Travel | Living Radically

5 Tools for Entrepreneurs Who Have No Home Office

On July 27, 2010, In Digital Life, Travel, By Scott

We are always working from faraway locations because we have no home office. The lower overhead, mobility and flexibility that comes with this is great, but it makes you very reliant on online tools. Entrepreneurs especially can use some of these services to play with the big boys without paying like a big boy. Here are a few of our favorites:

1. RosterBot

We like RosterBot because it lets you organize your teams easily. It does this by polling each person to see if they’re coming to your next event or meeting and then shows you the results, along with some other bells and whistles, on a nicely-organized web page.When you are traveling and need to know who can come to a conference call or the meeting you need to have when you are in town, this is great!

2. BlankSpaces

If you need to have a professional meeting room, or just need to get out of the house to work. Blankspaces is a great option. It is a shared office space for rental for entrepreneurs, freelancers, writers and producers, etc.

3. Legalzoom

This is an online legal document preparation service for pretty much everything you could need–estate planning, trademarks, corporations. For entrepreneurs who do not want to hire a full time lawyer this is a great way to save money and protect yourself.

4. Mikons

If you need to make a logo or icon for yourself, this is a cheaper service that still produces great product. It is an online community and social website where people communicate through visual symbols, logos, icons, or avatars.

5. DimDim

If you need to be out of the office, you can still do your web conferencing with Dimdim. I like them because I think they are the easiest and do not require a lot of downloading.

What are your favorite tools for being an entrepreneur without an office?

How to Open a Bank Account in China

On June 27, 2010, In Flat Finance, Living Abroad, Travel, By Scott

Image by myuibe

If you’re going to spend a decent amount of time in CHina, it probably makes sense to open a bank account there. You should open one if you plan on earning any money while over there, as it’s not the best idea to have cash stuffed in your pillow. Even if you have a foreign bank account, you won’t be able to deposit the yuan you earn in there as your account will be denominated in a different currency.

Fortunately for you opening a RMB denominated account is actually a straight forward process. You should only need your passport and yourself. If you have other supporting documentation like a local address, letter of employment and a Chinese friend, none of those would hurt your attempt.

You may be tempted to head to the local branch of a foreign bank. Most foreign banks now have branches in major Chinese cities, but most of them also have fairly substantial minimum balance requirements you will need to fulfill to avoid paying maintenance fees. If you pick a local bank, there are usually very low to no minimum balance requirements.

When you get to the bank, ask if someone speaks English. It may take an extra ten minutes to find that person who speaks English, but it’s worth your time to get this right the first time. You should also make sure you’re signing up for a checking account, and ask if you can get a debit card too. They are becoming more and more common in China in major cities. If you’re in the boonies it’s still almost totally cash.

As far as which bank you should choose, you have no shortage of options in CHina. Shanghai literally has more bank branches than any other city I’ve ever visited. Some of the biggies are Bank of China, ICBC, Construction Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, the list goes on and on.

One important thing you should know. If you are changing money from your local currency to Chinese RMB and depositing it, you’ll have very little trouble. If at any point you need to reconvert that currency to something else, all bets are off. Technically foreigners are allowed to convert 500 dollars per day, but must be present at a local branch and bring their passport. Even this requirement is spotty however. Some branches won’t let you do it at all, some don’t enforce any limits or ID requirements. It will be infinitely easier for you if you can bring a Chinese friend along. They don’t face the same restrictions you do as a foreigner and will probably be able to get the job done in a tenth the time.

Tagged with: banking • china • shanghai

How to Buy a Mobile Phone in China

On June 24, 2010, In Digital Life, Living Abroad, Travel, By Scott

Image by Gabyu

In China there are two ways to get a cellphone – the easy way and the bureaucratic way. The bureaucratic way involves taking yourself and your passport down to a China Mobile shop, filling out a ton of paperwork with someone who doesn’t speak English, and then finally getting your SIM card and/or new phone.

The easy way, the way I recommend? Instead of buying a cell phone in country, just buy a cheap unlocked GSM phone at home before you arrive. Even though every phone in the world is made here, it’s still probably just as cheap to buy a basic unlocked model at home – and there is WAY less paperwork.

