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I took the advice and tried Iron Pig last night, I must say it was about 98% less disgusting than Peter’s, and 100% less disappointing.
Prices are very reasonable when compared to other western food in the area, I was shocked at how fair they are and how they don’t try to price gouge you. You get more meat, better tasting food, and something that never happened to me before at Peter’s – a feeling of being full and satisfied. I actually struggled to finish all of my food, something other western places can’t do. I notice western places typically go skimpy on portions and high in price. Not Iron Pig, no complaints aside from the sickly feeling I got from eating too much.
Iron Pig is gonna be my new go-to spot if I need western food.
OK my backup plan is going to be a quick exit and reentry then.
I can literally just pass through immigration again? No itinerary or anything like that required? What about when I get back to China, won’t they need to know when I’m leaving? I’m a bit confused as to how it works. I’d assume if they want to know my plans the for the first entry, they’d want to know about it a second time.
Sweet… thanks Chris. In your opinion, would you have any advice for me in accomplishing what I want to do? Am I on the right track? I’m taking the advice from a Chinese guy who works on Visas for foreigners. Get a tourist visa, then get it upgraded. Last time I went to Chengdu I got so wrapped up in my work that I basically wasted my tuition.
So get a ticket to Chengdu, and a ticket from Chengdu to Hong Kong at a later date or something like that.
Stupid question, but how fast after leaving China can I come back, and what do I have to do? Would I have to talk to somebody or go to an agency or can it be taken care of at the airport? The whole process was streamlined for me and spoonfed before.
Any words of wisdom are appreciated. Thanks a lot.
I’m American if that clears it up.
I was just reading the requirements for getting an L visa off the Chinese embassy website, so I’m not sure if those requirements are strict or not. After living in China for one year I’ve learned to always take “rules” with a grain of salt.
Thanks for the heads-up. Are thieves here in China really brazen enough to climb through several-stories high balconies? I didn’t realize. If my laptop gets stolen I’m F***ed, probably so much so that I’ll need to go home if it happens. I’ll be extra cautious, it’s only my 3rd day here.
Fuck! Western union’s website ripped me off! They took $3000 from my bank account and sent me an email saying “we are unable to process your transaction at this time”
Edit: Apparently it’s going to take 3-4 business days to refund my money. God damnit. I should’ve brought cash with me.
Should I just use my bank card to withdraw money? Is that a viable option, or is it going to add up to too much money?
Hey, question for anyone who has internet in Chengdu:
I need to upload about 30 mb worth of files for my job through gmail quite often, is the internet in Chengdu suitable for this? Or will it take forever to upload 30 mb worth of stuff through gmail? Which internet speed should I buy once I find my own place? For the record, I also use the PrivateInternetAccess VPN.
Hey Przemek, I’ll be arriving in Chengdu on Tuesday and also will be attending Sichuan University. I’m also looking for a place, my idea is to find a 2 bedroom apartment and rent out the other room to someone. Maybe we can talk together and see if we can arrange something if you are interested. I’ll be staying in Chengdu for a full year. Give me a private message if you are interested.
Looks awesome, is it near Wangjiang campus? Because that’s where I’m gonna be going. I’m interested in it but I won’t be in Chengdu until the 27th.
What do the utilities usually run on a place like that?
Thanks, I already bought a VPN, since I absolutely need Google for my job. I think 10 mbp is a bit slow but it should be fine. No video conferencing.
Yeah I’m leaning towards using WU for my trip, but my question is how they make their money off of me if they charge no fee. Just wondering if there’s some catch or hidden fee to it. They’re basically letting me send 2999 USD per transaction for $0 without any fee nor exchange rate penalty, according to what I’m reading on their website. As long as I do a direct bank account transfer there’s no fee, but if I use my debit card it’s $88.
Hey guys, apparently Western Union offers online transfers for $0 fee. It sounds too good to be true. Today, the exchange rate according to Google is 6.18 yuan per USD, and Western Union is offering me to transfer money to the Western Union location in Chengdu at a rate of 6.1766 Yuan per USD. It just sounds too good to be true. Any thoughts on this?
Also, could I theoretically just keep my regular bank account in America and just Western Union myself money as needed this way?
How the hell does Western Union make their money if I can do this for free??? Where is the hidden cost?
Carrying 10k in cash over would freak me out, so that’s a no-go for me. I’ll probably go exchange some spending money before I leave, get some RMB in cash, arrive, open a bank account, and western union myself the money. Maybe not all at once; maybe do it in 3 month increments in case I decide China isn’t for me.
By the way, HSBC premier is not for a broke ass mofo like me, you need a minimum of $100,000 in assets to qualify for that.
So Rick, moral of the story, trying to take my money back from the Chinese bank at the end of my trip will be a nightmare, so budget wisely so I don’t have a crapload left at the end, because they’ll F me in the A?
Yeah, exactly what Charlie said. I’m too lazy to call someone about an apartment that I don’t know anything about.
I might be interested in it, but I am not in China yet. I will be coming on August 27. Depends on how much it is per month though. I have kind of a strict budget.
Hey Vincent (or anyone who can answer), what is the exchange rate like if I do that? If I don’t even switch banks at all, and I want to convert my American dollars into RMB (Cash) at a bank, would I pay the $10 + get whatever the exchange rate is at the time (for example, today it’s 1 USD = 6.21 yuan) or would it be less than 6.21 exchange rate? If it’s less, what’s the ballpark figure on how much less than 6.21?
Alright, so my biggest issue at the moment is figuring out how I’m going to deal with my bank situation. Should I just open up an HSBC account, set up my current job to direct deposit into that, and be able to exchange my USD into RMB while in China at HSBC in Chengdu?
I guess this is more of a question I gotta ask a bank employee, but just wondering if anyone has experience with something like this.
