seriously....who admits to selling pond water to tourists? I wonder how many people he made really sick to make a few bucks.
yes i know it's an official language in Hong Kong with 3 or 4% who identify it as their first language. so what's the point being made?
On my tour, I went to a Tang Dynasty Dumpling banquet in Xi'an. If they don't have it on the itinerary, make sure to go!!
I really appreciate all the info you guys are giving - please keep it going! Nice to hear I'll be able to get by with English in most places. I've been extremely worried about that. I'd still like to try and say rudimentary phrases (thank you, yes please, no, etc) where possible. Evan
I hope you know someone in China who can show you to a few places outside of the normal tourist traps. Other than that, have a fun time. I wish I could aford to go back again
As posted earlier, if you go shopping in Beijing, the general rule is you can get the price down about 2/3 or less of the original asking price. The vendors will usually mark up the price if you are not Chinese so keep on going lower and lower and do not stop, you may think you are getting a good price and settle, but you can even get it for cheaper!! if they are rigid, just walk away and most of the time they will sell it to you for your asking price...sweet eh? As mentioned earlier, watch out for your wallet, I usually put the wallet in my front pockets. Beijing and Shanghai have a wonderful night life (best clubs ive ever been to in the world) and it is evident how far China has come from all the high rises everywhere....you will be astonished at all the things China has to offer...i will definetly be making a trip back soon
I do. I also told them the yellow tint was "magic chinese herb that gives power to wang" and was able to charge them extra for it. Made about $300 so it was more than just a few dollars. Gullible people are idiots.
good advice. don't forget the "walk away". tell them someone else is selling the exact same thing for cheaper and slowly walk away. most of the time, they'll stop you and lower their price.
try some exotic food. the number one is the live monkey's brain. it's fantastic. they open the skull of a chained monkey like king kong and you insert a straw to the opening and start sipping it out. it's tasty.
I've actually heard about the (unsealed) bottled water from multiple sources, so I'm definitely going to watch for it. Something I'm sure I wouldn't have if I wasn't asking around so much. I've certainly heard things about the food. I just don't know if I'm up for grilled jellyfish. Can't tell if you're joking or not about the monkeys (Indiana Jones?) - but either way, I doubt I'd eat/slurp something knowing it'd traumatize me for years. How different is the shopping between Hong Kong and Beijing and Shanghai? Is one city better than the others? Evan
I lived in all three of those cities as a student and did a lot of shopping back in my college days Hong Kong- completely different from china, but more diverse. If you go to the big malls and shopping areas, its actually more expensive than the US, although electronics are newer (therefore you can get older electronics for cheaper while the same model is the newest in the US, but c'mon, you know you'd rather have the newest product and be a year ahead of everyone else). There are some mid-level shopping and toursity schtick that is cheap, but hard to find for tourists. I highly recommend the wan chai electronics market if you're into that stuff. you'll find that the stuff to buy in HK is completely different than mainland china. HK is ahead of the US in trends and consumer goods so take advantage of that (going there this summer myself and getting a new camera). cons: more expensive and not dirt cheap, can't bargain. High end stuff is more expensive than the US. In those places, treat it like its 5th avenue. smaller sizes if you're "super-sized" Pros:better quality, newer stuff than the US for fashion and electronics, can converse in english, easier to find things. Beijing-been a while and I think silk alley is different than when I last left. If its the same, you can bargain, get pirated goods (be careful coming back from customs) most speak in merchant english. There is also a big shopping street called wangfujing which is all modern, probably more expensive than the average beijing place, but more tourist friendly. Do not buy anything in the friendship store, that place is a tourist trap. There's a really awesome antiques market called Panjiayuan open on the weekends, lots of good stuff there, its mostly fake, but you won't find most of that stuff anywhere else. pros: can get your chinese trinket stuff and touristy junk. cheap, can bargain most places. Cons: bargaining can get tiring and doesn't work if you're in a rush. store clerks automatically assume you are rich because you are a foreigner (usually they are right). quality is so so depending on what you get. Clothes, backpacks, jackets, dvds, are fine. Shanghai: better shopping, maybe a bit more expensive than BJ but still cheap. nanjing road is massive and is a mix of cheap stuff and high end. Quality of goods is same or better than beijing, but theres more variety as shanghai is trendier than BJ. You might be taken to the old city, which is a tourist trap now. There are a lot of good malls but you need to ask around. BJ SH HT HK <--------------------------> Price (HT is houston) BJ SH HT HK <--------------------------> Quality HT HK SH BJ <--------------------------> Uniqueness of goods (souvenirs)
