Travel Tips

I’ve done a fair bit of traveling through 20+ countries, both with and without money, alone and with friends, and for a variety of different purposes. Through all my travels, here are some things I’ve learned.

First, it’s definitely cheaper to travel with someone else. 

I travel pretty openly, meaning I usually only buy a one-way ticket to start with. By waiting to buy my return ticket, I don’t feel pressured to be in a certain city by a certain time.

I’ll always book the first hostel or hotel before I fly out, so at least I’ll have somewhere to go when I land. I’ve done the dorm thing, but I’m not a super big fan of it. Sometimes you get lucky, for example I was in Paris and booked a bed in a 6 bed dorm and I was the only person in there for 3 days, so you never know. Traveling with someone else comes in handy in these situations because lots of hostels have a twin room (2 separate beds), so it's like a hotel but cheaper. These days, I think Airbnb might be the best option, and they usually offer better amenities than a hostel. Many Airbnb’s in big cities offer a room in the apartment instead of the whole apartment, so it's even cheaper. Conversely, hostels offer a better social atmosphere, usually with a big bar, foozball table, or movie area where it's easy to meet people to party with. 

I book at least one day of accommodation before I go, but looking at a map and being there are two different things. Once you get there, you might not like the hostel or whatever, so don’t book 3 nights or something because then you’re stuck. Can you tell that I have commitment issues? For example, Bangkok is a huge city, so me and my buddy stayed in a hotel in one part of the city for two nights, then booked a different hotel in another part of the city after that. 

I bring my computer with me when I travel and based on what you want to do in the city, price-range, other variables, I just book as I go. Always book something ahead of time, meaning when you land/arrive, always know where you’re going. 

If you want to workout while traveling, which I always do, just go into a big hotel and take the elevator straight up to the gym. Then go in and workout, or someone will let you in since you don’t have a keycard. Just act like you belong, works like a charm. 

As a male, I’m sure I travel with less shit than girls do. Me and my buddy took 36 Liter Osprey backpacks, not the huge "I'm backpacking Europe" ones, just slightly larger school backpacks, and traveled for 6 weeks in Southeast Asia. There’s no luggage to pick up after landing, nothing to drag on the ground, and easy to pack up. However, SE Asia is easy since its hot and I mostly took tees and tank-tops; I’m sure Europe in winter would require a suitcase. 

Exchange some money before you go or you’ll get screwed on exchange rates at the airport. You can do that at a local bank. Let them know you’ll be traveling so they don’t flag your card and lock it down. It’s happened before. Not fun.

Before I travel somewhere, I know there'll be a few big ticket items for each city I want to see. Like Paris, the must-sees were the Eiffel tower, Louvre, Arc de Triomphe, stuff like that, but I also met people and discovered other things I wanted to see while I was there. So I plan to do big touristy things, but I don’t like to plan too much. Half the fun is discovering new places to explore. 

I always try to find a market where I can by cheap goods (they make good presents for people) and it allows me to talk to the locals and be in a lively atmosphere. Embrace the street food as its usually always tasty and cheap. Lots of hostels and hotels will offer ‘tour’ packages. I’ve always been weary of these, but I have done some awesome ones. Plus, it's an easy way to meet people. Also, because I hate being labeled an American, learn at least “Thank you” and “hello” in the local language.

Bring a lock, the kind that has the sliding numbers on it. That way, you can lock your zippers on your suitcase or lock your storage unit in the hostel. Do laundry. You can easily take it to get done in big cities and they’ll charge you by weight. Trust me, it's worth it. 

Make sure you check the electrical outlets of the countries you’re traveling to and bring the appropriate adaptor. 

One thing I never travel without is a compression bag for clothes. I can roll all my shirts and put them in side by side, I zip it closed, then there is a second zipper that crunches everything down. It's a space saver, and it keeps all my stuff organized. Forget the plastic ones, the bags I use have a mesh top which is super durable. I also use smaller compression bags for socks/underwear and toiletries. Believe me, when its day 12 on a trip, it's nice to have everything organized. They are a lifesaver for packing.

I also just bought a pair of Apple Airpods (The wireless ones) and I can't explain how much of a difference they have made in my life and traveling. No cords to mess with, they charge quickly, and I can sleep on trains and planes easier. Wireless headphones make traveling a lot simpler.

I hope you have a great trip! Let me know what tips work for you while traveling! 

