Chinese cell phone use

I read an article from The Want China Times today about a study done by the web app follower website Flurry. If their methodology is accurate then this represents one of many small tipping points indicating that the Chinese economy is overtaking the US economy. Use of a mart phone is a reliable indicator of 'middleclassness'.

With a population of over 1 billion, it is inevitable that the size of the Chinese economy will overtake the US. I say inevitable because in all likelihood that will happen. It is conceivable that a resurgence in the US economy coinciding with a lull in China could keep the US on top. But I prefer dealing in reality, not fantasy.

What seems to be lost in the uproar over China, is that per capita GDP is not what's being reported. By that metric, the US is still far ahead of China. So while China is currently a place of growth and opportunity and the US is mired in economic and societal malaise, The US is still the wealthiest and freest large country in the world.

This may seem like hyperbole, but one look at the Economic Freedom Index shows this to be the case. Singapore and Hong Kong are indisputably the most free economies in the world. But their politic rights are much less robust. And more importantly, particularly in Hong Kong, these places exists solely at the leisure of their neighbors. Canada, Australia and Norway certainly have liberal economies, but those economies are utterly dependent on natural resource exports.

No matter what China does in the future, much like Japan, it will be utterly dependent on foreign imports. While The US will continue to be a trading nation, importing large amounts of goods, there are no goods that it's economy can't produce. Virtually every natural resource can be found in abundance in The US

As I wrote earlier, while Taiwan is striving to become a tourist destination, statist policies continue to hamper that development. A story today in The China Post chronicled the difficulties of hostel proprietors in Taipei.

According to regulations, the street in front of buildings that house hotels must be at least 8 meters wide, Hsiao said. Locations meeting such a requirement are hard to come by and are usually prohibitively expensive. In order to meet all the regulations, Hsiao and his sister had spent over a year looking at more than 100 places to find the location, and spent millions of New Taiwan dollars to build the hostel.

With some of the highest costs of housing and hotel rates in East Asia, one would think the Taipei city government would be more accommodating to budget traveling options. I mean, if you're willing to give someone free tuition and $1000 a month just because they are from a foreign country, then easing restrictions on the establishments that the under 30 demographic is likely to stay at seems like a no brainer.

With the proliferation of websites like Couchsurfing, the distinction between hotels, hostels, homestays and the like is blurring. There may have been a time when one would book a hotel room blindly, with only the 'advice' of a travel agent who in all likelihood had never traveled anywhere in Taiwan. But that time has passed. Today a cursory check online shows reviews, critiques and photos of virtually every hotel one might stay at.

Taipei Hostel

I stayed at the Taipei Hostel for a month when I first moved to Taiwan. I enjoyed my stay there and recommend it to anyone staying in Taipei. I especially loved the balcony. But the width of the alley in front of the building was irrelevant to my experience there. Instead of relying on the state to determine where hotels should be located, society as a whole should be allowed to make that decision by choosing where to stay and where not to.

崇禮門快复兴了

The Korea herald reported today that the Sungnyemen gate in Seoul is nearing completion. I was in Seoul when the vandalism occurred and people were in shock the morning of the incident. For those of you that aren't familiar with the incident, on the cold evening of February 10 2008 an elderly Korean man with a grudge set fire to the near millennium old gate. At the time, the story was that the perpetrator had had property taken from him by the government. He felt he was not properly compensated. According to The Korea Herald, he was eventually found to have mental problems. The Korea Times reported the same. 

Before

After

Every news channel devoted full time coverage to the event and specifically the perpetrator. Every discussion for the entire day was centered on the gate. At the time I was a bit surprised that and old city gate held such value. People wept outside burnt shell for days.

Namdaemun Market

The last time I was in Seoul, the gate, located in Namdaemun Market, was completely covered in tarps. I first saw it I was not that impressed. It was simply an old gate in the middle of a modern city. Having seen how important this monument was to the Korean people, comparisons to Mt Rushmore or The Washington Monument are not far off the mark, I am eagerly anticipating the completion of the restoration. 

According to Wikipedia, both China Southern and Asian fly into Seoul from Changchun and a quick check on their websites show prices of around $260...not too bad for an extended weekend I have plenty of places to stay in Seoul and my cousin will soon be stationed there. I'll have to check the new regulations for soldiers, but if I can take him out in Hongdae for a night it might be worth the trip.

Moving as an expat - Part 1

As I mentioned earlier, I'll be heading to Changchun shortly...February 27th to be exact. Moving to a new city is one thing, but moving to a new city in a foreign country can be a daunting task. Fortunately there are numerous resources available online. Unfortunately, the process of actually finding the best information is something that comes with experience.

Starting my overseas  life stumbling about the expat scene in Korea and Taiwan, I always did plenty of research before making any major location decision. The internet is filled with information on every locale you can imagine, but for a relative newcomer, it can seem daunting. To make matters worse, there really isn’t a step by step guide to determining what and where is best is the best location for you as an expat.

With that in mind, I’ll be writing a step by step guide on how to go about deciding where to move. I should probably make it clear that I will be writing this for the benefit of the relatively young traveler/gap year/short-long term English teacher/all around expat bum lifestyle type people here. 

If your company is giving you a housing allowance and you need a container to move your belongings, well…you too can gain some information from this series as well. But it will be mainly of interest to those of us who go where we choose, not where our boss sends us. So without further ado, let us begin.

Step 1 – Where to go?

            So you’ve decided to hit the road for greener pastures but you’re not sure where to begin. Well, start at the broadest category you can and work your way down. Is South America good but Africa down? Great, you’ve narrowed your search down pretty well just like that. Don’t forget the climate either! If you can’t stand the cold, then South Korea probably isn’t for you. Be honest with yourself about what you really do require.

            Once you’ve narrowed your search down to a manageable area, it’s time to do some reconnaissance. Start with these three websites, not necessarily in the posted order but doing 1,2,3 would not be a bad idea.

1.     Eslcafe – If you’re already living overseas then you likely know of this site, but eslcafe is the nexus of English teaching on the interwebs. Always devote lots of time to reading the various posts, no info is irrelevant!!! Well, no relevant information is irrelevant…whatever that means.

2.     Wikitravel – an invaluable tool for the worldly traveler, this wiki site has all the cliff notes you’ll need for any country and any major city.

3.     Couchsurfing – If you haven’t signed up for couchsurfing yet, do it now! You won’t regret it. Essentially a social network for travelers, couchsurfing is your one stop shop for communicating with other travelers. Every country and major city in Asia will have a group page. Check out each country/city page; how many members are there, how often do people post, how often do people reply, how often if ever are CS events hosted, etc.

Once you’ve soaked up enough information and stewed on it for a few days, you’ll be ready for step #2, which will conveniently be ready in a few days!   

PS. Step one should take between 3-14 days, depending on your temperament and tolerance for reading.

Barbie invades Taiwan

It's been reported by numerous outlets that Mattel will be opening a Barbie themed restaurant in Taipei. Thanks to Emily, I located the restaurant at 128 Zhong Xiao East Rd Sec 4, 台北市忠孝東路四段128號二樓. Taiwanese love theme restaurants so this is surely a good move by Mattel. What really caught my eye was the bar.

Look at that thing! I might even consider paying NT$350 for a pink martini...if the crowd were right.