Archive for the ‘Travels’ Category

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Japan-China Trip | Thoughts & Observations

November 16, 2007

Thoughts from my trip to Japan and China in November 2007. As I planned a 7-day trip to China, I decided to add a 3-day layover in Tokyo. I was lucky to have friends in Tokyo who graciously hosted me and showed me around Tokyo. I also had a friend in China who spoke the language and offered to take a week vacation to tour China with me. Here are my thoughts and observations from the trip:

Tokyo, Japan

I spent 3 days in Tokyo. After arriving on Friday night, I took the 30 minute bus ride into Tokyo and met up with my friends, Mike and Sunny. We spent the next 3 days taking subways, walking, and boating around Tokyo. I saw a lot in 3 days and got a good feel for the place. Here are my observations:

  • Tokyo is a very clean city. Mike and I went for a walk one morning and we came upon an older lady in a kimono sweeping 3 leaves into a dust pan on the sidewalk in front of her retail establishment. This was a huge contrast from what I was about to witness in China. I think there is a pride of ownership in Japan that doesn’t exist in China. Real-estate in Tokyo is very expensive so people take care of what little space they have.
  • Tokyo is very safe. I was surprised to see police on literally every other corner. There were little police kiosks everywhere. They were usually young and very polite. It made me feel safe to know that nothing would happen too far from the sight or sound of a police officer.
  • Tokyo has a good subway system. The subways were very clean and safe. They are the main form of transportation in the city. There are many subway lines run by different companies so it can be very confusing making transfers to get to your final destination. The good thing is they have a card system where you load the card like a gift card, scan it entering the subway and exiting the subway, and your card is debited based on the distance traveled.
  • People dress up in Tokyo. I noticed people dress nicer in general than in Seattle. The men wear suits to work and the women all wear skirts and high-heals. Also, everyone, and I mean everyone, has a cell phone and is often typing text messages with two thumbs.
  • Tokyo real-estate is expensive. No surprise here, Tokyo is one of the most expensive cities to live in. Aside from real-estate, everything else is relatively inexpensive.
  • Mid-town and Rapungi Hills are both very nice, upscale neighborhoods and would be nice places to live or visit.
  • I would definitely visit Tokyo again and would even consider living there for a period of time.

Shanghai-Xi’an-Beijing, China

I spent 7 days touring China. This included 1 night in Shanghai, 3 nights in Xi’an, 2 nights in Beijing, and 1 night in Shanghai. My friend Nathan, a Chinese-American who was working in China at the time, took a week off to tour China with me. Here are my observations:

