I have China Unicom. Is there a built-in service for them somewhere?
I have China Unicom. Is there a built-in service for them somewhere?
I've just given my parents a call in preparation of a call to my grandparents (they get confused by the skype delay) on Christmas day. 20 yuan is gone in less than 8 minutes though. Is this normal? Are there better options to call abroad?
Where do I find the cheapest tickets for (if possible direct) flights from Bangkok to Kunming? Ctrip, China Southern and Air China all have ridiculously high prices (2000 RMB, close to what I paid for Düsseldorf-Bangkok), probably because they go via Guangzhou.
I believe they must come cheaper, especially as the flight is for 1 March. Any ideas? Also, I need to put a fairly large box (containing my bicycle) into the hold. How do I arrange this?
I'm planning a similar trip towards Bangkok soon. 15th of January is my preliminary start date. However, I'd stick closer to the lake and make Yuxi my first stop. You're welcome to ride along on my first day(s).
S
On my overland trip to Thailand, I was planning to get Visas on Arrival for both Laos and Thailand.
However, I've just read that the overland Thailand visa will only grant me 15 days, not enough. Hence my questions (considering my nationality is Belgian):
A. How can I get a 30-day or longer visa if I'm planning to enter overland? Does that require me to go to the consulate?
A1. Where is that?
A2. How much time and money should I anticipate?
A3. Which documents should I prepare?
B. If I enter Laos overland, how many days VOA will I get?
B1. How much money do I need for this?
B2. Which documents should I prepare?
I know I could search the internet for this, but there are so many factors influencing this (policies change over time, nationalities differ, points of entry differ ...) that I'd rather ask people that live close by.
No results found.
First and last experience. Absolutely horrible. I came in late with a big flesh wound. The doctor sewed it up and told me to come back in the morning "perhaps to redo it, and to change the bandage". When I did come back the next morning, they just changed the bandage and sent me off.
When I peeked at my own wound, I noticed it was horribly done. "Like a vet did the stitches," as someone commented. I then had to stay a night in a different hospital in order to do it right, with a 40% chance of getting infections. This cost me a lot more, thanks to Richland fucking up in the beginning.
Whatever X-rays were taken were not printed out and given to me so I couldn't go to another hospital for a second opinion or treatment.
The nurses didn't seem to know where half the things were and the doctors had to repeat orders to get basic things like scissors.
In the next hospital, it was noticed that I had fractured my jaw in two places. On the five X-Rays taken at Richland, they did not notice the fractures.
Pretty sure these people are not actual doctors and are therefore criminal.
Super place. Really cool interior, lots of good beers and drinks, fun toilet inside the telephone booth, and an interesting clientele.
Cons: pretty hard to find, no matching glasses for the imported beers, and home brews need some work.
Teaching and support lamentable.
Four people signed up for the highest-level class and got a teacher who does all the talking, refers to herself as 老师 and makes classes absolutely uninteresting. As of this moment, only 1 person is still going on a regular basis.
While staff is friendly, they are absolutely incapable to help out with visa matters in an adequate way. Lack of information beforehand, lack of support and lack of information during the visa process meant that I am waiting forever for my residence permit to be processed, without any information about why it's taking so long, why they can't get started ... I'd say this school is a good option if all you wanted is a visa, but they can't even handle this properly.
Anyone giving this school a 5-star rating hasn't been to any decently-run schools in Kunming, such as Keats'. The only redeeming quality is facilities and space, those are indeed excellent.
Have been studying at Keats for almost four semesters now and I'm very enthusiastic about the quality of the teachers and the commitment of the school's staff.
One point of criticism is that I think they could put in some effort to group people of the same level together, rather than base it on who was together in last semester's class.
I stayed here in the early days of March 2013. Dave and his wife are swell owners, the staff attentive, the food good, rooms in perfect order, WiFi fast enough... Much like the old hump, the entire place is an excellent place to relax and make friends. And that is what you come to do in Dali, after all. The location is a bit isolated from the old town, but nothing is really far away in Dali. Besides, it makes for a better starting point to walk up Cangshan.
Yunnan awash in hydropower
Posted bybrownie points for off topic but funny
Yunnan addresses burgeoning age crunch
Posted byIn which country does the government pay enough money for the retired to continue their quality of life? Other than some oil states, probably none. Most people rely on their own savings plus whatever scraps their state pension allows them. It's usually wildly insufficient, and inflation happens all the time and everywhere.
Needs are lower, too: where young people need a lot of money to buy a house, the elderly mostly already own a dwelling.
Also, 40 RMB may not sound as much, but when I cook for myself, 40 RMB lasts me an entire week. People that are craftier with their money, need less food, have better haggling skills and know where to get produce cheaper, may well last over two weeks. And then they usually still have their grandchildren and savings to rely on.
Getting Away: Heart 2 Heart Youth Hostel
Posted byCool report. Intend to head out one of these weekends!
Shop owner fined 68,000 yuan, pays 10,000 in coins
Posted byHaha! What assault case, though?
Kunming's metro could cost 300 billion yuan
Posted byThe Economist argued cities like Kunming have little to no need for a metro system. I originally mocked them for not knowing Kunming's worst traffic situation. But I later understood: a Bus Rapid Transit system would be a lot faster, easier and cheaper to install, maintain and operate in a city like Kunming. Prestige projects like a metro system are nonsense in Kunming.
Promoting car usage too.