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Why would you want to go overland? What are you planning to see? Flights between Saigon/Hanoi and Hong Kong are pretty cheap. Do you have a China visa yet? There's some cool stuff in the west end of Guangdong, sure, but you need to already have a visa and it is probably easier to just fly to those too.
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Oct 20, 2013 12:55
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Bloodnose posted:Yes it's completely normal for architects to own multiple homes in a tier-2 city Bloodnose is probably right here btw. I know an architect in Shenzhen and he makes like 6000 to 7000 RMB per month. He said the real money is once you rise up the ranks and can get kickbacks etc.
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Oct 20, 2013 13:11
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Western Guangdong isn't that great, actually. It's not rural enough to be pretty and it's not developed enough to be particularly interesting.
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Oct 20, 2013 13:13
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MeramJert posted:Bloodnose is probably right here btw. I know an architect in Shenzhen and he makes like 6000 to 7000 RMB per month. He said the real money is once you rise up the ranks and can get kickbacks etc. I was about to say "wow, that's a really sad salary" until I remembered that this is basically Chinese architecture: 
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Oct 20, 2013 13:59
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You didn't put a hat on it. 
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Oct 20, 2013 14:06
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blinkyzero posted:I was about to say "wow, that's a really sad salary" until I remembered that this is basically Chinese architecture: Could be worse. In Korea, it would be crooked, there'd be a gap you could see rebar and daylight through at the corners, and the concrete wouldn't even be close to smooth.
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Oct 20, 2013 14:08
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Also, no tile on the exterior. 3/10 really.
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Oct 20, 2013 14:09
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blinkyzero posted:I was about to say "wow, that's a really sad salary" until I remembered that this is basically Chinese architecture: There's a lot of jobs in China that have a nominally low salary but it's basically expected you'll make some shady money on the side, or jobs with an actually low salary where you're trying to climb the ladder into one of those shady money jobs. Pro-PRC has talked about this with government jobs before and how he thinks it's a good system, but it exists in companies too.
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Oct 20, 2013 14:09
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Arglebargle III posted:You didn't put a hat on it. Arglebargle III posted:Also, no tile on the exterior. 3/10 really. 
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Oct 20, 2013 14:24
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No gold, no LVs, no gold LVs -- still fake
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Oct 20, 2013 15:04
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Ok back in hk! Ughhhh I'm so pissed off at checking in my bag there's a luggage delay... I was misinformed that Beijing airport out bound duty free doesn't stock Shanghai white vodka so I just bought some when I arrived. Lo and behold it's right in front me once I get past outbound security. Ugh I should have known better, stores should have uniform inventory. Oh and Chinese airports suck, I have to hand carry a whole bunch of lithium ion batteries so my hoodie is swollen like a fake pregnant mother drug mule. Annnnnyways, overland travel from saigon to Hong Kong is easy, visa wise. Except for..... Chinese tourist visa yay! Will fill in the details once I'm back home
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Oct 20, 2013 16:01
