I'm in china...

[demonfork]

If you don't believe me then check out my profile page.

My internet connection isn't always reliable but I will check in soon.

Ttyl

[DoomYoshi]

I'm working day shift, so I'm also out of my element.

[_sabotage_]

Just buy a prepaid china mobile card, can get online quite cheap. Avoid China Unicom, they're commies.

[mrswdk]

I'm on Unicom, no problems here.

'sides, even the buses have wifi these days.

[Agent 86]

Welcome to China, it's great here..making a fortune whilst everyone back in the west toil and live in poverty

[_sabotage_]

Stay off the buses.

[betiko]

If you have 70,80$ and an hour to waste in beijing, you should call mrswdk for a special treat!

[_sabotage_]

You can get a decent Beijing duck for that.

[jonesthecurl]

Rhyming slang?

[_sabotage_]

Duck is Chinese for male prostitute, and Mrs is in Beijing.

[demonfork]

I'm on Unicom, no problems here.

'sides, even the buses have wifi these days.

I'm not sure what unicorn is. How do I get it? I have an iPhone but it's locked so the SIM cards here aren't working with my phone.

The wifi at my hotel and my office is pretty weak, extremely slow compared to what I have in the states.

I'm in Wuxi btw.

[Army of GOD]

Get me mrswdk's number demon thanks

[betiko]

Duck is Chinese for male prostitute, and Mrs is in Beijing.

I thought you meant a bay jung dick. What is a bay jung dick anyway? I don t speak chinese. Stop making jokes in chinese only mrs wdk can understand them.

[_sabotage_]

It was supposed to be an inside joke. It was weak to start with and only had any validity as an inside joke. But I didn't want to harm the artistic delicacies of Jones. Who knows, maybe it will be a twist in a play we writes that will go down as eternal. Who am I to f*ck with eternity?

[_sabotage_]

I'm on Unicom, no problems here.

'sides, even the buses have wifi these days.

I'm not sure what unicorn is. How do I get it? I have an iPhone but it's locked so the SIM cards here aren't working with my phone.

The wifi at my hotel and my office is pretty weak, extremely slow compared to what I have in the states.

I'm in Wuxi btw.

You need to jailbreak your phone. A shop could probably do it for 100 RMB or so. Just need to find the right shop. You could also get a cheap phone there, which come factory unlocked. If you have an ipad, you can get a sim of that.

And being in the sticks, kind of, definitely avoid all unicorns. The China mobile internet won't let you play speed games, but it will be good enough for taking turns...usually.

Put Chinese on your phone and let people type out addresses and food names in Chinese for you. Good use of your phone will go far.

If you visit Shanghai, let me know and I will get my sister in law and her husband to show you around. Their English is not great.

[mrswdk]

Stay off the buses.

Why?

[_sabotage_]

The bus system is much better than it had been and pretty location dependent, but a few reasons:

1. Take a taxi. Cheap, can just show the driver the address and little chance of being cheated. If you know the area well, a bit of Chinese and aren't in a hurry, take a bus. If you're in a major city and want to save a few bucks, take a bus. If you are in the middle of an industrial zone, take a taxi.
2. Get a friend with a car. Obviously not a way to get around for daily purposes, but on a trip to a monastery or something.
3. Get a car with a driver. Most company drivers can arrange one for you for around US$70 per day, that's gas, car and driver.

I wouldn't rent a car if I didn't know the area well. Too much shit going on when driving in China to not know where you're going while doing it.

[nietzsche]

demonfork, is it true that everything is red and plasticky in China?

[mrswdk]

The bus system is much better than it had been and pretty location dependent, but a few reasons:

1. Take a taxi. Cheap, can just show the driver the address and little chance of being cheated. If you know the area well, a bit of Chinese and aren't in a hurry, take a bus. If you're in a major city and want to save a few bucks, take a bus. If you are in the middle of an industrial zone, take a taxi.
2. Get a friend with a car. Obviously not a way to get around for daily purposes, but on a trip to a monastery or something.
3. Get a car with a driver. Most company drivers can arrange one for you for around US$70 per day, that's gas, car and driver.

I wouldn't rent a car if I didn't know the area well. Too much shit going on when driving in China to not know where you're going while doing it.

tbh the only time I use the roads is when I'm riding my scooter around the local area. The traffic in Beijing's terrible. Give me the subway any day.

Plus, taxi drivers here are fucking idiots. You show them a map that clearly shows exactly where you're going - including the nearest freeway exit, notable landmarks, street names and a big fucking pin stuck into your exact destination - and they still ask 'is it opposite xxx hotel?' before taking you to the wrong street. I once had a driver who had to put the airport into his sat nav. How anyone whose entire job involves knowing where different places in the city are can be that clueless is beyond me.

[_sabotage_]

As you know, a lot of the taxi drivers are not from there. I haven't tried to show one a map in more than a decade. You might as well give them something in braille. In Guangdong, they're pretty good about using dispatch to find the place they're going, but it always helps to know the way.

The Shenzhen subway is pretty nice. And the bus system is pretty good. Those electric scooters are dope. But there's no way I'm going to f*ck around for several hours taking public transport if I can get somewhere in a taxi in much less time.

The buses used to be hectic. No fixed route, people sitting in the aisle. You'd be speeding along happily in the direction you wanted to be going and then an hour and twenty minute detour for that twenty minute destination. Transport hubs are also lousy with pickpockets. My friend got off a bus to see his pocket slashed through.

Update on my wife's roommate's murder, btw. She had befriended a garbage/recycler. Those guys who have a little motorized vehicle that they get paid to pile mountains of crap on. He had 160,000RMB saved up and she managed to charm it out of him and then gave him the cold shoulder. So he killed her and a few days later committed suicide.

[mrswdk]

As you know, a lot of the taxi drivers are not from there. I haven't tried to show one a map in more than a decade. You might as well give them something in braille. In Guangdong, they're pretty good about using dispatch to find the place they're going, but it always helps to know the way.

The Shenzhen subway is pretty nice. And the bus system is pretty good. Those electric scooters are dope. But there's no way I'm going to f*ck around for several hours taking public transport if I can get somewhere in a taxi in much less time.

The buses used to be hectic. No fixed route, people sitting in the aisle. You'd be speeding along happily in the direction you wanted to be going and then an hour and twenty minute detour for that twenty minute destination. Transport hubs are also lousy with pickpockets. My friend got off a bus to see his pocket slashed through.

Update on my wife's roommate's murder, btw. She had befriended a garbage/recycler. Those guys who have a little motorized vehicle that they get paid to pile mountains of crap on. He had 160,000RMB saved up and she managed to charm it out of him and then gave him the cold shoulder. So he killed her and a few days later committed suicide.

I just can't be bothered giving directions to someone whose job it is to know them already. Having a dog and barking yourself springs to mind. If I have to travel any real distance I generally just get the subway to the nearest station then get a taxi from there if it's too far to walk. The subway network in BJ has grown quite a lot in the last few years and is reasonably convenient now.

Serves your wife's roommate right.

[thegreekdog]

I'm on Unicom, no problems here.

'sides, even the buses have wifi these days.

I'm not sure what unicorn is. How do I get it? I have an iPhone but it's locked so the SIM cards here aren't working with my phone.

The wifi at my hotel and my office is pretty weak, extremely slow compared to what I have in the states.

I'm in Wuxi btw.

f*ck! Unicron?

[demonfork]

I guess I'm going to Beijing tomorrow...

[mrswdk]

Yuh? Why you going to Beijing?

[nietzsche]

He buys his "genuine" watches there.