Beijing.

[baboon]

I am off to Beijing in a few days on route to the DPRK. Can anyone advise on tipping, spoken english dos and donts etc? Cheers!

[wileycoyote]

Definitely get business cards printed in Mandarin .

Good Luck

Wiley Coyote

[lazeeboy]

this site can help you in your plan to visit Thailand.

http://www.traveltowards.com/

whats disney land got to do to with thailand ?

[chiang mai]

I am off to Beijing in a few days on route to the DPRK. Can anyone advise on tipping, spoken english dos and donts etc? Cheers!

Do visit Maggies Bar across from the Lufthansa Center, go after 9:0pm (near the Hard Rock Cafe)

Do not tip more in Beijing any more or less than you would anywhere else for the same reasons.

Do go see the Summer Palace.

Do take a one day trip to see the Great Wall, not far.

Do go down to the Diplomatic District and explore the restaurants and bars.

Do not get ripped off by sweet Chinese girls - keep your mindset similar to when in Thailand.

Do buy a down jacket - they are cheap and reasonable quality. Hey, they have to do something with the stuff given all the ducks they eat.

Do go to Tianamen Square of a Sunday morning and watch the kites.

[jackspratt]

I am off to Beijing in a few days on route to the DPRK. Can anyone advise on tipping, spoken english dos and donts etc? Cheers!

Do visit Maggies Bar across from the Lufthansa Center, go after 9:0pm (near the Hard Rock Cafe)

You will spend a while looking for Maggies if you go to the Hard Rock area. Maggies is actually in Guang Hua Lu, near Ritan Park. Well worth a visit if you are so inclined, but leave it till after 11.00pm at the earliest. It is well known in Beijing as the unofficial Mongolian Embassy, for the number of Mongolian beauties who gather there for purposes of commerce.

Do not tip more in Beijing any more or less than you would anywhere else for the same reasons.

Tipping is the exception rather than the rule in Beijing. In fact, some will be offended if you try to tip.

Do go see the Summer Palace.

Do take a one day trip to see the Great Wall, not far.

Do go down to the Diplomatic District and explore the restaurants and bars.

Do not get ripped off by sweet Chinese girls - keep your mindset similar to when in Thailand.

Do buy a down jacket - they are cheap and reasonable quality. Hey, they have to do something with the stuff given all the ducks they eat.

Do go to Tianamen Square of a Sunday morning and watch the kites.

Generally less English than you would find in Bangkok. If you know what hotel you are staying at, before you go, print out the name and address in Chinese for the taxi driver.

Don't

- go with girls who ask you (in good english, and generally in the main streets) to come a look at art, or go to tea houses with them. Both big scams.

- go with street touts who want to take you to "girly bars" or karaoke joints. Potentially big, big trouble

My experience of 3+ years living there is too go to the historical sites in this order:

1. The Wall

2. Forbidden City - Tianamen Square is adjacent

3. Temple of Heaven - not far from Tianamen

4. Summer Palace - a fair bit out of the way, and once you have seen the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace can feel a bit same, same (but different)

Other attractions are Hou Hai in the evening, and the markets for shopping Ya Show, Pearl Market (next door to the Temple of Heaven), Xidan.

Good online map here

http://www.cityofnanaimo.com/asia/China/Beijing.pdf

Enjoy

[baboon]

Thanks for the input!

[technocracy]

Thanks for the input!

Agree, completely with Jackspratt!

Actually could you give us or just me via PM a bit of a review of your visit to the DPRK as I've been hankering to make a visit for a while now! After all I live in one communist state and there and Cuba are the only ones I've not visited. The DPRK has an embassy in Vientiane so getting a visa for me and the wife would be just a trip down the road .... in theory!

Cheers

Edit: Just realised one thing missing off the list of things to do in Beijing - go and see the acrobatic show, they really are amazing! The opera on the other hand ... ahem. . . . . . let just say the most entertaining part was the Chinglish narration on a lcd display.

On the word of Chinglish some of the signs around the Forbidden City are absolute corkers . . in the Forbidden City get the Roger Moore guide (you'll understand when you get there!)

Edit2: Also wonder around the old town area (forget the locals name) . . south (other direction from Forbidden City) of Tianamen behind Mcdonalds(!) and on the main road is a very classy Peking Duck restaurant one of the originals serving excellent Peking Duck (no surprise .. on that!!)

Edited September 22, 2007 by technocracy

[chiang mai]

I am off to Beijing in a few days on route to the DPRK. Can anyone advise on tipping, spoken english dos and donts etc? Cheers!

Do visit Maggies Bar across from the Lufthansa Center, go after 9:0pm (near the Hard Rock Cafe)

You will spend a while looking for Maggies if you go to the Hard Rock area. Maggies is actually in Guang Hua Lu, near Ritan Park. Well worth a visit if you are so inclined, but leave it till after 11.00pm at the earliest. It is well known in Beijing as the unofficial Mongolian Embassy, for the number of Mongolian beauties who gather there for purposes of commerce.

Do not tip more in Beijing any more or less than you would anywhere else for the same reasons.

Tipping is the exception rather than the rule in Beijing. In fact, some will be offended if you try to tip.

Do go see the Summer Palace.

Do take a one day trip to see the Great Wall, not far.

Do go down to the Diplomatic District and explore the restaurants and bars.

Do not get ripped off by sweet Chinese girls - keep your mindset similar to when in Thailand.

Do buy a down jacket - they are cheap and reasonable quality. Hey, they have to do something with the stuff given all the ducks they eat.

Do go to Tianamen Square of a Sunday morning and watch the kites.

Generally less English than you would find in Bangkok. If you know what hotel you are staying at, before you go, print out the name and address in Chinese for the taxi driver.

Don't

- go with girls who ask you (in good english, and generally in the main streets) to come a look at art, or go to tea houses with them. Both big scams.

- go with street touts who want to take you to "girly bars" or karaoke joints. Potentially big, big trouble

My experience of 3+ years living there is too go to the historical sites in this order:

1. The Wall

2. Forbidden City - Tianamen Square is adjacent

3. Temple of Heaven - not far from Tianamen

4. Summer Palace - a fair bit out of the way, and once you have seen the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace can feel a bit same, same (but different)

Other attractions are Hou Hai in the evening, and the markets for shopping Ya Show, Pearl Market (next door to the Temple of Heaven), Xidan.

Good online map here

http://www.cityofnanaimo.com/asia/China/Beijing.pdf

Enjoy

Good advice - Maggies I, the older of the two establishments is where I described it but regret I have never been to Maggies II although I have heard of it.