Uber will help travelers because too many times taxi legal or illegal takes advantage of travelers especially foreigners.  The link below covers the new investment with Uber in China.  Uber should be at all airports.  I recently read several blogs from China and foreigners being overcharged for taxi from the airport.  I hate the vendors from taxis, restaurants, shopping, and tour sights taking advantage of foreigners. 

Uber was kicked out of Vegas and it is all from the taxi companies pushing the politicians.  And there are so many stories in Vegas, overcharged, extra-long routes, and stealing bags.

I believe Uber AKA competition will make the transport industry improve for the customer experience.  For example, you plan your trip to China and finally arrive half way around the world and your first experience is clearly being overcharged for a ride from the airport, this is NOT a great start to your experience.

This has happened to us with taxis, massage parlors, and restaurants.  They tried to overcharge and NOT take us from the airport in Beijing but the porter told the driver he must and he finally did.  A massage parlor tried to overcharge us because I was a foreigner and my wife said take our money (standard rate for a foot massage) or call the police, they finally accepted.  At my wife’s village restaurant they tried to overcharge us because I was foreigner so my wife again kindly asked me to leave and she handled the situation and paid a fair price.

It is NOT just China or Vegas, it happens at all tourist destinations around the world.

It is definitely one of my pet-peps because I want all travelers to have a positive experience.  If we have a positive experience we will come back again.  Remember the best customer is a repeat customer, you can always sell something to anyone but will they come back!

PHOTO is my Uber, actually true before Uber, all transporters will give you their phone number and you can call them to pick you up which we do all the time in China.

Travel Smart and Safe

http://www.chinatravelnews.com/article/95171

The link below is another set of tips to survive long-haul flights and there is one new tip which I really like and will add it to my list when recommending to travelers.  The new tip to survive a long-haul flight is having a Positive Mind Set (item 9 in the article below).  I read a lot of travel blogs and many write about the long flight not being the best part of their journey.  But if you are going to China, for example, there is no way around it the flight will be around 12 hours.  So you should accept this and make it a fun part of your trip and I do.  When I get on my flight to China and get my seat and have my bags in the overhead bins it is such a relief and this is when my holiday truly starts!  Because the next stop is China for me.

The most important tip is still Hydrate, Hydrate, and Hydrate (item 5).  Do not drink alcohol, coffee, and soda…  Drink water!

https://www.yahoo.com/travel/experts-reveal-23-tips-to-survive-a-long-haul-127528821262.html

The link below teaches you how to use chopsticks.  If you go to China I would highly recommend you learn to use chopsticks, it is a great way to show respect to the country you are visiting.  When you go to China learn the basic language and chopsticks which shows you are interested in the culture and not just a tourist but a traveler.  Especially if you go out to different places to eat which you should explore areas outside the tourist traps then you will need chopstick skills and some basic language skills.  If the language gets too difficult when ordering then do what we do (even when my wife is from China and speaks the language, she may not know what is fresh and or the restaurant specialty) so just point to items that locals are eating at the restaurant.  Chances are that if there is a specialty item that the restaurant is known for then a lot of customers will be eating it so point and enjoy.  Once you learn the basic skills for chopsticks practice and practice.  My item I used to practice in the past was peanuts because they are small and oily if you can master it you will be just fine in China.  The trick is to use light pressure DO NOT try to grab your item with a lot of pressure if you do then it will fall out.

Learn a little skill or language when traveling that’s what it is all about

Travel smart and safe

https://www.yahoo.com/food/how-to-use-chopsticks-correctly-so-you-never-drop-126430819981.html

I highly recommend China Eastern (Delta) and Air China Airlines (United) when flying to China.  The service is outstanding; the planes are new A330 or 777’s and the best way to get a taste of the culture before reaching China.  Now Delta is buying shares into China Eastern Airline which makes it a solid relationship.  Last weekend the in-laws flew back to China with Delta Airlines and then transferred to China Eastern Airline for the domestic connection.  The check-in process for Delta was incredibly easy.  You simply scan your passport in the kiosk to reprint your tickets and check in the number of bags.   At first look; I thought it would be chaos but it went smooth and fast.  Now they received their tickets from Shanghai to Nanjing which was not available several years ago for domestic connections from the US based airports.  I must say the personnel at the Delta counter where friendly and the TSA were surprisingly friendly as well. 

The in-laws are back in China and happy to be back after 11 months in the United States.

We are very happy as well!

http://www.shanghaidaily.com/business/transport/Delta-to-buy-355-stake-in-Eastern/shdaily.shtml

Recently we found a great Chinese Restaurant in the Los Angeles area and it took over an hour to research with Yelp, a Chinese website and calling my wife’s Chinese friends.  The restaurant is called Omar’s Chinese Halal Restaurant in Artesia CA (near Cypress/LA).  You know it will be excellent when their specialty will take 30 minutes to prepare.  We ordered it immediately which was a chicken dish see photo.  Their other specialty is handmade noodles which turned out to be excellent.  This is one of the great travel experiences which are discovering wonderful food in unexpected places.  Please try it the next time you’re in the area.

Travel Smart and Safe