  • The women are very nice and hard working and the men are very aggressive (especially in Beijing) and hard working. Unfortunately, the women have a lot less opportunity in China than in the US. I’m sure this will change over time as China continues to develop a strong middle-class.
  • The air in Xi’an is lacking. There was a haze in the air but it didn’t smell at all. I noticed a thin layer of dust coating the streets and buildings. There is a lot of construction so I assumed it was the cause of the dust. Both Nathan and I got a sore throat and lost our voices over the next week. Nathan had a doctor friend in Beijing and called him to get advice. He told Nathan that everyone who visits Xi’an gets a sore throat, even the locals, and that it would go away in 7 days with antibiotics and 10 days without antibiotics. He was right. He said it was caused by the wood burning stoves that people use to heat their houses.
  • China felt safe. I had a chance to walk the streets of the local neighborhoods (day and night), take subways, city buses, and taxis, and eat at the restaurants where the locals eat. Because I was with Nathan and he spoke the language, I felt comfortable venturing outside the tourist districts. I definitely saw a different China than I saw within the tourist districts and attractions. Overall, I felt safe the whole time. I did see a fist fight between two young kids in the subway in Beijing but you see that in the US too. I guess it’s their form of road rage.
  • Driving is aggressive but not personal. In the US, people honk and want to fight you if you cut them off. In China, everyone cuts everyone off and takes every inch they can get. The difference is that it’s not personal in China. Because everyone drives the same way (no rules and take every inch), it’s expected. Honking in China is a form of communication (I’m here, I’m taking that spot, etc…). It’s only when then lay on the horn that they’re mad. I saw cars driving the wrong direction on the freeway twice. Yikes!
  • People cross the streets while cars are coming. It only took me a day to get used to this and then I was doing it myself. The key is to keep moving and not hesitate. The cars will time it so they just miss you. As long as you don’t hesitate, everything flows smoothly. I have a picture of this in my photos post.
  • Every Starbucks I visited (in China and Japan) was jam-packed. Starbucks has done a great job creating the same experience as in the US.
  • The tourist attractions and tourist districts were like everywhere else in the world: manufactured experiences designed to extract as much money from your wallet as possible. The most memorable and enjoyable experiences for me were getting outside the tourism and experiencing the real China.
  • Everything is super inexpensive in China. The real-estate is only expensive if you want luxury. No need for a car as the subways (in Shanghai and Beijing), buses, and taxis are affordable and efficient. Use travel agencies in China. They block rooms in hotels and can often get discounts in excess of 50%.
  • Everything is negotiable. People expect you to negotiate and respect you more if you do.
  • I’m very fortunate. I expected to come back with an appreciation for the material wealth we have in the US. What I didn’t expect is to come back with an appreciation for the opportunities we have in the US. This especially applies to women. I was struck by how hard the women worked in China even though they have little chance to prosper financially. I recognize that this is common in developing countries and this will improve as China continues to grow and integrate with the global economy.
  • I would definitely visit China again and would consider living in Shanghai. Touring China was a great experience and opened my eyes to the realities in China versus what you see and read in the media.

I love travelling and this trip was one of the best I’ve been on. As a 14-year old, I travelled to Finland and Russia in 1984 with a hockey team. That was a great learning experience and this trip to Japan and China was on that same level. I hope to visit both countries many times in the future. I hope you enjoyed this post and will get a chance to experience Japan and China some day as well.

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Japan-China Trip | Photos

November 15, 2007

Photos from my trip to Japan and China in November 2007. It was a 10-day trip from Seattle to Tokyo to Shanghai to Xi’an to Beijing to Shanghai and back to Seattle. I covered a lot of ground and got a good feel for both countries.

Tokyo, Japan 

Here is a photo across the inlet from Tokyo. I was struck by how much it looked like any other waterfront in the United States. Aside from the people and signs, cities are cities.

Here is an evening shot of Ginza in Tokyo, Japan. This is the luxury shopping district and has most of the global retail brands. Notice the Apple store on the left.

Here is a shot of a shopping strip called Harajuku in Tokyo, Japan. This is where the younger kids hang out and dress up like dolls.

Strolling through Yoyogi Park in Tokyo, Japan. This was a really nice park in the middle of the city with a dog park and musicians practicing their craft.

Here’s the famous 5-way intersection in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. The cars are stopped from all directions and people flood the street for about 30 seconds from all directions.

This is one of my favorite Japan photos of a main street in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan.

Shanghai, China 

My next stop was Shanghai, China. Here is a shot out the back of our hotel. It is common to see new hotels lining the streets with older housing structures on the interior of the city blocks.

Xi’an, China

Next I visited Xi’an, China, a tier 3 city west of Beijing. Here is the view out behind our hotel.

It only took me a day to get used to crossing the streets while cars are coming at you. The key is to maintain your speed and not hesitate. The cars will time it so they just miss the people. Accidents only happen when someone hesitates. Notice the elder couple crossing while the younger guy waits. I actually saw a guy about 90 years old riding a bike up the middle of a 4-lane highway in Beijing toward oncoming traffic in rush hour. He didn’t look even the least bit concerned. Amazing!

Here’s a shot of a minivan that is common in China. It was only about 3.5 feet wide.

Another shot of the same side street in Xi’an.

