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Post by Woodson on Mar 25, 2010 21:48:42 GMT -5
Email your phone number and I'll call you. It is a lot easier to do verbally.
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jing
Member
Posts: 59
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Post by jing on Apr 1, 2010 18:32:34 GMT -5
Hi Harc 3,
Looks like you've quite a tour line-up. You'll have a wonderful time. The first time I went, I was thinking whether I identified as a Chinese or an Overseas Chinese (Chinese American). While travelling through, it felt like familiar scenes from stories and movies I heard and/or seen, but I did not feel Chinese.
By the time, I visited my family in their rural village, I felt very fortunate that my Dad made the decision to immigrate to the states where I was born.
I've just returned from a 16 day trip to southeast asia with stops in Bangkok, Singapore, Vietnam, HK, Okinawa, Taipei, Shanghai, and Beijing. On our free day in HK, we took the MRT to Lantau Island (see the station information). Once we arrived, we took the 360 degree ride up the Lantau (scenic), had the special monastery vegetarian lunch (5 courses for $100HK), climb up to the Buddha, and took the no.23 local bus down (scenic & curvy).
I use 3 x 5 cards with the place & address I want to visit. I write the place name in Chinese and English. The cards help when your brain has turned off and you hop taxis. Before leaving your various hotels, be sure to take a hotel card to get you back on the return. Some of hotel cards have bilingual sentences with the places already printed. On 3/29, Beijing was overcast and cold (scarf, jacket, thermal top). The skies were grey all day - good for photos. We took a taxi to the Forbidden City (National Imperial Museum) and had a great time taking in all the buildings.
When peddlers (sellers) approach you with their "merchandise" and you don't want anything, don't make contact with their eyes. Just put up your hand as a stop and say "Boo" meaning, I'm not interested" Keep walking and they'll stop harassing you. I bring a solar calculator to negotiate a less expensive price. Don't engage in bargaining unless you intend to eventually buy from that vendor. Be sure to drink ONLY commercially bottled water.
Each country has their own immigration procedures - always be patient and courteous. In 2005, the HK train station into Guangchou had a temperature scanning post to detect passenger temperatures and also a screening devise that detects fruits in your luggage - a "no-no" into China. They'll pull you aside and ask you if you have fruits. If yes, they'll confiscate the items and write you a receipt and that will cause a delay in your travel time.
Jing
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Post by harc3 on Apr 1, 2010 18:56:44 GMT -5
Great!!! Thanks for the info Jing. I am looking sooooo forward to this trip
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Post by harc3 on Apr 2, 2010 18:51:41 GMT -5
I have some pics I am taking to China with me for the family. I want to put a sticker on the back that explains who they are. I was wondering if someone could do this in Chinese for me so it makes sense to them (my relatives in China). I will leave our names in English
1. The children of 沈åŽç…§ 2. Me (Rick), my wife Helen and our daughter Ashleigh 3. My brother (Ron), his wife (Kathy) and their family 4. My brother (Kevin), his wife (Samantha) and their family 5. My brother (Larry), his wife (Jaime) his mother-in-law and his wife's daughter 6. My sister (Brenda), her husband (Peter) and their family 7. My sister (Georgena) 8. My sister (Georgena) with my brother's mother-in-law
Would be very much appreciated, thank you
Leave for my trip in 12 days...woohoo
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Post by tyuti1668 on Apr 5, 2010 18:45:56 GMT -5
List the oldest to youngest child's name & gender in another paper for easier reference. ;D thoese releative terms in chinese cause headache (older & younger brother are different ... cousins had many different terms...) 1 华照之兒女 2 Rick 、(妻)Helen、 (女)Ashleigh 3 Ron (妻)Helen 全家 4 Kevin (妻)Samantha 全家 5 Larry (妻)Jaime、岳母 ( his wife's daughter.. isn't just his daughter ) 6 Brenda (夫)Peter 全家 7 Georgena 8 Georgena 與 (ur brother's name)岳母
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Post by harc3 on Apr 5, 2010 21:43:41 GMT -5
GREAT!!! Thank you so much Tyuti 9 more sleeps
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Post by helen on Apr 14, 2010 3:00:44 GMT -5
good Luck Harc3 - You should be packed and at the airport by now. Bon Voyage
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Post by harc3 on Apr 14, 2010 6:58:54 GMT -5
Thanks Helen Actually have to be at the airport by 1030 a.m about 5.5 hrs from now
Thanks for everything Rick
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Post by helen on Apr 16, 2010 4:44:32 GMT -5
HARC3 is in Shanghai and having a great time.