Now for your SIM card. Instead of walking into China Mobile, were going to your friendly local grey market vendor. Now don’t worry – the SIM card and credit you’re going to buy are totally legit. The benefit for us is that there is no paperwork involved, there’s no “take a number and wait” system, and the whole process takes less than 5 minutes.

You’ll find these stalls at many different locations – bus stops, subway stops, outside official China mobile locations, restaurants, etc. etc. Even if you speak no Chinese, you can still get through this process. Here’s how it works.

1. Walk up to your vendor and present your cell phone. Show them it’s missing a SIM card. They’ll get what you need.

2. The vendor will next likely present you with a fan of envelopes. He’s asking you to pick a number for your phone. If you care to decipher the Chinese you can go through the available numbers. If you don’t care, just point at one.

3. I always present a 100 yuan note when buying a SIM. The SIM card itself costs 25-35 yuan, and the balance will be placed as credit on your card.

4. Pass your phone over to the vendor. Let him put the SIM card in, activate t

he card, and put the balance of your payment as credit on the phone.

5. After that, you’re done. You have a fully operational Chinese cell phone!

Please note that the above procedure is probably not encouraged by the government. They always want you to present your passport in an official establishment when you take a breath in China. I’ve never had a problem though, and vendors are willing to go out of their way to help you if you don’t speak the language.

Tagged with: china • mobile phone • shanghai

How to See Auckland, New Zealand in a Day

On June 14, 2010, In Travel, By Scott

Image by jemsweb

Normally I really don’t like to rush into seeing cities, preferring to stay there for a longer period of time in an portent and absurd the city as a local would instead of rushing through like a tourist.

Sometimes you don’t have a choice however, as I did recently in Auckland, New Zealand. I had just 24 hours to see the sights of this city of 1.3 million people. Now of course I didn’t get to see it all, but I did get to see the sites important to me, and saw them quite economically.

First getting into town from the airport. This turned out to be quite easy. I knew there was an “AirBus” that departed every 15 minutes from the airport into town. It was as easy as advertised, and I bought a return ticket for only $21, a fantastic bargain when you consider taxis cost upwards of NZ$160 return.

Normally I tend to walk a lot in an around cities. I find it gives me a flavor for the neighborhoods I’m moving through – plus walking is free. This time however I happened upon something called the Link Bus (www.linkbus.co.nz). It’s a bus line that goes in a circle around the city and stops at all the major tourist stops, swanky areas, backpacker haunts, etc. etc. There are tons of stops and it’s very frequent (about every 10 minutes during peak times)

It’s $1.70 for a one way ticket on the bus, but I opted for the far more flexible $10 “BusAbout” pass. This gives me unlimited access to the entire Auckland bus system for the day – until midnight that night. I took advantage of that pass too. I rode the entire line back and forth throughout the day. Hopping off in places I knew I wanted to see, walking for a few blocks or stopping to eat, and then hoping on again when it way time to move on to the next destination.

Using the Link Bus I was able to go much farther than would have been possible on foot, and saved my precious legs for the stretches of the city I did want to see on foot (the Domain for example).

Later in the afternoon I even took Bus 757 (not on the Link, but again your BusAbout pass works on all Auckland buses) out to Mission Bay and back again. The bottom line is there is no better value for your money than using this BusAbout pass for 24 hours. I wish every city I visit had a pass like this (many do).

If you have 24 hours to see Auckland, use the Link Bus, get a BusAbout pass, and get on your way. That’s all there is to it.

Tagged with: auckland • new zealand

Top 10 Things to Skip at the Shanghai World Expo 2010

On May 21, 2010, In Travel, By Scott

This is one pavilion you should not miss - the UK.

Now that you know the Top 10 Things To See at the Shanghai World Expo 2010, take a look at our list of things to pass on.

1. USA Pavilion

Sorry folks – This was a major disappointment. See our discussion on why here. The USA continues to generate long lines, but I wouldn’t recommend waiting in them. You have far more interesting things to see at the Expo.

2. South Africa

For the country hosting the World Cup during the Expo I was hoping for a little more. Perhaps because of it’s location South Africa gets plenty of foot traffic in lines, but we spent very little time there once we made it inside.

