Pushbrk's informal visit blog

[pushbrk 12,106]

Just thought I'd start a thread to post some observations. Feel free to comment.

My wife and I left for a 12 week visit to China, January 15. After getting up early Saturday morning to drive two hours to Seattle, have lunch, do some shopping and catch a 3:30 flight to LAX, several hours layover until LAX to PEK and several more hours in Beijing before continuing to Nanning, our heads hit bed pillows 48 hours (Monday afternoon in China from Saturday morning near Seattle) after leaving them.

Those who've done it know that traveling West, isn't so bad on the body for some reason as going East, so within a couple days, we felt fairly normalized. One comment on my facebook page from a friend with a wife from Chongqing asked if I'd remembered to pack my long johns. I hadn't and it was unseasonably cold our first two weeks here. Fortunately, my wife's family is in the clothing business, so long johns were delivered promptly. The home where we stay has heat in every room but the kitchen but about ten days in the unit in the living room crapped out and we're waiting for parts until after the holidays. Fortunately the temps have returned to normal and it's in the low 70's during the afternoon.

I can work from wherever my laptop and Blackberry are, so it's just a split shift for me calling back to the states. My Blackberry's WIFI calling feature is a great money saver. I have a Chinese SIM card for a separate phone but if you turn off the network (talking to the phone towers) and just turn on the WIFI, the T-Mobile or AT&T networks treat you like you're in the USA with regard to charges. Most of my calls are early morning in China calling back to the States during the preceding evening and then a few late at night in China calling that morning in the USA.

We've been trying to buy a home and thought we were ready to sign papers on one that won't be ready for about two years. Turns out my wife didn't ask enough questions and we didn't really have enough cash for the down payment. It was more house than we needed anyway. We're now waiting until after the holidays to make an offer on a smaller one in a different complex. We may be able to obtain a lower cost per square meter than quoted, so have some "contacts" working on that for us in the meantime.

For those who haven't been to China during the Spring Festival (This is my first time.) it's something to behold. The fireworks alone (now ongoing for several days at all hours from about 8AM to 4AM) are incredible. The strings of hundreds or thousands of firecrackers going off from just outside the window to a mile or more away are beyond description. Of course, Midnight Wednesday was the peak. It's amazing just how much left over red paper is laying all over the place from the firecrackers, even though it seems to be cleaned up every day.

More later.

[Bob g 11]

My first trip to Chongqing in April 09 was 50 hours travel, oooooo my butt.

Last year I went in March. It was about 60 degrees most of the time. The apartments, and most buildings are very cool to me though. I always had a chill inside. When I left Virginia it was snowing, so I thought I could handle the cool, or cold, wrong. I will go last of March/April this time.

[dan_ling 6]

You definitely picked the best time of the year, CNY, to visit. My last visit was 2009 Christmas Year and it was cold. While visiting my wife's family, they had heat in the rooms but only kept it at around 60 degrees I believe. I would wear long johns and a coat and they said they do not like to keep the heat on because it is bad air and they would crack the windows, which I thought was defeating the purpose of the heater.

Anyways keep warm and enjoy your trip.

[pushbrk 12,106]

Continuing on, I made a classic dummy mistake the night before last. I was feeling body aches and chills as my wife had felt the night before. Her brother gave her some medicine and she felt fine in the morning. I was tired and not thinking, so just let her give me the same. I felt better first thing in the morning but a bit groggy. Soon my constipation "reversed" itself and I was miserable the rest of the day and evening. Later I asked my wife about the medicine. I knew one was just ibuprofen but hadn't looked at the other one. Turns out it was a pretty harsh antibiotic and I don't tolerate those well. Oh well, one perfectly beautiful day down the drain and another lesson reinforced.

After five years, my wife still forgets my digestive system was not raised in China. The first time something like that happened, I was sure it was the jumbo peel and eat prawns that were not deveined and everybody else was sure it was the medium rare steak only I had eaten. We never have agreed on that in five years but I don't eat the peel and eat jumbo prawns anymore. Had a similar problem in New Orleans back in the 90's though so pretty sure the prawns were to blame.

