Cost Of Visiting/Living

If you're relying on boiling, three minutes at a rolling boil will destroy most cooties but it will not destroy heavy metals/toxins.

Sterilisation of water I don't see as a problem. Coming from a place where our only water was rain water I'm used to sterilising...the issue I have with Chinese water is the heavy metals and toxins.

I buy bottled water and have the big 'tongs' at home for making tea or just having a cold drink.  Everything else is straight from the tap - including when I travel.  I drink the tea etc in restuarants and I know for sure they just use the tap water fror cooking.  I rarely wash fruit if I buy it in the street - usually eat it then and there.  If I take it home, I'll wash it about half the time.  Veges I cook, so I generally wash them first.

It's western food that gives me la duzi.

My friends are coming to visit in June and they want to buy fur coats because someone told them that those sold in Manzhouli are made in Beijing  Anyway, my mission now is to calculate their expenses for them: they will stay with me for about 4 days in Beijing and they want to spend 7 days at the beach. Don't want to send them too far - probably Beidaohe (or whatever the nearest resort is called).
Will come back to you with my calculations on that.

Water - needs at least ten minutes of boiling at sea level to kill the evil bugs, more at altitude. All cooking does that, too, so cooking vegies is ok. The 3 minutes will get rid of a lot, but not the nasties. Simply boiling the water and turning it off instantly only kills the germs responsible for minor ailments.

Filtering water doesn't get rid of metals, and leaves a lot of poisons. Filtering is mostly a joke. Bought bottled water has more bacteria in it than tap water in Oz.

Only distilled water has got rid of all the stuff. I buy it here.

Tea is an antibiotic. Hot water doesn't kill the germs, the tea does. Tea also has plenty of fluoride in it for teeth. Many govts are worried about the recent obvious increase in dental caries (especially in kids) with the increase in drinking of bottled water in countries with fluoridation, since it has none, thus defeating the whole purpose. Australia included.

According to info I have seen, many major cities here in China already have drinkable water. HK has for decades. No one trusts this. I don't either. However, if the water was really dangerous, then brushing your teeth in it every day would definitely make you sick, as would drinking ice made from tap water, or eating off ice, such as sushi in restaurants.

Yes, this is one thing I don't get.  We wash our baby's bottle out with normal tap water, of which some drops are left after rinsing.  These drops are then mixed with the boiled water/powder.  Surely if the tap water was that lethal some of it would have hammered us by now...

.....or the baby!!!

Surely if the tap water was that lethal some of it would have hammered us by now...

My belief is that it's not so much a quick hammering but a gradual build up of toxins and metals...over years and even decades. So, like the estrogen in the pill...the pill became fairly common in many countries in the '60s, it is now that the increased levels of estrogen are being seen in people. Men invented the pill, women take it, women piss, the estrogen doesn't break down in the water cycle, people drink water - and so as a whole there is apparently increased estrogen levels in most of humanity now.

So, I'm not worried about the short-term bugs and what nots, I reckon they all help to build immunity - at the back of my mind I wonder about what heavy metals etc may be in the water and what long term effect it could have on my daughter and any off-spring she may have and so on down the chain.

OK....Next question(s)...

Some of you have said to bring my laptop....but it plugs in on 110v...will that be a problemin PRC?

And I have Norton* anti-virus, would I need anything stronger?  Where would I find it?

Thanks.

OK....Next question(s)...

Some of you have said to bring my laptop....but it plugs in on 110v...will that be a problemin PRC?

And I have Norton* anti-virus, would I need anything stronger?  Where would I find it?

Thanks.

How old is your laptop ? most of the models from the past 7 years have a power adapter that can handle 110/220. You can plug them anywhere

As far as antivirus, Norton will be fine. I always suggest having an anti-spyware as an added insurance. google AVG free anti-spyware and install it. I have 20 machines running that baby in the office and it's kept things clean and tidy. You have to do manual updates after the 1st month but it's worth it.

Thanks Noles.  My "baby" is about 18 months old, and Sure Enough (once I bothered to check my power cord  ) says it can handle 100-240v Input.

I will definitely have to check into the "spy" stuff, though.  Mind you, I don't do any banking or accounts from my Laptop......oops! I do order from Amazon using my c/card  .....maybe I'd better stop talking, and start Googling!!

Time to resurrect this Thread, I think.

Eric has asked about the cost of his 2-week visit....hotels (Western, but not fancy, I think), and travelling (buses and trains) included along with his visiting carousals and roisterings.

Help and advice desired, People.

In most places you can get a hotel which resembles a, ooh, 3 star western hotel for in the region of 200 RMB per night.  That would have en suite bathroom, western bog, bath, etc.

Travelling is dirt cheap by western standards.  Even if they go for soft sleeper you're looking at around 300-400 RMB for most journeys.