China

[Sailover]

I lived in Michigan for a while and they could have paid me $530 an hour and I still would have left. It is all about quality of life. You can't buy tropical air north of the tropics for any price and I discovered that I need tropical air. LOTS of it.

All, Know this is the wrong place for this but I just joined and having a little trouble navigating. However I have been to the D.R. many times, C.R. and Venz. i would appriciate any help to get started in Columbia.

[Cap'n Jib]

Recon,

Which ever city you decided to visit on your timeshare exchange, and if you really want to try something different….try using an escort service.

Many years ago, a Japanese friend explained why it was so popular and EFFECTIVE for Orientals. Simply put, they do not want to cause embarrassment to the country or culture they are visiting.
Also they do not want the hassle of handling logistics. Tried it a couple of times and can’t say enough about it.

Usually, I explain that I want to learn as much about the people and culture as I can in the short amount of time I had. I was NOT interested in the standard tourist gig. I got more for my money than I could ever have imagined. One of the gals continued writing to me three years after.

Naturally, I am not suggesting a certain type of escort service but a more legitimate one.

[Sailover]

<<Naturally, I am not suggesting a certain type of escort service but a more legitimate one.>>

Oh, Forget it then.

Cap'n,

Thats a good idea. Although my Spanish is horrible I can communicate enough to survive but I know nothing in Chinese. That is a concern but I have been many places I couldnt communicate with many locals so I wont lose much sleep over it. This will be a whole different ballgame then Latin America.

Recon

[BIG E]

Originally Posted by ReconDallas

Cap'n,

Thats a good idea. Although my Spanish is horrible I can communicate enough to survive but I know nothing in Chinese. That is a concern but I have been many places I couldnt communicate with many locals so I wont lose much sleep over it. This will be a whole different ballgame then Latin America.

Recon

But, in a city like Beijing, you will find MANY people who speak English!

[Kelley71]

I have found China to be relatively inexpensive. I am leaving on March 26 to Shanghai. I bought my ticket on Continental for 748 dollars and got an extra 2500 miles for booking the trip because Shanghai is a new destination there.

Most hotels are around 40-100 per night depending on your needs. I have a friend who moved there to go to college and she graduated in May and wants to show m the country before she leaves.

She tells me the food is very inexpensive. Coming from a student, I figure it will be very cheap.

I am fascinated by the history of the country. I have a chance to go with someone who is fluent also. I am not attracted to Chinese women, but this should be a good trip.

Good luck to all,

Mike

[RXD]

It is the most famous country of attractions. Where you can number of sightseeing, landmarks, museums and parks. It is the world's fourth largest country for inbound tourism.

[Gerrit]

Love it or not, but China is the new world power. I neither love nor hate it (of all superpowers out there, I would prefer China as nr 1 over the other candidates, but then in fact I don't think we really need one nation having more influence on the world than another)

The economy is extremely strong and still further developping, they are a regional force with their strong military too, but most of all it seems a beautiful country with so much to discover. I'd love to go to Lhasa (Tibet or China -- I'll try to not open that can of worms and leave that debate for another place and time) and behold the beautiful old monastries and temples. I'd love to walk on the Chinese Wall and behold the beautiful landscapes. The big cities such as Hong Kong and Beijng then attract me because of their vibe, they seem to perfectly fit the picture of a HUGE city that never sleeps and where events occur non-stop.

So stating that China has little more to offer than its growing economy and the products it's exporting is a bit harsh, the country seem to be a culturally interesting place too. Also, most Chinese people I've met are very friendly and very polite, it looks like a perfect place to learn about culture too because the Chinese tend to be very happy to talk to foreigners and invite them into their culture.

I haven't been to China but places like Hong Kong and Lhasa are definitely on the list to visit. They've attracted me since I was a young child. A country as huge as China must have a huge natural diversity too, although I must say I am not well-read on the northern areas and east coast, so I am not sure what type of landscape I should picture there. Probably the local accents make the cities very diverse too, but I mainly have read up on the likes of Lhasa, Beijing, Macau, Hong Kong, ... to form an impression and it has surely triggered my interest to visit. But there's many more cities where I'm not sure what to expect. I'm very much into architecture, so I am confident China would please me if I had the chance to spend some days in a few Chinese cities.

My only negative feelings towards the country are their treatment of animals which tends to be quite violent and negative, and the government using capital punishment a lot. It has the most executions worldwide (but not the highest number of executions per capita, that's Singapore) and as an opponent of capital punishment the idea that the Chinese government considers itself in a position to kill (sometimes for crimes not even involving murder) makes me feel somewhat uncomfortable. Some of their other government policies I support though, hence I am not wanting to be all negative about the Chinese politics neither. And in the end, if one lets politics distract him from the sights and culture to be seen/discovered, then he'll miss out on a lot of beauty. This surely seems to apply to China. It's one of the most ancient cultures in the world, so this has to be a unique cultural experience.