Travel To China

Stuart Cheese asked:


In my capacity as the UK Director of Operations for One World Tours Limited, I am often asked about the destinations I have been to and how it all began in the first place. 10 years ago I embarked on my second trip around the world and I suppose you could say that this is where it truly all began. Here is my first experience of China.

I thought that visiting the Seven Wonders of the world in eight days would be a fun and challenging thing to do. Having decided with my sponsors the airlines and a chain of leading world-wide hotels it was decided that the Seven Wonders of the World were the Taj Mahal, the Great Wall of China, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Golden Gate Bridge, The Empire State Building, Sydney Opera House and the Pyramids of Egypt. This would notch up a staggering 42,000 miles in 8 just days. With very limited funds and a friends borrowed cash card, only to use in emergencies, I set off on my journey of a lifetime.

One of the sponsors had promised a sum of money to help with the expenses of the trip and the quickest that the money would be available was two days into the trip! The money was to be deposited into my bank account and as I was very short of cash I decided to see if my cash card would work in one of the machines at Beijing airport. It was unsuccessful as the machine kept rejecting the card. This would have meant the end of the trip had it not been for the credit card a friend had kindly loaned me. I had promised that I would only use it in an emergency. I felt like it was taking the p to take advantage of Brendan’s kindness. My main concern was whether or not the promised money would ever be on hand to cover anything that I might need to draw from my friends account and there was not a cast iron guarantee. Also if the money did not appear in my account I couldn’t justify taking the hundreds of pounds extra that I needed for the rest of the trip from him. I imagined myself telling him the predicament I now found myself in and could hear him saying that, “you should have used my card that is why I gave it to you!” I decided to take the gamble.



I drew some money with my friends card because I needed it to get a taxi and I also needed enough for a refundable deposit at the hotel. Once through customs a very persistent Chinese “taxi driver” pestered me to distraction. He was absolutely determined to take us wherever we needed to go! I was very assertive in dealing with him and demanded to see an official card. The Chinese boy took out a homemade ticket from his pocket. It was quite obvious from his manner that he was not the genuine article. I refused to go with him at first and opted to look outside for a proper taxi. It soon became clear that most of the taxi’s had been booked in advance and that this lad was looking to be our only hope. His charge was 300rbs to take me the twenty minutes to our hotel. I didn’t have a choice really. I felt a little uncomfortable having to put my trust in someone that I knew nothing about in a totally foreign environment. Just as I was loading my luggage into the back of his taxi, a young woman approached and enquired as to where I was going. She wasn’t having much luck with drivers either and offered to pay a third of the fare if she could share the cab. I resigned myself to the fact that we would be safer in numbers. Our Chinese escort sped through the town at 140 kilometres an hour.

I arrived at the Tianlun Dynasty Hotel and insisted that I was given my luggage before I handed over the fare. It was rather comical that neither side trusted the other.. I took my first look toward the entrance of the hotel and was astounded by its grandness. When I spotted the elegant doorman I felt like turning on my heels and taking off with the young lady that had shared the cab with me.



I approached the reception desk that was set neatly into the extremely large, extremely elaborate foyer of the hotel. The staff spoke limited English but it was soon established that I had in fact been listed as having a complimentary room. The comical part was to try and organise for a taxi to pick me up at 4am the next morning, to take me to the Great Wall and then return so that I could attend a press conference at 10am. I then had to catch a flight from Beijing to go to Sydney at 11.30am! With the limited communications it was very difficult to get across exactly what it was that we wanted. I managed to sort things out by actually drawing pictures of the hotel, Great Wall taxi etc. The staff were absolutely fantastic and looked after me very well indeed.

As I had spent most of the money I had drawn out on taxi fares, I also had to arrange to be taken to a bank on the way back from the Great Wall too. It was going to cost 1000rbs to hire a driver for the day. The staff bent over backwards to help me even though they knew that I had no money and no guarantee of getting any.

Somehow I managed to wake with a start at 3.05am.



