Bill and Linda

Thanks Dan, I'll check that out.

Well, it has been roughly 4+ years since I was last on the forum. I moved permanently to Chengdu in March 2008 and married my sweetheart, Linda. We have been living the good life and I appreciate all the help I rec'd from CFL. To get to the point of my current post.... I have a Chinese friend who has traveled to France and Italy in the past (2011), but it was with a group tour. The tour group, of course, handled the visa process. My friend wants to make another trip to Europe, but not with a tour group (she wants to stay for a month or more). She is afraid she will not be able to get the visa on her own. I told her I would try to find out which European country had the least stringent visa review, because it is my understanding that most all European countries allow movement from one to another without the need to get individual visas. Any information the members can provide will be much appreciated. My sincere apologies for bringing up something that does not fit in CFL's bailiwick, but I really did not know where to start. Bill and Linda

Also important for those of us retired here permanently, dependent on Uncle Sam's Social Security.

Linda and I have found a solution here in Chengdu...... I have convinced her that the air is not fresh (there is a major amount of airborne fine dirt/dust, even at our 17th floor level, and I've shown her that keeping the windows closed almost completely eliminates that problem), but we don't run the heat much, keeping the winter indoor temp between 60-65.

When I moved to Chengdu 18 months ago, I brought with me a collection of about 180 DVD movies. All of these were copies made from originals (Netflix) with nothing on the DVD other than the name of the movie in magic marker. The DVDs were in generic four-to-a-page notebook sleeves, packed in my checked bag. Never thought twice about it being a problem.

You may also want to alert her to the following scenario if she has a connecting flight inside China..... Last November I flew from Chengdu to Shanghai to Chi town to Tampa. I asked in Chengdu if my bags would be checked through to Chicago and was told "yes, they will". I had a long layover in Shanghai, so for grins I thought I'd go check the baggage claim area at Pudong airport in Shanghai. Well, I was surprised to see my baggage circling around on the carousel, obviously not having been checked through. Tought me a lesson I hope I won't have to worry about repeating. Bill

only every now and then ..... but, seriously, the Wenshuan quake last year did almost no damage to Chengdu. I was shaken by it, but not to the point of being paranoid afterward. A few weeks ago I was lying in bed and thought I noticed a very small tremor, so I checked the USGS web site and, sure enough, there had been one detected about 80km to the north. We are a sufficient distance from the fault line that I'm not going to lose any sleep over it.

Thank goodness for the sensible prices in Chengdu. 5,600rmb per sq m for our extremely nice new apartment, inside the 2nd ring, built by Vanke, great park in the complex with an incredible swimming pool, parking underground for 250rmb per month. Western-style "decoration", complete with all new furniture and appliances, for 90k rmb.

WAY TO GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

Also, make certain you set it up as a secure connection with a password, otherwise you might have anyone within range connecting

I've been living here since March 7 of last year. I thought the reporting was very objective and the first news I saw was when I turned on the tube around dinnertime on the day of the accident. There has been continuous coverage, albeit repeating earlier broadcasts, since then. The initial video was tagged as a cell phone clip. Some of the "filler" has been information about what to do in the event of a fire onboard, including explaining use of the fire extinguishers and special glass-breaking hammers. All the buses I've ever ridden have had six of these hammers mounted next to the windows, three on each side. Even though the news report above stated the bus was "sealed", we all know how the Chinese love fresh air..... every a/c bus I've been on has always had some small windows and they are always open.

We learned today that there were a total of 120 people on this local transit bus. Incident occurred just outside the 3rd Ring Road, NNE of the city. This is an area of lesser density, can't imagine what it would have been like if it had happened downtown. Some friends said the news reported it was fully involved in minutes.

I need a little help from my friends. I'll be riding the train from Chengdu to Guanzhou this Friday and need advice regarding final destination of Hong Kong. What is the cheapest mode of travel (excluding hiking ) for getting from Guanzhou to Hong Kong? Where do I connect in Guanzhou to said cheap travel and where will it arrive in Hong Kong? I'll be staying only one night, maybe two, in Hong Kong. Can someone recommend a place to lay my head and S,S, & S for the night that is not too expensive? I've never been to HK and the purpose of the trip is to help another lao wei and we're on a tight budget

If you have any trouble at all, give me a call and I'll do what I can; could post a message for you here if you ring me (132-28151242) Btw, you've probably already heard the man with the flu is hospitalized here in Chengdu.

Actually, they do. I've been kibitzing the local "decorators" as they work, trying to pick up some ideas for when I finish our own condo, and they use drywall and wood strips to construct simple to elaborate ceiling treatments, with multiple layers and recesses. Drywall is also available at stores such as China Home and B&Q, for the DIY folks.

I, too, have had better luck saving here in Chengdu than when I lived in small-town Danville, VA. Although my income is fixed at $1400/mo (usd), and my lao po and I have some of her previous debts/obligations to further reduce the money available every month, I put 2,000rmb into savings as soon as each monthly SSA check clears, and only draw from that small contribution to our savings if it is absolutely necessary. So far, so good.....

Bill, is that per week or per month? Just trying to keep up on things here...

I have used www.uschinatrip.com multiple times and have been very pleased. They are in Alhambra, CA and Beijing. Email or phone Karen Wang and don't hesitate telling her William McCaw recommended them. info@uschinatrip.com 626-282-7108 Btw, I was able to get better fare price than quoted on their web site by emailing Karen.

Thanks a lot for all the feedback, I've got a pretty good idea what to look for now. The windows were already on my list, but I hadn't thought about voids in the concrete.

Great pics Jesse, thanks for sharing.

I need a little help from my friends. Our new condo in Chengdu is almost finished. The contractor rep called today and said to come by on Feb 27 at 3pm and "look" to see if everything is ok(???). I was a full-time home inspector before I retired to China, so I sorta know what to look for in a conventional western home, new or 100+ years old. But what do I want to check out when it's only concrete, stubbed plumbing/electric and windows/glass? I guess what I'm asking is what have other CFLers experienced when told to come and "look" at their new "house"? Btw, they had told us when we bought last June that completion would be around April....

My curiosity got the best of me.... Winston Churchill -- "A politician thinks about the next elections - the statesman thinks about the next generations." Angus is wiser than his years.

Day before yesterday in one of my classes I had an interesting discussion with two of the older students. These young men are both 19 and their English is damn good, don't really understand why they are in the class. Any way, we talked about the economy (I like to digress in class once in a while, keeps them interested) and their take on it, at least here in Chengdu, is that there has been very little change in the last year. Now, these two are really very sharp, and I do respect their opinions. We've even had discussions about politics on occasion. Angus said something very interesting the other day when we were discussing the difference between the congressmen and senators in the US and their "occasional" inability to get things done in a timely manner, vis-a-vis the party members in China, and how the Chinese government tackles the crisises and issues, ie the earthquake last May. He said that the leaders in his government were not politicians, they were statesmen. I wonder if this is how most of the "educated" Chinese view their party members and leaders?

Try this, Carl.... http://www.channelsurfing.net/ I was able to watch the Super Bowl here in Chengdu.

China also does not appear to need to outsource jobs (unlike the US) ..... there are many Chinese who are willing to work for what the US workers would consider unreasonably low wages, at very long hours. Our 22-year old son is one of these, he goes to work at 9am and comes home at 9pm EVERY DAY. His earnings..... 600rmb per MONTH. I am proud that he does not want to lay around the house complaining.