Posted in Living in Beijing on 03/25/2011 03:30 am by Claudine
As I was about to leave work on March 14, I suddenly received a call from the reservations desk of Intercontinental Foshan. According to the lady who can only speak Chinese, I missed one page on the fax I’ve sent to them. I told her that I didn’t send any fax to their hotel. I asked who was it for and she told me something in Chinese that I can barely understand. I asked how did she get my information and she said that it was on the fax sheet. When I got frustrated because of the communications barrier, she apologized for bothering me and hanged up.
After the call, I was a little bit freaked out. I sought my friend’s help to call the hotel again. They told her that the fax was missing one page. I asked her to get the fax number but they refused to give it and informed her that she’ll re-send it to the number. After the call, my friend told me that there was no booking made but my information was with them. We waited for the fax but none came through. My friend advised me to call their central number for assistance and my credit card to flag any transaction from any hotels.
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Posted in Living in Beijing, Starbucks on 03/08/2011 07:25 am by Claudine
To all my female readers, Happy International Women’s Day! If you’re working in China, you get half-day off. Go out and shop as there are lots of sales for women shoppers.
Not only is it women’s day today but also Starbucks’ 40th birthday. Starbucks @ 40 meant a different logo for the company. They removed the words “Starbucks Coffee” from the logo and featured prominently the Siren.
Starbucks Coffee Blend
To celebrate it’s 40 years in the business, Starbucks released their Tribute coffee. The coffee is a blend of four Starbucks’ highest quality coffee beans – Aged Sumatra, Papua New Guinea, Sun dried Ethiopia and Colombia.
It has a bold flavor with spicy and full bodied, with berry and dark cherry taste. In Beijing, they offered free taste of this coffee from 10am to 2pm today. I missed it but would probably ask for a free taste in the future.
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Posted in Living in Beijing on 03/02/2011 01:13 am by Claudine
Every winter season, I always get a kicked out of experiencing snowfall. Coming from a tropical country where snow can only be seen in movies, experiencing it makes you feel like a kid again. Thus, this year, my friends who are into photography made a pact that on the next snowfall, we will go to the Great Wall to see it in its winter glory.
Last weekend, the heavens opened its skies and flurries fell down to the ground. One of my friend headed to Jinshanling part of the Great Wall. His photos are quite awesome. As for me, friends from Philippines and Singapore were in town for a visit and we headed to Mutianyu part of the Great Wall. Initially, I was hesitant to join as I really wanted some rest. Since there was a snow forecast, I happily went with them to the Great Wall.
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Posted in Living in Beijing, Travel - Beijing on 01/23/2011 10:49 pm by Claudine
After spending almost five years in Beijing, I have never envisioned myself learning how to ski. I remembered winning some ski tickets 2 years back but was busy when the day arrived. Last Sunday, I was already planning to go to church and attend our team activity in the afternoon but was encouraged to attend by friends from the Philippines who were in town to celebrate RS’ birthday party at Nanshan.
Getting There
The Nanshan Ski Village is located near Miyun County, 62 km from Wanghe Bridge, north of Beijing. They have 21 trails for skiing and snowboarding. You have three options of getting there by car:
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Posted in Living in Beijing on 12/16/2010 07:31 am by Claudine
With traffic becoming unbearable in Beijing, the opening of five new subway lines by 28 Dec 2010 is a welcome relief. Testing was already completed months before and the finishing touches of the stations are almost complete. These lines will cater to Beijingers living in the outskirts of Beijing. Ticket costs remain unchanged at a flat rate of RMB 2 with unlimited transfers.
At present, Beijing has 7 main subway lines (line 1, line 2, line 4, line 5, line 8, line 10, line 13) and 2 branch lines (Batong line and Airport Express line). I could honestly say, that I haven’t explored each subway stop. It would be a good thing to document in the future. Who wants to go with me?
The five new subway lines are as follows:
1. Daxing Line
Daxing line will cater to residents and establishments in Daxing district (south of Beijing). It is connected through the southern terminal of Line 4 and is 21.8 km long. The eleven stations from north to south are as follows:
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Posted in Living in Beijing on 02/27/2010 02:08 am by Claudine
It’s been quite some time since I’ve posted tips in living in Beijing. One of the most important thing in living in China is navigating the city without looking dumb. If you’ve been to Hong Kong, you’d probably notice their infamous Octopus card.