I got up and made my way down to the reception area, if the truth were known I was on automatic pilot! Scottie Lee, the man that had been so helpful when I had first arrived, was still manning the fort. I waited in the reception area and at about 3.50 the driver for the day arrived. When you consider that to drive me around for about seven hours was going to cost 1000rbs you realise just how much the first taxi driver that I had encountered at the Beijing airport had ripped me off!

I followed our driver to his car, a nice black Audi and as with most of the cars in Beijing the back windows were tinted black. The driver was dressed in black too and the whole thing put me in mind of a Bond movie. The driver spoke less English than the staff in the hotel, yet he proved to be to be very valuable in his willingness to help.

The actual journey was relatively boring. It was still very dark and what with the tinted windows, it was difficult to see much at all. I didn’t see any other traffic on the road because of the time I was travelling.

Scottie Lee had estimated that it would take at least 4 hours to get to the Great Wall so when I noticed a tunnel up ahead that announced in red and green lights, The Great Wall of China only 1 hour and forty minutes into the trip, I was very surprised. It wasn’t until the driver actually stopped and got out of the car, that I really believed I was there. It was a beautiful, crisp, dark morning and the stars were still clearly visible. The wall loomed above me and you could just about make out the top of it silhouetted against the starry backdrop. I was worried that the photos may not come out properly because my hands were so shaky! I took as many snaps as was comfortable and drove around to take a few more of the signs announcing the Badling Wall. I arrived back at the hotel at 7.30 much to the surprise of the staff.

With Wonder number two tucked firmly under my belt I decided that I ought to deal with the pressing no cash problem. I took to the streets of Beijing in search of an ATM machine. My excitement at finding one soon evaporated when my card was rejected for the second time. I decided against using my friends card again until I had been to the bank of China at 8.30am as had been arranged previously with the driver through Scottie. He took us through town to the bank and we discovered that it did not open until 9.30am.

I tried to use my card again in the hole in the wall outside the bank still to no avail! I knew that I had to pay the driver the 1000rbs and also the staff for our breakfast so I had no choice but to use my friends card for the second time. I realised that if when I got to Sydney and my card still did not work that I had no choice but to cancel the rest of the trip.

I put my friends card into the cash machine and drew out 350rbs to see if it would work. I still needed another 1000 so I put the card back in again. While I decideded how much more I might need to my utter horror the machine swallowed up the card. At this point I wasn’t too concerned because the bank was now open and I assumed that someone inside would have a key to it.

The driver and I entered the bank and tried to speak to the young lady behind the counter that only spoke limited English. “I send card to you!” she said helpfully. “But I need it today!” I explained. “You have in two days time!” she continued. I couldn’t believe it; apparently the keyholder was on leave and would be back in two days time! For the first time I could see the trip slip away from me. I had well and truly given up all hope of going another step forward and could not hide the disappointment in my heart. I explained that I had a plane to catch at 11.30am, it was roughly 9.40. I still had the press conference to do at 10am. “I send your card to you back home!” the young lady insisted. “But I need money!” I insisted too. I couldn’t blame her for the dilemma I was now facing.

She rang the lady with the key and told me that we would have to wait for an hour as the lady lived that far away from the bank!

The wait at the bank was the longest hour of my entire life. It was a cold, grey and uninviting place. I watched many people come and go whilst watching the big hands of the clock slowly knocking minutes off of the trip.

I watched a lady with a small child enter the bank and soon discovered that she was the lady that held the key to all of my problems, literally. She retrieved the card and gave it to the young lady behind the counter. “May I see passport?” she asked. I offered it to her discreetly hiding the initials under my thumb. She took it from me and compared the details. “This not your card!” she said. “I can’t give back!” she continued. At this point I gave up on ever completing the trip. I experienced the nauseating lurch in my stomach. “I no give!” she insisted. You have to give her credit she was doing her job very well. After a brief chat to the lady that had retrieved the card she gave it back to us.

I made sure that the lady with the key waited while I drew the money out of my friends account.

I was so relieved to be able to pay Lee his long overdue fee for his much-appreciated help. He whisked me off to the airport and we said our goodbyes.

I had achieved the second part of the trip with the very much appreciated and kind help of the Chinese people that I encountered.



