You ll have no problem speaking Mandarin, it is China's national language..

And in my experience, yes many more people speak english in HK then in the mainland, but the number still isnt that many.

All Taxi Drivers I ve had knew very MINIMAL English...

And even the people that think they know English, it is some distorted type of English, you'll have to get used too without plurals or certain tenses.

For example, since "ta" in Chinese means (he,she,his,her,him, and it)....when I talk to my Chinese friends about their girlfriends or wives they constantly refer to them as he or his...before I met their gfs, I thought, wow alot of chinese people are gay, but it was just confusion.

lol, yeah. I suspected that English is going to be rather cumbersome to use in HK. I might get a job offer for HK, and I have had two years of Mandarin at uni. I'd assume it's easier to continue (re-)learning Mandarin than start Cantonese from scratch. Not that I expect to be able to hold a conversation from the start, but at least the basics are there.

And my wife speks Mandarin very well (she studied in Beijing for a year). So, if we (read: she) can get around with Mandarin that'd be awesome.

I say continue with Mandarin..

As time progresses they ll be more and more mandarin throughout HK. I believe all students in schools in HK are taught in Mandarin.

Also, imo Cantonese is prob the hardest language to learn, besides that it is also the worst sounding, and most annoying language Ive ever encountered!

Anyone traveling to GZ during the trade fair ?

Also, someone asked about being a teacher in China in another thread. Im not a teacher, but from people Ive met, Ive had many different types of offers for teaching, legally/illegaly, tutoring people, and doing translation stuff for a tape learning type thing. I imagine, around Beijing right now, the English teaching thing is boomin with the Olympics coming up.

They desire North American English, So if your Canadian or American, prob easier to find those types of jobs.

how easy is it to find short term (1-3months) furnished apartments in big cities? What's the rent like for "western standards" accomodation in GuangZhou?

I've been in Hunan and Guangxi provinces for 4months; honestly wouldn't want to live there long term, main reasons are culture shock and lack of stuff to do: not much in the way of cultural events, movie theatres kind of meh, non chinese food not good, not international enough...

But I'm interested in going back to China (mainland) this autumn, so which cities would you recommend? Basically I want a city akin to Bangkok, but in China

Anyone know of short term apartment, or weekly hotel in Macau, close to the casino area. I was hoping to find something basic around $100-200 per week.

I was there one month ago and found one hotel that had rooms for $15 but shared bathroom. If i'm there for longer i would like to get something a bit nicer.

Or if anyone has a room to rent or share an apartment let me know. I plan on going in May. Right now i plan on staying for a month at a time, and alternate between traveling around asia for a month, then back to macau.

If u want to live right in Guangzhou, depending on how nice and new of place you want prices will vary. For around $700-800 a month you would be able to get a very nice and comfortable 2 bedroom apartment right in Tian He.

You can def find short accommodation around Guangzhou. Around April and October, prices will be the most expensive for these types of accommodations, as well as hotels.

If you decided to live outside Guangzhou, in a "suburb" like where I live, you could get a VERY nice place. I live in a 3 bedroom / 2 bathroom, with a yard, huge fish pond, everything very moderned and furnished. It is also a gated community with security guards everywhere. There are big Villas around the housing complex as well. I pay about $700 a month including internet, phone, and electricity. They have buses that go to Guangzhou and back to my housing complex every 15-30 min. They also have buses to Hong Kong and Macau. It is only a 10 minute drive to GZ, and 30 min to downtown.

And as far as a city like BK, Dongguan city is known for the seedy type stuff that goes on in Bangkok.

But as far as recommendations on places for partyin and livin, Id say...Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, or Hangzhou. Hangzhou, is like no other place Ive really seen in China. Very clean city, with that big ass lake. Its a vacation destination for most Chinese.

well, what I meant by akin to BKK is availability of international cultural events, international bookshops, partying...

I was thinking about Hangzhou actually! seems like a great place, and if bored can easily go to Shanghai for the week end...and it looks like you can get a cool apartment near Xihu without having to pay a ******ed amount of money.

Other places I'm considering are Beijing (tooo polluted but lots of friends there), Dalian or Qingdao.

I'd like to move back to China this autumn; depending on my mandarin level then...

Hangzhou is def a cool place and about a 2 hr drive to Shanghai. Never been to Qingdao, but also heard that its a very pretty city.

If Hangzhou/Shanghai didnt get cold at all, I'd wanna be in that area.

And within all the cities you and I listed, you'll be able to get the western necessities and such.

Hangzhou people are pretty refined and nice people (for China)

A few quick questions about Macau. I'm probably flying in there in a few days as I heard there are some live games there that I'd like to test out.

1. What casinos have live cash games?
2. Can I play online on partypoker from there?
3. How long can I stay there with the visa on entry?

And if anyone know of some nice long stay hotel/apartment there I'd welcome any tips. I might stay there for a couple of months if I like it there.

Lisboa is the only one with live games. And Galaxy has the epoker tables, but their business had slowed after the live poker room opened. When i was there, only games on the weekend. I hope it picks back up, because it was a good game there, but the stakes were only 2.5/5 hk$.

For visas, i think most get one month. I wish it was like hong kong and gave more than one month on arrival. You can take the ferry across to hong kong or cross over to china for the visa run.

I was there about one month ago, but will be going back soon. I'll be in the same situation as you when i go, looking for a nice long stay apartment. If you find something nice could you post it, or im me. I also know a range of hotels near the casinos if you want more info.

