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What do you expect from Lhasa, the capital of Tibet?

June 17, 2013 by 2 Comments
 


Lhasa’s Old Town

When I arrived in Lhasa all I could think about was that I needed a shower. I got there by train and it was two days that I couldn’t get one.

Beside that, I felt a sense of accomplishment. When I was a teenager I could imagine myself traveling to Paris, or even Los Angeles… after all I had seen these place in so many movies. It seemed possible.

But going to Tibet? No way.

Then again, sometimes reality goes beyond fantasy and here I was, at 3,650 meters of altitude, just in front of the exit of Lhasa’s train station.

LhasaPotala Palace view’s from Jokhang Temple

Are we missing anyone?

The third thing I thought was “Where the hell is our tour guide?”

It was two days that I didn’t see him (since we left from Beijing) and I’m not used to follow a guide. But you aren’t allow to travel to Tibet by yourself, as I’ve explained on my guide to Tibet. So here I was… looking for our chubby Tibetan guide. [Read more...]

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Travel to Tibet: What you need to know

June 10, 2013 by Leave a Comment
 

In this guide to travel to Tibet from China you’ll find:

  • Why it’s compulsory to join a travel tour to visit Tibet, what the Tibet Permit is and how to get it.
  • How to spot a good travel agency.
  • How much does it cost a trip to Tibet?
  • The pros and cons of reaching Tibet by train (instead of flying) and why you should consider this option.
  • How to reduce the altitude sickness.
  • Planning your trip: how long to stay, what to visit and when to visit Tibet.
  • What to bring to Tibet.
  • Some general advices.

p.s. For more in-depth information on traveling around China (insurances, vaccines, ATMs, internal flights, common scams, internet, food, etc.) you may have a look at my complete guide to travel to China. It’s massive, around 4,000 words, but you don’t need to read it all, just jump on the sections you find interesting to you. You can also download a travel phrasebook Chinese-English. [Read more...]

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Teaching Chinese to white devils: Interview to Luna

June 3, 2013 by 2 Comments
 

Teaching Chinese

p.s. If you like Luna’s approach to Chinese learning you can contact her by email (qiutianwuxiao@163.com) for any questions about Chinese language (don’t be shy!). Also, at the present moment she is offering private and group tutoring in Beijing and Skype distance lessons.

I have been thinking for a long time on the topic of my first article about Chinese learning. Finally I decided to make an interview to one of the first Chinese people I meet in Beijing. I’m talking about Luna, a Chinese language and culture teacher.

She has taught mandarin in several schools, including the Ecuador’s Confucius Institute of Quito and Guayaquil. She has also collaborated with the European Science and Technology Fellowship Programme, which brought 58 European researchers to China during the period 2009-2012, and contributed on the elaboration of some HSK exams.

At the moment she is working as a teacher at the Beijing Film Academy, teaching an unconventional Chinese course that exploits Chinese movies to learn the Chinese language and culture. [Read more...]

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The Official Alibaba.com Success Guide – Book Review

May 28, 2013 by 1 Comment
 

Alibaba.com is the largest B2B (business to business) online portal that connects wholesalers and manufacturers (mainly Chinese) with importers.

This article is a review of The Official Alibaba.com Success Guide, a book written by Brad and Debra Schepp.

The book is a great introduction to everybody that wants to start to buy or sell (yes, you can also become a supplier on Alibaba if you wish) goods on a B2B framework. I suggest you to read the guide when you have an internet connection available as the authors often refer to Alibaba’s website. So it may be nice to test the features in real-time.

Do not make the mistake to just read the book and then forget it in a shelf forever because in this case it will be of little help! [Read more...]

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Transsiberian Express!

May 27, 2013 by Leave a Comment
 

The aim of this article is to share my experience and provide all the practical information that you may need to enjoy an unforgettable trip along the Transsiberian or Trans Mongolian railway.

Here a short outline of the article:

  • Transsiberian myths and wrong beliefs.
  • Why should you take the Transsiberian Express?
  • Where to buy the tickets for the Transsiberian?
  • Railcar and train’s classes
  • Which route should you choose?
  • Russian, Mongolian and Chinese VISA requirements
  • Things you should bring with you
  • Essential information and tips

[Read more...]

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Your guide to visit the Everest Base Camp

May 23, 2013 by 2 Comments
 

Everest Base Camp

This article, a complete guide to visit the Everest North Base Camp, was written by Harley Greenberg, who arrived in China in 2008 as a Peace Corps Volunteer. When not teaching he would always crisscross the country and his first visit to Tibet was in 2009. Today Harley is a manager at WindHorseTour.

The guide will cover the following topics:

  • Can you visit Tibet on your own?
  • When to visit the Everest.
  • How many days do you need to visit Everest Base Camp?
  • Should you join a private or a group tour?
  • The most popular route: Lhasa to Kathmandu via Everest Base Camp.
  • Food and Guest Houses at Base Camp.
  • What to do at Everest Base Camp?

[Read more...]

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Travel to China: Tips and Resources

May 20, 2013 by 5 Comments
 

This guide contains pretty much all the info that you’ll need to prepare your trip to China: VISA requirements, travel insurances, vaccinations, guidebooks, planes and trains, hotels, internet and phone cards.

Also, you’ll find tips on where to eat, what to bring to China, when to travel to China, how to avoid the most common scams and how to bargain.

p.s. At the bottom of this post you can download a Travel Phrase Book Chinese/English in PDF format. You’ll find the most common greetings, the most common food and drinks, numbers, how to ask for help or directions, as well as some useful sentences for taking a taxi and shopping. You can print the PDF e-book and use it during your trip to China ; )

[Read more...]

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Interview with John Pasden, the founder of Sinosplice and AllSet Learning

May 13, 2013 by 6 Comments
 

John Pasden

While I was editing the interview that I did with Julien, the founder of Marco Polo Project, I was fascinated by the problems one needs to solve in order to grow an online project to the point of having enough human and economic resources for investing even more on software and content development and create a great product.

Hence I asked to myself:

“Who else was able to realize something amazing on the field of online Chinese learning?”

And I thought about John Pasden. A couple of days after I contacted him. John was kind enough to accept to answer to a few questions. This is the result of our conversation! [Read more...]

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The challenge of the Chinese dumplings

May 9, 2013 by 3 Comments
 

Chinese dumplings

One of the principal features of the Chinese school is competition: no matters which grade you can get, the important thing is how is your grade compared to the others in your class; never mind how fast you can run, the important is to be the fastest in the school; never mind whether your class is clean or dirty, the important is that it’s considered cleaner than the others. Following this flow, the last idea of my school has been a cooking competition. [Read more...]

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How to rent a room or an apartment in Shanghai

May 6, 2013 by 8 Comments
 

rent an apartment in Shanghai

This is a complete guide to rent an apartment, or just a room in a shared flat, in Shanghai. You will learn:

  • The best websites to rent an apartment in Shanghai (both in English and Chinese language).
  • The pros and cons of looking for a room or an apartment on the internet.
  • A nice trick to get a better price if you are looking for a room in a shared flat.
  • The pros and cons of using an agency, how to spot an honest agency.
  • What are the expenses beside the monthly rent (security deposit, agency fee, electricity and so on).
  • Why you must ask for a regular contract.
  • The most common scams while renting an apartment in China.
  • Which is the best zone to live in Shanghai if you want to have a social life without spending hours in a cab.

[Read more...]

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