Happier Abroad Forum Community

Hello Winston and everyone else.

I've never before found a group of such truly open-minded and politically incorrect individuals.
I very much enjoy reading all the posts, with all the x-bashing, in-your-face-but-logical rebuttals, etc. A truly ''tolerant" crowd (I'm not being sarcastic).

I've wasted 20 years of my social life in the states . As much as I love America and the reasonably honest business environment,
clean streets, etc, I am literally counting the minutes to take off. As soon as I have enough of a stash to last me for a couple of years of world-travel (Probably from June/July of '14).
As some others in these threads, blowing my brains has crossed my mind in the past for reasons well expounded throughout this site,
but I've known better. I can't even imagine what the mental-state of some American guys that have never been outside must be..

China seems a great first destination, I was in a corporate trip not long ago and found the ladies to be cute and sweet and they checked me out/chatted quite a lot,
restoring some of my sanity.

I'll keep posting any information about my plans that might be useful to others.

You're in for the ride of your life. I have been to a lot of places in Asia, and I think China provides the best "big picture" of them all.

Chat me up if you find yourself in Shenzhen, droid. Also besides me and The_Adventurer, Ghost, Baoning and JamaicanInChina are also in China. I'm probably forgetting some other posters as well. ...

Awesome, Droid! Good luck!

I might go back there next year. But after a Winter in farangland, the lure of Thailand is pretty strong...

Actually I want to check out Vietnam next. Great food and beautiful ladies is a strong lure, although I need to buy a few more umbrellas first.

Thanks for the encouraging replies.

I'd never been into oriental girls until that trip. I didn't realize they were so hot.

Zboy, Most likely I'll be in the Shenzhen/Guangzhou area, so I will contact you then, thanks!

I'd also like to visit Vietnam/Thailand, but from the potential I saw in China, hopefully I probably won't even have the time
I consider myself quite a he-slut, but I don't need to necessarily bang eight girls a week like Will-N-dowd et al; heck, just 5% of that action would totally rule.

I found a pretty good Mandarin dictionary for self study, and the language really makes sense grammatically. It's hard to remember the words themselves, but repetition and hand-writing should hammer it in.
Knowing 50-100 words would be a great accomplishment before getting there.

Take lots of photos!

Chinese grammar is stupidly easy.

Try the Tuttle range of books, they're great for memorising the characters. Learn the 100 most frequently occurring characters and you can read a fair bit with them.

4 months in Guangzhou and I could read most bus timetables. I couldn't do that after 6 months in Bangkok.

I'll be in Asia *somewhere* next year. I gotta figure out how to Air Asia around the place to visit all the ladies on my wechat.

Yep, that grammar is looking easier by the second.

A couple of questions xiongmao, if you don't mind. I've looked at kai1275's guide but this wasn't in there:

-1
How did you do for banking? did you keep your normal account in the UK and just used your ATM card?
I'm thinking of getting some HSBC 'global' account or something like that, just to make sure I'm not stranded due to
a card loss etc. Did you have any alternative source, just in case?

-2
Are there places where you could pay to use a pool? Swimming is my favorite and most effective workout, but I wonder if
there are any public pools you could pay per-visit, instead of joining a gym.

-3
As far as dating goes, kai1275 seems pretty conservative, implying that most girls over there were looking for marriage right-away. However,
you relate pretty casual dating with multiple ladies. How are those two views reconciled?, did you get in big trouble when ending or putting on hold those relationships?

Thanks a lot!

1. For banking, I just used Chinese accts...its not that difficult to open one, or I just dealt in cash. I'm interested in Hong Kong banking but havent done it yet. I have some friend who do int'l biz that seem to enjoy that bank.

2. The Chinese LOVE swimming. My old apartment had a nice pool that was open most of the year. I don't think you'll have trouble finding one to use

3. A lot of what happens in dating is up to you...your intentions play a big part. There are a lot of girls who wont consider a foreigner...however, there are a lot that have always fantasized about being with one, and others who are actively looking for a foreigner for a long term relationship, so they are out there...just need to be clear about what you are looking for. Ultimately, don't be an asshole and strut around...be cool to everyone you meet, even the guys, and you will be fine in the dating arena

Hey thanks for the answers T Rex, they're fantastic!!

On #3 Yeah, being clear from the beginning is the best. I'm not into lying, bullshiting/puffing-up around, or name-dropping etc;
not only as a principle, but not to mention getting your *ss killed in someone else's turf Lol.