mosburger

In Korea itself, it´s the usual way to get to know the opposite gender. You tip the waiter and he then "arranges" for ladies to come over. You buy them a drink or two and some anju ( bar food ) and check if the chemistry seems ok. If the girls don´t like you and your talk, they´ll leave and the waiter may try to help you again depending on the tip.

As moondog mentioned, you´d probably either not be let in or ignored and maybe kicked out at some point without Korean buddies.

vash

Running the consulate as a family business. I’m finding this hilarious too.

anacapamalibu

Interesting article in The Seoul Times about K-Town changes.
Seems K-town is going Hollywood.

Although it is dominated by Korean-Americans, the night life is increasingly attracting non-Asians, who seek fun and socializing after much of Los Angeles has grown quiet. Brass Monkey, a karaoke tavern has pictures of celebrity customers like Ben Stiller and Courteney Cox on its walls.

Just as the residential areas of K-Town are attracting non-Asians, some Korean-American business owners are also trying to draw a wider clientele. Mike Rim, 36, owns Rosen Brewery Restaurant, he
is changing his restaurant's name to Spice,
"My goal is to bring Sunset and Hollywood here,"

At Le Privé, "We're pretty selective," reservations must be made through one of the club's waiters. The waiters' names and cellphones are available only by word of mouth.


The Seoul Times

TravelManKen

Did you make a specific request for more than 30 days/visit? I was given a one-year multi-entry F-visa in June 2006 for 120 days/visit, and my only previous stamp was a one week stay on a Tourist L-visa in August 2005. For the extended visa entry time I simply asked for 6 months and she said that she could give me 120 days (SFO office).

gbjd1205

I was so excited to get the two year F visa that I didn't even think to ask. I'll make a point of it in August 2008, however, when my visa expires again.

MuAT

For tourists, perhaps you could think about going to Taiwan instead of or in addition to China- no visa required for US citizens, and in general a higher standard of living, along with plenty of Chinese artifacts at the National Palace Museum (more than in China, actually), the world's tallest building (Taipei 101), beaches, mountains and everything in between, cheap or upscale nightmarket shopping, etc...
Just no Great Wall, haha.

moondog

if you want a higher standard of living, stick to places like san francisco or sedona. i have nothing against taiwan, but i do maitain that china is both more interesting and more relevant (to the world economy). what's more, the visa issue isn't all that taxing (i had a particularly smooth experience yesterday in singapore).

TravelManKen

I have to agree with moondog here. While I enjoyed my visit to Taipei, it was like being in a western/U.S. city with Chinese characters. I can get that in Chinatown

P.S.: The National Palace Museum is worth a visit ^

TradingFiend

Hmm...some observations:

1) I find it curious that you would cite San Francisco as having a higher standard of living just before mentioning you just had a “particularly smooth experience...in Singapore.” Call me dense, but I couldn’t tell whether you meant “higher than Singapore” or “higher than average.” Personally, I would rank Singapore higher than SF. But then, maybe the grass is greener on the other side of the ocean. Now I would agree that in the context of US cities, the San Francisco Bay Area is one of the better places to reside, but if we’re comparing cities internationally, SF starts dropping down the list. Maybe I’ve been stuck in Friday afternoon Bay Bridge traffic one too many times, but, for example, if we have another 1906 or 1989 earthquake again, we’ll be in a lot of trouble. Seventeen years have elapsed, and we’re still waiting for the new and improved bridge.

2) Call me naïve, but I’ve never known of anyone to select a travel destination based on its relevance to world economy. Do people actually do that?