Elijah

Fantasy asked:


I want to teach in China. How can I find the recruitment of foreign instructors’ schools in China?

Lily

Joanna M Lawson asked:


If you are planning to holiday in Asia with your young family, here are some tips and recommendations to make your Asian holiday that much more enjoyable.

Be it relaxing in heavenly Bali villas, or hiking in Kuta Kinabalu, or enjoying Disney World in Tokyo, Asia offers a huge variety of holiday destinations for those with younger children.

However, as rewarding as it is, traveling with the younger ones in Asia is not always an easy sail.

Here are some insights gained traveling across Asia with children in tow, over the past 10 years.

Getting There and Back

It is more than likely that you will be taking a commercial flight to Asia.

Here is the first word of caution. As far as traveling with the young ones is concerned, not all airlines are created equal. No, I don’t mean the level of service you can expect, as this seems to be of quite a high level whichever Asian based major airline you choose. In our experience, Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Air New Zealand, and Emirates all offer great service when you are traveling with kids.

However, the big difference comes in how much different carriers choose to charge for the younger ones. Some carriers, for example, charge 10 percent of an adult fare, for infants, traveling on your lap, without a seat. At first, this may sound like a fair deal. However, if you consider the fact that this 10 percent is calculated as a percentage of a -Full Published Adult Fare- price, you may find that you are paying as much for your infant’s air fare, as you are for your own discounted fare! The good news is, not all airlines use this pricing policy, and if you shop around, you can save yourself hundreds of dollars even before you leave home!

Also, do keep in mind, that many airlines will offer special -Child Meals-. Some, such as Singapore Airlines, do also offer different menus for different age groups.

Similarly, for toddlers and older kids, it is worth checking what is on offer in terms of flight entertainment. Some airlines will have dedicated children’s cartoon channels, with a large selection of entertainment options, whilst others may not. If you are traveling long-haul, this alone could make a huge difference to how well your Asian holiday kicks off.

Transportation on the Ground

The quality and safety of ground transportation varies immensely from one Asian Country to the other. However, as a general rule of thumb, do not expect taxis to provide child safety seats, and in many parts of Asia, even rental cars may not have the child safety seat option.

The good news is, across most of Asia, metered taxis are plentiful, and relatively well maintained, with working seat belts. When you are in Singapore, you can expect (or even demand); fully functioning seat belts both at the front and back passenger seats. In other parts of the region, you may find that seat belts have been removed, on purpose, because ‘they get in the way’.

So, if you are adamant that you would like child safety seats whilst holidaying in Asia, you may consider bringing your own, or picking one up, when you land at your destination.

Probably with the exception of Japan, Korea and Taiwan, facilities on local train services are of a variable quality, and unless you are going for gold, and staying on the Palace on Wheels in India, or a special First Class trip between Beijing and Shanghai, you may want to plan well, and take all your essentials on board with you.

Food Matters

Whilst most westerners find Asian food (especially South Asian, or South East Asian food), quite spicy, this is not necessarily an issue when traveling with the younger ones. Most hotels and restaurants will prepare food for the little ones separately, without the spices. Also, if in doubt, plain noodles, or plain rice with some vegetables on the side is always readily available as a good stop gap ration. Depending on how off the beaten track you decide to travel, you are more than likely to find, old favourites such as fish-fingers, chicken nuggets, and hamburgers in most parts of Asia.

One word of caution on the food front is the liberal use of MSG (Mono Sodium Glutamate) in Asian cooking. This food additive is also used in the west (mostly packaged crisps/chips), and in principle is no more harmful than many of the E numbers we may consume daily. However, in many Asian countries MSG is used very liberally, especially in soups and food with sauces. In China, Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia, to name a few countries, you can expect that your soups and sauces will contain MSG by default. Many parents who live and travel in Asia complain that excessive MSG causes dehydration, lethargy, and mood swings with some younger children (and many adults are also found to be sensitive to excessive MSG). If concerned, request for your food to be prepared without any MSG, or choose MSG-free restaurants, increasingly available across the region.

