Even a little will go a long way. English is very uncommon here. All those tourist phrase books and Berlitz courses that did you absolutely no good in Europe because everyone spoke English? They actually help here. The most important phrase to know is “Boo-yao” which loosely translates as “No, I don’t want that cheap plastic souvenir/guide book/Rolex/Gucci bag you’re trying sell me, and I really mean it.”

2. Money

China is a cash society. Credit cards are rarely accepted, not even in restaurants, large department stores, or major tourist destinations.

Change your money at the airport. It’s relatively hard to do afterwards.

3. Where to Stay

Stay within the 2nd Ring Road unless you have a specific reason to be elsewhere. (The Olympics are mostly outside the Fourth Ring Road.) Beijing is a large city with a lot of traffic. It can take a while to get around.

Chinese hotels (that is, ones that cater to natives instead of foreign tourists and businesspeople) are not the same as North American hotels. Worse in some ways, better in others; but most U.S. travelers will be uncomfortable.

4. Food

Learn to eat with chopsticks; or, if you must, bring plastic forks.

I got conflicting advice about whether to drink the water, but I didn’t risk it. Bottled water is cheap and easy to find.

If you do drink the water, there are public toilets everywhere. Learn to squat. Bring toilet paper because most bathrooms don’t have any.

5. Transport

Cabs are plentiful and cheap, but the drivers don’t speak English. Write down your destination in Chinese characters, or ask someone at the hotel to do it for you. Many guide books list addresses in both English and Chinese characters so if necessary you can get by with pointing.

Make sure to take one of the Yellow cabs. (Really yellow and brown, yellow and green, or yellow and red). These are official cabs with meters. Other “cabs” are usually private cars out to make a few bucks from the tourists and will cost you a lot more (though still not as much as an equivalent ride in New York or London, I’m compelled to note.)

The subway is easy to navigate and by far the fastest way to get around town. Signs and announcements are in both Chinese and English. Choose a hotel within easy walking distance of a subway station.

At rush hour, if you’re not near a subway, it may well be faster to take a cab to the nearest subway station, take the subway across town, and then take another cab from there.

Buses are cheap, crowded, and Chinese. The driver does not speak English.

Parks and major destinations like the Forbidden City and the Temple of Heaven are walled. You must enter them at exactly the right place or you’ll have a long walk around.

6. Crime

There isn’t any, at least not of the low-level street crime that would inconvenience tourists. Hutongs are safe, even if they look otherwise.

7. Making Hello

The Asian girl approaching you with a camera wants to take her picture with you. They call this “making hello”. This is not a scam. Caucasians and other non-Orientals are still uncommon enough in most Beijing neighborhoods (with the possible exception of Sanlitun) that the locals are curious.

8. Nature

There’s very little green space within Beijing or close to it, compared to New York or many other Western cities. However, you can find some birds, trees, and animals at The Temple of Heaven Park, the Old and New Summer Palaces, and the Beijing Zoo.

The most common birds in the city are Rock Pigeon, European Tree Sparrow (one of the infamous 4 pests–they’re still here. Mao is gone.) and Black-billed Magpie.

9. Shopping

Everything is cheap, cheap, cheap except for electronics which cost about the same in China as they do in the U.S. Clothing and food is especially cheap. Prices are usually well marked, and if they’re not, chances are pretty damn good you can afford it anyway. Outside the tourist shops, merchants seem honest and no one is trying to rip you off. Inside the tourist shops/areas, it’s a different story; but prices here are very much negotiable, even on small items like a soda.

The malls and a few tourist areas like the Great Wall can be somewhat pressured. Just keep saying Boo-yao, smile, and walk on. However the smaller shops in the less touristy areas are genuinely interested in seeing you; and welcome any opportunity to interact, language difficulties notwithstanding. If necessary, draw pictures and point.

10. Leaving town

Do not take any liquids, gels, pastes, waxes, soap, or makeup of any kind in your carry-on luggage when leaving China. Not even in 3 oz bottles in a quart sized ziploc bag. They will be confiscated.

Don’t get to the airport more than 3.5 hours before your flight leaves. You can’t check in.

Airport prices return to U.S. levels. This can be a bit of a shock after enjoying the bargain that is most of Beijing.

Frank Wilhoit recommended “the Pickwick on the corner of Fifth and Mission opposite the old Mint. Cheap and comfortable.” However he cautions that he hasn’t been there since 1994 so “who knows what may have happened in the meanwhile.”

Michael Buckley also likes The Pickwick:

some well-worn charm, and was an easy walk from the Moscone buildings. My wife joined me for a long weekend after and thought it was cute.

I stayed there last year for $129 a night (yes, my employer paid the bill).

Wi-fi

OK in the right spots. There is just too much metal and brick for perfect reception in the room

Restaurant

so-so. But why eat at the hotel in SF?