In Beijing, the Octopus card counterpart is called the Yi Ka Tong. This card can be bought at the nearest subway station. Not all ticket booth in the station have this card. They might direct you to a different ticket booth to purchase this.
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Posted in Living in Beijing on 11/15/2008 07:34 am by Claudine
Which type of people usually look for an apartment? There’s the newbie who just arrived in Beijing for their newest adventure, the oldie who’s lease just expired, the businessman who’s sick and tired of staying in an apartment. In any case, finding an apartment in China needs your haggling and language skills. Also, a Chinese friend would be the best to do the translation for you.
Here are some tips that may help you in your apartment hunting:
- If the ad says “near the subway”, never believe it till you’ve seen it.
- Most apartments are now equipped with western toilets.
- If you don’t like cleaning your apartment, go for service apartments such as Oakwood, Palm Springs, HQ Ritz, etc. However, be prepared to pay for a higher than usual price.
- Decide which district do you want to live and your budget.
- Best place to live in would be walking distance to the subway or bus stops. The price on these places are usually higher. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Living in Beijing on 10/13/2008 10:09 am by Claudine
Going crazy with a language you can’t understand? Don’t know where to find a book that makes sense? When prices are going up, freebies are hard to come by. But, for expats in Beijing, you get to know the latest happenings in art, cinema, music, shopping, sports and more through the magazines you can get from your favourite expat restaurants in town.
Here’s a list of English magazines you can bag and maybe pile at home and sell it once you’re done with it.
1. thebeijinger – this monthly magazine used to be called That’s Beijing. However, this year the management decided not to renew the contracts of their foreign writers and those writers banded together armed with their contacts to create this new magazine. I prefer this one than the new team who’s currently writing That’s Beijing. They got a mean directory of restaurants and other services. They even sometimes include a map insert of different areas which expat usually go to. They have several more magazines which they write but I’m not really sure how often do they come out such as Urbane and Beijing Kids.
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Posted in Living in Beijing on 09/13/2008 12:52 pm by Claudine
In Beijing alone, statistics said that there are more than 1,000 cars added each day. That’s why if they stop implementing the odd-even scheme after September 20, I’m pretty sure the city will be back in a gridlock. In any case, you will get the chance to admire expensive cars more on the road. I mean, Audi’s are a dime and a dozen here. You may think of them as your common Toyota or Honda. Visit any high-class international apartments and you’ll see a Jaguar, Rolls Royce, Ferrari and Maybachs parked side by side.
On my way home the other night, I was impressed by one of the cars parked in front of the Pizza Hut restaurant near my home. Someone was checking out a spanking Silver Jubilee colored Rolls Royce Drophead Coupe. I may not be a car expert but I know the big names in the industry. This particular car is a convertible. At that time, the guy was playing around with the drophead feature of the car.
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Posted in Living in Beijing on 09/07/2008 10:31 am by Claudine
I slept late last night knowing that I can wake up late this morning. However, around 6am I was awaken by a loud blast similar to cannons. I thought we were in a war or something with the matching lights outside my window. Then, I heard the rain falling and I guess it’s just a thundershower which is common in Beijing. I went back to sleep after a few minutes of tuning the thunder out and woke up around 1030am to my alarm.
I was planning to go to worship but was still groggy and by the time I got ready and left my place, the service is almost over. 
Instead of heading on to 21st Century, I got off the next bus stop and went to my next destination, Tesco Supermarket.
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As I was about to leave work on March 14, I suddenly received a call from the reservations desk of Intercontinental Foshan. According to the lady who can only speak Chinese, I missed one page on the fax I’ve sent to them. I told her that I didn’t send any fax to their hotel. I asked who was it for and she told me something in Chinese that I can barely understand. I asked how did she get my information and she said that it was on the fax sheet. When I got frustrated because of the communications barrier, she apologized for bothering me and hanged up.
