http://asia.elliottback.com China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam Fri, 20 Nov 2009 02:36:29 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Visiting China is quite simple, if you live in the United States. Simply print out a Q-2007 VISA application form and fill it out, get a passport picture taken, and bring your passport (plus proof of US residency/citizenship) to the embassy. You'll pay a fee for the visa ... http://asia.elliottback.com/china-visa-application-form/ A vile article from Ying Chu in women's magazine Marie Claire, The New Trophy Wives: Asian Women, features the salacious teaser: "Rupert Murdoch has one. So do financiers Vivi Nevo and Bruce Wasserstein. Why are the West's most powerful men coupling up with younger Asian women?" Chu claims that ... http://asia.elliottback.com/marie-claire-objectifies-asian-women/ The LA Times had an article recently that's worth checking out: Beijing loves IKEA -- but not for shopping. It highlight some of the differences between Chinese and American culture, where malls are places to play rather than shop, and the wonders of a Swedish furniture store are ... http://asia.elliottback.com/ikea-beijing-chinas-playground/ The popular US sport of sexting is becoming illegal in China, with Henan province instituting harsh penalties of 10 days in jail and a fine of 500 yuan. According to Penalties ordered for dirty texting in China Daily, the new law is to curb text message spam, banning "sending ... http://asia.elliottback.com/china-mobile-bans-sexy-texting/ Making spherical balls of ice is critical to a good whiskey or scotch on the rocks, because the minimized surface-area to volume ratio means it cools your drink without diluting it as quickly as regular ice cubes. For example, a 15mL sphere takes up 4.6 in2, while a cube ... http://asia.elliottback.com/ice-cube-sphere-trays-molds/ There's an Apple Store coming to Beijing. The three-story building is being designed by US architect Ben Wood, who runs an architecture firm called Studio Shanghai: Beijing's second official Apple store will be built on Qianmen Street, just blocks away from Tianamen Square. It will open this fall. http://asia.elliottback.com/new-apple-store-in-beijing-china/ I wrote previously about buying faux purses in Shanghai, but another great fake good I bought was a leather "Prada" wallet. I needed a wallet to replace my aging and small genuine Kenneth Cole, since it couldn't really fit all of my credit cards. So, when we ran ... http://asia.elliottback.com/buy-a-fake-prada-wallet-in-shanghai/ If you're looking to buy a fake purse, handbag, bag, watch, or even shirts, ties, and iPods in Shanghai China, there's plenty of selection. Today, I went shopping for fake bags for my two sisters. We headed to Nanjing Road (南京西路) aka People's Square and waited to be ... http://asia.elliottback.com/buy-fake-bags-watches-in-shanghai/ Using Bittorrent (BT) in China is quite a bit more difficult than in the US. Popular trackers, such as the ubiquitous PirateBay are blocked. Torrent sites are blocked. Torrent software such as uTorrent does not appear to discriminate against geographically distant peers. Currently in Shanghai, I'm downloading a ... http://asia.elliottback.com/torrents-in-china/ You might not know it, but Pizza Hut in China (必胜客) is strictly a black-tie affair. The western pizza joint is significantly more upscale in Shanghai than back home, with elegant staff and fixings and a pricier gourmet menu. [gallery columns="1"] The first store was opened in 1998 in Shanghai. ... http://asia.elliottback.com/pizza-hut-in-shanghai/