3. Peru & Colombia

Looks can be deceiving. Both of these pavilions are very well designed, but I’d rather make a stop at the Columbian coffee shop than wait in line to go inside. Both have a few videos talking about their countries, but nothing that you wouldn’t learn from a few minutes on their tourism board’s website.

4. Argentina’s Frozen Restaurant

Argentina has a very respectable looking restaurant from the outside. With menu’s covered in leather I was genuinely excited to get some empenadas. And then I was completely disappointed when our order came out still partly frozen. You have to be careful about meat in China generally, but I wasn’t prepared to tempt fate by eating something that hadn’t been cooked.

5. Chinese cafeterias

Avoid the various Chinese food courts scattered about the parks unless you know what you’re getting into. These are designed for Chinese consumers, not foreigners with delicate stomachs. Fortunately there are plenty of high caliber restaurants inside pavilions you can sample.

6. Skip the lemon water

Believe it or not buying plain old water can sometimes be difficult to find in the park. Coke is pushing soda’s, sugary drinks and even lemon flavored water over the good stuff. They’ve stocked so little of it that most kiosks sell out early in the morning. My advice (as you can’t bring your own water) is to stock up when you first get in the park and ration throughout the day.

7. Switzerland

Switzerland has a subpar entry in an area of the park full of architecturally bold constructions. Especially in the day time, their thin curtain of red blinking lights doesn’t hide the ugly cement pillars behind them. The swiss gondola ride on top still draws huge crowds, which makes the wait to get in even less appealing.

8. Skip the lines, cherry pick

There are LOTS of pavilions here, so don’t worry about doing everything in order. Lines are unpredictable and change in length in totally unexpected ways. If your target pavilion is busy, try going into surrounding countries that have no lines and come back later. The most popular pavilions will most always have lines (Europe, North America and Asia), so get there either right when the park opens or late at night for the shortest wait. Also note that the park may close at midnight, but many pavilions start closing at 10.

9. Pakistan

The insides look like a 5th grade science project complete with poster boards. Harsh I know, but don’t bother.

10. Squatter bathrooms

All public toilets in the Expo part are squatters. If you prefer to sit down for a bit, try to use the facilities while you’re inside a pavilion – most of them have real western toilets.

Now that you’ve seen which sites to skip, make sure to see our best recommendations for the Expo here.

USA World Expo Pavilion Reveals More Than Organizers Intended

On May 20, 2010, In Living Abroad, Travel, By Scott

USA Pavilion Global Sponsors

There weren’t many pavilions with more drama surrounding them than the USA pavilion at the World Expo. There were grave doubts for a long time about whether the United States would even be present at the Expo. It took a warning from the Chinese government that there would be serious repercussions in our relations for a last ditch effort spearheaded by Secretary Clinton to finally get us a building at the Expo.

Now what are the results? Organizers promised a Hollywood style movie going experience that would show off the essence of America. Each visitor is treated to a series of three different movies as they work their way through the pavilion. The first is a humorous few minutes showing Americans trying to say “ni hao” with very limited success. The next film is a pseudo-documentary of American values with interviews of children, prominent business executives, and Secretary Clinton and President Obama. The final film is a wordless short story with the basic theme being cooperation for a better world.

The three films were all well and good at trying to show that Americans want to be partners with the Chinese in developing green energy and sustainable economies. What the organizers didn’t intend on doing was communicating a far clearer message about America: everything here is for sale.

The Pavilion sponsors are prominently featured throughout the pavilion. When you first enter, there is a massive wall with dozens of corporate logo’s thanking them for their generous donations. For comparison, many hoer countries had corporate sponsors and thanked them in a similar way, but that is where it stopped.

Not in the USA pavilion though. The magic of product placement suddenly found public relations reps from the top sponsors speaking in the documentary style movies about questionably related items. You saw a Chevron executive talking about how his company is leading the way in green energy (despite their somewhat conflicting interest in oil drilling). A female executive from PepsiCo talked about what it means to be a healthy American family, even as she sells sugary drinks to kids in public schools. I literally winced each time one of these people came on screen, knowing they had paid for the ability to say whatever their branding guidelines determined was appropriate.

