Thailand versus China

Hi All,

As per my earlier submissions about Ms. ½ China Girl and the uproar of the Jayson sub (both being 51% or more Chinese in character), I thought that a western minded view on China as a destination might come in handy to compare
open-mindedly with LOS services.

Background

As usual I am on a 14-day round trip visiting production facilities and developing new products and going through most big / modern China cities staring in Beijing and working my way down to HK via Hangzou /
Ningbo / Wenzhou / Guangzhou Shenzhen and HK as an exit. I do this about 3 to 4 times a year and it has become somewhat of a milk-round. I am accompanied by my trusty local business partner (who lives in BJ but is from Guangzhou).

Some aspects of the trip:

Weather

It will be very hot at end of July (worst time)
Beijing about 38 C @ 100% humidity (foggy even at that temp !) impossible to stay outdoors even for the locals
rest between 30 and 36c and 60 to 80% humidity
winter will be very cold in the north (-5 to 10 c common even in march and beginning April) and no office has good heating and no factory has any heating, hotels have some heating
better months would be late April / early may or late Sept
/ early Oct

Food

well its … Chinese (even KFC and Mc'Donald's is localised taste)
if you like real Chinese food then you can survive, if not better leg it to KFC
I prefer the farmers type (simplified) cuisine
larger restaurants have a" zoo" where your check out who / what you will eat

Communication

this is where it all falls down
no western music or TV means zero knowledge of English by 98% of people
even if they can read it they will be too shy to speak
this is the single greatest barrier
to going to PRC

looks of people (this is going to piss off Jayson and ms 50 pct)

I've seen about 100000's of Chinese ladies pass me by on my different trips (close up or from a distance)

Of that number I've seen perhaps 20 that would fit my bill (and I'm by far not a perfectionist)
on a day in los I would see more eye candy than in all of my trips to PRC combined

What's wrong for me? (amongst the population I would be looking at closely (e.g. not the grannies if your get my gist)
even though I am way past the point of thinking that all Chinese look the same (a usual westerners failing) and
I can identify so many kinds of body shapes and face shapes in china there are several things that don't fit my palate
– they all want to be ghost white (and that makes some of them look sick)
– they usually wear really weird dresses
and hairdos when they dress up
– many of the ones in the north are getting really fat (too many noodles, not such a problem in the south where they eat rice)
– you cant communicate at all (just smile mostly)
-the bridge of the nose
is too recessed, many noses are too wide and pugged for my taste
– many seem to suffer from what you could call glaucoma (goggle eyes)
– none has any muscular tone
– the legs are shaped like conical tubes
– they tend to walk with
a curious gait (not quite waddling but a jerky gait)

Just to concede that there are a few stunners :I met one at the BJ airport on the way to HZ and she was a full 9, short but slight muscular tone, perfect face (even if is was ghost white)
she was on a professional business trip to meet
a customer in HZ

Work ethic –
very good (unlike most Thais)

local fun ethic-
well, it is Chinese and thus centers around family and food (a little passé if I may say so)

honesty
practically perfect, as long as you define what you expect explicitly before you buy / do something

possibilities to have fun
– shopping till you die
– eat till you explode
– nice countryside far far away from the cities (west china)
– visit the wall (very steep to climb)
– cultural stuff
that's
about it

driving
possibly the worst I've experienced (apart from some Thai taxis)
they will not let anyone come in, in front and prefer to have a accident (I see so many per day the insurance rate must be astronomical)

trains
very good and cheap, especially the high speed lines, run at 100% capacity however
long distance busses
ok and even cheaper but empty your bladder and don't drink anything !

Men's fun (I bet this is the bit that will be the most read)
– certain massage places in cities (even BJ)
– certain pick up bars for westerners in main cities like BJ / Shanghai / SZ but few in number, if the girls
speak English it's because of the "job"
– if you can speak some mandarin almost unlimited possibilities to hit on ladies of whatever social status, they are open to approach but very shy
– KTV clubs (very expensive) sing
drink and grope
– some saunas with "full service" in main 4* hotels (very structured routine)
– some men's clubs in main cities specialising in men's services (similar to rach road without the fishbowl) some offer the
ladies in pairs (one experienced and one " apprentice " like the Marc's place in BKK), a gaggle is sent to see you and you pick the one(s) you prefer
some places offer excellent dining to assuage your" other" hunger
– almost no street ladies
– the Mecca for Chinese guys for night spots on the mainland would be Dongguan near SZ with upwards of 50 clubs (puts a new light on wearing a DG T shirt in my humble opinion)
the GFE would be hard to find in
china unless you get a real one for long term relations

as a rule of thumb the cost for a foreigner would be about 500 RMB on up
most Chinese businessmen on trips would visit these places without any second thoughts for family if you get my meaning (separation of church and state sort of)

in HK it is different
– some massage places in Mongkok -ST only Chinese centric
– some western bars in Wanchai (never go into the nightclubs you will be skinned alive!)
– some pick up bars for westerners in Wanchai
with filli and Thai ladies and the odd Russian, the fillies are usually sweet things on a 2 week tourist visa
cost from 700 HKD on up depending on your negotiation skills

in Macau it is different again
– many clubs 600rmb on up (fishbowl style) Chinese centric with a wide selection of nationalities
– on some streets (ill advised IMHO)
– in many casinos (not the Vegas run ones) with
some scary looking ultra pale Siberians (Chinese love white skin)
– cheapest real Rolexes in the world at the pawnbrokers street (20 shops full of pawned Rolexes to cover gambling debts) didn't stick say he like big watches ?

– cleanliness
in cities pretty good (not spotless like Japan and Singapore) but better than LOS

– safety
almost perfect (it is very unlikely you will be robbed from your person)

– water
not safe for western stomach (drink only from sealed bottles, even to brush teeth, drink direct from the bottle not a glass or cup)

– possibility for medical vacation (getting the old bod patched up); yes, in bigger cities with price similar to LOS

– Visa cost : exorbitant at 150 euro for a multiple entry to PRC (HK free)

– entry and exit formalities a breeze (far easier than in UK or heaven forbid the use)

-cost of hotels (2 star) in big city about 150- 200 yuan / night 4 star the double

– cost of taxi similar to LOS

– cost of food KFC meal about 20 to 24 yuan, local meal about 12 yuan

– cost of fake "fathers little helper blue or weekender pills" (they work fine) about 50 RMB / box (negotiated) in lohu crossing (to HK) mall health shops

conclusion
If you are a fella you are better off by miles in LOS / Phil or Indo on the men's fun front. Even if beauty is difficult to define precisely you will be better off in LOS IMHO. If you speak Mandarin you can
have fun (better gen up methinks!)

Be safe out there!

The Frenchman