Staff

friendly. Booked an airport shuttle for us back no trouble.

Transit

easy walk to Market and the subway/BART. I took the BART in from SFO.

Neighborhood

on the edge of the edge. We had no fear walking about after midnight, but the tenderloin isn’t far.

Trip Advisor reviews of this hotel are mixed.

Eddie O’Neil the Hotel Triton, “a few blocks from Moscone across the street from Chinatown. It’s a Kimpton Hotel so it has personality (quirky rooms) and a nice feel to it. Depending on the week, a room can be had for as low as $130 / night, which is great for the city. They also have free wifi, though its quality can vary from room to room.”

Trip Advisor reviews are mostly positive.

Derek Foight tells me to “Try the Hotel Palomar. It is a small boutique hotel that I have enjoyed staying at when traveling to San Francisco. It is across the street from the Apple store and only a block from Moscone.”

Martin Solum seconds the recommendation for the Palomar with one small caveat: “clean and inexpensive, it caters to independent recording artists (since it is associated with a small studio). It is tree hugger friendly as it makes donation to some environmentally positive organization). The beds are those Tempur-Pedic jobs that are great for my back. (one bad thing, last time I stayed there they had no morning coffee, I had to walk around the block to the IHOP which isn’t really the right way to start my day).” I’m not a big morning coffee person, and I don’t mind IHOP, so this may be the one for me. However, it’s a little more than I hoped to pay at $229 a night.

Trip Advisor reviews for the Palomar are good.

Silum also suggests The King George, a couple of blocks from Moscone but “actually a better location because it is right in the heart of the theater district just around the corner from union square. It is a couple of doors away from several good clubs, (e.g. Biscuits and Blues) and several theaters (live theater, not merely movies ), and also has four 24 cafe’s within a block of the front door. It is very clean and yet inexpensive with great service. It caters to European guests so you are sure to meet someone interesting at the hotel’s sponsored tea time. (one bad thing, the beds are too soft)” I like a firm bed, and I’m not much on socializing with non-geek strangers so I think I’ll pass on this one.

Frederic Lavigne tells me, that his “company usually picks the Monticello Inn, it’s very close to the Moscone Center – was around 120$ per night IIRC.” Sounds good, but they don’t have any rooms for my dates.

David “Uncle Dave” Moffat reports that “My wife, daughter and I have stayed at the Grant Hotel — really cheap” They are, however, booked solid for my dates. I suppose I should have done this sooner.

Vince Ford “Stayed at the Powell St Hotel last year. The room was small but nice and clean. The rest of the hotel was kind of gray and not so great but I wasn’t planning to spend much time there either way. It was near Moscone Center and BART.” They also don;t have any rooms available for me.

Norwood Sisson “used to stay at the Mar Motel near the beach and take the N Judah trolley downtown, no transfer needed; the trolley terminates in front of the Ocean View Motel. You can walk on the beach or Golden Gate Park in the morning and then do downtown all day and evening although there are decent enough restaurants in the Sunset district also. The Mar seems to have changed names to Ocean View Motel.” That sounds like the most fun, but if I stayed there I’m afraid I’d be too tempted to spend all my time in the park, at the Zoo, and on the beach, and wouldn’t get to the conference. I am wondering if maybe though I should switch hotels to this location on Friday. It would be more convenient for birding.

What to do? What to do? The cheap hotels ($129 a night and less) are all further away than I’d like, except for one that’s really cheap and really scummy, from what Trip Advisor tells me. The Pickwick is too expensive for my dates, about $200 a night. Otherwise I might have picked it. I took a gamble on Priceline for a four-star hotel at $119 a night in Union Square East. They tell me,

We searched hundreds of options to find your hotel room, however we can’t accept your offer of $119 per room, per night…If you are willing to raise your price by $22, you can try the same request again right now.

I bet they have something at that price. Do I go for it? The alternative is the Hotel Triton at $169 a night. You know what? I’m not. I don’t trust Priceline enough, and I can book the Phoenix again for $119 a night. It’s a little further away than I’d like, but I know it’s acceptable and I don’t know that about what Priceline gives me. Plus I can cancel the Phoenix up to 48 hours before if I need to or find something better, and I can’t cancel Priceline’s hotel. To top it off, Priceline charges my credit card today so I have to pay it early next month, but the Phoenix won’t charge me till next month, so I should be paid for the trip before the credit card bill comes due. The Phoenix Inn it is.

But you know what? Looking at the map, the Oceanview Motel is far more convenient for what I have planned for the weekend, and it’s quite a bit cheaper. I’m going to make this trip a twofer. I’ll stay at the Phoenix Sunday-Friday, then cab it over to the the Oceanview Motel for the weekend. That will give me great access to the beach, Golden Gate Park, Land’s End, Sutro Heights, and the other places I want to go.

