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bringmyfishback posted:Well, the fish have to eat SOMETHING. And so do we!
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Mar 15, 2016 14:14
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I'm heading over for a holiday and I'm going to be there for a month. I am also going with a tour group, so my likelihood of starving to death is low, and all the logistics of transport is sorted. Still, I'm taking my Android smartphone and I'd like to have some basic translation capability, but Pleco seems far more heavyweight than I'd like to use. It also seems to assume I know how to type in Chinese characters into my phone. If I set up a VPN before I go, could I just get away with Google translate? Is the list of VPNs in the OP still considered good? I hope to make use of either Google Drive or Microsoft's OneDrive (I have heaps of storage there for some reason) to backup my photos to if I can, just to preserve them in case of catastrophe, any VPNs particularly good with large uploads? Is live.com even blocked in China?
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Mar 23, 2016 03:10
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NZAmoeba posted:I'm heading over for a holiday and I'm going to be there for a month. I am also going with a tour group, so my likelihood of starving to death is low, and all the logistics of transport is sorted. Still, I'm taking my Android smartphone and I'd like to have some basic translation capability, but Pleco seems far more heavyweight than I'd like to use. It also seems to assume I know how to type in Chinese characters into my phone. The VPN's in the OP suck. Currently all the VPNs in zhong-guo suck. The only one's I'd recommend now are ExpressVPN, Astrill and VyprVPN. Don't worry about usage or bandwidth limits, you're unlikely to ever hit them. Bing and live.com work as expected here. Google translate is awesome, but you'll need a VPN to use it. Microsoft Translator also exists. When you're on tour, visiting the jade factories, silk factories, recommended restaurants, etc. make sure you buy something in each place, or you're likely to be scolded, insulted and further trips cancelled. Hong Kong is awesome. You should definitely visit there.
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Mar 23, 2016 03:32
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Trammel posted:The VPN's in the OP suck. Currently all the VPNs in zhong-guo suck. The only one's I'd recommend now are ExpressVPN, Astrill and VyprVPN. Don't worry about usage or bandwidth limits, you're unlikely to ever hit them. Bing and live.com work as expected here. Thanks! I'll give one of those a shot. And holy crap that tour guide article. Fortunately I'm going with G Adventures, who I travelled with in South America previously, they're legit. But I see that enforced shopping stuff from Chinese tour companies here in New Zealand as well, there's a souvenir shop across the street from my office, which is practically in the middle of a warehouse district with no reason why anyone would wander past there. But every day when I leave the office there's a bus parked outside full of bored looking tourists while a few people inside buy massively overpriced wool and honey products. I don't think they even open for regular trade, they just open shortly before the bus arrives.
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Mar 23, 2016 03:53
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You don't need a VPN to use http://translate.google.cn/
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Mar 23, 2016 04:27
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fart simpson posted:You don't need a VPN to use http://translate.google.cn/ That's awesome, I never knew it existed. I wish the Android app used that as well, it just times out for me.
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Mar 23, 2016 04:32
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Trammel posted:That's awesome, I never knew it existed. I wish the Android app used that as well, it just times out for me. It does have an offline feature where you can download the chinese library and use that, but that doesn't support the image recognition feature when in offline mode
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Mar 23, 2016 05:10
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MS stuff all works pretty well here, so One Drive is gonna be a lot easier and faster than Google Drive for the most part. Even if your VPN works it'll be slower/unstable, so it's probably not worth using google docs to upload a ton of stuff unless you really have to. They actually have some servers here so one drive can sometimes be spooky fast. If you're on Android the Pleco version there is p good to have, it's generally a little better for individual words (on menus/etc) than google translate or other machine translations. Their OCR is super nice but ofc it costs a lot.
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Mar 23, 2016 05:53
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Trammel posted:The VPN's in the OP suck. Currently all the VPNs in zhong-guo suck. The only one's I'd recommend now are ExpressVPN, Astrill and VyprVPN. Seconding ExpressVPN, it's what I used when on the mainland this past December. Depending on how long you'll be there, I might recommend signing up for a few different VPN services as they often offer a 2 - 4 week free trial/return period and they tend to go up and down constantly as far as being usable goes. Express does have the notable feature of having a website that is accessible while in China though.
