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Forums > Living in Kunming > Apple Stores in Kunming

Yes.
From what I understand the Apple Store in Kunming is a fake store selling genuine merchandise. But there are lots of other places selling apple. It may be better going to the bigger stores, and not the cyber marts, to reduce the risk of getting a fake Apple product.

But I would also recommend Hong Kong. The prices are much cheaper and HK is great to visit.

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Forums > Living in Kunming > Advice for Summer Travel

Having been to none of the above I can only comment on what I have heard.

Cambodia is beautiful and everyone I know who has been there runs out of memory cards for the camera. Lots of photogenic temples and buildings.
Laos people are very friendly and polite, everyone I know who has been around Asia rates it as the nicest place they have ever worked.

Vietnam I have also heard great things about.

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Forums > Living in Kunming > Problems with China Eastern Airlines

It is often the same with any budget airline. Unless you have booked a connecting flight with the same airline, then no joy.
Part of the problem is also Beijing airport. Even Chinese people get lost there, the signage is abysmal.

There is only one cure, fly to Beijing the day before, book a cheap hotel and enjoy a bit of the city. I always do this, no matter which airport I am exiting China from. I also makes life a lot less stressful.

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Forums > Living in Kunming > Is living in China hazardous to your health?

@bradlevine, where do we begin?

Off the top of my head.

Much fresh fruit and veg is treated with chemical pesticides and other chemicals to enhance the product.
Pesticides may be used right up to harvest. Be especially careful with carrot, always peel as the skin is very good at absorbing chemicals.
I think I read last week that farmers were spraying crops with formaldehyde to prolong freshness at market, and these are the little farmers.
Some farmers still use human sewage as fertilizer with carries a risk of e-coli.
The veg is washed before it gets to market. This is often not in clean water, but in local gullies and streams. Even the water they spray on at the market may not be from a tap. If it is from a tap is the water drinking water?

Beyond fresh produce, there is more of the kinds of foods you buy in the wet markets that have been affected.

Fake rice.

Fish.

Turbot that was treated with too much fish fungicide to be safe, even for China.

There is a popular yellow belly fish of high value. Other species were having the belly colored yellow with industrial dye.

Meat -

Fake beef, made from other meats by treating with chemicals. In one case duck was treated with urine to make it like beef.
There was also a case where condemed pork was then treated and frozen to be sold as that thin sliced lamb that goes in hot-pot. This was also sold on to muslim meat vendors without their knowledge.

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Forums > Living in Kunming > Is living in China hazardous to your health?

In answer to the original questions. Yes, no doubt about that.

The food is not safe (not even fresh foods) and therefore not healthy, even though the diet is arguably more healthy.
If you do become ill the health care on offer is not as reliable and often not as good.that

Then add to this general levels of stress will be elevated, increased water-born diseases, and a liberal sprinkling of water/air pollution.

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Comments

The economics of junking bikes is a short to medium term gamble..If you are early to the market and can kill competition (like Bluegogo died), you can dominate a market. If you can create a near monopoly and increase the total revenue to more than make up for the initial loss of assets.

The gamble works best when only one player adopts this strategy. Flies in the ointment include:

1. Regulations and fines for dumping.
2. Late entrants taking advantage of your attempts to clear the field, at no cost to themselves. This also negates the advantage you gained at a cost.
3. Late entrants in a strong financial position, when your cash has been depleted.
4. You run out of cash yourself (as happened to Bluegogo).
5. Public perceptions. If your bikes are seen a a pile of junk, they will get treated as such. Personally, I would be much more likely to carelessly discard an Ofo than I would a Mobike. For some users the perception of how cool a bike is, many lead some people away from services that are seen as less cool.

"...If they are able to exchange privacy for convenience or efficiency, they are willing to do so in many cases..."

In my world I did this a long time ago. I realized that I was doing this to some degree when I signed up for my first email account and online shopping. Over the years I have seen my privacy eroded as convenience and efficiency increased. Admittedly I was a little surprised by how far this has gone, and how the data has been used (post Cambridge Analytica revelations), but I knew that I had crossed the Rubicon a long time ago.
Since moving here, I also accept, grudgingly, that I am being surveilled, but to go off grid would inconvenient and inefficient.

As distasteful as the situation given by Robin Li is, I think that he is not that far wrong, in his assessment; note that he does not say it is right, just a fact. As for the the online reaction? nobody likes to be reminded of bad news.

There probably simple work around, BUT the numbers of people who have been disciplined so far (well over 100 000) and the range of sanctions being handed out means it is not worth the risk.

Some of the stories of government officials having to go out into the villages to sweep the streets suggest that a very tight rein is being used in certain quarters.

Reviews

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A reasonable choice of lumber that has improved over time. Fancy hardwoods like walnut, and mahogany are in abundance. There are some plywood and rubber-wood boards available. There are also some kiln dried imported softwoods and merbao available. Some of the lumber is very green, so look for the kiln dried if you need stable timbers.

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Echo everything said by others.
Breakfast great and the serve from 8am. Most other places say 9am and they still are not ready.
Sandwiches are cheap 22-32, and really packed full of filling. We got some sandwiches for a day out, the only mistake I made was ordering two, as this was too much. These are seriously good sangars, and they are wrapped in alu foil.

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In fairness to Metro, they are a wholesalers, and not really a supermarket. Hence the need for a card, which can be got around.

They have improved in the year I have been away. They now carry a more consistent range of imported foodstuffs and they also seem to have sorted out the mported milk supply.

They have a wider range of electrical appliances now, there is a coice of more than one toast. There is also a better range of seasonal non foods, like clothes, shoes, garden furniture and camping gear.