Two tools that were very useful for making my decisions were TripAdvisor to tell me what each hotel was like and Google Maps to show me just how I’d have to walk from the hotel to the convention center. Without them I would have been a lot more nervous about my decisions. I was a little surprised to discover that some of the hotels Sun was offering were actually further away than the Phoenix (the cheapest ones, naturally).

See you in San Francisco. If you have any further advice about these or other Moscone Center hotels, please leave a comment.

The manual tells me to use the Full install to copy all the maps to my hard drive, but the installer doesn’t offer me that option. Since I couldn’t install the maps locally, when I zoom into Silicon Valley, Map Source asks for the West Coast CD. However I have the East Coast CD loaded; and I’m not really interested in the West Coast right now, so I press the Cancel button. MapSource promptly asks me for the same West Coast CD again. And again. And again. Even when I tab into another program. I have to go to the Task Manager to force this stupid thing to quit.

I’m not going to even start on how stupid a computer has to be to not know when I’ve inserted the disk. That’s really a Windows design flaw, and I probably shouldn’t blame Garmin for it (though Microsoft gets a big raspberry for this one).

I finally figure out how to transfer maps to the GPS receiver. Then I try to transfer a second map. It doesn’t work. Why? After some futzing around, I realize the GPS is turned off. Hmm, that’s funny. I just put in new batteries. Did they go bad? And when plugged in the eTrex runs off USB power anyway. (It draws almost twice as much power off the USB bus as it should, but that’s a story for another day.) Oh, guess what? After transferring the maps, MapSource turns off the GPS. <sarcasm>It’s not like you might want to upload and then download, or upload two maps, or anything like that.</sarcasm>

Simple fact is no one would use MapSource if there were any reasonable alternative for talking to the hardware. I knew when I bought the eTrex that it was a closed, proprietary system that only talked to Windows. I put off buying it for over a year precisely because of that, but the sad fact is there’s no open device that meets my needs in this space; nor is there any closed device that supports the Mac or Linux. The units from other manufacturers are just as bad. I only broke down and bought the eTrex because I needed it for a book I was writing. Why is it that companies that sell closed, proprietary devices that require you to use their software write some of the worst software out there? Hmm, now that I put it that way, I think I’ve answered my own question.

What really surprises me is that these are all problems I found within 15 minutes of tearing the shrink wrap off the package. That’s how bad this software is. I’ve barely touched the product, and I’ve already found bugs I’d be embarrassed to ship in a free-as-in-beer-beta, much less software people actually pay for. Garmin desperately needs to hire a dedicated software tester and UI designer; and listen to what they say. Better yet, Garmin should give up on selling software, which is clearly not their core competency; and focus instead on the hardware which isn’t bad. Open up the specifications, and let the very energetic open source mapping community figure out how to write a decent interface for downloading and uploading data to their devices.

Getting there.

The Santa Clara Convention Center and adjoining Hyatt Regency Hotel (formerly the Westin Santa Clara) are not far at all from the San Jose airport. If you don’t have a lot of luggage, the VTA light rail is a reasonable way to get there. During rush hour, it may even be faster than taking a cab or renting a car; and it’s certainly cheaper. A free bus from the airport will take you to the nearest light rail station. Take the trolley going to Alum Rock (not Santa Teresa), then change at Baypointe for the Mountain View train. Get off at the Great America stop. This puts you directly in front of the convention center. The hotel is around the corner to the left of the convention center.

Airport car rental is not too expensive, though; and a car is very useful for getting around the Valley if you ever plan to leave the Hotel/Convention Center complex. Reservations are recommended, but I don’t ever recall needing them. Cars generally seem to be available if you’ve forgotten to make a reservation. The worst case scenario is that you’ll end up with a slightly larger/more expensive car than you wanted.

Staying there

When you arrive at the Hyatt Regency, ask for a room on a higher floor in the front of the building. The view isn’t great, but it’s worth having.

The Hyatt Regency has wired and wireless Internet access in the rooms and some (but not all) public areas in the hotel for $10 a day. This is provided by T-Mobil, and is roughly the same as what you’ll find at Starbucks. If you already have a T-Mobil monthly wireless account, you don’t have to pay extra here. The convention center has a different wireless network, though it can get overloaded and slow down when everyone’s trying to connect. There may be a maximum number of users who can connect simultaneously.