[Bob g 11]

On my stays in China is about the only time my digestive system works correctly.

[Hamburger Man 3]

Continuing on, I made a classic dummy mistake the night before last. I was feeling body aches and chills as my wife had felt the night before. Her brother gave her some medicine and she felt fine in the morning. I was tired and not thinking, so just let her give me the same. I felt better first thing in the morning but a bit groggy. Soon my constipation "reversed" itself and I was miserable the rest of the day and evening. Later I asked my wife about the medicine. I knew one was just ibuprofen but hadn't looked at the other one. Turns out it was a pretty harsh antibiotic and I don't tolerate those well. Oh well, one perfectly beautiful day down the drain and another lesson reinforced.

After five years, my wife still forgets my digestive system was not raised in China. The first time something like that happened, I was sure it was the jumbo peel and eat prawns that were not deveined and everybody else was sure it was the medium rare steak only I had eaten. We never have agreed on that in five years but I don't eat the peel and eat jumbo prawns anymore. Had a similar problem in New Orleans back in the 90's though so pretty sure the prawns were to blame.

Making me miss China.

Every time I’ve been there (3 times) I always have “bathroom problems,” but man most of the food is worth it.

Just thought I'd start a thread to post some observations. Feel free to comment.

My wife and I left for a 12 week visit to China, January 15. After getting up early Saturday morning to drive two hours to Seattle, have lunch, do some shopping and catch a 3:30 flight to LAX, several hours layover until LAX to PEK and several more hours in Beijing before continuing to Nanning, our heads hit bed pillows 48 hours (Monday afternoon in China from Saturday morning near Seattle) after leaving them.

Those who've done it know that traveling West, isn't so bad on the body for some reason as going East, so within a couple days, we felt fairly normalized. One comment on my facebook page from a friend with a wife from Chongqing asked if I'd remembered to pack my long johns. I hadn't and it was unseasonably cold our first two weeks here. Fortunately, my wife's family is in the clothing business, so long johns were delivered promptly. The home where we stay has heat in every room but the kitchen but about ten days in the unit in the living room crapped out and we're waiting for parts until after the holidays. Fortunately the temps have returned to normal and it's in the low 70's during the afternoon.

I can work from wherever my laptop and Blackberry are, so it's just a split shift for me calling back to the states. My Blackberry's WIFI calling feature is a great money saver. I have a Chinese SIM card for a separate phone but if you turn off the network (talking to the phone towers) and just turn on the WIFI, the T-Mobile or AT&T networks treat you like you're in the USA with regard to charges. Most of my calls are early morning in China calling back to the States during the preceding evening and then a few late at night in China calling that morning in the USA.

We've been trying to buy a home and thought we were ready to sign papers on one that won't be ready for about two years. Turns out my wife didn't ask enough questions and we didn't really have enough cash for the down payment. It was more house than we needed anyway. We're now waiting until after the holidays to make an offer on a smaller one in a different complex. We may be able to obtain a lower cost per square meter than quoted, so have some "contacts" working on that for us in the meantime.

For those who haven't been to China during the Spring Festival (This is my first time.) it's something to behold. The fireworks alone (now ongoing for several days at all hours from about 8AM to 4AM) are incredible. The strings of hundreds or thousands of firecrackers going off from just outside the window to a mile or more away are beyond description. Of course, Midnight Wednesday was the peak. It's amazing just how much left over red paper is laying all over the place from the firecrackers, even though it seems to be cleaned up every day.

More later.

Can you post some pictures of your trip?

[pushbrk 12,106]

So, let me tell you about a wonder drug, (herbal). I've thought of Imodium as a pretty important drug for China but when it's food poisoning, it doesn't help much. The miracle is Berberine Hydrochloride. Here's an article. http://www.raysahelian.com/berberine.html

After severely struggling cramps all night and into the next evening, I asked my wife for some of the Ibuprofen I knew she had. I referred to it as the "yellow" medicine from a few days before. She brought me yellow medicine but it wasn't the same. I took it anyway and within minutes, the cramps stopped and by morning things were pretty normal. She had taken the opportunity to give me the medicine I wouldn't take all day because it too was "yellow". Man, am I glad she did. Turns out this stuff also helps with type 2 Diabetes. Mine's under control with diet and exercise but this stuff is cheap and apparently has many benefits and few if any side effects. Check it out and skip the Imodium next trip.

