China. Sure, I can get plastered for 10Y on traditional Chinese vodka, but it tastes really bad to my palate. Sorry, but the local liquor tastes like badly perfumed industrial cleaning liquid. But hey, its cheap and can be bought at any small kiosk late at night when I cant sleep. :)
First time in KM, I heard him sitting a block down from the Children's Hospital. I have some wonderful photos of him, and last time there I was hoping to find him to give him a print out.
Maybe his repertoire isnt my favorite of the Erhu-classics, but it was really nice listening to him regardless. A handsome man (very photogenic), friendly and a joy to hear him play un-amplified. I just can't stand those who take an erhu and shove through a cheap small portable combo-amp with lots of distortion, even if they do play my favorite erhu-classics.
The Swedish word "motionslopp" should rather be translated as "exercise race" or "exercise run" (motion = exercise and lopp = race (originally from löpa = to run) ).
The idea of the "race" is to encourage people to exercise.
I am very impressed by your response to ben-g. Your openness and attitude gives me a very good feeling towards you and your café.
I usually never go to cafés, and I am sadly not in KM now. But next time I come (soon, I hope) I will absolutely visit Dune Cafe and I will also recommend in advance my Chinese friends in KM to visit your café.
Best of luck!
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Fake liquor operations raided by police
发布者Buck, thank you for the concern and the info.
I was trying to be witty. But I am glad you care enough to raise the issue anyhow. :)
As Moutai is made of sorghum, I guess it can contain levels of hydrogen cyanide and nitrates depending on what kind of sorghum used and at what stage its harvested. But who knows what els they add... thinking of that manufacturers of milk powder can add melamine cyanurate to fake protein levels, people making counterfeit booze (or even the real thing) could add God knows what.
Fake liquor operations raided by police
发布者An alternative is to brand it "almost" the real thing, and sell it cheap. Same as they take Apple and brand it Aepple or aPad instead of iPad.
That way, they can make some money, stay out of jail, and let us know that we buy "almost" the real thing at less price. So why not sell "Hernessy", "Martill cognacs", "Johny Wakler" and "Aboslut Vodka" (or why not "Almost Vodka")?
As long as its cheap, tastes ok, gets me drunk and doesnt make me blind, Im happy.
The one thing I have had a hard time getting acclimatized to, is the flavor of the hard liquor in China. Sure, I can get plastered for 10Y on traditional Chinese vodka, but it tastes really bad to my palate. Sorry, but the local liquor tastes like badly perfumed industrial cleaning liquid. But hey, its cheap and can be bought at any small kiosk late at night when I cant sleep. :)
Interview: Chen Jianxuan
发布者First time in KM, I heard him sitting a block down from the Children's Hospital. I have some wonderful photos of him, and last time there I was hoping to find him to give him a print out.
Maybe his repertoire isnt my favorite of the Erhu-classics, but it was really nice listening to him regardless. A handsome man (very photogenic), friendly and a joy to hear him play un-amplified. I just can't stand those who take an erhu and shove through a cheap small portable combo-amp with lots of distortion, even if they do play my favorite erhu-classics.
World's largest recreational bicycle race coming to Yunnan
发布者The Swedish word "motionslopp" should rather be translated as "exercise race" or "exercise run" (motion = exercise and lopp = race (originally from löpa = to run) ).
The idea of the "race" is to encourage people to exercise.