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Bathrooms Chinese bathrooms do not generally feature toilet paper, so ALWAYS carry some. You will find every grade from the deluxe (and a little over the top such as the individual bird cages in the second floor club of the Beijing Hilton - I forgot to take a picture) to the tradional long trench. Most toilets we encountered were a standard "squatty potty" with an automatic flush, which indicates not only were we frequenting newer construction, but that the Chinese people prefer this style to the Western commode. Male and female handwashing facilities are often communal. Small babies generally seem to wear "slitty pants" and no diapers. They are expected to use the street as their bathroom, so watch out for puddles. Food I discovered two new foods in China. For a fussy eater like me, that's a lot, but I suspect you could eat all kinds of good stuff there if you were more adventurous like our daughter Jill.
Groceries - Open air mini-markets sell food and groceries. Cary ate and enjoyed street dumplings, but we also visited an underground Carrefours, the French version of Wal-mart, tucked into a subway station in Shanghai that had everything from cereal to fresh meat. Imported groceries tend to be sold in expensive shops with high rents such as the one in the Ritz Carleton complex on the eastern end of Shanghai's Nanjinglu. (It's within walking distance of the Jing 'an Temple metro stop.) Vegetables - Cooked veggies are fine everywhere. We ate raw vegetables in salads and sandwiches in restaurants. The Oklahoma County Health Department warned me not to drink the water, so I drank bottled water. (Save the bottles - one little old lady stood outside the restaurant window until we gave her our empties for recycling.) I used tap water to brush my teeth in our hotels in Beijing, Shanghai and Xi'an. Money Chinese currency is based on the yuan renminbi (people's currency) or kuai. There is very little black market exchange, though I saw a questionable setup on the street in Xi'an. Many shops check ¥20 and ¥50 notes for forgery, so always look for the silver stripe down the middle before you accept a bill. Scams We were only scammed once. As we exited Beijing's Summer Palace and headed for the taxis, a driver came over and ushered us aboard his vehicle. There was a meter, so we got in. However, we did not look for the driver's license or his rate card because we had always paid the meter rate, which starts with ¥10 base fare in Shanghai and ¥11 base fare in Beijing. About halfway throught the trip, we realized the metered price of our ride was double what it should have been. The driver pulled out his license and a special rate card proclaiming the luxury of a trip in his black Audi. We called the Hilton for help, but no one understood our problem, and we ended up paying, getting out of the cab and completing the ride in another cab. Avoid driver #235684. Shopping Bargaining: I know I overpaid when I bargained - you will too. One moment you're just looking and before you can think, you're involved in a price war you can't really win. Three techniques that might help:
Illegal Goods:
Malls - Malls are going up all over China. The prices are high and you will see luxury brands you've never heard of at fixed prices. However, the staff will not attack you and there will be restrooms. English is the chosen foreign language for signs in China. You will see it everywhere, but the translations are frequently bad and even laughable. I was so appalled, I wrote a letter to a columnist at China Daily (no reply) and began working with Chinese business people to correct the errors. Transportation Airlines - We booked our internal flights with elong.com, a horrible process that took five days while I proved I was who I said I was. (They said they were going to upgrade their credit card systems.) The flights were pleasant and all served food, however beware of gate changes. In March 2008, Chinese aviation authorites began disallowing any liquids in carry on baggage. Be warned. Buses are for the brave and the bold unless you speak Chinese. Subways very inexpensive and are easy to use, and there are maps and signs in English. You buy your one time use tickets from machines that prefer their yuan in coin form based on the number of stops you will be riding. Scan the ticket at the entry gate. As you complete your ride and exit the system, these tickets are inserted into the gatepost to be used again. Watch out for pushing and pickpockets. Taxi drivers are bold, courageous and foolhardy. They have got to be best in the world. Unless you encounter a deliberate scam like we did (scroll back up this page to Scams), you will have a cheap ride. Do not expect to find a seatbelt in the back seat. Do learn how to pronounce your destination properly or carry the words written in characters - if I can successfully direct a driver to Shanghai's Jing 'an Temple /Jing 'ansi (pronounced jing ann suh), you can too!
coming soon:
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