[pushbrk 12,106]

So, let me tell you about a wonder drug, (herbal). I've thought of Imodium as a pretty important drug for China but when it's food poisoning, it doesn't help much. The miracle is Berberine Hydrochloride. Here's an article. http://www.raysaheli.../berberine.html

After severely struggling cramps all night and into the next evening, I asked my wife for some of the Ibuprofen I knew she had. I referred to it as the "yellow" medicine from a few days before. She brought me yellow medicine but it wasn't the same. I took it anyway and within minutes, the cramps stopped and by morning things were pretty normal. She had taken the opportunity to give me the medicine I wouldn't take all day because it too was "yellow". Man, am I glad she did. Turns out this stuff also helps with type 2 Diabetes. Mine's under control with diet and exercise but this stuff is cheap and apparently has many benefits and few if any side effects. Check it out and skip the Imodium next trip.

10:30 AM, 66 degrees and 100% humidity. My socks are in the washer again because they got stinky after hanging in the humidity two or three days without drying. Fortunately, we can close the hanging room and turn on the air conditioner to dry the air. Don't know what others do in this situation. Our new home will definitely have a clothes dryer.

The dew hits all the tiled surfaces and today even the concrete sidewalks, making them slippery with mud. This is the time of year my wife hates with a passion in South China. Every place we went yesterday smelled like wet concrete.

I find it amazing that so many of the small businesses in the neighborhood are either changing hands or remodeling their spaces. It's a nice improvement I've been observing for five years of this 11 of 12 years of neighborhood history. There were just as many businesses and little restaurants in 2005 but the small ones look much better today. The bigger ones look like they are still using the same table cloths they opened with a decade ago. There's also no evidence of building maintenance or cleaning of outside glass. There's so much ongoing construction in Nanning, everything is dirty. We've been here now 38 days and have yet to see more than a few hours of sunshine and hazy even then.

I'm mostly enjoying the change in routine but could sure use a real oven and a clothes dryer. Fortunately DVD's are cheap here, as the internet connection available is too slow for logging into my Xfinity or US TV network websites to watch any TV.

Some of you have seen recommendations to register with the local police service office if you're staying in a private home. I've never done that and only began the process of doing so this time because I want to get a Nanning driver license. It needs to show my local address, so we had to get the building management company to provide a paper that says I'm living in my brother in-law's home. That was a chore. The main office wouldn't believe my sister in-law with household book in hand. Brother had to drive over and pick up our building's security guy to vouch he's been seeing me here every day for more than a month. You did not want to see my wife and sister in-law that angry, I assure you.

Anyway, the lady at the police station was very nice and we have the needed papers. Now a police friend of another family member will assist with the actual driver license process next week. Fortunately, I only need to pass a written test in English. Will let you know how THAT goes. It's great to have connections. My wife's family has been in the city since 1972 and with Baba being a retired General to boot, lots of connections.

Edited February 26, 2011 by pushbrk

[Cortr 3]

You're going to drive in China? Braver man than I!

[Ban Hammer 12,836]

interesting reading, pushbrk. i look forward to the next installment.

[pushbrk 12,106]

Updating the driver license quest. Went to do the application and test Monday morning. Our contact handled getting all the papers ready and arranged for the test. It was just about lunch time, so I was the only one testing in a room with about 150 computers for testing. With no study guide and the usual faulty translation issues, I scored 78 out of 100 on a 100 question test. 90 is the passing score. The police woman in charge of the testing room, offered to email my wife what we thought was a study document in English, form home Monday night, but she forgot to take the email address with her when she left work. We went back in Tuesday morning with a USB drive to obtain the document. It turns out its actually the full list of test questions in Chinese and English for the test. There are 800 questions in sections with a formula for selecting 100 of the 800. It's a 327 page PDF (Now, I converted it from open text.) and it's getting pretty repetitive by page 95. Lots of it is about agencies and fines as well as what happens of you get to many points against you etc. but most of it is pretty much common sense. Here's a great example of one of the messed up questions though.

