After some talking with Mr Spiff in Feb this year, and copping some harsh criticism on the last method, it became apparent that work was needed.

Firstly – accuracy. It is hard to get your address in places like Asia and Latin America (generally the places where you need it the most). Chinese addresses are über-long, but at least they have them. In Peru? Forget about it! Even the taxi drivers can’t find addresses that are printed on Peruvian business cards.

GPS fixes this, with your position down to 47m on average, after 30 seconds. More than enough to guide the cavalry (green smoke would help too – but doesn’t fit in your pocket, and may raise questions on a date). The iPhone GPS can even work without a data connection (handy also if you are lost in the bush).

GPS Log now has an export to SMS option that allows you to send your GPS position to your friend by SMS. I have also created a stand-alone product focusing on this feature (this is the product that evolved out of the stand-alone “kidney watch” product ideas). http://gpsme.cc/ (if you have GPS Log, no need to try this one)

This is actually a very useful, potentially life-saving feature. Mum tells me the sad story of a guy who died in Queensland when he got lost in the bush. He had cell-phone signal and phoned 000 nine times but they couldn’t find him. 2 floats that could save your life…

The second, more concerning feature is verification.

i-think22 proposes duress words. My only problem with that is that if you are under duress you may not be able to reach your phone. I prefer the Dead Man’s Switch approach where if you don’t perform an action in a fixed timeframe, the cavalry roll in. Of course, both together may provide even more optimal coverage.

The issue with the Dead Man’s Switch is the possibility that your antagonists may intercept the signal and duplicate it (e.g. Speed), or that you may accidently forget to activate the switch, and be rather red-faced when the cavalry roll up.

I would like to see a customised version of the SMS feature, designed for Kidney Watch. So tell me – what should be in it?

from a promo tent near XuJiaHui

Here’s what US$3.30 buys you in China:

And it’s so delicious. Without the drink it’s only US$2.20.

In most of the world I struggle to find nice food to eat (even disregarding cost), here it’s impossible not to find something delicious, and probably cheap.

Back in China – and the Family Mart’s now have the Japanese style Rice Triangles!

These are the best snack. Costing next to nothing, delicious, fresh and (I think) healty. Great if you’re waiting for transport, great if you’re out drinking, great if you need an afternoon snack.

I am very happy :D

Rice Triangles

I was chatting with my mate Paul earlier this year about the power adaption issue and we came up with a neat (but in hindsight obvious) idea – rather than taking 2 plug adapters for 2 devices, take a power board, or double-adapter, that way if you are visiting multiple countries with different adapters you only need 1 plug adapter for each place.

I decided to take 2 double adapters, on my RTW trip – they are smaller than a power board, and can be used in a 2x or 3x capacity (generally I just need one in the 2x), in China which has Australian points everwhere, they are useful just on their own as well.

This is a sweet invention.  It’s a milk jug that you don’t have to wash out every day, or worry about the contents expiring without your knowledge.  Plus you save the environment by reducing wasteful packaging.

Instead of buying milk in cartons, Canadians can buy it in bags.  These bags fit conveniently into stylish plastic milk jugs, all you do is cut the corner and pour.

If I ever have to create a society – this is how you will drink milk.  And there will be lots of lotte pies.

Update: “milk bags” are also everywhere in South America, though I never saw this type of jug being used or sold. The jug really makes the whole concept IMHO.

Changed my second flight today, going to get the hell out of Denver. Would have been nice to stayed for some snow – but would be better enjoyed with a friend I think.

Changing the ticket was a real pain this time – Air China could not help and bounced me around the world for a while. But I learnt the easiest way to work it:

- Ring the Carrier who the flight is with
- Wait until the flight you want to change is your next flight, it just makes it all easier when they bring it up on the system

Given this, to anyone booking a RTW ticket, and planning to do date changes, I would highly recommend booking things for dates too far in the future than the other way round – because then you can at least bring them forward one by one as you need them, rather than doing a massive juggle which I am VERY thankful I have not had to do. And maybe it is easier not booking 16 flights either…

Here’s some really useful information I wish I knew from the start.  Most of it was rather painfully obtained, through trial and error (lots of errors).