Thinking the worst was over, I was relieved to be done with the best of American cinema [sic] and head into the hall that in most countries displays their latest technology, sustainable development projects, facets of their people and history, really anything. Instead I was confronted with what can only be described as Time Square hall. The walls were lined with bright advertising displays from the corporate sponsors of our pavilion. FedEx, American Airlines, GE, Pepsi, the list goes on and on. Several feelings flowed through my body in a crescendo of anger: shock, embarrassment, offense and resentment.

Is this the best America has to offer? Is this what we really want China’s experience with the USA to be? I was dumbfounded. It makes me mad even now just thinking about it. America has so much more to share than we showed off at this pavilion. Why not showcase the ingenuity and creativity of our startup culture? Show new companies changing the world through business means. Why not show some of our founding documents with their dramatic and powerful language of equality and prosperity for all? If you want to stick with the Hollywood theme of the pavilion, why not have a display with the highlights of the best of American cinema and music? Really anything would have been better than selling the floor space to these corporate “donors”.

To be fair to the organizers here, I believe they probably did the best they could with the time given them. It’s shameful enough they were put in this position and is a tribute to the ambivalent attitudes of those approached years ago to begin planning for this event. In addition it’s clear any pavilion America constructed here does our country far greater good than not having any representation. Such a slap in the face would have seriously damaged Sino-US relations.

My greatest concern with the pavilion is that it portrays the US not as one nation but instead as a collection of corporations and individuals. Now we are definitely a melting pot of different ethnicities and backgrounds, but that wasn’t the message communicated. Instead we sold floor space piecemeal to the highest bidder and gave them their own mini exhibit at the Expo. If corporations wanted to exhibit here there is an entire bank of the river dedicated to them, they only had to build their own pavilion. Instead they were presented as an integral part of our culture, which they indeed are, but not nearly so much as this exhibit leads visitors to believe. The bottom line is that I left the USA pavilion with the impression that money gets you anywhere in America, overpowering the genuinely collaborative and worthy message the films inside portrayed.

Tagged with: shanghai world expo 2010

Top 10 Things to See at the Shanghai World Expo 2010

On May 19, 2010, In Travel, By Scott

China Pavilion at Shanghai World Expo 2010

Chinese Pavilion

You could easily spend a full week running around to see all that the Shanghai World Expo 2010 has to offer. Now by the time you did that you would most likely have been stampeded by a horde of Chinese running from the entrance of the park as it opens. To save you from this untimely demise, we’ve come up with a list of the top places to see and top places to miss at this groundbreaking expo.

Top 10 Places To See At World Expo 2010

1. Walk Through Europe At Night

Far and away the most popular section of the World Expo is European Square. During the day you can be confronted with several hour long queues. Skip the lines and instead visit the pavilions at night when the lights come on. Lines die down as night falls, plus you can visit any of the high quality restaurants most nations brought with them to the fair. Make sure to stop by France, Spain, UK, Italy and Luxembourg at a minimum in this area.

Bonus: Get Belgian Waffles from the Belgian pavilion. Just do it, go there now.

2. Morocco Pavilion

You won’t see Morocco making any headlines, but I thought the interior of this pavilion was one of the most beautiful at the Expo. It mirrors the traditional interior of a Moroccan house, complete with magnificent inlaid marble and wood, a flowing fountain and graceful lighting. Your tour of the pavilion takes you through the construction process, with a bay window dedicated to each craft applied. Definitely a nice visit and you wont find lines too long.

3. Eat at the Czech Restaurant

Visiting the Czech pavilion is a must at the Expo. It was one of our favorite stops. After you take in the sites and rub an actual statue from the Charles bridge, stop by the authentic Czech restaurant. You can try a number of famous Czech beers and recharge your walking batteries with a heart meal. It was a perfect lunch spot for us to rest and cool down during the hot day.

4. Ningbo Pavilion / Water Garden Square

Most people will give the Puxi side of the fair a miss. Don’t miss the series of city cases in the far northern corner though, as they are on par with national pavilion in Pudong. Our favorite here was the Ningbo pavilion, which has a naturally occurring butterfly garden at it’s center. Alsace also has a beer garden on it’s roof with a great view of the rest of the park. You’ll also want to stop by the Osaka case (inside one of the joint pavilions) to watch their 360 degree experience. All these are set around probably the best manicured part of the expo, a wonderful lake with trees and plants.