3) Actually, I think anybody with an interest in China should visit both Taiwan and the mainland. Both were at similar enough stages of development in 1949 when the KMT withdrew from the mainland, so one can easily compare the development on the 2 sides of the strait post-1949. About 20 years ago, a co-worker told me when he first came to the US, he arrived in San Francisco and somehow he got the notion the entire country was like San Francisco. Then he said, he went to Bakersfield, and I just about died laughing. China is the same way. Some people only visit Beijing and/or Shanghai, and they think the rest of the country is similar. Splurge on visas to the mainland, and consider it an educational expense. Go to Hunan, go to Guangxi (Kwangsi), go to Ningxia; look at how the local people live. Then you can tell other people you have authority for the opinion you formed.

moondog

we're drifting off topic here, but i will take this opportunity to reply to your points because it appears that the referenced post lacked clarity

i mentioned san francisco as an example of a place that, like taiwan, has a higher standard of living than anywhere in the prc.

i mentioned singapore as it relates to the thread topic --chinese visas-- because i was able help a fellow american get his first prc visa at the consulate there in less than an hour. what's noteworthy isn't singapore's standard of living (i'd still pick sf, btw), but the fact that the consulate there (which, like other chinese consulates, is run by chinese people) was able to issue a visa for a citizen of a third country at the last minute with minimal bureaucracy... thereby underscoring my point that chinese visas are not especially difficult to obtain.

perhaps, my choice of words failed to capture the point i was trying to make, which was: 1) because of its phenomonal growth rate, china is an exciting place that is undergoing a rapid transformation before our eyes that is useful to see first hand; and 2) based on #1, your chances of seeing the old --culturally unique/fascinating-- china decrease as time marches on.

oh, people in my field (and others) often take quasi vacations to places under the (partial) auspices of scouting potential business opportunities in the process, but that wasn't the point i was trying to make upthread

i agree that people should try to visit both china and taiwan. but, for those that have to choose, i think the former provides a more enriching experience. furthermore, for those doing multiple trips that want to learn about culture++, go to china first (steeper learning curve)

biggestbopper

Those are a big hunk of the reasons I went to China for the first time this past Summer (by the way, don't go in the Summer unless you like to suffer). But, it was very interesting, economically and in the way they are rushing to destroy their past (at least the buildings).

jeffjfj

While I haven't been to Taiwan, I just went to China (Beijing and Cheng-du) for the first time and I have to agree with these comments (and biggestbopper's, too). While I'd never go on a trip just to see factories and the like, the economic aspect simply helps to make things more interesting. I'm just disappointed I didn't go sooner to see those places before they'd transformed so much.

jeffjfj

I just went to HKG and China. I obtained a double entry L visa before I left - my plan was to go to HKG, then from there to PEK, then back to HKG, then to Cheng-du. Once I was there and learned a little more, I decided I wanted to check out Shenzen. The problem was that I only had a 2-entry visa and I'd already used 1 entry for PEK and needed to use the other for Cheng-du. In the future, what's the best way to deal with this? Can I apply for 2 visas at once e.g. 1 single entry visa and 1 double entry visa, or even 2 double-entry visas? Is it best to get a 2-entry visa from here and then request another 1- or 2-entry visa in HKG? Is there some sort of limit on how many L visits one can make in a 3, 6, or 12-month period? The rules seem to say that multiple-entry L visas are only available if you're related to a Chinese citizen or if you have real estate in China - anyone know/heard differently?

Also, does anyone know anything about G (transit) visas? Would I be able, for instance, to get a G visa and a 2-entry L visa, fly through and stop in PEK for a few days on the way to HKG (using the G visa), and then use the L visa for 2 other visits? Also, is a G visa only single use? For instance, could I get a G visa and use it once to stop in PEK on the way to HKG and another time to stop in PEK on the way back from PEK?

rdchen

Why didn't you use the 2nd entry to visit Shenzhen first, then from there travel to Chengdu, or stopover at Shenzhen on your way back from PEK to HKG? You can also obtain a Chinese visa in Hong Kong. Most of the local travel agencies in HK provide this service.

jeffjfj

Chengdu was a group trip that was already booked & paid for and was nonrefundable/nonchangeable. I looked into simply ditching one leg and paying for a flight that included Shenzen, but it cost too much (though I was looking last-minute). Only decided about Shenzen after I had gotten back to HKG after PEK. Looked into getting a 1-entry visa in HKG but I was short on time and the faster service wasn't worth the cost to me - I figured I'll do Shenzen next time. (I was looking at getting it straight from the Chinese consulate in HKG - would it have been better/cheaper to go through a travel agent?) Anyway, I'm just asking about this stuff now to determine the best course of action next time i.e. rejigging flights vs getting visas.