The Shindog Blog
So this is my new neighbourhood! It's located in the 'fruit park district'.. It has 33 apartment blocks. Yes thats right ... 33 Buildings all built in the same style! It kinda feels like the 'Golden Grove' of beijing ... everything is very tidy and clean ... compared with my old west side apartment zai liuliqiao (at 6 mile bridge) anyway. It kinda lacks that old school china feel ... which i miss . The development is called something like 'xin hua jian bei li' ... unfortunately it shares the name of a famous supermarket ... dont know how that happened! so it's kinda like saying we live in 'new woolworths south (or something like that)... and yes thats right ...this is just the southern development ... there is another matching development the other side of the main road ... and another 30+ apartment blocks there!!! We live on the 8th floor in building number 14! |
| and just to remind this laowei ... your only a guest here in china! ..theres a nice huge welcoming flag just past the main legrande arches... go directly to 'jincha jan'(police station) ... and make it quick!!!. Now where did i put that travel document! If you can't make it out it says 'Foreigners should register passports in local police station within 24 hours'. It had to be in red of course ;) |
| Just so you can find your way about they have these useful 3d maps ... our building is in the top left corner ... tucked away nicely ... right next to an express train line .. and a subway line! We have double glazed double windows! Thats a double glazed window inside an outer window!!! And laopo still says ... did you close the window ...' i can hear the train very loudly'! |
 |
| on a different note here are the electricity meters at the old liuliqiao apartment ... they accept the smart card i showed you yesterday and display your remaining credit on the digital display. It's a very hi tech solution amongst such old buildings. It is infact a very easy way to manage the power.. no disconnection notices or what not ... you prepay for your electrons over here ... then the meter just clicks off when youre out! None of those annoying disconnection notices! Now hows that wiring! Oh and one other cool thing .. you clap your hands or stomp your feet to activate the lights inside the stairwell! but which meter is paying for that! |
 |
oh and i had a hunch where i could find a bomb arrest unit ready and waiting...without the ol dust cover....in tian anmen west subway station (di tia jan!)... where else!. Just pop in the bomb wind up the handle ... and get the hell outta there! No fiddling with this one ... officer on duty! Also us westerners tend to miss pronoune TianAnmen? its .. Tian-Ahn-Men |
 |
| oh and heres my new car ... :) its an orange TT ... laopo's favourite colour! |
 |
Shenme Dongxi!!!
"every day in china you see something (shenme dongxi) you don't see every day" [one billion customers; auth : James Mcgregor ..lessons from the frontlines of doing busines in china]. This little section is dedicated to that weird or strange thing which inadvertently you see everyday in china .. so to prove a point i'll see if i can find one 'mai tian do' (every day).Chinglish! 03.11.08
If you happen to have made in into my facebook list you might have seen the 'Sell Choo Choo ticket' sign i came across in a government train ticket office. There are all sorts of funny translations getting about in china ... whats even funnier is when they are in high profile locations or they are on some huge billboard or poster put up by businesses trying to look professional. This one should be right at home out north mate! like lissssbeff way ay ... wad ya reckon .. the malls is closed ...mate! The funny thing here ....this is from the most famous and prestigious mall in all of china ... Wanfujing's Oriental Plaza ... where every famous brand has an outlet! from nike to swatch ... even harely davidson have a shop in there! If the management is reading try 'The Mall is Closed' or 'The Malls ARE closed. I know its big but its still just one Mall! ... no worries mate.. i'll check ya's later. Also while im bashing grammar i'd better put up a discalimer .. my blog is put out in a rush often entred from my laptop keyboard. it will contain typos and errors ... at least im not having it printed and carved into a sign ;) ... my guess is they contact some chinese company that has 'english experts' that are still chinese natives ... how else would companies be paying for signs like these?. Another one that springs to mind was on the exit from the great wall ... it said on a nice huge sign 'Exportation'. hehehehehehe! |
 |
| Ok hows this one! an electric trike-a-hatch! or whatever. The pwner has added this little cover on the back. But what for? To carry dear tai tai (wife) to the supermarket! no. To earn a few quai taxi'ing commuters from the subway station back to their homes! You can bargain with the driver .. the usual fare is around 3-8 quai (60cents to 2 bucks), considering a real deal taxi flag fall is only 10 quai. but it depends on the time ... rush hour is high demand .. and distance ... they've only got so many clicks on one charge!!! ....then i gotta pedal your heavy ass around! |
 |
