The trip itself was not without its irritations, but that would be a different story.

But we really liked Dandong. For me, at least, the highlight was waking up that hill to the pagoda on the summit. It was a little over a km. There was plenty of good nature, larches, aspens, interspersed with the occasional park feature like bump car rides and kiosks. Also a moderate amount of people, so you never are alone - at least on the main paved wide path that circles…

A quick question on getting Wi-fi: Do I also have to get a subscription or account, or is the price of the wifi unit the only thing I need (as my boss assures me)?

I have used my father's wifi back in Kansas, but have never actually set up a wifi account, so this is all new to me.

My school here in Jilin gave us an old computer with slow dial-up connection, but I also have my laptop which I brought over - good thing too! The old dial-up is good…

A Century of Sand Dredging in the Bristol Channel: Volume Two and Cooking with Poo are on a shortlist for the prize of the oddest book title of the year.

Watched Hugo - Scorcese's latest and ... well I won't give an opinion until everybody has had a chance to watch. Hugo is amazing in it's atmospheric Parisian design, it's star-studded, and definitely worth watching.

However, I've always been left disappointed after many Scorcese's recent films - Shutter Island, Gangs of New York. His new films must cost so much but rarely deliver for me. WHat do you think of Scorcese's…

Apple battles to avoid iPad ban in China

The latest stage of Apple’s battle to use the “iPad” trademark in China saw heated exchanges in a Shanghai court, as the technology giant fought to avoid disruption to global supplies of its best-selling tablet.

t is under attack from Shenzhen Proview Technology, a Chinese company, which registered the iPad trademark in 2001. Apple bought rights to the name fro £35,000 from a Taiwanese company affiliated with Proview but the mainland…

English has been the dominant global language for a century, but is it the language of the future? If Mandarin Chinese is to challenge English globally, then it first has to conquer its own backyard, South East Asia.

In Malaysia's southernmost city of Johor Bahru, the desire to speak good English has driven some children to make a remarkable two-hour journey to school every day.....…

Everybody loves a bright white smile, and there are a variety of products and procedures available to help you improve the look of yours.Many people are satisfied with the sparkle they get from brushing twice daily with a fluoride-containing toothpaste, cleaning between their teeth once a day and the regular cleanings at your dentist’s office. If you decide you would like to go beyond this to make your smile look brighter, you should investigate all of your options.

Here are several…

Am thinking of going to HK for a weekend - tips/hints on hotels/ restaurants what to do etc warmly welcomed

The cold weather as a resource and an attraction!

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/regional/jilinspecial.html

Love and miss Jilin Province!

Location: 1180 Minkang Road

I enjoyed, for the most part, my first teaching day in China. There certainly were a few surprises, but one of them was not that I didn't have any assistants - in any of the classes. Somehow I expected that. But it was no problem. As a former substitute, before my more steady teaching job, I learned the value of having plan A, plan B, and plan B in my bag of tricks.

A bigger inconvenience was the lack of whiteboard markers. Does anyone know where one can buy those?…

http://http://members.shaw.ca/kcic1/poutine.html

Be careful what you think!

Scientists have unveiled a new technique for decoding human brainwaves and then converting them into speech.

The technique may one day make it possible to communicate with patients who are unable to talk.

Who knows where this might end up, but for sure, I will have to be very careful what I think (dream) :)…

Hey chaps and chapettes,

Am trying to organise a HK trip for my partner (visa funtimes).

Have checked a few airline comparison sites but was just wondering if you guys have any tips for getting there on the cheap!

Thanks =)

Jem x

I am researching which VPN to go with. I assume that paid ones will be more reliable than freebies (Correct?). I saw an ad for Express VPN in one of these expat groups and wondered if there was any feedback on them by users here. Also I noticed that Chinoxy was also recommended here. Is there any difference between the two performance-wise? Thanks.

We finally, after months of waiting, made it to China. We have been here in Jilin for a week now, shaking off our jet lag, poking around the city of Jilin, enjoying the strangeness of it all.



I have lots of questions that come to mind, so I am sure I will get good use out of this forum to get better information. Speaking of which: Where can I get (preferably in Jilin) an adapter for my Dell laptop (bought in US)? The fellow in the store here (named Da something Guan) sold me a…

Just some holy people I have come across recently:

Dennis the Abbott

Mahatma Jack

Steve "the seer" Mellow

The Dalai Richard (or as some people say: "The Dalai Dick"

Are there any other holy people out there?

Boxing great Muhammad Ali, right, with the help of his sister-in-law, Marilyn Williams, left, makes an appearance at a balcony before the celebration for his 70th birthday at the Muhammad Ali Center on Saturday, Jan. 14, 2012, in Louisville, Ky. Ali turns 70 Tuesday.

I remember so many great days watching this man perform either in the ring or being interviiewed by the TV, especially the great Parkinson interviews that were aired on the BBC.

I shared so many of these…

An angry crowd shouted and threw eggs at Apple's Beijing flagship store after it failed to open on schedule on Friday to sell the popular new iPhone 4S model.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/apple/9011987/Angry-mob-pelts-eggs-at-Apple-store-in-China-over-iPhone-4S-release.html…