5. Catch as many performances as you can

There are an unbelievable number of performances to see at the 2010 Expo. Check the schedule on your park map each day to see what you might attend. Two highlights are the soon to open dance show at the USA pavilion, as well as the flag dance in Africa square.

6. See the Shanghai Dream Cube at Night

An architectural stand out among a myriad of worthy competitors is the Shanghai dream cube. If you don’t want to wait in extensive lines, then at least walk by this building at night, you won’t be sorry you did.

7. Get a mango fruit slush in Cambodia.

It gets very, very hot at the Expo if you visit in the day time (and we haven’t even hit the summer months yet). To cool off, why not grab a fresh fruit slush from inside the Cambodia pavilion. On your way through you’re taken through miniature recreations of Cambodia’s famous temples, and the price is fairly competitive.

8. Try a glass of wine or a Pisco Sour in Chile

One area of the Expo currently light on visitors is the Central and South American squares. This is not for the lack of quality of the pavilions. Chile and Mexico both have excellent entries in the Expo. At the end of your trip to Chile, stop at their bar and sample some of Chile’s best wines. Or try their national drink – the Pisco Sour. If you order one of their food items you get a glass of wine thrown in.

9. Have a snack on a high speed train at the Railway Pavilion

For a wonderfully kitschy China experience, stop at the end of China Railway pavilion for a drink. The cafe is a mockup of the insides of one of their high speed trains, complete with fake windows showing rolling countryside while you sip away at some tea.

10. Go on the LED swings in Sweden

Certainly the most playful pavilion at the Expo comes from Sweden. They are definitely the only country to allow guests to change floors via slide and potato sack. After that, go for a swing on their LED attired swings. What do these things have to do with Sweden? I’m not entirely sure, but it was a fun distraction when you’re exhausted at the end of the day.

Next up we have the 10 Things you need to Skip at the Shanghai World Expo 2010.

Tagged with: 2010 • china • shanghai • world expo

On Our Way to the World Expo Shanghai 2010

On May 1, 2010, In Travel, By Scott

I’m writing this only an hour into our flight to China, but already I feel like I’ve arrived. The oddities and sometimes humorous essence of daily life in China has made it’s way on board our A340.

The antics started even as we were pulling away from the gate on our way to the runway. While most US airlines make exhaustive announcements about fastening our seat belts and turning off all electronic devices – we instead just started moving. People were still putting their bags up and typing away on their laptops and the world didn’t end. The crew did get everyone in line by the time we took off though; it was a simple reminder though that sometimes things in China are just a bit different than were used to.

Fortunately for us our flight to Shanghai (which is taking us 14 hours and 40 minutes nonstop) was only half full. Even before we took to the air people were spreading out to claim empty rows for themselves, including yours truly. What I really don’t understand is why our plane was half empty the same day the World Expo opened up in Shanghai.

The best part of this trip was the preview I got of our summer road trip. My window seat gave me a breathtaking view of the Pacific shoreline all the way up through Canada.

Fortunately the fun wasn’t over. At about ten hours into the flight we were witnesses to a classic shouting match between two overly tired seat mates. I have no idea what was going on, but it reminded me of being at the scene of an accident in China and being a referee in the crowd.

No trip to China would be complete though without a group exercise video, and this flight was no exception. The flight attendants got up in at the aisles and led everyone through sort of a half tai chi routine to get our circulation going again. All up and down the aisles hands were going up over heads and heads were rolling side to side. Who needs a nice park and early morning conditions when you have a plane!

Unfortunately the more traditional inflight entertainment options on China Eastern are decidedly limited. What all these little anecdotes reminded me of was that China is a place where you have go roll with it. There are cultural differences, sure, as well as some bizarre tweaks approaching Japanese style craziness, but you have go be ready for it all.

