If you are in Beichen area, from the Specialised store head towards metro (but don't cross the street to Metro), go across Beichen Middle Road at the intersection and keep walking for about 100m towards Expo gardens. You will find a pretty good bike shop there which sells some big brands and the prices aren't ridiculous. English is a problem though, you will want to speak some Chinese if you go here! The guys at the Specialised bike shop are awesome but the prices in the shop are a tad ridiculous (I can buy the same bikes in the west for around 10-50% less). And of course they pretty much only stock Specialised...
I think in answering that question you have to think about why English is such a widely spoken language. Its because America and England came to dominate a lot of the world through business, technological innovation and military might. However it seems this is on the wane from both countries and asia appears to be the lady in waiting on all fronts (while the still have a fair way to go), particularly China.
What I do know is this - in my country how many lao wai spoke Chinese or any asian language 30 years ago... almost none. Now, quite a few people are studying asian languages and speak them fairly fluently. Is this just for fun? I believe most people see asia rising and want to be able to communicate effectively both ways, be it for business or just so they can be part of the new world order that will appear in the not so distant future...
Chinese people in China will always speak their local dialect and/or Chinese first and English or another language second. Being able to communicate in the same way will give you a leg up in business/love/whatever. While Chinese people will communicate with you in English if required (and if they know English), you have to look at it from their point of view. If they have 2 people to do business with/fall in love with/become friends with, 1 that knows Chinese (and therefore probably understands the culture a lot more) and 1 that doesn't, who do you think they are likely to connect with? Remember Chinese is a much more social based culture and less contractual than the west...
France the better team? Hmmm... tough to make a call there.
France got lots more ball in the 2nd half due to NZ's game plan falling a bit to pieces, mostly due (I think) to Donald coming on and kicking the ball back to France every time he got it - not really the ABs rugby style as they usually hold the ball and run with it. Rather than the French being awesome and therefore holding possession it was more a case of "here ya go, have the ball" from the All Blacks. The French couldn't capitalise on all the possession though - I think a team with better attacking players probably could have scored a couple of tries as the ABs defence was only just able to contain the French. Just having the ball isn't enough, capitalising on the possession is just as important.
The ABs showed a lot more attacking flair in the first half though, a number of their backline moves would have been tries had their timing been spot on. They also missed so many shots at goal as the French gave away too many penalties within kickable range.
Unfortunately as shown by almost all the games in Semi finals onwards, RWC finals matches are won with brute force grinding play with the occasional lucky or clever try with the winner decided by kicking. I say unfortunately because it would be great if the winner won 6 tries to 5 in extra time with the players still able to break the line and more free flowing rugby. Which would be more entertaining and hence better for the game?
I say the rules should be changed - 3 points for a penalty, 2 for a drop goal, 3 for a conversion, 5 for a try. That way, penalties have a bigger effect than drop goals which are boring (and 3 penalties will beat a converted try still, punishing naughty teams) and teams will be more willing to go for a converted try (which means more attacking play/line breaks etc and more interesting in-goal play as players will really really try to get close to the posts). Can anyone really argue that the drop goal is an exciting element to the game or that it should be worth the same as someone doing something really naughty close to the posts?
In rugby league the droppy is worth 1 point - 17% of a converted try. In Rugby its worth 3, 42% of a converted try. A penalty is worth 2 points in league, 33% of a converted try while in rugby its 42% again. In many ways league is more fun to watch than rugby, mostly due to teams wanting to score tries (due to the points advantage) and coming up with really clever back line moves to do so. Until that happens in rugby finals matches will be decided by luck, kicking and brute force rather than entertaining and exciting play. You only have to look at the NRL grand final (in which 6 tries were scored) to see the difference.
Yep, pretty much everywhere you will find counterfeit clothing except at the actual branded stores. The problem is that there are stores that LOOK like branded stores, sell stuff that LOOKs real, charge the same price (or close to) as if it WERE real but its fake. Good way to make money right? If you want to find fake clothes, you should find the real stores (use the manufacturers website) and shop for the same label anywhere but there. Then you will be buying fake, but possibly paying the same price for it.
Typical construction takes about 1/4 of the time in the West! I would call this a-typical construction!
Typical would be if they built it in half the time, set sail on it, then it fell apart half a year later after they found out the beams were hollow, the sails made of paper and the hull wood was actually hollowed concrete made to look like wood!
Maybe the problem here is they want to make it high quality and aren't quite sure how to go about doing so!
And 137m ships made of wood coming from anywhere is a structural impossibility, I believe, without steel/iron/carbon fibre support or some very cunning way to fit very long beams of wood together where they hold their strength. And is it just luck that this happens to be the same length as Noah's Ark? If they did make them that long, likely they wouldn't have survived even minor swells, let alone going halfway around the world in uncertain weather...
And this terrible effect (when one of our friends fell off a swing and knocked herself unconscious requiring a hospital visit and stitches) deserves a firing squad? Or is execution only for the original crime of wilful drug taking, not for the negative effects?
