User Comments - dtoronto

Posted on: Too Heavy!

When travelling in China, my wife uses a leather back pack - bei bao - that I also find useful for carrying my things in it.  It is neutral in color (kinda beige) and I have no problem carrying it - particullarly since it is also convenient for my items as well (water, camera, wallet, cellphone, sunglasses, mp3 player, smokes ... hey, whose bag is this anyway?) 

It is very convenient in the warmer weather, because if you are wearing short pants, your pocket options are limited, less you weigh down your shorts too much.

Finally, this bag is not enormous - it is just bigger than a purse, but it is a back-pack.  For plane/train travel, I have the traditional hiking style back pack which is also stowable as carry-on luggage but also carries all the above mentioned things.

Posted on: Simple Electrical Stuff

Most residences and hotels I went to had a 'dual' socket - which has the tri-prong Chinese style plug as well as a dual prong receptacle for  non-grounded devices such as lap-tops and other two-pronged devices.  The tri-prong is on top and the dual prong below ....

The first time I saw the tri-prong receptacle, I didn't know you could also remove a cover plate and it converted to a duplex receptacle for UL type devices.

I have sent gifts to China such as portable DVD players, MP3's and cameras - they all work on multi-voltage / frequencies.  Hey, did you guys know that it is a lot cheaper to buy cameras, cell phones here in USA even though they are made in China ?

Might come in  handy - good luck, and happy travels.

Posted on: The Final Show

Dear Amber:

As a transplanted Canadian who has worked in NYC for the past 10 years, I have some experience to share from many of the transplanted NYkers who I have come across ....

... 'it is everyones dream to work in NY, but once they have experienced this, there dream becomes to work anywhere else' ...

not 100 percent true, but I am looking forward to moving back to Toronto as soon as the job market permits.

Maybe one day I will bump into you on the subway - but this is for sure - you will be missed on the Dear Amber and Qing Wen show.  If we cross paths, you got a Ni Hao from me - for sure eh ?

Don

Posted on: Christmas Surprise

I believe the iPhone inspired phone in China is known as the iClone...

Bought a blackberry for my wife... 8700 model.  The biggest problem is converting it to Chinese script, as it is not an option from the language selection menu.  Probably a 12 year old Chinese youngster could do it in a few minutes, but I needed help from my buddy from HongKong.

Merry Christmas to all, heading to Canada Dec 24th, then Montreal; great drive from NYC, and plenty of time to listen to Chinese Pod (also a little Melnyks mixed in)

Posted on: Come on up!

I rented an apartment in Wuhan on the 6th floor for one month... it cost 75.00 US.

I was going to the apartment with my wife, and we had 2 over-weight suitcases, and briefcase plus my wife's knapsack.

She saw a group of old men playing mahjong at the corner, talked to an elderly slightly build man, who grabbed the heaviest of the suitcase, and whisked away up the stairs.  I told my wife that i would take the second one, but he was already down the stairs before I even had a chance to finish the discussion with her.  He was off and away, up to the 6th floor.  My wife and I kind of sauntered up the stairs, and we met up with the gentleman on the third floor, on his way down.  I told him thanks, but I could carry up my briefcase, no problem.

Total cost for the service?  5 kuai.

i am just amazed at the shape this man was in, he was probably twice my age.  In fact, in general, if you ever want to find the best abs on the planet, China has got to be in the top 5, if not first place.

Good lesson.

Posted on: Olympic Excitement

The IOC has blocked streaming video in the USA ... NBC is not carrying it live.

cannot get to the mms://live.smgbb.cn/music link, blocked in USA

Oh well, it is getting too busy here at work anyway.

Posted on: Mosquitos and Olympics

Deet works best ... Deep Woods Off, or equivalent

Posted on: I don't want it!

I can't help adding one more post: we were in Beijing, and I was approached by a young women asking for money - my wife lit into her something fierce - she slunk away and hid from my wife in the dark alley... My wife called her beggar and so on and told her she was young and fit and could get a job ... I thought that was it but then later on, another young lady with a baby came up to my wife and asked her for money (she did not approach me) and my wife pulled out 5 RMB and gave it to her immediately with no questions asked. Last time in China, we were at the train station and some woman who had her arm in a sling and appeared to be missing her had asked my wife for money - my wife asked to see her arm and she showed that she was indeed missing a had, so my wife gave her some money - but I am not sure how much ... That was rather touching ... I mean - often - beggars are just mere annoyances but my wife turns them into people. She is quite the lady. I learn something new each day.

Posted on: I don't want it!

just a correction - I should have said "mai quen - lao poi chu lao ban" --- no money - wife is the boss. another quick note: if you go to a place that your wife will like, be prepared to spend a whole day, because most of these transactions take 15 minutes or more and very often you end up not buying the goods. I went to the pearl market in Beijing ... be prepared to take a seat ... and my wife would look at individual pearls - they would lay them out on a silk or velvet cloth and they would discuss the pearl for around 10 minutes or more and in the end, we would walk away and do the same thing at the next stall ... sometimes returning to the original stall or hit 5 or 6 in a row ... it is interesting, but you do get tired after a while. To my wife, it is a sport ... I think she does it just to keep in practice.

Posted on: I don't want it!

Ha ha - I have the best solution to the DVD vendor ... just get my wife to go with me - she is the best barterer I have ever seen and will probably get the DVD for less than cost. In fact, the barter system in China is actually a spectator sport too - I have seen my wife go into a shop and the conversation usually goes something like this: wife: "Hello miss, you are so beautiful - what is a smart young girl like you doing working in this place?" clerk: " er... thank you, thank you ..." wife: "How much is this silk robe?" clerk: "500 RMB" wife: "What to you think I am - a lao wai?" clerk: "er 250" wife: " cheaper" (pieni yi dien) clerk: " um ... 150" wife: "I will give you 50 RMB" clerk: " I cannot ... I cannot ...." wife: "Thank you - I am leaving " clerk: "uh - maybe 100 ? " wife: "80 RMB and give me that Bejing 2008 Olympic Tshirt" clerk: " ... ok" this is an actual conversation that took place, but there was a lot more that took, place - for instance - at certain points in the conversation - the two of them are actually yelling at each other and a crowd tends to gather around, looking on and admiring out of the corner of their eye ... somethings I feel that a fight might break out, but I see that the two of them are actually smiling slightly but not so the other will notice, and my wife will give me a wink of the eye. My only participation is to go along with her when she says "Let's get out of her" (zuo ba) and I am the receiver of the goods - my wife will tell the clerk that it is a gift for my family. Oh, as most often happens, when the price closes in on a low enough price, my wife will tell the lady - how much if I buy 5 of them ... this is a good tactic because it establishes the lowest price that the clerk can give ... and we do buy 5 or 10 of the items some times. If i am walking in the streets with my wife, I will say "mai quien - lao wai chu lao ban" - no money, my wife is the boss. ha ha again - I pity the poor vendor who tries to pull one over on my wife - he/she is more likely to break even - if lucky