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Post by Mr Nobody on Mar 16, 2006 17:44:12 GMT 7
Kunming, capital of Yunnan, isnt hicksville. Neither, I understand, is other cities there, like laoning? forgotten teh names. Anyway, it is nice. Hard to get jobs.
Hainan is a tropical "paradise" and is hot and wet in summer. I live one province over, between Hainan, Guangdong and Yunnan. THe climate is quite hot and wet here, in summer, but not unbearable. A bit like summer in Cairns.
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Post by gretch on Mar 17, 2006 16:09:41 GMT 7
I dont feel like being a local rockstar... Good luck there, I'm in a city of almost 5million and I am   |
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Post by Lotus Eater on Mar 17, 2006 23:32:00 GMT 7
I don't actually mind people remembering me. I have places that I go to and as soon as I walk in the fuwuyuan starts to write up my favourite dishes. I turn up to restaurants and am greeted like family, some places give me an automatic discount - last week I went to one restaurant with a Chinese mate and we were given the meal for free - NEVER been there before!! I walk past my hairdressers and they come out to say hello. My special shops - tea shops, scroll shops, clothes shops etc - all give me really good prices on stuff I want. I have the same argument with the same street sweeper everytime I see him.
This makes me feel as if I live in a community - no way am I ever feeling alone and unwanted here!! It's nice. Not movie star - just nice.
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Eagle's Nest
Barfly
A self-portrait ... note that there is a mess of confusion in the swirling mists of "self"
Posts: 283
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Post by Eagle's Nest on Mar 18, 2006 0:41:29 GMT 7
I have bought a laptop here, plus colour printer, flash disk, card reader, cd burner - all have been trouble free. Universities will sometimes provide you with a computer and printer (mine does - laser printer even!) Hi LE, I was wondering about buying another digital camera since the one I have is a measly 4.1 mp with a 10X optical (HP Photosmart 750). I can get a Canon EOS SLR 8.2 for about $1,000 Canadian. What kind of prices for this camera or other "good" SLR digital camera would I expect to have to pay in China? I was also wondering about a data projector - access to these at most universities seems to be problematical. Do they cost much to buy? I can get one for about $2,000 here. |
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Eagle's Nest
Barfly
A self-portrait ... note that there is a mess of confusion in the swirling mists of "self"
Posts: 283
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Post by Eagle's Nest on Mar 18, 2006 0:54:03 GMT 7
Hi Quint,
Just a quick note to telll you that a New Zealand couple are currently teaching at Changzhou Institute of Technology in Changzhou, Jiangsu (not far from Suzhou and Raoul) - it is technically on the south side of the Yangtze River. I am heading there for September so I may meet you there (yes, they are looking for FEs). They provide computer and printer in a spacious apartment. The pay? Enough to live comfortably but not so much that you can pay off outstanding loans and save for big ticket items.
For me, the pay is enough to enjoy living as I have no debts and have no need to save any money. My idea is to spend it all on a regular basis.
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Post by George61 on Mar 18, 2006 4:04:18 GMT 7
Digital cameras....I'm looking at a Fuji S95000 today. Quoted price is 4800RMB with a 1 gig memory card, table-top tripod, and a bunch of other bits and pieces thrown in. 9 megapixels, 10x zoom, etc. Non-Dave has an earlier version, which I was impressed with. Comparing prices with USAnia, this seems like a pretty good deal.
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Non-Dave
Barfly
Try Not! Do - or Do Not... There Is No Try!
Posts: 701
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Post by Non-Dave on Mar 18, 2006 6:23:45 GMT 7
I can recommend the Fuji's - great gear with good lens quality and easy to use. Mine has been a trooper. I'm looking for a small one that is easy to put in a pocket and take everywhere. I find that my Fuji is too big to lug everywhere and I miss a lot of photo opportunities as a result. I would go for something "pocket size" and sacrifice some of the bells and whistles for size. Ideally have 2 - something like Roger's (which requires a bearer to carry it and pass it to you before shooting) and a small "point and shoot".
I've been looking at data projectors recently and theres a good selection betweeen 6 to 10K RMB. Cheaper here than in Oz and they look like they work ok...
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Ruth
SuperDuperMegaBarfly 
God's provisions are strategically placed along the path of your obedience.
Posts: 3,915
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Post by Ruth on Mar 18, 2006 6:53:39 GMT 7
I'd get the one with the cute little table-top tripod. That's my input 'cause that's all I know about cameras. Oh, and how to carry them.
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Post by George61 on Mar 18, 2006 7:02:12 GMT 7
The camera caddy! You are the best little carrier I have met, Ruth. I'll have to get you to give lessons to Babe.