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Mar 23, 2016 14:24
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The last month has been a real bad time for VPNs. I've heard that Astrill, Express and Vypr have been down intermittently/all the time depending on your luck. I'd go with Astril or Express just because they're cheaper than Vypr generally is so you won't be out too much if it doesn't work. On that, Astril has the worst customer service ever so it might be best to just stick to Express since they don't just insult their customers when the service doesn't work.
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Mar 23, 2016 16:17
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Astrill has been working OK in my office, but it's been 100% completely blocked at home for almost a month. Express VPN works poorly everywhere for me but at least it works.
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Mar 23, 2016 16:31
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fart simpson posted:Astrill has been working OK in my office, but it's been 100% completely blocked at home for almost a month. Express VPN works poorly everywhere for me but at least it works. same computer? if its a different computer try restoring astrill to factory settings: Help > restore
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Mar 23, 2016 17:02
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Different computers. I'll try that
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Mar 23, 2016 17:06
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Hmm it works now, thanks
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Mar 23, 2016 17:12
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How's the wifi and mobile data situation in China, esp in Shanghai? How much is ~10gb of data on a prepaid SIM?
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Mar 24, 2016 01:58
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Ragingsheep posted:How's the wifi and mobile data situation in China, esp in Shanghai? How much is ~10gb of data on a prepaid SIM? Most restaurants/cafes/etc have wifi but you'll need 3/4G if you want consistent access. Checked the Unicom website (the Good 4G which will work with most p much all non-CN phones) and it's about 100rmb per GB. On this, has anyone used Snail mobile abroad? A 2GB 4G US Sim from them is only 130rmb which is way cheaper than anything else I've seen and is plenty for the like week and a half I'm in the country.
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Mar 24, 2016 02:26
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Magna Kaser posted:Most restaurants/cafes/etc have wifi but you'll need 3/4G if you want consistent access. Checked the Unicom website (the Good 4G which will work with most p much all non-CN phones) and it's about 100rmb per GB. Thanks. Looks like it's not much different than just using SIM card on roaming for me.
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Mar 24, 2016 02:46
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Magna Kaser posted:Most restaurants/cafes/etc have wifi but you'll need 3/4G if you want consistent access. Checked the Unicom website (the Good 4G which will work with most p much all non-CN phones) and it's about 100rmb per GB. Snail mobile? That looks better than anything I'll get once I arrive in the US
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Mar 24, 2016 03:57
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fart simpson posted:Snail mobile? That looks better than anything I'll get once I arrive in the US http://mall.snail.com/item/355-0-0.html Apparently they just re-sell Ultra Mobile which is one of the prepaid data services. The service map seems p OK if you're sticking to more populated areas/the east coast. e: actually you can't buy from that site now for some reason 
Ailumao fucked around with this message at 04:43 on Mar 24, 2016 |
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Mar 24, 2016 04:36
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Sounds good already compared to T-Mobile
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Mar 24, 2016 05:43
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Magna Kaser posted:
I saw a vending machine in the Guangzhou airport with these SIM cards for several different countries. But not China. They seemed relatively inexpensive. What's my best bet on China Unicom for two weeks? Something like 250mb+.
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Mar 24, 2016 06:56
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I forgot to ask, when I get to Beijing, I'll have a couple days to fill before my tour begins. My tour will be covering off things like the great wall, forbidden city, and tianamen square etc, but what else would you recommend I check out on my own? (Or potentially with other tour members I manage to bump into at the starting hotel). I'll be staying in a very central location near the Chongwenmen Metro station.
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Mar 24, 2016 07:38
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The National Museum is awesome. I didn't go to see the Summer Palace or military museum but have heard good things.
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Mar 24, 2016 08:08
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NZAmoeba posted:I forgot to ask, when I get to Beijing, I'll have a couple days to fill before my tour begins. My tour will be covering off things like the great wall, forbidden city, and tianamen square etc, but what else would you recommend I check out on my own? (Or potentially with other tour members I manage to bump into at the starting hotel). Summer Palace is likely on your list but if it isn't, it's my favorite of all the obvious sites. The art district is pretty cool. I forgot its name.
