More about Qingdao - A Winter Day in this interesting city…

This is my second posting from Qingdao — I spent three days here and enjoyed a stay at the Grand Regency Hotel on Hong Kong Street (丽晶大酒店), which is a nice hotel for the price. The rooms are large and nicely furnished (although the overall furnishings are a bit tired). Here is a photo of the insides of the room I stayed in

So on Sunday I decided that it is time to explore the city — no matter how cold it was…After a hearty breakfast in a Chinese buffet - yes, this hotel is Chinese owned and run and with a different view of the breakfast buffet vs. the Grand Hyatt Taipei let’s say… No pineapple here :-( but still had my fried eggs and lots of dumplings…and coffee was OK.

Then after doing some work I braved the howling wind and headed out in the town - the objective was TianHou Temple and the downtown pier at the bay.

Today was a sunny day, but the wind made it still freezing… After a cab ride, I reached the temple and was pleasantly surprised - not crowded and relatively colorful. Bought some Year of the Tiger charms from the monks, and came across a small shop of a paper cuts artist - bought a paper cut of the year of the tiger and she gave me a sheet of her biography - very nice lady.

Then I walked for a mile to the bay with a pier that reaches pretty far out in the sea. On the pier there were all sort of people trying to sell stuff - mostly it appeared illegally (as they hurriedly collected their wares a couple of times while I was there on what appeared the approach of police). I saw a guy display on the boardwalk sea stars (I think that is what they were called — I took pictures)
pulled fresh out of the bay. They were beautiful - yellow undersides and blue-purple tops… I heard one of the mulling people asking or concluding “yes, they are good eating…” — oh, well too bad for the creatures…

Given the freezing wind, it was amazing how many people were on the pier -

my guess many of them visitors from the country side - the local Qingdao crowd was probably staying warm at home ;-) as the rest of us visitors were trying to catch a view of the ocean and city…and I don’t blame them - after about 10minutes on the pier I was ready to head to a warmer place…
That turned out to be the local Parkson Dept. Store…after a quick walk through it - I headed out again and continued my walk along Zhongshan Lu and the near by streets. A detour brought me to an imposing church built on a hill of Zhongshan Lu…a remnant of the times the German residents occupied a large chunk of downtown Qingdao…(The story goes as such - Qingdao was surrendered to Germany in the late 18 hundreds after two German monks were killed in the city and German troops marched here)
Took a lot of pictures - the architecture along side Zhongshan Lu is very interesting - you would think you are in a European town…

By 4:30pm I was finally too cold, so I hailed a cab and headed back to the hotel. The cab was a VW Passat - admitedly a bit nicer than the VW Santana cabs which are prolific - but I had an interesting surprise - “luxury” comes at a price - the meter of that cab was quickly running up the tab… When I asked the driver “what gives…?” - his response was “well new model cab - new price…”. He sounded almost apologetic. By the time I got back to the hotel the meter was at RMB26 !!! While at noon the same trip cost me RMB17!!! What is that - over 50% markup…
Another interesting observation - the paper cut of the Chinese Zodiak Year of the Tiger in a frame done by a local artist cost me RMB25 …hm…?!?! Peculiar…!?!?
The difference between the local and global economy…

Taxi Cabs in Beijing, Qingdao (and other cities for that matter)

As you can tell from many of our postings we have lived in China for a number of years, having come and gone a number of times. Many things about life in the country are changing very fast and to the better — the quality of life is definitely going up, many of the cities in China are becoming very cosmopolitan, and so on and so forth. One thing seems to be staying unchanged though is the attitude to taxis in China. Every year I expect a remarkable improvement in their cleanliness, their safety and every year I get unpleasantly surprised at the same thing — the more China is changing the more its taxis are staying the same :-) I put a smiley face here but in reality there are many unpleasant aspects of the taxis in China. In most cases you can not find a safety belt for the passengers. If you look for them you will find that they are hidden / trapped under the seat covers or under the actual seats…. Good luck using them. Over the years the taxi drivers have become more aggressive and speedier — in some cases they drive on the city highways at speeds around 100km/hr. An accident in those conditions and with you wearing no seat belt will not be a minor thing…..

