Latest Forum Posts

• • January 17, 2012
    
  • Forums > Living in Kunming > Certifying documents in Kunming
    

    I looked for the card but couldn't find it, sorry, but there is a provincial translation authority that can translate and certify documents. That is, they were able to certify a translation of my American driver's license, thus allowing me to only have to take the written exam. They may be able to translate your document and stamp that translation.

    It's located at the corner of wu yi lu(五一路) and guo fang lu(国防路) down a small alley. Just go to where the small alley ends and there is an office, where they will be surprised to see you, and ask them if they can translate your document.

• • May 27, 2010
    
  • Forums > Food & Drink > No Smoking at Salvador's?
    

    Hey Colin,

    As a smoker I understand the imposition we smokers often thrust on to others. I agree with your reasons for wanting to ban smoking, I worked in bars for years, and sympathize with those employees that have to work amongst clouds of cigarette smoke.

    I have to disagree that a smoking ban would hurt the Chinese patronage, don't think I've ever seen a customer leave because they were told they couldn't smoke on the first floor.

    What no one has mentioned in this thread though is the increased number of customers who would be occupying the entry way to Salvador's. Not only is this space already limited, but I get the feeling that the number of laowai on the front step often deters potential walk-in business. I often hear Chinese people assuming that there are no tables inside purely based on the number of smokers milling around the front. Please consider the possibility that adding to these numbers might be the most negative result of a smoking ban. The compromise of upstairs smoking and downstairs non-smoking is a very reasonable solution, although seemingly over looked by those who suggested smoking sections.

• • March 13, 2010
    
  • Forums > Study > American English, British English...who cares?
    

    I feel like this thread was started specifically to bait people into argumentative and possibly generalized responses. I also think that those commenting on either side of the discussion need to take a second look at the original question. The preference of schools for American English is simply due to the overwhelming number of American native speakers to all other native English speaking countries. see graph: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_language

    Laotou, as a non-native English speaker, please keep your comments and opinions to yourself. British English and American English are the same language. What you have suggested in this thread is that different dialects of a given language are inferior to others. Perfect example, standard (Beijing dialect) pu tong hua and Kunming hua. Using your assessment process, the "harshness" of Kunming hua makes it inferior to its parent language, despite having a vocabulary that exists entirely outside that of pu tong hua.

    I will close, again siting wikipedia, which only offers one "English" in its search engine language options.

    The General Explanations at the beginning of the Oxford English Dictionary states:

    The Vocabulary of a widely diffused and highly cultivated living language is not a fixed quantity circumscribed by definite limits... there is absolutely no defining line in any direction: the circle of the English language has a well-defined centre but no discernible circumference.

• • January 22, 2010
    
  • Forums > Food & Drink > Victory Vietnamese Coffee
    

    Hello birdabroad,

    Victory Vietnamese Coffee (VVC) is a wholesaler of 100% Robusta beans imported from Vietnam. Currently, VVC beans are available retail from Green Kunming.

    http://www.greenkunming.com/en/

    You can order beans online from Green Kunming or pick them up at Oasis Gift Shop located on Tianjundian Xiang (the alley connecting Wenhua Xiang and Wenlin Jie). For orders of 10 kilograms or more, please use the contact information listed on gokunming.com.

    Thank you for your inquiry, and I hope this is helpful.

• • December 15, 2009
    
  • Forums > Travel Yunnan > vietnam visa
    

    hey jessop,

    I've purchased a few Vietnam visas, and I'll try to recall what I can. You can purchase them in the border town of He kou, but they will be 450-500 rmb (depending on how much the agent in He kou charges you). You will also have to wait the same three days to recieve the visa whether it's in Kunming or He kou.

    The Vietnam consulate is located on the fifth floor of what I remember as Hong ta da xia. It's north and east of Jin jiang da jiu dian (the building with the Thai Air branch office). So, east side of Beijing lu, before the train station and Nan yao qi che zhan.

    Be sure to have with you a passport size photo for the application. All tourist visas are 30 days, and I believe multiple entry are 100 or 150 rmb more.

    Good luck!

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