Bare Necessities

In general, availability and the condition of public toilets in Asia leave much to be desired. Of course, there are exceptions to this rule. Singapore and Japan for example, typically provide some of the cleanest public conveniences to be found anywhere in the world. Also, in each country, there are certain locations, such as hotels and airports where hygiene standards are going to be at international levels. However, it is good practice to always carry your own tissues, and wet wipes with you when traveling in Asia. Also, to address this problem, in many Asian cities, you can also find special antiseptic wet-wipes, which are very handy when dealing with some of the lesser public conveniences.

It is also worth noting that, restaurants/coffee-shops do not always provide their own toilets for guest use, and more than likely share facilities with other establishments. This is true for even larger malls, and good quality restaurants in hygiene conscious Singapore. So, the old trick of, grabbing an unwanted cup of coffee or a drink at a restaurant, just to be able to use the facilities is not always a solution in Asia.

Similarly, availability of baby changing rooms varies immensely across the region. In Singapore, and Hong Kong for example, changing facilities are readily available in most shopping malls, one almost on each floor. However, when you are off the beaten track, even some good quality hotels may not provide child changing facilities.

Breast Feeding in Public

As a general rule of thumb, if you decided to breast feed in public, regardless of how discrete you are being, expect to be stared at. The good news is, across most of the region, this is no more sinister than surprise and interest on the part of the locals. If in doubt, you may want to retreat to a quiet corner, back of a restaurant, or baby changing facilities.

My Child is a Model!

If your children are under four or five years old, and/or blonde or with naturally curly hair, expect to be approached in parts of Asia by total strangers wanting to take photos of your child!

Again, there is nothing sinister about this request. They just want to capture the -cute factor- and share this amazing image with their friends and families.

You will typically be approached by Japanese, Korean, and Chinese ladies, who will want to pose with your child, and take each other’s photos. However, there seems to be no age or gender limit to this interest, over the years, our little ones have been photographed by business people in suits, restaurant chefs, and the odd octogenarian in small villages.

Asia’s Love for Children

One thing is for sure. Wherever you go to in Asia with your young family, you will find the locals ever helpful and highly interactive with your little ones. Asian’s love children, they love their own children, and also the children of foreign tourists.

My advice is, make the most of this, and allow your children to interact with the local population, be it your villa team at your rental Bali villa, or a chef in a Chinese restaurant, or the old lady selling flower garlands outside a temple in Thailand!

Most important of all, don’t feel like you have to wait till the kids are older before you can visit Asia. Have a go; both you and the children will love this colourful part of the world.

Enjoy your Asian holiday.

Many happy returns…



Bryant

stormy4 asked:


With the recalls from cat and dog food, tires, and now lead based paint and choking parts on toys sold to our children. It is obvious that the United States should ban all trade with China.
But in reality it will never happen because so many products that we use everyday are imported from there. I have been making a conscience effort to check labels and tags to see where a product comes from and do try to buy American when at all possible. Does anybody else feel this way also?

Ethan

Clinton Maxwell asked:


Sometimes you just can’t do everything you want during your vacation get away. What if you have a number of holiday destinations you would like to try out but a limited amount of time. There is a way to fit a cruise into part of this vacation

The key is booking a short holiday cruise. Sometimes a very, very short one-day cruise will let you have the experience without the major time expense.

There are a number of great options for these types of cruises, depending on the region you are visiting. You may even use the one-day cruise as part of your transport to your other holiday locations. Consider taking a cruise from New England to Florida. That is just one of many one-day cruises offered by Carnival cruise lines. Others will allow travel along the U.S. west coast, around the Hawaiian Islands, or even into Mexico.

On the other side of the world, there are day cruises offered through Sydney Harbor in Australia, voyages through the waterways of China, and even cruises that will take you through the Isles of Greece or the Mediterranean.

I guess the point here is that there are one or two day cruise options in all different climates, on all different continents and they will all give you a different way to view that region, while still having time in your holiday vacation to spend on land or visiting other areas.

In addition, if you are booking your cruise at a special time of year, there may be other cruise opportunities waiting. A number of the cruise lines offer special cruises around holidays. If you were thinking of traveling on the Fourth of July, near Thanksgiving Christmas or New Years, you should see what kind of extra special cruise offerings are available.