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xcdude24 posted:Alright guys, got a visa question. I'm currently in bangkok, and my current idea is to go from Saigon to hong Kong overland. Like what the SEA travel thread says about Vietnam consulates, avoid them! First of all, go say hi to Ringo R in Bangkok, have him introduce you to his ladyboy bars and tell ReindeerF that he's marrying into a barbaric fake Chinese family. Then go to Siem Reap and enjoy Angkor Wat. My recommendation is to fly into Saigon through Jet star if the fare is right. Use an online visa agency to write you a letter of recommendation. Use this letter to apply for a visa on arrival (flights only, hence take Jet star). Train/fly across different cities, and from Hanoi you have a few choices getting to China. In short, there's a Hanoi ---> Beijing Train, just stop at Guangzhou then take a 2 hour high speed train straight into HK's city centre area. It's the shortest answer, but not the greatest answer. 1. The longer route and bigger hassle route is to Yunnan you can bus to Kunming and bum around lijiang and make your way to go north. I think Kenner116 is the person to ask about the Yunnan Vietnam border. Once you reach Chengdu say hi to my Chengdu goons -#2 goon paradise after HK. From Chongqing you can take a cheap flight from Spring Airlines into HK. 2. There's a Hanoi ---> Nanning sleeper train. Stop at Nanning, take a detour to the karst mountains in Yangshuo/Xingping/anywhere but Guilin. It's really scenic and nice, you can ride a bike and then hitch onto a raft to take your bike back town. Xingping is the spot for the 20 RMB bill. After that there's a 12 hourish sleeper train from Guilin to Shenzhen. Or you can take A bajillion sleeper buses in China. Take the train, it beats waking at 4am for an abrupt bathroom break. 3. Hanoi ---> Beijing Train, stop at Guangzhou. I wouldn't recommend this, it's just a looooooong train ride and not that scenic. If you want to spend that much time dealing with trains, just play ticket to ride with us gooons on steam. Overland travel can be nice and scenic, but it takes time. I liked backpacking across SEA with 17 pounds of photography gear but nowadays I only do short weekend goon trips as holidays. Bloodnose posted:Knowing air travel in China, you will get off the plane and have to run to the conference because you are now several hours late to present. Both of my flights to and from Beijing were surprisingly on time  Woodsy Owl posted:Pro-PRC said he suspected that TWM couldn't renew his visa and went back home. Does anyone know for sure? Pro-PRC just resides being the lord of the Beijing 5th ring road and never comes out or chats much. So all his info is just from random sources here and there. The goon force is strong in HK, so we know what's going on  Bloodnose posted:Manufacturing is literally 100% owned by Hong Kongers, Taiwanese and overseas Chinese. The only source of mainlander wealth is literal theft. Hey man, melamine milk powder, soysauce hair, mouldy moon cakes, and fake food are 100% from the mainland 
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Oct 20, 2013 17:46
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My girlfriend and I have started selling milk powder to mainland Chinese. So easy, so profitable, and because of my white face I'm not subject to the limits at the stores 
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Oct 20, 2013 17:55
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caberham posted:1. The longer route and bigger hassle route is to Yunnan you can bus to Kunming and bum around lijiang and make your way to go north. I think Kenner116 is the person to ask about the Yunnan Vietnam border. Once you reach Chengdu say hi to my Chengdu goons -#2 goon paradise after HK. From Chongqing you can take a cheap flight from Spring Airlines into HK I haven't crossed the Vietnam/Yunnan border, but I've been to southern Yunnan (Jinghong) and northern Laos (Luang Namtha, Oudomxay) and there are buses that run between those cities. Laos is my favorite sleepy country. I ended up spending a month there, longer than my time in Vietnam or Cambodia. There was also a ferry that ran between Thailand and Jinghong on the Mekong/Lancang but I believe that stopped after 13 Chinese were murdered along that route a couple years ago. But if you feel adventurous you could try hitching a boat ride. I have crossed the Guangxi/Vietnam border at Dongxing, which is the closest border crossing to Ha Long Bay. There is a bus from Dongxing to Nanning for 60 RMB (in January 2011). If you go to Nanning you should definitely visit the Detian Waterfalls on the China/Vietnam border. Take a bus from Nanning to Daxin and then from Daxin to Shuolong, where you can walk along the river (and international border) to Detian.   As you can see, the border is not heavily guarded. This was technically my first time in Southeast Asia. If you have enough time in China I would second caberham's advice and spend time in Yunnan. Dali and Lijiang at the minimum, then go north to Chengdu via Lugu Lake. If you have even more time to spare then do what I did last summer and cross from Zhongdian, Yunnan into Xiangcheng, Sichuan and explore the Tibetan regions of western Sichuan. kenner116 fucked around with this message at 20:46 on Oct 20, 2013 |
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Oct 20, 2013 20:41
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Those waterfalls look awesome.
