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The exception is the town I live in.
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Jul 10, 2015 18:26
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Everyone I attempted to speak with who didn't speak English spoke usable Mandarin. Between the two of those you'll be fine. Worst case you write things down as simply as possible in Chinese characters and gesture. That worked for me when I went to China but only spoke Japanese and Korean.
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Jul 10, 2015 18:34
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augustus gluten posted:The exception is the town I live in. They speak English, they just don't wanna talk to you.
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Jul 10, 2015 18:43
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Why are you being so mean in the normal China thread, tom?
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Jul 10, 2015 19:09
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augustus gluten posted:Why are you being so mean in the normal China thread, tom? Sorry, pal 
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Jul 10, 2015 19:36
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I always get dirty looks in HK when I forget where I am and use Mandarin. Could just be me, though!
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Jul 11, 2015 08:48
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Magna Kaser posted:I always get dirty looks in HK when I forget where I am and use Mandarin. I was with friends visiting Hong Kong, when they walked in to a restaurant and immediately started speaking Mandarin to the staff, forgetting where they were. The waiter relied, in very cold English, "I don't speak Mandarin. Please wait over there." We didn't get a table.
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Jul 11, 2015 11:37
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I think it might make a difference whether you are white or Chinese-looking, but that is pure speculation
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Jul 11, 2015 12:42
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simplefish posted:I think it might make a difference whether you are white or Chinese-looking, but that is pure speculation They're mainlanders. I guess locals hate mainlanders assuming Mandarin is the primary language everywhere.
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Jul 11, 2015 13:01
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My Chinese brother-in-law is currently studying in Japan. He wants to go to a game design program at a Japanese trade school (HAL) in Osaka; then he might be coming back to China. Any of you game industry people think this is a good idea?
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Jul 11, 2015 17:15
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VideoTapir posted:My Chinese brother-in-law is currently studying in Japan. He wants to go to a game design program at a Japanese trade school (HAL) in Osaka; then he might be coming back to China. Everything in China is either mobile or satellite stuff for big companies that mainly need asset production or general support for their AAA games, which has little in the way of room for actual designers. As long as he has his expectations in check it's not any worse an idea than doing it in any other country. There is a growing indie community in Shanghai, though, if he can deal with that. But game design is a hard thing to get into anywhere, so China's not unique in that regard. It's probably a better idea than staying in Japan where game production is half dead, I guess??? Really the best way in is if you can code and/or have technical art skills since those are and will always be in higher demand. In my experience almost all actual working game designers start somewhere else, be it QA, programming or whatever.
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Jul 11, 2015 17:35
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Trammel posted:They're mainlanders. I guess locals hate mainlanders assuming Mandarin is the primary language everywhere. Locals just hate mainlanders.
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Jul 11, 2015 17:46
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Hey all - had a look at the HK page but couldn't find something specific. Spending a 3 day weekend with the Mrs there next week basically to hang out and eat dumplings and take it in - what district would you recommend staying in (probably looking at an AirBNB) Cheers
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Jul 14, 2015 03:41
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There's a HK thread? Well stay at Bishop Lei hotel. Air BnB in HK blows because housing here sucks Eat some wontons from http://www.openrice.com/en/hongkong/restaurant/central-maks-noodle/1998 beef brisket noodles from http://www.openrice.com/en/hongkong/restaurant/central-kau-kee-restaurant/1618?tc=sr1 If you want Japanese ramen there's Ichiran
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Jul 14, 2015 04:28
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caberham posted:If you want Japanese ramen there's Shugetsu
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Jul 14, 2015 05:24
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Cheers for the intel there- Just spent a week in Tokyo so anymore Ramen and I might die
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Jul 14, 2015 06:43
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In that case- just sleep, eat and shop at Chungking Mansions for your whole stay.
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Jul 14, 2015 06:58
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haha - the only other time I was in HK many years ago I pulled an American girl, bought loads of.. stuff.. from a Nepalese fella in the stairs and did exactly that. /random anecdote Wanted something a little more civilised this time
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Jul 14, 2015 07:16
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Bishop Lei is pretty great.
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Jul 14, 2015 07:18
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Please tell me more about that anecdotal story
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Jul 14, 2015 07:55
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Sounds like you've already got poo poo figured out, enjoy your visit!
