Me Time!
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MyPillow\" post_id=\"1940935\" time=\"1570879087\" user_id=\"70594:
Older one o level already?
Hi skym, hopefully leh. I m the nervous one . On off guiding ah girl for sa2 revision too on some topic -sky minecrafter\" post_id=\"1940926\" time=\"1570871596\" user_id=\"130531:[quote=\"sky minecrafter\" post_id=1940926 time=1570871596 user_id=130531]Things going on track, MP? 1month to go?...
“ sweating “[/quote] -
slmkhoo\" post_id=\"1934738\" time=\"1568162070\" user_id=\"28674:
Just got back from our Hangzhou-Suzhou trip. Flew to HZ on Fri night, got back home at 4.30am this morning. Grabbed more sleep after getting back, and delaying doing the housework that's waiting!
That's the current idea, but it's too early to make firm plans. Anyway, with only 2 of us going, we can be flexible and play it by ear. Yes, there are too many things to cover, but that's true for most places. We are OK with just seeing a few.floppy\" post_id=\"1934665\" time=\"1568106281\" user_id=\"97579:
So, it's going to be Hangzhou and Suzhou. Is that your final answer?
2 out of 3 is ok. 3 out of 3 (though doable) is crazy
One thing .zeit is right about, there are too many things to cover in those 2 cities. You will have to prioritize and determine what are your must-do / must-see.
Overall, a good trip. Lots to see, but we were lazy and didn't do that much. Weather wasn't great, but apparently it's more often than not misty and drizzly there. Still fairly busy even though it's past the holiday week - it would have been impossible during that week!
HZ doesn't seem to be used to foreign tourists travelling independently! The hotel (mid-range) said that we couldn't use their free wifi as it required a confirmation code sent to a China phone no. But I found that if I changed the language to English, it didn't require a China phone! They obviously didn't know that. However, the wifi was so slow that I gave up on it and subscribed to Starhub's travel data instead. Then when booking a day tour, the lack of phone no. was a problem again, but luckily the tour company agreed to use WeChat as our contact instead. For some reason, they wouldn't accept that they could just get us through the hotel front desk! There was very little English anywhere (but we saw some really funny menu translations), so I guess most non-Chinese-speaking foreign tourists go in groups.
Anyway, if anyone wants a bit of info, can ask me. -
Did you do one of those 45 min rides on the sampan like boats on West Lake? Our boatman talked non-stop about JiGong and other stories. He was aghast at my kids’ (low) level of Mandarin comprehension. LOL.
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Slmkhoo
Just realised you went to HZ. I like HZ too. I like the West Lake and the wide variety of food - cheap and delicious
My first trip was years ago when there was no subway. During my last trip, the subway was built. I found HZ super crowded or probably this is so for big cities of China -
doodbug\" post_id=\"1941255\" time=\"1571112709\" user_id=\"13281:
To be honest, most PRC ‘see us no up’ coz of our poor spoken Mandarin & our knowledge of Chinese history & culture. But thankfully they were impressed enuf for our country’s rapid progress & we’re very much ahead. It helps also when our ministers work hard to focus on bldg strong relationships & bz partnership with China’s leaders, whilst stabilizing relationships with other economies diplomatically. Really thankful.
Did you do one of those 45 min rides on the sampan like boats on West Lake? Our boatman talked non-stop about JiGong and other stories. He was aghast at my kids' (low) level of Mandarin comprehension. LOL.
We hope to visit our friends in Tianjin & Wenzhou. Hvnt got down to fit our kids’ schedule as the PRCs are on Int’l Sch timetable. -
Estéema\" post_id=\"1941257\" time=\"1571114307\" user_id=\"66413:
Well, it can't be helped that our kids' Chinese isn't that good. Most mainland Chinese kids' English is worse! If people are rude about it, I tell them that our first language is English. And we will speak English within the family, so they can see that that is the case!
To be honest, most PRC ‘see us no up’ coz of our poor spoken Mandarin & our knowledge of Chinese history & culture.doodbug\" post_id=\"1941255\" time=\"1571112709\" user_id=\"13281:
Did you do one of those 45 min rides on the sampan like boats on West Lake? Our boatman talked non-stop about JiGong and other stories. He was aghast at my kids' (low) level of Mandarin comprehension. LOL.
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doodbug\" post_id=\"1941255\" time=\"1571112709\" user_id=\"13281:
Yes, we did. The weather wasn't that great, so it was rather misty and drizzly. We had a terrible guide on the boat going out - she spoke in a monotone and very,very slowly. No-one bothered to listen after a couple of minutes! The was a different lady on the return trip who was much better. On the Suzhou day trip, we had a lady who talked non-stop about all sorts of things - a bit too much history for me as I didn't recognise many of the characters and events. No kids with us this time, so we didn't have to do a running translation all the way. But to be fair to our kids, they aren't used to the quite heavy accents in mainland China, and they don't know a lot of history, so it's hard for them to figure out what's said. Take a mainland Chinese teenager who is supposed to be \"good in English\" to the UK, and get a person with a British accent to tell them the detailed history of Windsor Castle, and see how much they understand.
Did you do one of those 45 min rides on the sampan like boats on West Lake? Our boatman talked non-stop about JiGong and other stories. He was aghast at my kids' (low) level of Mandarin comprehension. LOL.
I must say that the English on the some of the tourist signs was much better than what I saw in Beijing in 2008. This was my first time to HZ, so I don't know if it's a recent thing. -
starlight1968sg\" post_id=\"1941256\" time=\"1571113479\" user_id=\"14025:
We aren't food people, but we did try various items and found them OK.
Slmkhoo
Just realised you went to HZ. I like HZ too. I like the West Lake and the wide variety of food - cheap and delicious
My first trip was years ago when there was no subway. During my last trip, the subway was built. I found HZ super crowded or probably this is so for big cities of China
We tried to take the subway, but failed! It was a Sat night, and there were not station staff around, only security guards. The machines wouldn't accept our notes, we couldn't find any coin-changing machines, and we had no way of doing e-payments. We had been prepared to use Nets Flashpay which we had been told would be accepted in China, but it didn't work because it was on our mobile, and we needed a card to tap. We couldn't be bothered to try to find out more, so we gave up and took a cab. Almost all signs and instructions were in Chinese, which was OK for us, but I wouldn't ask a non-Chinese speaking person to try to navigate HZ! I don't consider hypy \"English\". -
I personally find Chinese history and modern culture very fascinating. They have experienced so much change in the past three decades. It is a large and progressive society. I feel that there is a lot kids will gain from exposure to China; if for nothing, to understand what scale and market size mean. On this count, I am very grateful to my son's school for the very organic way students are exposed to PRC students in school through various programmes and hosting tons of exchange students - even how they name their secondary schools, what a typical high school day is like etc. (My son's friends are from schools like the (City name) High School Affiliated to the (City Name) Normal University etc.)
I just booked a Deepavali weekend chill trip on a China low cost carrier for the Deepavali weekend to Nanning. Would have preferred to visit Chengdu or Chongqing but unfortunately tickets are expensive now. Just take it as another China exploration trip. China is one of the few places where five star accommodation and food are relatively affordable
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