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Oct 21, 2013 00:30
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Facepalm Ranger posted:Also my girlfriend's dad is an architect, not a drug lord. In China "grey economy" can be read on a literal level: the colour of cement. Do you have two years of work experience post-gradaution? Each Province handles its Work Permit issuance separatley and in Henan there has been a tightening of the procedures so now people who haven't been out of university for two years will generally get bounced straight off the bat (and no, u/g work experience doesn't count). In the past twelve months Henan has become unusually tight arsed about this and I am not really sure why; maybe someone overturned the trash can and lovely laowai got everywhere or something. Not sure about Sichuan, but my point is that you should probably come over on a student visa (or other visa) if you aren't too sure about working. Nobody is going to bust you for doing some tutoring on the side. By all means give it a bash and fire off a few applications to places, but don't only do that - check out other options. GuestBob fucked around with this message at 03:48 on Oct 21, 2013 |
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Oct 21, 2013 01:43
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GuestBob posted:In China "grey economy" can be read on a literal level: the colour of cement. Going to study Chinese would probably also be good since you're getting pretty serious with a Chinese girl. It'll get you to China and you'll be able to communicate with her family. Also, as has been said before you can tutor on the side without problems. Hell, you could even apply for a scholarship and get it paid for by the Chinese government.
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Oct 21, 2013 02:17
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VideoTapir posted:How long ago, and did you manage to get a legal visa afterward? I'd heard that having a history of illegal visas could damage your chances of getting a legit visa later. Yeah, I'm really curious about this. I had two friends overstay their student visas last year(before they were split into X1/X2 thing they have now), one by about four days and one by about a month. The dude in the former had a huge fine and got yelled at pretty seriously by a security guy in the airport, the latter paid like 500rmb/apologized/had no problems. I've always been curious by what caused the different treatment.
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Oct 21, 2013 04:07
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Sometimes things just happen without a cause.
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Oct 21, 2013 04:10
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So, I'm headed to Shanghai in a couple of weeks for work. I'll be staying in a hotel near The Bund and having meetings in an office somewhere down there. I've not been to China before, so I'm looking forward to it. I've read through this thread a little and through some Wikitravel articles but none seem to be all that clear on what there is to actually see/do in the area. I don't anticipate a ton of free time, but I'd like to have a couple of things in my back pocket in case I wind up with more time than I expect. Also, I'm a 6'8" white dude, so I fully expect to be stared at and whatnot. I had similar experiences in Tokyo. To that end:
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Oct 21, 2013 04:40
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MeramJert posted:Sometimes things just happen without a cause. Aristotle posted:Curses! You've destroyed my epistemology!
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Oct 21, 2013 04:43
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All local transport on Metro has signs in English, and the speakers on the trains announce which stop you are approaching/at, and which side of the train the exit is on (which is useful on very crowded trains so you can start making your way to the proper exit. Yes for good local beer - Dr Beer's Mash and regular IPA are good. Boxing Cat has a number of good options - their TKO IPA is my first choice. We can go to Boxing Cat for a meal and a beer if you're around, and can fit your beastly human frame through the door. As for see/do, there's a lot so it depends what you like. If you're interested in history (particularly 20th century Chinese history) then the Propaganda Museum is a must visit. You can pick up some cool posters/memorabilia there, from cheap lovely kitsch mugs to reprints to framed originals depending on what takes your fancy. What are your exact dates for being in Shanghai?
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Oct 21, 2013 04:45
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GuestBob posted:In China "grey economy" can be read on a literal level: the colour of cement.
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Oct 21, 2013 04:59
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BadAstronaut posted:All local transport on Metro has signs in English, and the speakers on the trains announce which stop you are approaching/at, and which side of the train the exit is on (which is useful on very crowded trains so you can start making your way to the proper exit. Mackieman posted:So, I'm headed to Shanghai in a couple of weeks for work. I had similar experiences in Tokyo. To that end: Shanghai is going to be way more chaotic and dirtier than Tokyo. And a loooooot more staring too. I'm coming in November 15th for the weekend so gooooon meeet! If you have a smart phone, install wechat and give any Shanghai goons or me a message https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Ao_-L8ioMQ71dEs4V1o4M0x2WFpxSVlkYmVZbjhsc3c#gid=0 There's a SHanghai goon chat and you can always ask us for directions and stuff. Where will you be coming in from? If you are coming in from Japan or the rest of Asia then there are some amazing Steakhouses, but if you want to try Chinese food go for the soup dumplings. Bad Astronaut listed the propaganda museum, I would recommend
And if you can spare for a day trip, take a train to WEST LAKE. THE WEST LAKE IS SO BEAUTIFUL. If you meet anyone from Hangzhou, just tell them that the West Lake is beautiful and they will fall in love with you.
