Tag Archives: china

in english

Henna “tattoos” and Asian tourists in Mexico

Japanese travel agent in Cancún
Japanese travel agent in Cancún

During my travels in Mexico I have found, surprisingly, many Chinese; Korean and Japanese tourists in the country and travel agencies specialising in catering to their tastes.  The diversification of the origin of tourists is very important for the prospects of the local tourism industry since most come from the United States and the weakness of the U.S. Dollar means an overseas vacation is not as enticing as it once was.

I have also found that henna body art has become fashionable in Mexico as well, as I found it advertised in Acapulco.

Mexicans are also part of globalisation, whether they want it or not.

in english

Dispatch from Tokyo


Big city feeling
Originally uploaded by Chiva Congelado

After around 14 months, I’m back in Japan, but this time is not on pleasure. Funnily enough, I still feel rather comfortable here as I’m also from the big city.

A couple of things that I have noticed (relevant or not) below:

* The current fashionable look for ~18 year old women is small shorts with long tights. Wouldn’t work in Finland.

* There seems to be much more contacts between Japan and China. I met in the plane a Japanese woman who is married to a Chinese man and lives in Shanghai. I’m also watching a Chinese movie subtitled in Japanese at the moment.

* Tokyo has always felt a little futuristic. Both times I’ve been here it feels I’m experiencing the future of other cities. Definitely I would like more parts of Mexico City to look like this, not just Santa Fé.

* Surprisingly enough, I feel more comfortable here than in Paris or London (even though here I don’t speak the language) only because people are more polite. The service level is also excellent compared to what you get in Europe.

* Even coming from an expensive Nordic country, shopping here is pricey.

Time to sleep for me now.

in english

On China

A couple of random thoughts I have been munching on:

  1. Just finished reading this book.  Even though many things are most probably not true, even if this guy did only 25% of what they claim he's worst than most of the other dictators in the world.
  2. Finnair's Asian strategy is working.  So much so, that my direct flights HEL-MAD-HEL were full of Spaniards and Chinese coming and going on holiday (there were very few Finns).  There were a couple of "little emperors" but nothing too annoying really.  The comparison with their partner Iberia couldn't be more lopsided, since in their case the results from their Latin American strategy are a mess (if you fly within Europe service is pretty OK, but if you fly long haul the airline changes from Iberia to Siberia).
in english

Tips for Partying with Chinese

This is how the morning after a good party should look like
This is how the morning after a good party should look like

These observations at least apply to my friends from school and other previous situations.

  • They don't drink a lot of alcohol (has to do with lack of an enzyme needed for processing it).  So don't invite them to a happening where people will get inebriated.
  • They don't necessarily like dancing, and the further they've grown up away from the larger population centres, the less familiar they will be with Western pop.
  • Take time to build a relationship with them.  That way they will actually come to the parties you organise.
  • If the situation involves food and cooking, be sure they'll be there.
en español

El Fogoncito va a China

La cadena mexicana de taquerías El Fogoncito ha decidido abrir sucursales en China. Yo me pregunto, ¿cuánto tiempo tardará antes de que salgan fotos de versiones piratas en Pinches Chinos?

Disclaimer: No estoy de acuerdo con algunas actitudes del site anterior que podrían ser interpretadas como racistas.

Actualización: Las fotos en Flickr. Como la de abajo. ¿A poco no se les antoja?


Fogoncito, Inauguracion 092, originally uploaded by CRoberts.