I had to experience the food in China. Here’s a shot of my first Hot Pot. I also tried barbecued octopus on a stick from a street vendor, frog legs, and a bunch of other things I can’t remember. I just tried everything interesting and wasn’t let down once.

Here’s a shot from a city bus in Xi’an of a parking lot full of scooters.

I visited the Terracotta Warriors just outside Xi’an. It’s billed as the 8th Wonder of the World. I wasn’t super impressed with it but I can see how it’s a wonder why someone would go through so much effort to build an army of terracotta warriors. I actually enjoyed the experience of taking a city bus to the attraction more than the attraction itself.

Beijing, China

First line of business in Beijing after checking into a hotel was Peking Duck for lunch. Here’s me enjoying a Chinese beer while the duck was being cut next to our table.

The duck is ready!

Me in front of the Forbidden City.

Another shot of me within the Forbidden City. Notice the construction in the background. They were preparing for the Olympics.

This was a very cool structure within the Forbidden City. I was struck by the level of detail that you rarely see in buildings today.

The next day I went to the Great Wall of China. I took subways and city buses to and from and was the only white person to be found. The Chinese people were very curious to see me venturing outside the tourist areas. My Chinese-American friend Nathan said they respected me for doing things the way the locals do them.

The Great Wall was exactly as I imagined it. The one thought that struck me was what it must have been like to be the project manager for building such a massive structure. The other thing that made an impression on me was that capitalism has definitely arrived in China. The tourist areas were designed to extract as much money from your wallet as possible. They even had a stand half-way up the hill where you could buy a certificate saying you climbed the wall. 

Shanghai, China

Back to Shanghai for the last leg of my trip. Here is a typical apartment building in China.

The Huangpu River splits Shanghai. Here’s me looking from the older side, called Puxi, to the newer side, called Pudong.

This was a shot just outside a tourist shopping area that is famous for dumplings. The line was a mile long so I suggested to my friend that I would rather eat dumplings where the locals eat them anyway.

So off we went to find a local place that my friend frequents. It was this little place in a back alley about the size of a bedroom. They told my friend I was the first foreigner to visit their place.

This was 24 out of the 215 pictures I took during my 10-day trip. This trip was a great experience and I wouldn’t hesitate to visit Japan and China again in the future. I will be posting my thoughts and learnings from the trip in a separate post.

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Street Negotiating in China

November 14, 2007

It’s 6am and we’re checking out of our hotel in Xi’an China. My friend, who speaks Chinese, asks the hotel clerk how much it should cost to take a cab to the airport. She says 120CNY. So we walk outside and there’s a cab across the street. My friend asks how much to the airport. The cab driver says 100CNY. My friend responds with 80CNY. The cab driver responds with 90CNY. My friend responds with 85CNY. The cab driver pleads and my friend finally agrees to 90CNY. He feels good about 90CNY since he mentally set his target at 100CNY based on the hotel clerk’s assessment that it should cost 120CNY.

Was this a good deal? This depends on your frame of reference in setting your target. My friend set his frame of reference based on the hotel clerk’s recommendation. But here’s the thing, in China, everything is based on relationships. It’s very likely that the hotel has a relationship with the cab drivers they have in front of their hotel. If that is in fact the case, having the hotel clerk say 120CNY is a good price sets their customer up to think they negotiated a good deal when the cab driver starts at 100CNY and then goes a little lower.

Let’s say my friend knew a local who takes a cab to the airport frequently. A quick call to this friend could set the definition of a good deal at 75CNY. He might then counter the cab driver’s initial price of 100CNY with an offer of 50CNY and eventually settle in the range of 70-80CNY.

What was the difference between these two scenarios? Information. Whether you are negotiating million dollar business deals or negotiating cab fares, information will be a key determining factor on whether you are able to negotiate a competitive deal. Not only is information important, the source of that information is also critical. In this example, information from the hotel clerk is not as trustworthy as information from a friend.

Bottom Line: Do your homework before you begin negotiating so you have the correct frame of reference in setting your targets and knowing when you’ve achieved a competitive deal.

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