Christmas Trees

I recently read an article about Shenyang Pharmaceutical University banning Christmas in order to "Guide the youth league members in building cultural confidence and resisting the corrosion caused by Western religious culture." I understand that Christmas is a religious holiday and not typically "Chinese", but let the kids enjoy what they want.

Duolingo Haiku Contest

While updating the app, I noticed they were having a contest asking for submissions of a haiku about why I was learning a different language. Here are my two submissions:

1. There's a girl I love

But she only speaks Chinese

#languagebarriers

2. Learning Italian

Because I've always wanted

To talk with my hands

Beijing Snacks

True Words

“China is a big country, inhabited by many Chinese.” 
― Charles de Gaulle

Apple Airpods Review

Overview

Back in October I bought a pair of Apple Airpods, the first wireless headphones I had ever used. Here are my thoughts:

In life, there are certain things that can be labeled a “game changer”, and wireless headphones are one of those. The Apple Airpods aren’t the traditional wireless headphones, as there is no cable connecting them, so maybe not the best ones to start with, but hey, they are what they are. They have made my life so much more convenient, not having to deal with wires when riding my scooter, at the gym, or while traveling. 

Design

The Airpods fit in my ears well, and will stay in there, but I have one issue. The entire Airpod is made of the same plastic, which is slippery. I do sometimes have to adjust them in my ear while on my scooter as the high winds sometimes cause them to come loose. I bought a cheap silicon thing that can slip over the part that goes in the ear, but then the charging case won’t close despite the thinness of the material.

Tech

The case is light and easy to carry around. Furthermore, the headphones charge extremely fast, and I’ve never had to worry about them dying. In addition, the bluetooth has always worked and connects fast, even when switching between my phone and computer. The sound quality is pretty good. It’s not exceptional, and they won’t even compare to over-the-ear headphones, but the bass is solid and both music and podcasts sound crisp.

A few weeks ago, I dropped the case and put it back in my pocket. When returning home, I found that one of the airpods had fallen out, which was an expensive mistake. It is possible to go to the Apple store to just buy one Airpod, but it wasn’t cheap. I bought a silicon cover that slips over the entire case, thus ensuring it won’t open if dropped again. With that said, I wish the case had a stronger magnet to keep it closed.

Rating

I hate when tech reviews give a certain number of stars or rate a product with a percentage. It’s so arbitrary, like what's the real difference between 95% or 96% when it come to personal opinion? Most tech reviews receive a 3 or 3.5 star rating, which doesn’t exactly tell me if it’s a good product or not. So, I will end my review with “Get it” or “Forget it”, and for Apple’s Airpods, I say get it.

Dumplings for Days

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I don’t have the necessary skills to make dumplings of this quality. My friends sent me these pictures as they are much more skilled in the art that is dumpling making

Fitness

Let’s talk about fitness. Specifically, fitness in China compared to the United States. Obviously, this will be a big generalization and solely based on my experience and knowledge. As someone who has traveled throughout the US and China and been involved in numerous ‘fitness’ activities, I’ve noticed a significant difference in the two countries approach to fitness.

First, when I use the word fitness, i’m referring to the dictionary definition of “the condition of being physically fit and healthy.” One of the biggest differences I’ve seen between the US and China is that the US seems to go all in, but it seems more segregated, while China is more lackluster, but seems more widespread. I’ll elaborate. In the US, there are things like Zumba, Crossfit, powerlifting, bodybuilding, jazzercise, P90X - which are all niche sort of workouts. Beyond that, there are countless different diets or ‘lifestyles’ associated with food. Vegetarian, vegan, the paleo diet, juicing, etc. When Americans get into these sorts of things, they really get into it. Have you ever met someone who was a vegan and not been told about it within 10 minutes of meeting them? These sorts of lifestyles aren’t extremely popular or widespread, but are prevalent in certain areas of the US.

Fitness in China, on the other hand, I think as a nation is more widespread than it is in the US. Sometimes, it’s not intentional. For example, many people commute to work, riding a ‘shared’ bike for a few kilometers, walking endlessly for a subway transfer, and finally, just walking as their sole means of transportation. Everyone walks in China. Beyond that, there are tons of mini-workout machines built into the sidewalk. Old people love to use these things early in the morning and right at sunset. Along with that, many open spaces such as plazas or courtyards will host, again, tons of old people who will practice dancing in a group. As many as 50 people will rhythmically move together, practicing their choreographed routine on warm summer nights. There are gyms in China, and people definitely workout. However, from talking with Chinese people, I think many of them like to engage in fitness through sports and not so much directly working out or running. Badminton, basketball, ping pong, and football are all big sports in China, and many people play them recreationally, either for the love of the game or to elevate their heart rate. In the US, however, I think many people, especially over the age of 30, engage in a more ‘direct’ fitness activity, such as running, swimming, or weightlifting. 