Then there is one other aspect that really baffles me — it is winter, the temperature outside could be in the range of -5 degrees C, and the cab driver cracks the window open and drives that way ???!!! What is that all about….? It is not like they are feeling warm — in all cases they are dressed in heavy winter clothing and constantly rubbing their hands when stopped at traffic lights. But the window on the driver side and in many cases on the front passenger side has to be open half way almost —> with pretty awful results — cold wind hitting you (the passenger in the back seat) in the face and causing your eyes to tear up….

Whenever I have pointed out that anomaly to the drivers they look at me as if I am asking a major / strange question. “Of course we have to keep the window open… How else will we get fresh air…”

Oh, well — cars can become technological marvels and I still will probably see the cabs going by with cracked open windows in the cold winter days of Beijing (or any other city for that matter)….

One advice. Of course dress warmly and if you feel uncomfortable — just try to ask the cab driver (or gesture to the driver) that you want that window closed…. And of course try to find a cab with safety belts that are NOT hidden — yes, they do exist! Happy travels.

Qingdao - first review since 2006 - JiMo Shopping Area

Earlier today I landed in Qingdao following a brief flight from Beijing. I was greeted by the a very cold winter Qingdao day — temperature of 1C. Of course I flew in from Beijing, which is not exactly a balmy place either, so I should not be complaining too much…but I just don’t like the cold wind and freezing temperatures….

The last time I was in Qingdao was in the Summer of 2006. At the time, the beaches were full of tourists and the ocean was nice and warm. Now, as I was driving in a cab to the hotel I saw just a few people on the ocean side streets and all of them were bundled up and looking very, very cold.

Once I made it to the hotel I decided to head out and check out some of the neighbourhoods. What a better way to experience a city — just jump into the local scene — check out the local shopping areas. So I headed to JiMo Market area. Well, that was a major let down :-(
I made it there by 5pm and most of the shops were closing (on a Saturday at 5pm ??!!!) - go figure. But then the shops looked pretty run down — even if they were open, they were not exactly exciting looking. I took a bunch of photos (will publish them later on once I get to a speedier VPN connection) and briskly headed back to the main street. Needless to say — I DO NOT recommend the JiMo Market.

View of the JiMo Shopping area in Qingdao

Another view of JiMo shopping area

More updates on Travel to/from Hong Kong Airport to Shezhen

The questions about how to get from Hong Kong Airport to Shenzhen and back keep coming up in various forums. Even now that there are direct flights from Taiwan to China (rather than via Hong Kong) the topic is still active. The fact is there is still a border and a border check between China / Shenzhen and Hong Kong — so it takes time and effort to make the connections. I have done the trip via various modes
* Ferry: Hong Kong airport to Shekou (described here: http://site.chinafinds.com/travel/?s=Shekou)
* Plane: Shezhen to Hong Kong Airport or Macao Airport and on to next destination
* Van / car : you get picked up in Shenzhen and the driver helps you with the transfer
* Taxi to LoHu border crossing — cross on foot — taxi, MTR or van to other points in Hong Kong

All these modes are fine based on what your challenge is — time, money, effort…. :-) Or if you go often to Shenzhen / Hong Kong, try them all :-)

I have put the timetable for the CSK lines in the Resources section of this Blog

Street Performer off WangFuJing

Just recently I was scanning through the videos we had taken during various times in Beijing and came across an interesting one (not great quality unfortunately — the evening we took the video we had just a small pocket digital camera with us which had basic video functions). That evening friends of ours and us went out for dinner in the Pacific Plaza Mall (near the intersection of JianGuo Avenue and WangFuJing) and after dinner decided to take a stroll in the area. We ended up in one of the backstreets (near the night food market) selling the usual small eats and trinkets but we also came upon a stage where amateurs performed various Beijing Opera acts….. So if you are interested in that, this could be an easy area to get to and spend some time checking out the various performers — apparently they are different each evening….Here is a short video of what we saw and heard:
Beijing Opera Performer off WangFuJing in Beijing