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Oct 21, 2013 05:41
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Mackieman posted:So, I'm headed to Shanghai in a couple of weeks for work. I'll be staying in a hotel near The Bund and having meetings in an office somewhere down there. I've not been to China before, so I'm looking forward to it. I've read through this thread a little and through some Wikitravel articles but none seem to be all that clear on what there is to actually see/do in the area. I don't anticipate a ton of free time, but I'd like to have a couple of things in my back pocket in case I wind up with more time than I expect. Also, I'm a 6'8" white dude, so I fully expect to be stared at and whatnot. I had similar experiences in Tokyo. To that end: I agree with BA on Dr. Beer and Boxing Cat for quality local beer. Dr Beer is a lot more trendy and Boxing Cat is more like an American brewpub. Boxing Cat has really awesome growlers, too, if you want to take home a souvenir. To see/do, since you're near the Bund, definitely have a drink at one of the rooftop bars there on a clear night for a great view of Pudong. On that note, check out the viewing platform on the World Financial center (bottlecap opener building). Also near there, Nanjing Lu is a crazy neon lightshow at night. Almost all the museums are free, if you're into that kind of thing. The Urban Planning Exhibition hall charges about $5, but it has an amazing light-up scale model of the city. Yuyuan Garden is an interesting classical Chinese garden. Free to get into the tea-house area, but I think they charge a little to get in the garden itself. I think Jing'an Temple is similar... free to wander around it, but a fee to enter. Tianzifang is a shopping/restaurant/bar/cafe area built into a maze of narrow alleys. Lots of fun, but souvenirs are pricier here than other places. Last, if you have a chance to get out of town Suzhou, Hangzhou, and Zhujiajiao are all easily accessible by train or bus and are very beautiful. caberham posted:
Yeah, totally agree on the soup dumplings (Xiaolongbao). A lot of food in this city is gross but the soup dumplings are amazing. The marriage market in People's Park is insanity too. I went last weekend and expected a couple hundred people, but there were thousands. truavatar fucked around with this message at 05:56 on Oct 21, 2013 |
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Oct 21, 2013 05:51
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blinkyzero posted:
1st Law of Thermodynamics posted:The increase in internal energy of a body is equal to the heat supplied by drinking hot water minus work done by the body.
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Oct 21, 2013 06:47
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Does this mean I can stop eating and just drink a lot of hot water?
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Oct 21, 2013 07:01
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MeramJert posted:Does this mean I can stop eating and just drink a lot of hot water? Yes. After about three weeks, you will be completely
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Oct 21, 2013 07:07
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Great goon meetup on Saturday  Next time we can try harder when we are mere BadAstronaut fucked around with this message at 10:04 on Oct 21, 2013 |
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Oct 21, 2013 07:30
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I don't even know what a metre is.
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Oct 21, 2013 09:41
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truavatar posted:I don't even know what a metre is. An arrangement of feet. 
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Oct 21, 2013 09:48
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3.28 of your stupid measurement. Here.
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Oct 21, 2013 10:03
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That seems needlessly complex.
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Oct 21, 2013 10:27
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I'm Synertia!truavatar posted:I don't even know what a metre is. http://bit.ly/1da9gKp
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Oct 21, 2013 10:59
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BadAstronaut posted:All local transport on Metro has signs in English, and the speakers on the trains announce which stop you are approaching/at, and which side of the train the exit is on (which is useful on very crowded trains so you can start making your way to the proper exit. caberham posted:Shanghai is going to be way more chaotic and dirtier than Tokyo. And a loooooot more staring too. truavatar posted:I agree with BA on Dr. Beer and Boxing Cat for quality local beer. Dr Beer is a lot more trendy and Boxing Cat is more like an American brewpub. Boxing Cat has really awesome growlers, too, if you want to take home a souvenir. Thanks to each of you for the info and suggestions. I'm coming in from the US on November 4 and out on November 9, so not a ton of free time except for Friday afternoon, but that might have to be spent at the hotel catching up on regular work stuff. It is my sincere hope that this is not the case as I would like to go see a couple things (the Propaganda Museum sounds badass). We'll see how hard the jet lag hits me. I'm told the folks I'm meeting with are planning on taking me around at some point so hopefully I'll catch some other stuff too, but the rooftop bars and brewpubs sound great as well. People's park sounds like a good time in people watching, but that 8:30AM flight on Saturday sort of negates that.