Before you book a one day cruise, it is important to know just because it says it is a one-day cruise, it could actually be a little longer. The term one-day really refers to the one night you will stay on the ship. So, if you leave early the first day, spend the night and spend much of the next day aboard, your trip will really be more like a two day stay.

Here is a list of very popular one-day cruises

Seward, Alaska - Cruises here will take you out to Fox Island where you can see wildlife usually only reserved for National Geographic videos, such as sea lions, sea otters, humpback whales, and puffins.

Valdez, Alaska - Here the one day cruises will take you though Prince William Sound to watch the whales, and get up close to the glaciers.

Monterey, California - Another offshore wildlife adventure sails for a day from this port, where there is a good amount of whale watching to be done as well as catching the antics of sea otters and seals.

San Diego, California - For a day of fresh air, and great scenery, this is the one-day sail to take. Sometimes it will also turn into a wildlife-watching trip.



Theresa

sock82003 asked:


I wouldn’t mind ordering from abroad, but a lot of these shops won’t ship things to China… Does anyone know a better word in Mandarin for rennet other than ????? How about a website where I can order it directly in China. Thanks!

Mckenzie

Uchenna Ani-Okoye asked:


We travellers are eligible for pre-existing medical condition exclusion waivers provided we buy our travel insurance from 7 to 21 days (depending on the policy) of making our arrangements. Some credit cards offer travel insurance, car rental insurance, and even concierge services for a small fee. Having travel insurance with travel rewards credit cards can greatly ease the mind of the traveller if he or she has an accident or incurs other damage while operating a rented vehicle.

Medical costs in Australia are not exorbitant like in the United States and Europe, but travel insurance is still recommended. These benefits include: cash back option, discounts on certain merchandise, free travel insurance, free baggage protection, discounts on hotels and rental cars and many more. And one credit card offers a concierge services, multi-trip travel insurance and executive lounge pass.

Many cash back cards provide you with additional benefits in terms of warranty protection, emergency roadside protection, travel insurance, auto rental, etc, along with cash rewards. They can also provide travel insurance that includes lost luggage, emergency expatriation, medical evacuation, and other worldwide emergencies. Camp tuition can be expensive; similar to travel insurance, there are now insurance policies for families sending their children to overnight summer camp to cover last minute cancellations, homesickness, medical emergencies and emergency evacuations.

With that in mind, it is easy to understand why travel insurance for pensioners is so necessary. Always purchase travel insurance through your travel agent to avoid loosing your vacation investment due to unforeseen setbacks. That site is a source of information about travel insurance, including cruise insurance, and shows where you can get multiple quotes from a variety of reliable travel insurance companies.

You’ll have to get your own documents, whether a fishing license, travel insurance, a passport, or proof of boat and vehicle ownership. Maybe you, too, are a Great Procrastinator and you avoid buying travel insurance before you leave on your trip.

a) Up to $500,000 in travel insurance

b) Auto Rental Insurance

c) A variety of travel emergency and services

If you are a card holder who generally carries a large outstanding balance on their credit card than you may find this particular credit card to be a bit more expensive than the others.

Further adjustments could include the disappearance of cash back and a reduction in free services, travel insurance, flights, holidays and other promotions. We will use a hypothetical company that provides travel insurance to travellers. Camp tuition can be expensive; similar to travel insurance, there are now insurance policies for families sending their children to overnight summer camp to cover last minute cancellations, homesickness, medical emergencies and emergency evacuations.

Before buying my travel insurance for the second trip, I shopped around online and got the coverage I needed, at the right price. Once you’ve invested in a good travel insurance policy, you can relax on your cruise knowing that any accident or illness, rather than being a trip-ruining financial disaster, will instead just be an unpleasant glitch in an otherwise marvellous experience.

Speaking of other benefits, you will be well guarded with various safety measures like travel insurance, car rental insurance, extended warranties on particular purchases, plausible discounts on products and services in case of participating merchants and retailers, several protective measures regarding valuable purchases and emergency card replacement.