I heard of those epoker tables yeah, too bad they are not as busy any more, I'd imagine you'd get some guys sitting down there thinking it's like a slot machine or something and just throw away money. Sure, I will look around a bit when I get there and let you know what I find. A hotel close to the casino is what I'd be looking for for the first night, so it'd be great if you could post names or links to some of those. The rates at the casinos themselves seem pretty steep, for Asia at least.

It will be nice if the epoker tables get popular. The weekend i was there they had a game going, but during the week, i don't think there was any action. The blinds were only 2.5/5 HK$. The action was very loose, but it would be nice with bigger blinds.

The rates at the casinos are high for asia, about $100. Most places very close to casinos are also high. About 10 minute walk down Ave de Almeida Ribeiro near the tourist area has some cheaper options. One block off of it on Ruo da Fellicidade has one cheap place, San Va Hospedaria. It is basic with shared bath, but safe and relatively clean for $15. A few doors down is a more western hotel with tv/bathroom for about $40. That's the only area i saw within walking distance to casinos. Lots of local cheap restaurants in the area. In that area you might be able to bargain with a hotel for a weekly rate.

Weekends are much tougher to get a place, but i got lucky and found one on a saturday morning. During the week there is no problem if you arrive during the day.

Holdem China video:
http://www.vimeo.com/828785/

Awesome that were gettin some reports about poker in Macau. Mixed messages here though, so it seems even at the Lisboa, the games aren't running frequently with a somewhat wide variety of blinds? correct?

Ive been wanting to make a trip these past few weeks, but havent been able too. I prob will within the next two weeks.

For anyone there now, you should see if you can get a fixed rate for this coming weekend since you most likely have your hotel rates increased this coming weekend, since it is a Chinese holiday...Tomb Sweeping Day.

I'm headed to Hong Kong and Macao as the first leg of my 3.5 month SE Asia trip.

1) I know nothing about Hong Kong. Any places I should check out/shopping I should do?
2) In Macao, are there any poker room hotel rates? I emailed a few casinos and I had difficulty getting past the language barrier.

I just arrived in Macau now, didn't book an hotel ahead so I just took one from one of those travel agencies at the airport, I'm paying like $650 HKD for it, which is like $85 according to google. It's pretty decent and in the middle of the city just beside Sands and MGM. I'm gonna look around tomorrow though, and check out the area mentioned. One thing that's important for me is good internet connection though, which this hotel seems to have, so I can probably not go for the cheapest hotels here and also get that.

I'll ask when I go to Lisbo tonight or tomorrow night about the poker players rate, if there is one, kinda doubt it as poker is so new here.

I'm honestly a little disappointed by Macau, well the games at Lisboa are supersoft for sure, but they are very slow as most of the dealers seem fairly new to poker and deal slow. Also the nightlife scene here doesn't seem very good at all, the few bars and clubs I've been to are just full of working girls, no clubs where like the tourists hang out at and like a real nightlife scene as in Vegas. I've been told that when the Chinese gamblers come here, they only want to gamble all the time and never set their foot outside the casino, so I guess that's why.

Hi All,

Just found some unexpected free time this weekend so I'm making a last minute arrangement to go to an Electronics Trade Fair in Hong Kong (for business).
Flights are being arranged at the minute and it looks like I will be there from 12th - 15th.

I know nothing about Hong Kong and although the bulk of the trip will be spent telling lies to potential suppliers about my import turnover Id like any info or tips anyone has.

- What sort of city is it? Would I be safe enough taking a tour myself?
- Any casinos with poker action? Is it worthwhile?
- Hotels/places/restaraunts to try/avoid
- Customs to be aware of?
- Cost of living? Should I be planning on doing a little shopping or is it expensive?
- Hows the food?
- Is there anything I else I should know?

Thanks in advance.

Did you get to ask about the poker rates? Also what's the name of the place you stayed at and would you recommend it?

I'm just reading about Macau right now and seems like there's a lot more to do than just gamble. I'm going with a few people that aren't gamblers/poker players at all so would it be smarter to get a place away from the casino strip and just cab it down one night? If so, what would be a good area to use as a central hub?

Hey guys,

Hong Kong is very safe. It's okay for an unaccompanied female to be out alone at night

No casinos in Hong Kong. You can take a ferry to Macau for poker action, or you could play in the local club-style poker games

Cost of living is very cheap if you are going from the Euro zone. It is okay if you are coming from the US. You can buy some bespoke suits I guess

Food is great, best thing about Hong Kong

My wife and I are planning a China trip around May 20th for a couple of weeks. Our primary interests include seeing some of the sites (Great Wall etc..), eating the awesome food and lots of shopping (clothing and such primarily). We were thinking of flying in to Beijing, spending a few days there and then taking the Z train to Shanghai (see this for an excellent review: http://home.wangjianshuo.com/archive...o_shanghai.htm) and spending the rest of our time there.

Since neither of us speaks any Mandarin (aside from like 3-4 basic sentences max), we were considering going on a tour (though we NEVER do that anywhere, we're worried the language barrier may be too great). Any suggestions on good tour companies? Alternatively, can we simply hire a local to take us around for a couple of days? Maybe a University student who wants to earn a few extra bucks? What do you guys think?

Also - considering our interests, do you think Beijing and Shanghai are the right places to go? Any suggestions on better places to spend our time?

Any other piece of advice would be greatly appreciated (like best restaurants, good outdoor shopping markets if available, best areas of town/hotels to stay at etc...)

We aren't on a student budget, but we aren't looking to leave our savings behind either. Think dinners at max $50 USD/person, hotels around $100 USD/night etc..

Thanks in advance for any tips!

$50 a person per meal! imo, the local, small, cheap, type joints have the best food through China.

Curious to see how Beijing is before the Olympics. They put in over 40 billion in the city in preparation for it.