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Jul 14, 2015 08:04
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Are there any good books about Chinese healthcare (such as problems with traditional medicine and the cargo culture-ish approach to modern medicine)? I have plenty of experiences with it and China goons seem to as well, but I'd like to get some researched info on it.
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Jul 14, 2015 16:56
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I'm planning on visiting China as my first international trip (at 31 years old...) and only just got my passport as of last week. I read multiple websites explaining visa requirements, but before I shell out $1000+ on airfare, I want to make sure that nothing goes wrong. Is there a certain amount of time that you have to have a passport before applying for a visa, or could you apply as soon as you get one? I think I confused myself with the "6th months of validity" part and could swear I read somewhere what I asked about above. I'm planning to go September 4th through the 18th. Is that enough time to take care of everything?
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Jul 15, 2015 05:33
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Moneyball posted:I think I confused myself with the "6th months of validity" part and could swear I read somewhere what I asked about above. That means you need to have at least 6 months left until your passport expires, not that you've had it for 6 months. For a tourist visa, unless things have seriously changed, yes, that's enough time. (For a work visa that would be cutting it a little close.) Where will you be going in China?
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Jul 15, 2015 06:17
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I'm going to Qingdao and will be staying with a friend. We might travel around a bit while I'm there, but I have someplace to stay. I saw that there is no invitation letter required for tourist visas, but proof of flight and hotel reservations are required. If no hotel reservation, will I need an invitation letter after all? She's saying that I should submit an invitation letter from her father's company, but I think that would raise an even bigger red flag if I'm not staying in a hotel- can't her or her parents just send me one? Moneyball fucked around with this message at 14:55 on Jul 15, 2015 |
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Jul 15, 2015 12:40
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Fake/cancelled reservation, and/or actually stay at a hotel for a night or two depending on your flight times.
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Jul 15, 2015 18:59
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I ended up booking a tent for two weeks at Qingdao Nanko Youth Hostel for $105. As far as lodging goes, is a tent exactly what it sounds like, or what?
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Jul 15, 2015 23:18
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Your guess is as good as mine. Print out your receipt and then cancel the tent, that should do fine with your visa application.
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Jul 16, 2015 02:10
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Moneyball posted:I ended up booking a tent for two weeks at Qingdao Nanko Youth Hostel for $105. Pretty sure that marriott.com allows you to book with a credit card and cancel the reservation online immediately. They also don't charge the card until the day of the reservation. When I got my last visa I booked a room in Shanghai, printed it, and canceled it all within 5 minutes. Never charged. SB35 fucked around with this message at 07:42 on Jul 16, 2015 |
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Jul 16, 2015 07:40
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So is the best place to change my money into HKD and RMB still Hong Kong? I'm using Canadian dollars, fwiw, and I'm mostly planning on doing it with my debit/interac card
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Jul 16, 2015 12:58
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Just withdraw from ATMs. Though the rate I got in HK when I came from SZ was pretty close to the actual market rate.
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Jul 16, 2015 14:15
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Using something other than an ATM isn't worth your time.
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Jul 17, 2015 04:22
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Some one actually asked about opening a bank account, for a 2 month trip 
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Jul 17, 2015 04:29
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i dunno if chung king mansions will take canada dollars
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Jul 17, 2015 04:49
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Lady Galaga posted:i dunno if chung king mansions will take canada dollars Heck, I wouldn't.
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Jul 17, 2015 05:16
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Us airports don't take Canadian dollars, even
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Jul 17, 2015 05:27
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augustus gluten posted:Us airports don't take Canadian dollars, even   
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Jul 17, 2015 20:59
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I've changed CAD at Chungking mansions before.
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Jul 17, 2015 23:57
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My mom gave me a bunch of USD as a going away present lol
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Jul 18, 2015 15:17
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Does anyone know of any decent websites for learning English (for Chinese?). Like, a list of basic words with phonetically arranged characters for them to read and try to pronounce? Or some pinyin? My landlord (she's in her 40s, missed out on learning English earlier) wants to learn basic English phrases, but I want her to be able to read at her own pace. Maybe an android app? Anything but a paper book.
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Jul 19, 2015 08:29
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