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Post by douglaslam on May 25, 2010 1:09:01 GMT -5
Well, I am off to China also on Thursday 27 May. I was given my leave at short notice. I informed no one and I have no itinerary to follow. A surprise trip you may say. I do have a few things I wanted to do. Going to Guangxi is one of them.
I am flying to HKG, arriving late at night. I'll probably sit it out at the airport until first light, then make for the bus terminus in Kowloon, for the ride to Shiqi/ Shekki.
Tyuti1668, is there any chance we can meet up in Shekki, or Dachong? Lunch is on me. How early is the first bus departing Prince Edward Station?
Henry, there is a very good chance I'll be going to Hoiping or even Taicheng. I'll call your nephew Shi Cheng for a little social if possible. You speak so well of him, I love to meet him and his family.
I don't ( hard to believe) have a digital camera, and I hope I can borrow one in China, and take pictures and sound recording. I do have a little genealogy search on a cousin's family. This is more of my own inqusitiveness than anything else.
I shall miss the Forum for three weeks or so.
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Post by helen on May 25, 2010 4:45:02 GMT -5
Have a great trip - and bring plenty of photos back.
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Post by harc3 on May 25, 2010 10:50:42 GMT -5
Have a fantastic trip!!! I know I did. 2200 pics, 6hrs video, 8 hrs audio
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Post by douglaslam on May 26, 2010 2:17:12 GMT -5
Thank you Helen and harc3 for the good wishes. I can expect hot, humid weather, tropical monsoon rains and possible typhoon during my visit between now and June. That said, I intend to have a good time. Harc3, I can't hope to keep up with you in PC skills, and I don't think I could match you in photos taken, sound and video recordings. Helen and Geoff, I'll be thinking of you when I sink my teeth into the juicy flesh of Jengcheng variety of lychee. As we all know, it is from the Pearl River Delta where our ancestors' journey abroad all started. Chungshan/Zhongshan is the ancestral home to a large number of overseas Chinese. Many sons and daughters from the county achieved great success against much hardship in earlier times. For examples, H. Y. Louie of London Drugs fame in Canada : www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=M1ARTM0012387. And the four big department store owners in early 20th century Shanghai were Chungshan natives and pioneers in NSW, Australia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wing_On I want to visit the villages of those trailblazers, to feel the ambient feng shui 風水 and good vibrations. One regret is that the villages all underwent tremendous changes, I have no knowledge of past sights and sounds to compare with. As always, thanks tyuti1668. Hope we can meet up somewhere in Chungshan. But it is going to be difficult because the Siyi Forum is blocked in China. Douglas
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Post by helen on May 26, 2010 2:39:49 GMT -5
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Post by tyuti1668 on May 26, 2010 3:28:00 GMT -5
the old lady's 簫 clan from > 南文< >the CCC Village DB< Blog w/ Pics about that area [ 1] (douglaslam & my "home" village 安堂 is next to this village). [ 2] She tried her best speaking in standard Cantonese (w/ little Shiqi dialect & home dialect) but fail to Helen's ears as Taisan wah her husband is from > 金溪< These area traditonally spoke Londu dialect (Min family) which the eldest sister still spokes BUT w/ too much Cantonese loanword
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