I don't know the actual school, but I do personally know MattYuxi and the British guy who runs the school. Both are top quality people I'd put a lot of trust in.
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Apparently the visa office in Hekou just walks into Lao Cai with your passport, gets a visa and then returns it to you in two hours time. It's the fastest service and costs around 400 RMB. They can only do 1-month visas, though. I'll try it (with some days to spare in case everything goes tits up) and let you know.
I'm not talking about visas on arrival, I want to get one in Hekou.
Being an amazing cook doesn't make you a chef, or a restaurant manager for that matter. Ask the scores of businesses that have perished within the year, or are struggling to get some patronage who turn out extremely dissatisfied because the place is in disrepair, the staff uninterested, the food made with ingredients that have been lying around and the menu reduced to half because the volume doesn't support it any more.
Don't let that put you off - a good curry restaurant will be popular - but be warned that it's not a walk in the park to set up a hospitality business anywhere, let alone in China.
The real question is whether you want to give up all the perks that come with your qualifications (news anchor, PhD) to teach uninterested high-school (or worse, kindergarten) kids or to cook curries for a record-low wage in Kunming. Add in the pestering visa rules and daily annoyances, and my conclusion would be that you'd have to be very flexible and interested in the things that Kunming has to offer: great climate, learning Chinese, good outdoor options, seeing China develop ... Or you're not going to cut it beyond drinking in expat bars for a year or so.
Gome is 国美 in Chinese, there are several departments but like all mainland Chinese electronics shops, they are way too expensive.
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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.
Rural Yunnan township takes flak for alcohol ban
Posted bydon't forget that Dulong is a heavily Christian area, AND that drinking there is a serious issue. You can compare it to the droughts and the alcohol bans in both the US and in the Nordic countries in the early 20th century, when drinking had half of the country on its ass. Or Kunming.
Study: Re-greening of China possibly not so green
Posted byRefer to this ghostwritten blog post for a discussion of this topic elsewhere.
blog.worldagroforestry.org/[...]
Getting Away: Winter hiking on Yunnan's Laojun Mountain
Posted byI'm sure the lakc of human habitation is because of the strict park law enforcement. How did you get in? You normally need to obtain a permit.
Food prices across China continue to soar
Posted by"However, the RMB has, despite dropping recently, grown overall against foreign currency, so the real cost in global terms has risen even further, perhaps 15x and 6x. Yes, there has been inflation, but that happens everywhere and not 15x in 15 years, ie. 100% per year!"
That doesn't sound right. If you're consuming domestically, you can't state that food prices have actually risen a multiple of the actual inflation because of a difference of RMB vs foreign currency. At least that's not a good indication of economic situations.
This only holds true in the eyes of the few who shop in Yunnan using foreign currency (I guess importers are feeling it).
Life in Kunming: Urban gardening with James Osborne
Posted bylove your garden James