See you lot in a couple of weeks

[lsemmens]

I'm off to China for my son's wedding, be back in a couple! You lot, behave while I'm gone.

[ol' boy]

Behave over there mate
We don't to be running a Go Fund Me to get you home
Have a great time....

[David071]

Enjoy China lsemmens!

Will you have the net over there? My wife and I are just back from 5 weeks in Europe. I enjoyed keeping in contact with the forum while I was away. I think it stops you from getting home sick a little!

Are you going to miss the FOOTY and THE TIPPING?

Stay safe and enjoy the wedding!

[Skepticist]

Be careful when taking pictures over there - I heard they get a bit upset by visitors with cameras.

Take it easy and we'll save a seat for your return

[mandc]

The last couple of times I was in China, Austech is blocked in their firewall (no idea why) so you need a VPN and all will be OK...it also is needed for gmail or google

[Uncle Fester]

VPN can be blocked too, PIA has a tunnel for this purpose, maybe others have catched up.
Also try the EPIC browser which has a built in encrypted proxy... and it is FREE. Might work without VPN.
No Epic for Linux though, use PIA, others can be a PITA to set up.

Best always stay within the vicinity of your family, don't go wandering alone.

Keep us updated what it is REALLY like there.

[mandc]

Best always stay within the vicinity of your family, don't go wandering alone.

Keep us updated what it is REALLY like there.

, It's fine to go off by yourself, just remember that english is often not spoken in the regional areas but places like Shanghai have most shopkeepers in big stores able to help...The subway is easy to use and most street signs and subway stations are in pinyin...Chinese written with western alphabet.

The bus destinations are all Chinese characters so forget it. China is one of the safest places I've ever visited...virtually no violence but people will try to trick you out of money by inflating prices at markets.

Enjoy yourself and have a good time. I'm off there again in 2 months for a few weeks to visit southern China...Yunnan area.

[VroomVroom]

I was there last year and also 5 years ago as a tourist , the growth in city sizes was amazing. The people were generally very friendly and want to engage in conversation to improve thier english. Loads of random girls wanted thier photo taken with me , its sort of a open culture thing. im not a real pretty looking bloke so i didnt mind of course. Make sure you respect thier spirituality to avoid offending them , even though you may be a non believer.

never eat from street markets , always wash your hands and try and avoid the public toilets. If you have not seen an eastern toilet before you will be in for a surprise. The streets are generally quite smelly though there are regular rubbish pickups. most products sold in tourist areas are fakes , sometimes very expensive fakes.

no access to Facebook / Google and many other sites , even by VPN as others have mentioned. You will be searched before getting on trains in some areas so be aware , and dont carry any obvious valuables.