And after we swore to each other to never do it again and none of us have since, are we still all miscreants that deserve the death penalty?
Hate to tell you, but you would likely be executing a third of the population of most developed nations if you decide everyone that has ever done drugs deserves death. We won't have much of a society left if such a plan was implemented, but maybe complete anarchy and civil war is what you want? In the US alone it is estimated that 125 million people have taken illicit drugs in their lifetime: www.drugwarfacts.org/cms/Drug_Usage#sthash.0EZTAoMC.dpbs
No problem with executing 125 million in the US alone?
But you said "Death penalty for all drug users... just execute all drug users since they serve no purpose in any society."
When asked if you were being sarcastic, you said "I am not being sarcastic at all".
I can only assume you believe I am not a useful member of society as a person who once took drugs and I deserve to be executed. Which is it? Off with my head or not? So many contradictions, I aren't sure how you keep it straight.
Wow, just wow. Possibly the best Chinese food I have had in Kunming. And in one of the nicest, traditional courtyard style restaurant I have been in. A woman dressed in traditional qi pao playing a gu zheng just adds to it.
We had okra, mushroom soup, dried beef and chou dofu. All top notch with the bill coming in at just over 250 kuai. But we could have fed 3 people for that so not too bad at about 80-90 kuai each. Not the cheapest but for the quality, it's damn good.
If you have people visiting and want to take them to a traditional Chinese style restaurant with Yunnan style food, or want a romantic night out with a gal, you can't go wrong here. Close to Green Lake (down a little alley) for a romantic walk... Just perfect.
Pretty good place for getting all your documents translated and/or notarised. Note that there are a number of notaries in the building which you can find by going up the stairs (the elevators are impossible). But you have to find the stairs to do so... go in the door, head over to the right, go up the big wide stairs which head up a floor, turn right then right again into the elevator area and right again into the stairwells. Whew!
One point off for the elevators never being available and having to hike 7-9 flights of stairs (not good if you have to go 3-4 times a day like I often did!)
This does not stop at the Jinanya hotel at Da Shang Hui as the flyers state (and is on the images tab here). They need to have another stop in the same area or else they are missing out on covering a big chunk of the city.
You can take another bus, the 919C, I believe, if you are nearby Da Shang Hui, which leaves from the bus station on HeHong Lu, nearby the Qianxing road intersection. This bus goes every hour and is white, found at the western end of the station. It is operated by a different company and takes about 1 hour 10 minutes to get to the airport due to a large number of stops especially near the airport.
Friendly people, even got to the talk to the vice consulate, who told me she had done a stint in Malaysia's Siberian Consulate!
English is spoken by some of the Chinese girls working at the desk who are pleasant to deal with. I assume they do Visa's as well but I wasn't here for a visa, this time!
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Life in Kunming: A cabbie's perspective
发布者Also can take the pictures from the side of the road. Point the camera, hold it steady as possible while panning at the same speed as the car.
Delays plague Zheng He treasure ship launch
发布者Should read "Typical construction takes about 1/4 of the time here than in the West!", ahh well its late, clearly need bed.
Delays plague Zheng He treasure ship launch
发布者Typical construction takes about 1/4 of the time in the West! I would call this a-typical construction!
Typical would be if they built it in half the time, set sail on it, then it fell apart half a year later after they found out the beams were hollow, the sails made of paper and the hull wood was actually hollowed concrete made to look like wood!
Maybe the problem here is they want to make it high quality and aren't quite sure how to go about doing so!
And 137m ships made of wood coming from anywhere is a structural impossibility, I believe, without steel/iron/carbon fibre support or some very cunning way to fit very long beams of wood together where they hold their strength. And is it just luck that this happens to be the same length as Noah's Ark? If they did make them that long, likely they wouldn't have survived even minor swells, let alone going halfway around the world in uncertain weather...
Laos extradites drug suspects to Yunnan
发布者And this terrible effect (when one of our friends fell off a swing and knocked herself unconscious requiring a hospital visit and stitches) deserves a firing squad? Or is execution only for the original crime of wilful drug taking, not for the negative effects?
And after we swore to each other to never do it again and none of us have since, are we still all miscreants that deserve the death penalty?
Hate to tell you, but you would likely be executing a third of the population of most developed nations if you decide everyone that has ever done drugs deserves death. We won't have much of a society left if such a plan was implemented, but maybe complete anarchy and civil war is what you want? In the US alone it is estimated that 125 million people have taken illicit drugs in their lifetime: www.drugwarfacts.org/cms/Drug_Usage#sthash.0EZTAoMC.dpbs
No problem with executing 125 million in the US alone?
Laos extradites drug suspects to Yunnan
发布者But you said "Death penalty for all drug users... just execute all drug users since they serve no purpose in any society."
When asked if you were being sarcastic, you said "I am not being sarcastic at all".
I can only assume you believe I am not a useful member of society as a person who once took drugs and I deserve to be executed. Which is it? Off with my head or not? So many contradictions, I aren't sure how you keep it straight.