Seriously, folks, a bloke that can't carry his own camera, doesn't deserve one.....especially one with a big, new, expensive, extra lens!!
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Ruth
SuperDuperMegaBarfly
God's provisions are strategically placed along the path of your obedience.
Posts: 3,915
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Post by Ruth on Mar 18, 2006 8:49:13 GMT 7
Maybe I need to take lessons from Babe. If she's going to be carrying it, go for the pocket-sized version.
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Post by Lotus Eater on Mar 18, 2006 21:51:00 GMT 7
I have 2 cameras - both Canons. One a small 4 mgpx with 3x11 zoom, the other 8mgpx with 7x22 zoom. Basically can function as a digital 35mm. Powershot Pro1. Next best thing to the real digital SLR. I can buy a bigger lens for it because they screw on and off (just needs money). I have 4 memory cards that I carry and each camera has 2 spare batteries! I use a UV filter and am thinking about buying a couple of other filters. 2 table top tripods - one with bendy legs so it can go on uneven surfaces. Both can be converted to fully manual operation.
I use the camera bag as my handbag - not elegant, but it means that I have my camera with me at all times!
I know what you mean by wanting a small 'credit card' type for sneaky shots, but I would still go for the biggest optical zoom you can get, plus the highest megapix. I have a favourite camera shop where they give me good deals on bits and pieces (the real ones, so I can get them repaired back in Oz) and every time I go there I get really lustful. I look at the major serious cameras and drool! I check out the filters and whisper "come to me".
My backup optical camera is an Olympus 170 zoom.
I buy the biggest PhD cameras I can afford at the time.
(Push here dummy)
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Post by George61 on Mar 19, 2006 4:20:38 GMT 7
I got the Fuji yesterday....with two tripods. the table-top and a notmal one...plus a battery charger, with batteries, a cute little camera bag, and a couple of other little thingies thrown in for free. Nice! Then we went and picked up the printer....amazing how quiet it is now! It subtly got noisier over the years and I never noticed.
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Eagle's Nest
Barfly
A self-portrait ... note that there is a mess of confusion in the swirling mists of "self"
Posts: 283
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Post by Eagle's Nest on Mar 19, 2006 5:48:19 GMT 7
I have a regular Canon SLR and a Minolta SLR besides my 4.1 MP digital. I have this honking big tripod that I will definitely not take with me hoping to get a better (and lighter) one in Changzhou. Listening to the discussion of buying there in China has me drooling as well.
About printers, any great little laptop portable ones there worth getting? I saw one by Canon here for 399$CDN. It seemed awfully expensive when I paid a lot less for my Canon i860.
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Non-Dave
Barfly
Try Not! Do - or Do Not... There Is No Try!
Posts: 701
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Post by Non-Dave on Mar 19, 2006 6:54:05 GMT 7
Congrats Georgie! I seriously suggest getting Ruth to give Babe some "bearer duty" lessons - she is the best. If you can keep her to talking just about carrying the camera, though...
Eags, tripods are no dramas - cheap and readily available. The problem will be not buying a whole lot of other fun stuff in the same store - but that's part of the fun. Same with printers - cheap and easy to find. Again be careful! I went out recently to get a new motherboard (500RMB) for my laptop and ended up with a new desktop with a seriously sexy 19" wide-screen LCD monitor (5000RMB). Shopping here can be fun!
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Post by George61 on Mar 19, 2006 7:03:55 GMT 7
Also frustrating. I know enough about computer poo to be dangerous, but not enough to know what to do with the stuff. There is a ton of extremely interesting stuff around, but I don't know what it's for, because of the language barrier!! Babe is a reluctant translator in the electronics department.
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Post by Lotus Eater on Mar 19, 2006 12:15:12 GMT 7
My next purchase will be an external hard drive - as big as I can get, and that way I can download my photos while travelling.
but there is so much stuff here - and a fair bit of it dead cheap - the electronics markets will blow your mind.
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LJ
Upstanding Citizen
One piston, 10,000 revs!
Posts: 63
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Post by LJ on Mar 22, 2006 20:00:57 GMT 7
Yes, humm, rethink the car, the raods are busier than a Loiusiana freeway in the hurricane season, or Bombay railway station, but with people that refuse to look for any reason as they feel that they are in front and you should go 'round' them. Plus purchase price, cost and being blamed if you are in accident.
A motorbike is an option, it's a risk but a cheap option to have your own mobility, see if you can bare the cycling for a month first.
South is good, I'm not, but I know it looks pretty.
Somewhere big but not too big. Would be good. I would suggest Suzhou, Hangzhou Shenzhen possibly. But some less attractive cities do have advantages.
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