Tagged with: china • china eastern • shanghai • world expo

Tipping Around the World: There’s an App for That

On March 26, 2010, In Digital Life, Travel, By Scott

There’s always something you forget to look up before you start your latest trip overseas. For me it’s the tipping customs in the country I’m about to visit. I inevitably am forced to used some of my precious international roaming bandwidth on my iPhone so I don’t offend the first taxi driver I meet on my visit. Thankfully I now no longer have to worry, as a new iPhone app takes care of it all for me!

Tipping Tips for the iPhone, now available in the App Store, has a database of local tipping customs for countries all around the world. The tagline for the app really says it all:

Tip like a local, all around the globe. How much should tip a waiter in Wales? A porter in Portual? Hotel staff in Hong Kong?

What’s so great about this app is that it doesn’t just tell you generic tipping customs for each country around the world, but breaks it down by profession in the country you’re actually in. There are also calculators so you can easily enter the total sum for your dinner and figure out what you should tip on top.

For $0.99 I have to say it’s worth it to have this information in your pocket. I’ll be testing it out on our next trip abroad and will let you all know how it performs in the field in a real world situation.

How To Avoid Bank Fees When Traveling

On March 22, 2010, In Flat Finance, Travel, By Scott

Last week we wrote about how to get the best exchange rate when you change money overseas. We recommended you bring cash with you and change your money in a local bank. Another good option we talked about was to use your ATM card at a bank and draw cash directly form the machine. While you’ll get a good rate, watch out for fees both the local bank and your bank back home will charge for the transaction. While the rate itself may be decent, when include the lost funds from the fees you may end up getting a fairly poor rate of conversion. I bring up the topic again because the Mint Life blog has a particularly good article on avoiding bank fees while traveling. I’ve reproduced part of the article below, but make sure to head over there to check out the full article if you want to get all the details. The link is beneath the quote.

Here are the fees you’re likely to come across when spending abroad with a credit card, debit card, or ATM withdrawals:

ATM out-of-network fees. This flat fee (typically $5) is charged by your bank for using a foreign ATM. Generally, big banks charge it; community banks, credit unions, and online banks don’t.

Bank ATM fees. This is the fee charged by the bank that owns the ATM you’re using. You’re more likely to come across this in some countries than others. (And if you’re visiting the US from abroad, I would like to personally apologize, because the US is the worst offender here.) Some banks–particularly online banks–automatically reimburse you for this type of fee. Ally Bank, for example, reimburses all ATM fees.

Foreign exchange fees. Visa and Mastercard charge you a percentage fee on all foreign transactions, and banks typically tack on a percent or two on top of that. The fee (up to 3% total) usually applies to credit, debit, and ATM transactions. This can add up fast. Capital One credit cards waive this fee entirely. (So does Discover, but who takes Discover?) If you travel a lot, carry a Capital One card–if you can qualify, that is; they’re sticklers for a high FICO score. For a trip to Japan next month, however, I’m not going to bother applying for a new card; I’m using my credit-union-issued card, which charges a flat 1%. I can live with that.

Cash advance fees. If you use your credit card to withdraw cash at an ATM, you will pay and pay. Unless it’s an honest-to-God emergency, don’t do this.

Exchange rates. This is the sneakiest of all, because it’s hidden. When using a credit or debit card, you generally receive a fair exchange rate, a wholesale rate comparable to what’s published in the Wall Street Journal or the Universal Currency Converter. (If you get a rate that differs significantly from this, call your bank and complain.) At an airport currency counter, you’ll get an unfavorable rate. Worst of all is exchanging cash at a store. And if a merchant offers to ring up your credit card transaction in US dollars to avoid the foreign exchange fee, decline unless you can check the exchange rate on the spot.

Your bank’s web site is unlikely to be forthcoming on what they’re going to charge you when you travel. Call the bank and walk through two specific scenarios with them: what will you charge me, in total, when I use my card at an ATM in Barbados (or wherever you’re planning to drink your piña coladas)? What about when I use it as a credit or debit card?

Furthermore, it pays to do this before you book your trip. Banks have been known to charge the 3% exchange fee for, say, booking a flight on an international airline, even when the trip is booked in dollars.

Read the full article over at the Mint Life blog. It’s one of the few blogs form which we actually read each article. I highly recommend you do the same!

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