If the traffic police ________, they should arbitrarily test the intracorporeal alcoholic content of the vehicle driver.

A. Have no dispute over the reading of the alcohol breath analyzer

B. Find the reading of the alcohol breath analyzer is below the threshold level of

intoxication

C. Find a traffic accident has been caused by a vehicle driver after drinking

D. Find a traffic accident has been caused by a vehicle driver who has not drunk.

Answer: C

Funny thing is there a lot of true or false questions with the word arbitrarily in them, where the answer is "true" or in their case, they are right or wrong, questions.

I've already seen a good number of the questions I can see I got wrong, mostly about rules and regulations about what to do in case of an accident or what the penalties are for certain infractions. Of course, anybody who has been on the road in China, knows all these driving regulations are ignored routinely once on the road. I'll let you know how the test goes when I take it again Wednesday morning, China time.

Speaking of "China Time" I looked at at time zone map and calculated China should have at least 5 separate time zones and it could be argued they need 6 instead of 1. Fortunately, we spend all our time in the area where the time is about right.

[pushbrk 12,106]

Another stupid example before I forget.

When the yellow light is on, it allows the vehicles to pass.

Answer: Wrong

Here's the thing. First "pass" in this case means "proceed". Second, the correct answer is "warns the driver" but of course, the driver may "proceed" or pass.

[pushbrk 12,106]

My wife just came in to inform me that her brother says, if I fail the test tomorrow, I should insist they allow me to take it again immediately. Just don't leave until they do and they will. I'd rather get 90 of the 100 right the first time. It only takes about 30 minutes but I'm getting too damn old for all this studying and concentration.

[Ryan H 3,790]

This is great reading! Thanks for sharing your experiences! I recently returned from China after spending most of February there and I agree with you regarding the hearing all of the firecrackers.

[pushbrk 12,106]

As promised, I'm here to report on the driving license saga. Went back Wednesday morning pretty confident and failed with an 88, with 90 as the passing score. That cost me fine sushi for three at Nanning's finest sushi establishment. That's maybe 60 bucks US, so pretty hefty in this part of China. We went back again this morning after a couple hours more study and passed with a 97. So, I now proudly own a Peoples Republic of China, Driving License, good for six years.

I promptly waived my brother in law out of the driver's seat of the old Mazda 323 we used this morning and drove the 40 minutes or so to pick up some food for the Nephew, to a restaurant near home and then on home. This involved mostly arterials, but included driving through the center of downtown, into a couple small downtown neighborhood streets and a confidence building first left turn across traffic an an unmarked busy intersection. As most of you know, this involves cautiously sticking the nose out until far enough to stop traffic from the left until their's an opening in the traffic from the right. I had observed the process more than a hundred times, so it didn't feel as strange as you might imagine. My wife engaged in quite a bit more back seat driving than usual and I was more patient with that than usual due to the circumstances, but I did pretty well, IMO. I don't really have any plans for the afternoon but the keys and registration for the new Audi Q5 are on the counter and he took the old car to his animal feed vitamin factory for the afternoon.

We're still planning on buying a house and were expecting to do so this week. However, there are some new provincial regulations that seem to have stopped all or nearly all the speculative buying. So, we are thinking the cost per square meter is going to go down and may now have my wife come back in June to do the buying. We'll still be looking and have our first second and third choices in mind but the new pricing may well shuffle those preferences or bring others into play. Part of the way it works is that these buildings get pre-sold with turnover dates that have monetary punishments built in if they are late. If people stop buying, the companies don't have the money to continue building, so the have to reduce the price. We're only looking at properties built by known solid companies, so we know they will complete the buildings one way or the other. New restrictions some time ago took care of the problem of companies failing after taking peoples' money.