User profile: Yuanyangren

User info
  • Registered
  • VerifiedNo

Forum posts

0
Forums > Living in Kunming > China Is a Top Choice for Expats

I think an expat is any person who lives in another country as a foreigner for an extended period of time without gaining permanent residency or citizenship and is most appropriately applied to foreigners living in non-multicultural countries like China where it is difficult and uncommon to gain residency and especially citizenship. An expat also implies a sense of not being in the country forever, although there are many long-term expats these days, many of whom will never go home.

Even though the term expat can be used for say a Brit living in the USA, it sounds a bit strange because that Brit will probably eventually become an American anyway and since the USA is multicultural, everyone, irrespective of background is eligible to become a US citizen provided they have met the requirements in terms of residency etc.

0
Forums > Living in Kunming > Thailand life ?

@thebeargirl, interesting you mentioned tipping in Thailand. In China no one tips so I didn't think you would understand the concept being Chinese yourself. Basically it works like this:

In China: no tipping, ever.

In Thailand: leave some spare change if it's an expensive meal or tip about 20-30 Baht. Never tip street vendors or for cheap meals. Tipping hotel staff is at your discretion but generally only in more expensive hotels (4 or 5 star) and even then it's not absolutely required.

In America: Always tip about 10-15% in restaurants and hotel bellboys etc.

As you can see, tipping in Thailand is somewhere in between the extremes of China (no tipping) and America (tipping everywhere).

0
Forums > Living in Kunming > Thailand life ?

@chris8080, many ATMs do, but not all. It's still better to come equipped with a VISA or Mastercard debit or credit card, which are accepted everywhere.

BTW many Chinese ATM cards such as the Great Wall Card issued by the Bank of China, which I possess state clearly in English that the card can only be used inside China. Therefore, I recommend asking your bank in China to see if they can issue a VISA or Mastercard card (a credit card would probably not be available to a 20 or 21 year old non-working student though, so it would have to be a debit card), although Unionpay should work in many tourist areas but probably not in more remote places, whereas VISA and Mastercard will be accepted everywhere.

0
Forums > Living in Kunming > Can pickups enter Kunming?

@Dazzer, good point but right now what it comes down to is cost. The Jeep Cherokee that I am interested in starts at a whooping RMB 575,000 in China and that's just for the cheapest model. It's quite possible that the price in Laos is lower and the reason for considering purchase in Laos is that the vehicle will travel there anyway as my company is considering setting up some operations there. It seems that Chinese vehicles can easily enter Laos and stay for up to 30 days at a time, so that isn't a problem, but when it comes to Thailand and Vietnam, 2 other countries I would have to enter with the car, Lao registration would be better. Indeed Vietnam is now cracking down on Lao vehicles entering its territory, so I would imagine that Chinese vehicles would face an even harder time as in all my years spent in Vietnam I've only ever seen 5 Chinese registered vehicles there and all of them were near the Chinese border.

On the other hand, as mentioned if the Lao and Chinese price aren't that different, my company will purchase locally as that way we can avoid all the paperwork that we would inevitably face trying to register a Lao car here.

Thanks for the link tigertiger; although the crossover vehicle you have shown me doesn't look like it has that much more space than a large SUV would have though.

I was wondering if a pickup with a canopy could avoid the restrictions driving into Kunming city cause it would then look like the crossover you have shown me? Although my company is now set on purchasing a largish SUV so I think we can now avoid the potential problems that could arise from purchasing a pickup.

0
Forums > Living in Kunming > Can pickups enter Kunming?

@mike4g_air, the car will be brand new. I would register it within a month of purchase, if necessary. When it comes to the steering wheel on the right side, this is not an issue as Hong Kong cars have right hand steering and are allowed to drive on the mainland. However, my car will have left hand steering anyway (since the car would be purchased in Laos). If however, the Lao price isn't much cheaper than the Chinese price my company will purchase locally.

@Yuantongsi, any reason why this rule applies? Thanks for confirming this info though, means that my company will have to consider purchasing an SUV instead.

I have to find out, but I believe I will be based in Kunming most of the time, so I need to be able to drive my car around freely. I will often need to go down to Xishuangbanna and into Laos, Thailand and possibly Vietnam. For trips to Myanmar and India I would fly as driving into those countries is currently restricted.

Classifieds

No results found.

Comments

I'm surprised his car was still driveable and didn't end up with a zillion dents (or maybe it did). I wouldn't dare drive like that knowing that damaging my car is almost certain if I were to attempt that and secondly I have more regard for the safety of pedestrians than this bozo did.

Still, this was an entertaining piece of news.

Yep...though I'm more used to getting hassled than ignored. I thought we were all walking atms to these guys! Haha...anyway, it really depends though, because those taxi drivers that constantly pester you in places like Vietnam often rip you off, but if you go for the ones that are not specifically looking for fares they'll actually use the meters. Of course, taxis are better than motorcycle taxis though since they are less likely to rip you off. Also, you can almost always find a taxi or something else when you need one in those countries, even during rush hour. Something that's hard to do in Kunming and even Shanghai...

Also, apart from the occassional three-wheeled scooter or electric scooter driver willing to drive you somewhere, there are few alternative forms of transport in Kunming apart from the standard forms you'd see in the west: buses and taxis (and eventually, a subway). Only on the outskirts of town will you find motorcycle taxis who congregate around tourist spots such as the Nationalities Village, but these guys don't pick up fares inside town, probably because they aren't allowed to, I presume.

What i find that's totally bizarre to me is that in a developing country like China, no taxi driver follows a foreigner like would happen in neighboring Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia or elsewhere. In those countries, you don't look for the taxis, they look for you! In Kunming and China in general, you can walk down the street and no taxi driver will ever stop for you unless you want them to.

Tell the people to look at the signs and see what their reaction is! If they don't react, tell them that they can't read (which is what I would assume, if someone was just so oblivious to a sign right above their head).

Reviews

By

Horrible tasteless, thick-crusted "cardboard" like pizzas that are a far cry from what they should be like. Way overpriced too. Wine may be good, but why bother when the nearby Prague Cafe makes much better pizza at a more reasonable price?


By

Great Mexican food and ice cream, excellent Raspberry smoothies and an overall good atmosphere. Can't do much about the low ceilings on the second floor, but the early closing time could be adjusted, after all, the nearby French Cafe closes at 1am.