Newbie from Ohio,USA

**Doogle** · 12-15-2016, 06:14 PM

Originally Posted by billeuze

Well, if you read that on the internet, then it must be true.

mostly Vancouver Island.

I'm confused. You don't believe anything you read on the internet or anything you read?
I know if would be hard to quantify. Especially differentiating speakers from learners. I took Spanish in high school. And I doubt counting to 20 would qualify me as a speaker. I think India could have more English speakers than America. Every customer service center I contact is answered in India. But I would rate most of them as learners.Not speakers.

I spend my winters in a southern California RV park. About half of the people here are Canadian. Eh. And a high percentage from the Island.

**SoCal Adv Tourer** · 12-15-2016, 07:23 PM

>What is your list of things to see in China.<

Doogle & MCM Members,

Hello. The following URLs may help with destination considerations and save you a few keystrokes. I suggest you study the drivers license test even if you do not plan to obtain a drivers license. If you consider national parks... just connect the dots. Also, many English touring sites have multi-day or grand-touring routes of various regions that may be useful. I assume you have read many motorcycling trip reports of China. I have listed a couple of my favorite ride reports, specifically 'The Great Ride of China' and 'Big Bike Trip'.

Cheers!

David

Traffic Laws/Culture:
http://wenku.baidu.com/view/a56e35e9...d.html?re=view
http://www.chinadriver.org/exam/exam_en.php
http://wenku.baidu.com/view/4cd9deec...e8524688a.html

Nice Map Resources:
http://www.chinatouristmaps.com/a2zindex.html

National Parks:
https://theculturetrip.com/asia/chin...arks-in-china/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...parks_of_China
http://www.nationalparkofchina.com/cnnp.html

Man-made Wonders:
http://www.chinahighlights.com/trave...nt-wonders.htm

Previous Motorcyclist Routes & Trip Reports:
http://thegreatrideofchina.com/
http://www.thegreatrideofchina.com/command-center/
https://bigbiketrip.net/
http://www.fireworks.ru/moto/english.htm
http://beddha.free.fr/
http://www.bugsonmyboard.org/

Off-road 4WD & Motorcycle Touring Resources:
http://www.navo-tour.com/en/itinerar...rcycling_Tour/
http://www.hiddenchina.net/web/eng/r...motorbike.html
http://motorhome-china.com/report_ragtt2.html

Chinese Festivals & Fairs:
http://www.chinahighlights.com/festivals/
http://motorhome-china.com/fairs.html

General tourist sites with samples of multi-day and grand tours:
https://english.ctrip.com/packages/#ctm_ref=nb_pkg_top
http://www.chinahighlights.com/trave...first-trip.htm
https://www.viator.com/China-tours/M...-Tours/d13-g20
https://www.travelchinaguide.com/group/
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-...Vacations.html
https://www.lonelyplanet.com/china
http://www.chinatouristmaps.com/top-10s.html
http://www.chinadiscovery.com/customize-china-tour.html

**prince666** · 12-15-2016, 07:33 PM

WOW. You Sure do your home work Dave for a person who doesn't even live in China ...
I am sure that will help Doogle.

All good stuff Dave apart from the Chinses Traffic Laws?

No one in Chinese considers or take note of Chinese Traffic Laws?

**SoCal Adv Tourer** · 12-15-2016, 08:56 PM

>All good stuff Dave apart from the Chinses Traffic Laws? No one in Chinese considers or take note of Chinese Traffic Laws?<

I assume you are being sarcastic... Reviewing the drivers license exam will help him understand the general road rules and just might save his life.

At first glance, the traffic may appear like a highly chaotic free-for-all, but a little effort in reviewing the laws may help him understand there is a method to the madness. He may learn the traffic protocol may be better described as organized chaos and it may help him 'fly under the radar' by not standing out by making mistakes...which may become a slippery slope for an undocumented driver on the road. One obvious undocumented rule is 'Momentum RULES!'.... pedestrians yield to bicycles, bicycles yield to scooters, scooters yield to larger motorcycles and motorcycles yield to cars, cars to buses and buses to large trucks and so on... I am not a fan of the horn, but I consider it as a simple common courtesy notice of "Hey, I am here". Also, I am impressed with the lack of road rage with merging traffic and the indifference if someone is a millimeter from scratching a luxury car. (In this scenario, you may not hear a horn.) I am sure there are many threads about this topic with posts from very experienced drivers and riders. I was even more impressed watching the local dogs... talk about street smarts! The beagle I had as a child on a farm in Ohio wouldn't have lasted five seconds....

Anyhow, I think anyone attempting to drive in China should consider reading the online test bank questions. There are no 'restarts' in life.... (It is a fun exercise also....)

**prince666** · 12-15-2016, 11:33 PM

Originally Posted by SoCal Adv Tourer

>All good stuff Dave apart from the Chinses Traffic Laws? No one in Chinese considers or take note of Chinese Traffic Laws?<

I assume you are being sarcastic... Reviewing the drivers license exam will help him understand the general road rules and just might save his life.