• Firstly, the English support is really good.  Ring 12580 [NB: I was told today that the correct line for changing plan details is 10086].  The automatic menu may not be, but the people are.  Use it!  It’s far better than getting a chinese speaker to ask the questions for you, and then translating for you – unless they are *really* good at english.  Telecommunications lingo isn’t exactly the first thing they teach in english class.

Plans and Expiry

• When you walk into a shop and get a SIM card, you are put on a prepaid plan.
• You may be told “your number will not expire so long as there is money on the account”
• This is true.  Sort of.  What I didn’t know is that China Mobile will deduct money from your account every month as a monthly-fee.  So if you want to keep your number alive for when you return – make sure there’s enough yuan in the account to pay the monthly fees until you return.
• Also, there are expiry dates – I think it’s half a year for a 100 yuan card, up to a maximum of a year or something.
• I think it would be possible to recharge from abroad (if you already have a prepaid card), and you could certainly ask a local to do it for you.  There are some websites offering this service, but they all seem a tad dodge.
• If your credit is exhausted, I believe you get 90 days to recharge before the number is recycled.

Data

• Data rates China Mobile without a plan is 0.01 yuan per KB.  0.01 yuan is almost nothing.  But so is 1 KB.  That’s actually 10 yuan per MB – which is expensive.
• You can subscribe to a data plan.  20 yuan gives you 150MB, 50 yuan gives you 500MB.
• The data plans are activated on the first day of the month – so if you want a plan you must ring BEFORE the first of the month to set it up, then wait (so potentially you could do this before arriving in china)
• Actually, the plan is activated on the second day of the month.  Yeah it’s bizarre – everyone told me the first of the month.  But the money is deducted at midnight in the morning of the 2nd, and that’s when your data plan is active – don’t use it on the 1st or you will still be paying 10yuan per MB.  Go figure.
• To setup data access on an iPhone, go into Settings -> Network -> Cellular Data.  Set the APN to cmnet. Leave the username and password blank.  Your iPhone must be unlocked to see this option.
• If you want data on your iPhone – don’t go with China Unicom.  I could not get them to work with my SIM.  Go with China Mobile instead.
• What I plan to do is call China Mobile from abroad a month before arriving next time to set this up so I have data when I arrive.  Yeah… I’m a geek.
• There is no 3G access in China

Rates

• To call an international number, use the IP dialing, it’s way cheaper.  Just a little above SkypeOut for AU mobile calls.
• Dial 12593 then your four digit country code, e.g. 0061, then the number
• The guy on the phone said to “punch in the code” every time, and not save it to the address book or else it may use the standard, non-IP (read: expensive) dialing.  I’m not sure if he’s right but I’m not game to test it.
• Apparently this incurs a 5 yuan per month service fee
• Rates on the IP line is 1.5 yuan per minute.
• Intra-China rates are rock-bottom.  0.1 yuan per minute.  0.1 yuan per SMS.  If only every mobile carrier was that cheap!

SMS Commands

• You can SMS certain commands to 10086
• YE is ‘balance inquiry’
• CZ <recharge pin> is ‘recharge with this pin’  (only works if you have a positive balance)

Recharging over the Phone

• dial 13800138000
• 2  [for english]
• 2 [to recharge]
• 1# [to recharge current mobile]
• 1 [to confirm]
• enter PIN
• # [to end]
• All done…
• more info

If this was useful for you, perhaps you might like to buy my iPhone App – GPS Log ;-)

I have a mega RTW Start Alliance (*A) ticket, ticketed on Air China Paper. I picked Air China because:

• You must be ticketed with a carrier who flies your first leg – sucks, because UA has cheaper taxes which would have made the ticket about a grand cheaper
• Air China allow free date changes, as does UA (but I couldn’t pick them). Air New Zealand does not – they charge NZ$50. As I have 16 flights, and plan to change 14 of them – I don’t really want to pay $50 a pop.

I was a little worried the ticket change process would be a pain – however it is easy. I just called the Melbourne office (at least I know they can speak English!), and put through the change.  And I picked a more civilized departure time to boot.

So I’m going to max out my visa, and stay in china a massive 1 extra day!  woot.  Still, it was a good dry run of the rebooking system – now I am not worried for the remaining 13 rebookings that I will have to do.