Basically, when the US does fitness, they really do it. They go all out and dive right in, making it a lifestyle. China treats fitness as one aspect of their life, figuring out little ways to adhere to a healthier lifestyle without making it their main focus. In the US, there are extreme examples of super fat, but also super strong, like “Why are you this big?” type of strong. In China, however, there are some people like that, but in general, most people are just skinny or rocking the ‘dad bod’. Rarely do I see someone who is very muscular or very obese. Diet definitely plays a big part in this, but so does our cultural approach towards fitness. Sure, there are people in both countries who do and don’t adhere to the stereotypes I’ve listed. There is Crossfit in China just as there are moms in America who go on brisk walks four times a week without making ‘brisk walking’ the core focus of their life. Let me know what you think about the fitness differences between these two great nations! 

Architecture

Wednesday Write-Up

I just finished writing a 93,000 word book and it was a roller coaster of a project. However, it is far from being done. I still need to write a query letter, a synopsis, find an editor, send it out to agents & publishers; a long way to go. However, the process of writing a novel got me thinking that I should write more on this blog. This is an outlet for me to write whatever I want on whatever topic I so choose. With that being said, I have decided that every Wednesday, I will post a piece of writing. There won't be a specific topic, but I think it's important that I continue to work on my writing and perhaps give a better insight into China or my life that may not be conveyed through just pictures. 

For anyone who might read this blog, I'm open to any suggestions about topics or things that you would be interested in reading. I know my audience is small, but I'm always open to feed-back as this site is meant not only for me, but also for those who engage with it. So please, leave a comment on this post or under the Contact page, you can send me a direct message.

Side note - I'll be in Japan from December 23rd - January 2nd. The smog and monotony of spending the past two Christmases in Beijing was the primary factor in deciding to spend Christmas 2017 in Tokyo. 

China

Guomao, Beijing

Diabolical Dialects

Here's an article I wrote for China Today, but was ultimately sent to the chopping block because it was too confusing / sensitive.

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Intro

When most foreigners think of the Chinese language, they imagine either Mandarin or Cantonese, primarily due to their lack of knowledge or exposure to Chinese language speakers. In fact, Chinese consists of hundreds of different language varieties, which are often referred to as ‘dialects’. While officially, Mandarin (普通话 Pǔtōnghuà, or Standard Chinese) is the sole official language of both Mainland China[1] and Taiwan, one of the four official languages of Singapore, and one of the six official languages of the United Nations, it is also recognized as the largest dialect group of Chinese. In addition, there are a variety of other mutually unintelligible Chinese dialects (方言 Fāngyán) that are widely spoken throughout the country. These can range from dialects used within a small village all the way to major dialect groups like Mandarin or Min. Chinese is often seen as one language with hundreds of dialects, although these 'dialects' are as far apart from each other as Russian and Spanish. However, Chinese is commonly referred to as one language, consisting of many unique cultural aspects that create today’s unified China.

Dialect vs. Language

Before going further, it’s important to understand what the difference between a dialect and a language is. Linguistically, both a language and a dialect are the same. However, the distinction is more of a political issue rather than an academic one. One of the most notable differences between a language and a dialect, in most people’s minds, is that the former is more prominent than the latter, both regarding the area it covers and the people who speak it. In other words, languages are perceived to include several dialects, as such is the case with Chinese.

A language is a broad term for a group of words and grammar used to express ideas. Dialects are subsets of languages; a variant of a language used by a subset of speakers. Frequently, these subgroups are distinguished by region, but sometimes also by socioeconomic status. Dialects can usually be understood by other speakers of the language, although some words may be unfamiliar or specific pronunciations may complicate understanding. For example, as an American, I can understand people from England, Canada, Australia, Singapore, and even Scotland, even though we are all speaking different dialects. Chinese dialects, mainly those in Southern China, however, are often not able to be understood unless they are a native speaker of that dialect. Many linguists believe that Chinese dialects contain the same differences that exist among Romance languages, such as Spanish, French, Italian, and Portuguese.

Origins

The hundreds of modern local Chinese dialects developed from regional variants of Ancient Chinese, which is thousands of years old. Traditionally, seven groups of dialects have been recognized; however, the Language Atlas of China distinguishes three further groups.