At first glance, the traffic may appear like a highly chaotic free-for-all, but a little effort in reviewing the laws may help him understand there is a method to the madness. He may learn the traffic protocol may be better described as organized chaos and it may help him 'fly under the radar' by not standing out by making mistakes...which may become a slippery slope for an undocumented driver on the road. One obvious undocumented rule is 'Momentum RULES!'.... pedestrians yield to bicycles, bicycles yield to scooters, scooters yield to larger motorcycles and motorcycles yield to cars, cars to buses and buses to large trucks and so on... I am not a fan of the horn, but I consider it as a simple common courtesy notice of "Hey, I am here". Also, I am impressed with the lack of road rage with merging traffic and the indifference if someone is a millimeter from scratching a luxury car. (In this scenario, you may not hear a horn.) I am sure there are many threads about this topic with posts from very experienced drivers and riders. I was even more impressed watching the local dogs... talk about street smarts! The beagle I had as a child on a farm in Ohio wouldn't have lasted five seconds....

Anyhow, I think anyone attempting to drive in China should consider reading the online test bank questions. There are no 'restarts' in life.... (It is a fun exercise also....)

You sound like a very nice man and very well travelled rider so I am not going to be the one to bust your bubble, I let some other members do that.

**ChinaV** · 12-16-2016, 03:48 AM

Originally Posted by Doogle

I caved in and downloaded WeChat on my tablet. I'll try to figure out how it works this week.

It doesn't. WeChat requires a telephone number, you can't use it on a tablet unless it has an activated SIM card. WeChat is a disgusting evil application that should be banned from existence, but if you want to function in China, you're stuck with it.

**Doogle** · 12-16-2016, 05:09 AM

Originally Posted by ChinaV

It doesn't. WeChat requires a telephone number, you can't use it on a tablet unless it has an activated SIM card. WeChat is a disgusting evil application that should be banned from existence, but if you want to function in China, you're stuck with it.

I guess I'll need a sim card in China then. Doesn't Skype work there? But really, all I need is internet to update my ride reports. My tablet is wifi only. I can probably tie it to my phone/sim card.

**billeuze** · 12-16-2016, 06:24 AM

install wechat on your phone
create an account by using your phone number
within the wechat app create a userID and password.
log on to wechat on your tablet using your username and password

For the last step you have to look at the login screen, there is a word or a button or something you can click to get the option to log on without using a phone number. You will still require a phone number to create your userID, but its not required to use wechat afterwards

Once in China and you get yourself a chinese sim card you may want to change the phone number associated with your account to your new chinese number. Then you can use it on your phone while here. You don't exist in China if you don't have a phone number - its almost as important as a passport, maybe more important

**bikerdoc** · 12-16-2016, 11:21 AM

Originally Posted by ChinaV

It doesn't. WeChat requires a telephone number, you can't use it on a tablet unless it has an activated SIM card. WeChat is a disgusting evil application that should be banned from existence, but if you want to function in China, you're stuck with it.

Bingo! Complete truth... just like QQ, 360, Suchao et al.

**Doogle** · 12-17-2016, 05:19 AM

Originally Posted by SoCal Adv Tourer

>What is your list of things to see in China.<

Doogle & MCM Members,

Hello. The following URLs may help with destination considerations and save you a few keystrokes. I suggest you study the drivers license test even if you do not plan to obtain a drivers license. If you consider national parks... just connect the dots. Also, many English touring sites have multi-day or grand-touring routes of various regions that may be useful. I assume you have read many motorcycling trip reports of China. I have listed a couple of my favorite ride reports, specifically 'The Great Ride of China' and 'Big Bike Trip'.

Cheers!

David

Traffic Laws/Culture:
http://wenku.baidu.com/view/a56e35e9...d.html?re=view
http://www.chinadriver.org/exam/exam_en.php
http://wenku.baidu.com/view/4cd9deec...e8524688a.html

Nice Map Resources:
http://www.chinatouristmaps.com/a2zindex.html

National Parks:
https://theculturetrip.com/asia/chin...arks-in-china/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...parks_of_China
http://www.nationalparkofchina.com/cnnp.html

Man-made Wonders:
http://www.chinahighlights.com/trave...nt-wonders.htm

Previous Motorcyclist Routes & Trip Reports:
http://thegreatrideofchina.com/
http://www.thegreatrideofchina.com/command-center/
https://bigbiketrip.net/
http://www.fireworks.ru/moto/english.htm
http://beddha.free.fr/
http://www.bugsonmyboard.org/

Off-road 4WD & Motorcycle Touring Resources:
http://www.navo-tour.com/en/itinerar...rcycling_Tour/
http://www.hiddenchina.net/web/eng/r...motorbike.html
http://motorhome-china.com/report_ragtt2.html

Chinese Festivals & Fairs:
http://www.chinahighlights.com/festivals/
http://motorhome-china.com/fairs.html

General tourist sites with samples of multi-day and grand tours:
https://english.ctrip.com/packages/#ctm_ref=nb_pkg_top
http://www.chinahighlights.com/trave...first-trip.htm
https://www.viator.com/China-tours/M...-Tours/d13-g20
https://www.travelchinaguide.com/group/
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-...Vacations.html
https://www.lonelyplanet.com/china
http://www.chinatouristmaps.com/top-10s.html
http://www.chinadiscovery.com/customize-china-tour.html

It will take a while to go through all these. But I do appreciate the links. You have some off road links there and you are in San Diego. Have you ever ridden Superstition Mountain, Ocotillo Wells, or Glamis? I've been coming to Seeley,California (Sunbeam Lake) the last 14 years for the winter. I ride my 660 Raptor and DRZ in the areas.