Shanghai Pudon: question re taxi from airport to hotel
Jun 12, 2005, 2:15 pm
#16
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Originally Posted by moondog
relax
I know it's my problem and many other folks handle it better; but about the 85th time each day someone intentionally tries to shortchange me, tell me that "they are students who want to have tea and talk English, and I know a good tea house," or quote me a price that's 100 times higher they quote a local -- well, it just WEARS.
Jun 13, 2005, 7:22 am
#17
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Originally Posted by RichardInSF
I really get tired of having to assume that everyone who approaches me has bad intentions, yet that's mandatory in China.
1) Its just not true. In my experience the vast majority of people in China I have dealt with are honest. That said you need a little common sense, ask yourself: “How would I respond if this happened in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, or Rome?” Surprise surprise the same set of rules that work in those cities work equally well in Shanghai or Beijing.
2) You are missing out on a tremendous amount by isolating yourself in a bubble.
Jun 13, 2005, 5:46 pm
#18
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Originally Posted by dawei
I'm sorry to hear you say this because:
1) Its just not true. In my experience the vast majority of people in China I have dealt with are honest. That said you need a little common sense, ask yourself: “How would I respond if this happened in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, or Rome?” Surprise surprise the same set of rules that work in those cities work equally well in Shanghai or Beijing.
2) You are missing out on a tremendous amount by isolating yourself in a bubble.
1) Its just not true. In my experience the vast majority of people in China I have dealt with are honest. That said you need a little common sense, ask yourself: “How would I respond if this happened in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, or Rome?” Surprise surprise the same set of rules that work in those cities work equally well in Shanghai or Beijing.
2) You are missing out on a tremendous amount by isolating yourself in a bubble.
Jun 23, 2005, 2:45 am
#20
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Originally Posted by Thunderroad
I'll be arriving at Shanghai from the US (on United) and am wondering what the taxi situation is at the airport. I've only been in Shanghai once before, years ago. Are the taxis on meters? Are they honest? Do you simply get them at the curb or is there more of a process involved? And if I tell the driver I want to go to the Westin Hotel, will he understand? Thanks for any help.
Last month I arrive at 5h00 AM so no traffic.
Trip was fast but dangerous.
Jun 23, 2005, 7:42 am
#21
Join Date: May 2000
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You could also try telling the cab driver:
dai wo chee wei si ting
which translates into "Take me to The Westin Shanghai". We checked in this past Friday and were given a handy card with the Chinese names of the local attractions and it has worked wonderfully.
The cab fare from the airport to the Westin was less than Y200, which is a shockingly little amount of money to pay for the fare, given the distance traveled.
dai wo chee wei si ting
which translates into "Take me to The Westin Shanghai". We checked in this past Friday and were given a handy card with the Chinese names of the local attractions and it has worked wonderfully.
The cab fare from the airport to the Westin was less than Y200, which is a shockingly little amount of money to pay for the fare, given the distance traveled.
Jun 23, 2005, 9:51 am
#22
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Originally Posted by raffy
You could also try telling the cab driver:
dai wo chee wei si ting
which translates into "Take me to The Westin Shanghai". We checked in this past Friday and were given a handy card with the Chinese names of the local attractions and it has worked wonderfully.
The cab fare from the airport to the Westin was less than Y200, which is a shockingly little amount of money to pay for the fare, given the distance traveled.
dai wo chee wei si ting
which translates into "Take me to The Westin Shanghai". We checked in this past Friday and were given a handy card with the Chinese names of the local attractions and it has worked wonderfully.
The cab fare from the airport to the Westin was less than Y200, which is a shockingly little amount of money to pay for the fare, given the distance traveled.
Best to have it written down in advance.
Jun 23, 2005, 10:03 pm
#23
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Originally Posted by PTravel
Unfortunately, it is not possible to speak understandable Mandarin from phonetic English (or, at least, phonetic English that doesn't include an indication of tone). Mandarin is a tonal language and, further, uses a different phoneme set than English. Though a Mandarin speaker might pick up simple and obvious words from context, I'd be surprised if they could manage with a westerner's Americanized pronounciation of Mandarin.
Best to have it written down in advance.
Best to have it written down in advance.
That said, I've long since maintained that a knowledge of the proper sounds alone (there are only about 50 and almost all are easy for English speakers to nail) can be sufficient to get by because context means everything.
Jun 24, 2005, 4:31 pm
#24
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Originally Posted by moondog
That said, I've long since maintained that a knowledge of the proper sounds alone (there are only about 50 and almost all are easy for English speakers to nail) can be sufficient to get by because context means everything.
Still, I agree that most westerners can, and should, learn basic polite expression, e.g. ni hao, sheshe, tsai jien, etc.
Jun 26, 2005, 8:32 am
#25
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Originally Posted by PTravel
Still, I agree that most westerners can, and should, learn basic polite expression, e.g. ni hao, sheshe, tsai jien, etc.
nanjing xi lu // tongren lu
As long as you get the phonetics right, pretty much any cab in the city will get you there, regardless of how off your tones are.
Jun 27, 2005, 10:59 am
#26
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I am wondering if any Mandarin speaker can post about 10 phrases a traveller should know and how to pronounce them. I am familiar with sheshe and Bu Yao, but not a lot more. Thank you. Ed
Jun 27, 2005, 11:49 am
#27
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Originally Posted by Vulcan
I am wondering if any Mandarin speaker can post about 10 phrases a traveller should know and how to pronounce them. I am familiar with sheshe and Bu Yao, but not a lot more. Thank you. Ed
http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/reso...e-phrases.html
but, the back of the lp is still more useful imo.
let us know if you want to learn how to say anything more interesting.
Jul 2, 2005, 2:32 pm
#28
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since chinese is a tonal language, i find it helpful to hear the words. try these websites. i prefer the first, but everyone likes options:
http://www.languageguide.org/mandarin/index.jsp
http://www.wku.edu/%7Eyuanh/AudioChinese/index.html
http://www.languageguide.org/mandarin/index.jsp
http://www.wku.edu/%7Eyuanh/AudioChinese/index.html