Interesting experience going through Beijing International Airport Terminal 3

Recently a took a flight from Taipei to Beijing. Yes, the flights between the two cities are now becoming the norm. Earlier in the Summer (of this year) I flew from Shenzhen directly to Taipei, and now from Taipei directly to Beijing. For those of us who remember just a couple-three years ago this was a dream…. I recall 2004 — possibly the first time we saw charter flights (during the Chinese New Year) take Taiwanese expats on direct flights between Shanghai and Taipei… That was a big happening. In that same time — in 2004, 2005, 2006….all of us traveling on business or pleasure between China and Taiwan had to take the long route via Hong Kong, or Macao, or South Korea or via Japan to make it from the mainland to Taiwan. That usually meant that a trip to Taiwan had to factor in a day to get there (from Beijing) and a day to come back….

Today the situation is different. I was able to get on a 7:55am flight from Taipei International Airport to Beijing via China Air and arrive in Beijing at 11:20am. What an improvement :-)

Once we arrived in Beijing I had to go through Terminal 3 of the new Beijing Capital airport. Each time I go through it I think how impressive the new structure is. Yes, an interesting and innovative building. All this is good until you hit the medical check point. While on the plane you are given a medical certification form — you describe your health condition etc. Fine. Then you get off the plane and start heading to immigration. Prior to immigration you go through the proverbial control point — infrared cameras take your temperature while you walk and then you face a government official who examines and stamps your medical certificate. Then you walk further and then “surprise…!” Another official collects the paper that was stamped just 2-3 minutes ago at another desk. Well, that is one way to fight unemployment :-) and create jobs. Who needs a stimulus package :-)

The next thing that surprises you about Terminal 3 is how huge it is. And how empty. I ended up walking for a while and went down three floors to find my way to the exit for the taxi stand…. So nice job in building the Terminal. I just wished it was easier to get in and out of it…. But then, who would mind a few miles of walking :-) We all need the exercise. Wait, wait, I sense a business opportunity: we can create a walking exercise routine for airline passengers. “Walk to fitness”

Happy travels!

Hotel Reviews and Trip Advisor - be careful

My spouse and I both have used and continue to use the references made by multiple travelers on Trip Advisor to various restaurants, hotels and other sites around the world. I know how difficult it is in many cases to decide on where to stay and/or eat while in a completely new to you city (and in many cases culture). Thus the service provided by TripAdvisor is certainly well meant and useful.

Having said that we have come across some alarming incidents on that site — as I am writing this posting, my spouse is getting her next trip to Beijing organized. Since we moved back to the States, both of us have done numerous trips and in a true sign of how fast China and Beijing are changing, we have started looking into new hotels as the ones we knew so well have either raised their prices or have not been renovated, or we just wanted to find out some new / exciting hotels. So today we were checking out Hotel G on Trip Advisor and came across some pretty disturbing findings…The hotel is ranked very well — one may think Way too Well — if you follow the link you will find that it has 50 Excellent reviews!!!

Let me put it this way — this has not happened in our experience — we have not seen such extremely high marks for any of the hotels we have stayed at. And we have stayed in some excellent hotels! China World (Beijing) for example does not have as good reviews as the “fabled” Hotel G……

Needless to say, this is very suspicious. When we dug into the situation we came across some information that Hotel G has been pumped up by someone closely linked with the establishment…..So this is a word of caution about using Trip Advisor (and any other reference material on the Web for that matter) — always try to verify information if possible by using more than one source.

Before we came across this issue with Hotel G in Beijing — we actually started summarizing information about hotels in Asia — here is the link (or you can just search for “hotel” and “review” on this blog)

I hope you can find what you need with good reliability, and as always — have a good trip!