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Mar 24, 2016 09:18
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a7m2 posted:Summer Palace is likely on your list but if it isn't, it's my favorite of all the obvious sites. 798
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Mar 24, 2016 09:25
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Kill me in the rear end.
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Mar 24, 2016 09:27
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fart simpson posted:Kill me in the rear end. Neg hole status: pozzed.
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Mar 24, 2016 10:47
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yes 798 art zone thanks
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Mar 24, 2016 11:36
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NZAmoeba posted:I forgot to ask, when I get to Beijing, I'll have a couple days to fill before my tour begins. My tour will be covering off things like the great wall, forbidden city, and tianamen square etc, but what else would you recommend I check out on my own? (Or potentially with other tour members I manage to bump into at the starting hotel). There's a shopping district near the forbidden city that's interesting to go look around. There's one alleyway in particular that the fiance said was a well known tourist trap (REALLY cheap crap, X on a stick, so on and so forth), but it was interesting. I'm sure someone here knows which one I'm talking about. The Summer Place is neat to go walk around as well, especially if it's not frozen over and smoggy as hell like it was when we went.
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Mar 24, 2016 13:31
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NZAmoeba posted:I forgot to ask, when I get to Beijing, I'll have a couple days to fill before my tour begins. My tour will be covering off things like the great wall, forbidden city, and tianamen square etc, but what else would you recommend I check out on my own? (Or potentially with other tour members I manage to bump into at the starting hotel). come to Tianjin and get drunk with me and forums user The Worst Muslim
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Mar 24, 2016 14:43
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The Great Autismo! posted:come to Tianjin and get drunk with me and forums user The Worst Muslim How are the starbucks there?
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Mar 25, 2016 01:14
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XyrlocShammypants posted:How are the starbucks there? p good
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Mar 25, 2016 04:00
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todays my last day at work before my vacation and im feeling incredibly stressed out
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Mar 25, 2016 08:05
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XyrlocShammypants posted:How are the starbucks there? there's a chain called hao li lai (好利来) which sells awful sugary bread that no foreigner would ever want to eat, but they also make coffee drinks like latte and cappucino etc., and it tastes slightly better than starbucks for just under half the price. there's also rarely a wait
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Mar 25, 2016 13:18
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angel opportunity posted:there's a chain called hao li lai (好利来) which sells awful sugary bread that no foreigner would ever want to eat, but they also make coffee drinks like latte and cappucino etc., and it tastes slightly better than starbucks for just under half the price. there's also rarely a wait :fistbump:
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Mar 25, 2016 18:00
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This summer, I'm planning on a trip to Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Japan. I'm hoping to work in a brief stop in Shanghai between Hong Kong and Fukuoka- does anyone have experience with the 72 hour transit visa? I've read up on it, but I've had border security stop me in SE Asia until a bribe was conferred, even though my visa poo poo was in order. Is planning a stopover of a couple of days in Shanghai actually advisable, or am I likely to get shaken down? (Or cuffed when the customs guys have no idea what I mean when I mention the transit visa?) Is it really as simple as arriving in the airport, showing them my onward ticket to Japan, and getting my passport stamped? Or is there some insidious fine-print preparation I'll need? edit: For clarification I am a U.S. passport holder with no criminal record.
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Mar 26, 2016 04:36
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You will be fine. I'm curious which SEA Country tried shaking you down. The only sketchy border I have been to is the Cambodian Thai border
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Mar 26, 2016 05:02
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caberham posted:You will be fine. I'm curious which SEA Country tried shaking you down. The only sketchy border I have been to is the Cambodian Thai border It was Cambodia-Vietnam.
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Mar 26, 2016 07:28
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I'm in Hong Kong this week or so and I'm sitting in my hotel room now. Where's a good place to wander around this Easter Sunday Eve?
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Mar 27, 2016 09:24
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doomisland posted:I'm in Hong Kong this week or so and I'm sitting in my hotel room now. Where's a good place to wander around this Easter Sunday Eve? What hotel are you staying at?
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Mar 27, 2016 13:59
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