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Oct 21, 2013 13:50
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caberham posted:and tell ReindeerF that he's marrying into a barbaric fake Chinese family. caberham posted:I have to hand carry a whole bunch of lithium ion batteries
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Oct 21, 2013 15:50
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GuestBob posted:In China "grey economy" can be read on a literal level: the colour of cement. Thanks for the response I've been working in retail since 2008 but only graduated last July, will that cause a problem? To be honest I just want to do something to bring some extra money in to help with living costs but, that isn't going to distract me too much from trying to build this portfolio I want to work on as I'm looking to be a game artist (of sorts). So, with that in mind, I'm hesitant to be an English Teacher as I assume I'll have to mark homework/think up lesson plans, or go into education as I will have to do homework (unless its a course relevant to what I want to do which I'm hesitant to do anyways after the last time). It's a tricky situation cause these things take up so much time and all that. What's the best Visa for me to pretty have no commitments until I'll like gently caress it I'll work in a bar or something? (that is unless a chinese language course a sichuan uni is cheap ish and time managable). RocknRollaAyatollah posted:I told you there is no homework and barely any lesson planning at Chinese colleges. Chinese language learning is cheap and it's not like going to college full time. This sounds like an okay plan, I know about making industry connections, I'm loving ace at that, my problem is I have no portfolio worth being hired for (as being quoted by said professionals I've met several times). EDIT: I did just come home from work, I'll go back and look at your posts in the morning, sorry if I've upset anyone really didn't mean to do that. Facepalm Ranger fucked around with this message at 00:03 on Oct 22, 2013 |
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Oct 21, 2013 20:14
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Facepalm Ranger posted:Thanks for the response I've been working in retail since 2008 but only graduated last July, will that cause a problem? You really didn't read most of the posts in this thread directed at you, did you? You're over thinking this by a lot and there are no work visas for you unless you're sponsored before coming. No bar will have the pull or money necessary to legally hire you. Also, I told you there is no homework and barely any lesson planning at Chinese colleges. Chinese language learning is cheap and it's not like going to college full time. EDIT: If you're devoted to the goal of being a game artist as well, you shouldn't be coming to China. China will offer you a massive amount of time to work on your art or any other activity, you won't be doing much else unless you like drinking, but if you want that to be a career you really need to be making industry connections. Game companies are looking for good art but they're looking more for people with experience who can make deadlines. RocknRollaAyatollah fucked around with this message at 23:35 on Oct 21, 2013 |
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Oct 21, 2013 23:28
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Facepalm Ranger posted:What's the best Visa for me to pretty have no commitments until I'll like gently caress it I'll work in a bar or something? (that is unless a chinese language course a sichuan uni is cheap ish and time managable) X, I guess? In Chengdu you'll have to do some research to see what school is the most lenient. Don't choose Sichuan University if you don't want to go to class from 8am till noon every day because I do know they cancel visas left and right for people who skip enough classes or generally underperform. There's always an L as well, which is just a tourist visa. If your GF's family write a letter you may be able to get a nice one with multiple entries. truavatar posted:I don't even know what a metre is. He typoed and means meter. Ailumao fucked around with this message at 00:20 on Oct 22, 2013 |
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Oct 21, 2013 23:31
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Facepalm Ranger posted:What's the best Visa for me to pretty have no commitments until I'll like gently caress it I'll work in a bar or something? (that is unless a chinese language course a sichuan uni is cheap ish and time managable) I wrote an entire post for you on this page or the previous page explaining exactly why my visa plan was perfect for you. Did you not read it?
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Oct 21, 2013 23:51
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