1.     Mandarin (Beijing and Nanjing variants)

2.     Wu (Shanghainese and Suzhounese variants)

3.     Yue (Cantonese and Taishanese variants)

4.     Min (Hokkien and Fuzhounese variants)

5.     Hakka (Kejia)

6.     Xiang (Hunanese)

7.     Gan (Jiangxinese)

Language Atlas of China

8.     Jin (Shanxi province much of central Inner Mongolia and areas in Hebei, Henan, and Shaanxi)

9.     Huizhou (Huizhou, Anhui, Zhejiang, Jiangxi)

10.  Ping (Guangxi  Zhuang Autonomous Region, with some speakers in Yunnan province)

Early classifications of these dialects were based on provincial boundaries or significant geographical features. One of the reasons that many dialects in Northern China are mutually intelligible is due to the North China Plain, which provided few barriers to migration, leading to relative linguistic similarity. On the contrary, the mountains and rivers of southern China have led to the creation of the other major groups of Chinese dialects, each diverse and unique.

Uniting through Mandarin

In the 1930s a standard national language was adopted, with its pronunciation based on the Beijing dialect, but with vocabulary also drawn from other Mandarin varieties. It is also one of the most frequently used dialects of Chinese among Chinese diaspora communities internationally. Standard Mandarin Chinese now dominates public life in mainland China and is much more widely studied than any other variety of Chinese. Outside mainland China and Taiwan, the only varieties of Chinese commonly taught in university courses are Mandarin and Cantonese.

However, up until the mid-20th century, most Chinese people only spoke their local dialect. As a practical measure, officials of the Ming and Qing dynasties ruled the empire using a common language based on Mandarin varieties, known as Guānhuà (官話) meaning the speech of officials. Since the 1950s and 1960s, the government of the People's Republic of China in mainland China has promoted both Mandarin as an oral language and simplified Chinese characters for use in printing to encourage literacy – officially used in the People's Republic of China and Singapore.

China is Unique

Mainland China has hundreds of different dialects, many of which are not mutually intelligible. This is due to the differences in their phonology, and to a lesser extent, the slight variances in vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation. While central public services in China such as schools, hospitals, banks, the media, and the government use Mandarin to communicate every day, dialects are also used daily by people, but serve instead as a cultural identifier, bringing those from common regions together.

Despite a myriad of definitions, many linguists can agree that most dialects are often mutually intelligible. For example, an American and Australian both speak the language of English, but different dialects. Regardless, they can still understand each other. China is unique in the fact that many dialects from around China cannot be understood by someone from a different region. For example, someone from Shanghai who speaks (上海话Shanghaihua) would not be able to communicate with someone from Xiamen who speaks (闽南话 Minanhua). However, they would be able to read the same book because both can read Simplified Chinese characters. This is one reason, among catering to the deaf community, that on all Chinese television channels, subtitles are provided; simplified Chinese characters are the common factor among all Chinese people. No matter what dialect a person speaks, they can all read simplified Chinese characters.

Cultural Impact

Despite the fact that dialects separate and define distinct groups within China instead of uniting the country as a whole, they are also a living representation of China’s history and culture. A dialect can share a story about its region, its culture, and most importantly, its people. Many plays and dramas are often performed in a local dialect and widely supported and encouraged by the Chinese government. Also, many towns and cities have television dramas that use the local dialect to culturally identify with the local audience. Because speakers share a standard written form and have a common cultural heritage with long periods of political unity, Chinese dialects are popularly perceived among native speakers as variants of a single Chinese language; an idea also supported by the government. Preserving the culture of Chinese dialects is an important task that falls on the people, and it is the people who are taking actions to keep intact this culturally iconic aspect of China. 

[1] http://www.gov.cn/english/laws/2005-09/19/content_64906.htm

China Today Instagram

I’m now running my company’s Instragram. Follow us for news and pictures from around China!  @china_today1952

Pretty, but freezing

Happy Single’s Day!

So far, so good

More Leaves

Birthday

1st Birthday Present

During my travels to Southeast Asia, my travel buddy always brings his big fancy DSLR camera and takes about 1,000 pictures. Anytime I ask him for them, he says "I'm still editing them". So, for my birthday, he finally sent me these three. For me, it was a big moment, because I was sitting there with him when he took the pictures, and to see them, in all their gloriousness, truly is impressive. So thank you Jarrett, for being such a fun and inspiring person to travel with.

Here is his Flickr account to check out more of his awesome photos