A few years later, a little bit older and wiser, and my travel insurance for another trip to China cost me much less–about $300 for roughly the same coverage. Travel insurance is very affordably priced, so make sure to ask your travel agent or your booking company for more information about your options.



Melinda

Gaara asked:


I’m planning to go to china for at least one year and I’ll need a job. I don’t currently know any Chinese language however i am interested in learning it.

What jobs are available to English speaking only people in china?

My current education is a diploma in web design and development and a strong background in retail management.

Jermaine

foxresume asked:


IN 2007, several companies had to recall millions of products made in China because of lead paint being used in their manufacturing process. I’d like to know what amount of money, if any, did China lose because of this? Thank you.

Brenda

John Abbot asked:


I learned that night that Chinese love to sleep on really hard beds (at least they say they love it, but I suspect it is related directly to their budget because I’ve noticed that the wealthy Chinese seem to mysteriously opt for very comfortable Sealy’s and the like). Most hotels, except for the very top end 5 Stars, have beds that are just too hard for us spoiled Westerners, and this hotel, perhaps a consequence of its Red Army ownership, had a bed that was like concrete covered by a single cotton sheet. So I awoke early, unsure if I had actually slept at all, showered, and began a lengthy quest for coffee, which I normally cannot begin my day without.

My “Chinese Date” was to last 4 days, and my beautiful Chinese lady companion was coming to Hangzhou by train to meet me that afternoon, so having been driven out of bed by discomfort at about 6 AM, at least 3 hours earlier than my intended wakeup time, I had some serious time to kill.

Starting with the breakfast buffet that was included in my room charge and was being served in what could have passed for an army mess hall (or should I say a Red Army mess hall), I scoured the joint but found no sign of coffee whatsoever. I also found little evidence of palatable food. The Chinese vision of breakfast disappointed me then and it disappoints me still. They generally seem to not differentiate between breakfast and other meals when it comes to most dishes, with the exception of a sort of rice porridge called Congee. More and more the hotel buffets include a variety of Western food for breakfast, but that hotel, 5 years ago made no such effort whatsoever.

Congee, as it turns out, isn’t that bad if you do it right, but even now I can’t handle it for breakfast. Bare congee has the look, feel and taste of lumpy Elmer’s Glue, which I recall from my childhood being equally disappointing as a culinary item. However it turns out that all those various piles of dried and strange looking things piled next to the congee pot are actually ingredients to be added to give it flavour, and some of them are actually very good and turn the congee into something not half bad. However, those things tend to be spices and pickles and other items that I will never be able to associate with the word “breakfast”, so breakfast in China continues to disappoint.

Luckily that morning I discovered two items that apparently both I and the Chinese like for breakfast; grilled tomatoes and bacon. In fact as it turned out the bacon was as good as any I’d ever had. So 56 slices later (perhaps I exaggerate but I got my money’s worth in bacon) I ventured out into Hangzhou to track down some coffee. This turned out to be no small quest with a surprizing (to me anyway) ending.

Hangzhou is advertised both within China and in international travel guides, such as “The Rough Guide”, as one of, if not the, most beautiful cities in China, and that is exactly why I was there for my first look at China. The highlight of Hangzhou is what the Chinese refer to as “the famous West Lake” so I decided that I would go check it out as I was as likely to find coffee there as anywhere else. It was still only about 8 AM, and I anticipated a relaxing stroll around West Lake. By coincidence I am now in a committed relationship with a beautiful Chinese Woman who is from Hanhzhou, so I have come to know it as truly being one of the most beautiful cities not only in China but perhaps in the world, but my experiences that day, on one of the busiest tourist travel days in China, did nothing to endear Hangzhou to my heart.

First, I stepped out of the hotel into an incredible schmozzle of street traffic, mostly pedestrian, which immediately shattered my dreams of tranquility. Next I took a taxi ride to West Lake that bested any chase scene from any movie I have every seen. I’ve now come to realize that every taxi ride in China is an adventure of sorts, but this one was wild even by Chinese standards. I stepped out of the taxi into a sea of people. It was still just 8:20 AM.