The Most Famous Jade Art Piece — the Jade Cabbage

Well folks, you thought people are kidding when you heard (at least once in your stay or travel in China or Taiwan) that the most famous jade artwork in the world is the Jade Cabbage…. No, this is the case for sure — countless visitors to the Palace Museum in Taipei line up to see that piece of art. No photography allowed !!!!

I borrowed an image from Wikipedia so I can show that revered piece of jade shaped as a head of Chinese cabbage…

Taking a closer look while you are in the museum one can actually see also a grasshopper hiding in the green leafs… It is a quite amazing piece of work. The importance of the Jade Cabbage is also highlighted in recent article of Beijing This Month magazine.

So, the next time you have the opportunity to go to Taipei — visit the Palace Museum. This is becoming increasingly easy given the direct flights from the mainland to Taipei… Here are a few more photos from Taipei
LungShan Temple The Palace Museum

Warning–Be Careful Changing Money at the Beijing Airport

On my recent trip to Beijing in October 2008, I needed to change a small amount of money at the airport in order to pay for transportation into town to my hotel. This was my first time changing money at the airport, so I didn’t want to change a large amount of money as I was wary of the exchange rates. As it turns out, I was right to be wary as not only was the exchange rate considerably lower than that offered at my hotel and at the local banks (6.65 versus 6.75) but I was charged a flat 50 yuan fee to change money–a fact I only realized considerably after the fact as I was befuddled from my long airplane journey. As I had only changed $20 USD, I should have received 133 yuan even at the poor exchange rate of 6.65. However, I only got 83 yuan back–an effective exchange rate of 4.15 RMD to 1 USD. Once I realized what had happened, I was far past the currency exchange booth and it was too late to go back. On my return journey to the airport, I saw a similar currency exchange booth. This one had a reasonably prominent sign stating that a 60 yuan fee (even more than the 50 yuan I had paid) was charged for all currency transactions. Perhaps the place where I had so disastrously changed money had also had a sign, but I was too sleep-deprived to see it. At any rate, be cautious when changing money at the airport. ATMs may be a much better way to go.

Broadband Web Access - What is going on with Web Access around the world

Recently my family and I have been traveling in Bulgaria. We have visited the country 5 times since 1995. There have been many postitive developments in the economy and living conditions in the country and this made me think about an interesting case of how the Internet and access to it gets enabled in different parts of the world. In the 1990s Internet access was growing rapidly in the US. I remember being required (by my professors) to submit homeworks and projects via email. We had to use the engineering department workstations (Do you remember Digital Equipment Corp.? — the famous and now gone, Dec Stations…) and the tools that came with them like FTP, Telnet, E-mail clients, to access BBS sites setup by our professors for the purposes of class exercises. It was an exciting time. We felt so hip :-)

Then dial-up started growing (as penetration among consumers and businesses) really fast. AOL, Excite@Home, and others became big portals. Then Yahoo came — and all these sites were optimized for text based browsing mostly — after all the dial-up modems (eventhough they progressed rapidly) topped out at 56kbps (and for most users actually at 48kbps or even less 24kbps due to bad phone wires)….The US was in the lead.

Now the situation has changed drastically. Broadband Internet access even in small countries like Bulgaria is growing fast and is very low cost. Recently on a trip to this country I passed by numerous billboards advertising 2Mbps ADSL connections for 15.95 leva per month. This is the equivalent of US$11.15/month! In the small village of Krqn (on the outskirts of Kazanlak — the main city in the Rose Valley), cable modem access is about US$10/month….

Recently even the New York times ran an article on the rapid drop in worldwide position of the US with regard to broadband subscription rates. The US is now behind most Western European countries (e.g. France, Denmark, ….) even behind countries like Estonia (former Soviet republic).

I am not sure why the US is lagging in availability of broadband, but that could certainly have implications on both e-commerce as well as delivery of new services like VoIP, Video on demand, IPTV (TV over packet), and potentially be also a barrier to innovation. After all the Amazon.com, eBay, etc. were developed in an era (sounds so long ago but it was only 7-10 years ago) when the US had dominant position in Internet access….so will we miss on the next wave of new business models….?