West Lake in Hangzhou, on most days of the year it turns out, is indeed very tranquil and beautiful, but on the first day of May it is like fighting your way through the departing crowd at the Superbowl, only you are the only one in the crowd with no real combat experience embroiled in a battle you must fight every step for miles. West Lake park is a big place and every square foot was being coveted by at least 2 people. I saw no grass except by looking straight down between my feet, I saw no lake except a little shimmer throug a sea of heads, and if I hadn’t been taller than 98% of the Chinese people I doubt I would have seen the trees.

After 4 hours of pushing and shoving my way though this mass of people, all of whom seemed as unconcerned as I was agitated, I, with my right elbow up and my left hand firmly gripping my wallet pocket, emerged from the crowd at another exit point of the park and stumbled along the street leading from the park into a commercial area. This area was far more crowded than major cities I have lived in, such as Los Angeles or Vancouver, but compared to West Lake park it was vacant.

Every second building housed a Tea House, and every Tea House was packed with customers, and not one Tea House seemed to even recognize the word “coffee”, let alone serve it. I went on like this for a long, long time. It was early afternoon now and I knew I had to make my way back to the hotel shortly for my much anticipated meeting with my new Chinese Ladyfriend (who I was now starting to envision as my saviour), and I was already looking around for a taxi when I saw IT.

I had no expectations by now of finding a coffeeshop, thinking that at best I might find a western style restaurant that would serve something at least pretending to be coffee. So it was with no small surprise that I spotted what has become one of the most familiar logos in the west. Up ahead was a Starbucks. I will not bother you with my thoughts on Starbucks prior to coming to China, except to say that my previous boycott of that purveyor of coffee came to an abrupt end at that exact moment. It was with great joy in my heart that Starbucks instantly became my new best friend.

Not only was it a surprize to find a Starbucks in Hangzhou, but this was the biggest Starbucks I had ever seen. It seemed massive, and it was full of customers, all Chinese. Boy, those guys at Starbucks know how to market. I headed back to my hotel with not one, but two, mucho largo super grande coffees of the day. And they had that exact same over roasted almost burned taste that Starbucks serves the world over and which until that moment I hated so much but now I loved. Boy, those guys really know how to market. “Make bad coffee but keep it consistent and they will come (even in a world that drinks only tea).” Who knew?

I arrived at my hotel just moments before I was due to learn lesson #1 of web dating, which you are about to learn as well if you didn’t already know (I can’t be the only guy in the world this naive), so I went and freshened up and drank my two litres of coffee. I had barely started to feel the caffeine surge when the phone rang and Chinese Date #1 announced her arrival. Suddenly nervous, I made my way down to the lobby.

Lesson #1: Do not assume they will look like their picture.

I should not have been overly surprised. After all, I had used a picture that did not reveal my 4th month pregnancy (slight beer belly), and also didn’t pronounce the grey in my hair, but at least mine had been taken in the last two months. Hers may have been taken in the last decade, but I doubt it. Before you fly all the way to China to meet someone talk to them openly and honestly about the presentation they are making to you. Tell them you’re sorry but you’ve had bad experiences before and you just want to be sure that you both will be meeting the person you expect to meet. If she waffles trouble is on the horizon and you might as well cut it off early. Postpone your trip and find someone else, or if you really like her, ask her to come clean and send you the pictures that show the current her. Maybe it can still work.

In truth, this was still a quite attractive Chinese lady, much more fetching than my most recent dates back home, but in her pictures she was stunning and at least 10 years younger and 10 pounds lighter than on our meeting. If she’d been honest from the beginning I probably would still have wanted to meet her, but now we were off to a bad start. When she shyly asked if she was what I was expecting, being an ever polite Canadian, I falsely said yes, she was very pretty. After I translated the word pretty to “beautiful” she was ecstatic. Through good manners and fear of conflict I instantly turned a bad start into a 4 day date in hell. If I’d just been honest maybe we could have saved something of a relationship, friendship at least, but with my own innocent little well intentioned lie I drastically compounded an already bad situation.

Lesson #2: Be honest no matter what. I don’t mean brutally honest, I mean kindly, gently honest. It will save you both a world of grief.

Off we headed to my room.



Eduardo