Prices seem to have come down a little since the boom years when they ran about $200 a night. Now $169 a night is typical, tax not included. There’s a Hilton across the street with similar prices that’s marginally less convenient. It’s a reasonable place to stay if the Hyatt Regency sells out. However, for any length of time longer than a couple of nights, you can save quite a bit of money by renting a car and staying further away. There’s a Holiday Inn down the street that goes for about $129 a night. A little further away I’m told the Travelodge on El Camino Real is $59 a night and provides more amenities than a standard Hyatt Regency room. However, if you stay here, be sure to allow enough time to get to your first session in the morning. Even post-crash, Silicon Valley traffic can be hideous during rush hour.

Driving tip for those staying at the Travelodge: if you’re on El Camino Real looking for Great America Parkway, you won’t find it. Between 101 and El Camino, it’s called Bowers. On the other side of El Camino, it’s called Kiely Blvd. Streets in Santa Clara have an annoying habit of changing their names for no apparent reason. Another problematic one: Scott and Arques are the same street.

If you use Priceline to book your hotel, the convention center is in the Sunnyvale/Santa Clara region. There are plenty of hotels here. A few are within easy walking distance or have light rail access to the convention center, but most aren’t. You’ll probably need a car. If you’re only staying for a night or two, and just shuttling back and forth to your hotel in the morning or evening, cabs are an option. However, if you’re staying more than a couple of days, renting a car is probably cheaper.

Food

Tresca, the Hyatt Regency restaurant, is a typical hotel restaurant. That is to say: it’s priced like a four star restaurant and has a menu that sounds like a four star restaurant, but the food quality is more like a one-star chain. Avoid it if possible. It’s adequate and edible if you really don’t want to leave the hotel, but you can do a lot better for a lot less money not very far away. (The Hilton’s restaurant across the street is a definite improvement, and there are many excellent places within reasonable driving distance.) The breakfast buffet is overpriced, and as typical for American hotels, only has scrambled eggs. If you detest scrambled eggs like I do, you’ll have to order a la carte. There’s an International House of Pancakes a few blocks down Great America Parkway toward 101 that offers roughly equivalent food to the hotel restaurant (filling, adequate, but nothing to write home about) for a lot less money. There’s also a Thai restaurant and a sushi place in a strip mall across Mission College Blvd. from the IHOP that I haven’t tried.

In a different direction, if you walk west down Tasman, past the convention center and the golf course, you’ll encounter a Carl’s Jr. and an Indian restaurant in a strip mall. Some of the strip mall restaurants in the area are excellent. Sadly, this isn’t one of them. The main offering is a cheap, all-you-can-eat buffet that substitutes quantity for quality.

For a restaurant that goes beyond mere sustenance, you’ll have to go further afield. You can take the light rail into San Jose on one end or Mountain View on the other, both of which have a wide variety of interesting eateries. If you have a car, you can do worse than wandering around aimlessly until you happen across a taqueria in a strip mall. They range from good to fabulous, and they’re all different. Not all of them speak English, but even sans Spanish I’ve always been able get by with a lot of pointing at the menu. Warning: stay away from Taco Bell/El Torrito’s/Chi Chi’s etc. These chains serve food that’s as bland and boring as they do in the rest of the country; and nothing makes that quite so clear as trying the food at the small family run taquerias.

Things To Do

I don’t play golf, but there’s a golf course next door to the convention center. The hotel can probably set you up to play there. The Great America theme park is across the street from the convention center, though it’s mostly only open in the summer and late spring.

I do bird, and there are some wonderful birding opportunities in Silicon Valley. If you’re on East Coast time and find yourself waking up at 5:00 in the morning, try San Tomas Aquino Creek. Walk out the front door of the Hyatt Regency, turn right, go north past the Techmart. The creek runs under the first bridge, and bicycle and walking trails follow alongside it. Cliff swallows nest under the bridge. If you follow the creek to the left, across Great America Parkway, you’ll hit the south end of the Bay and can follow trails to the West into Baylands Park. This connects up with a large set of trails going for miles around the south end of San Francisco Bay. A recent morning trip in March turned up over thirty species in just a couple of hours including Moorhen, American Coot, Mallard, White Pelican, Bushtit, Song Sparrow, Western Meadowlark, Black-necked Stilt, Red-winged Blackbird, Cinnamon Teal, Great Blue Heron, Pied-billed Grebe, Yellow-rumped Warbler, White-tailed Kite, and Ruddy Duck. If you follow the creek to the right, the path goes for miles, longer than I’ve yet walked. This is also an excellent trail for jogging or bicycling.

If you have a spare day and a car, there are lots of other great birding sites. The best is perhaps Shoreline Park in Mountain View. Take 101N to San Antonio, turn right at the end of the exit ramp and drive a few blocks until you hit the end of the street. During migration you can easily get fifty species here in just a couple of hours. Recent species included American Avocet, Marbled Godwit, Lesser and Greater Yellowlegs, Dunlin, Western and Least Sandpipers, Short-billed Dowitcher, Long-billed Curlew, Red-shouldered Hawk, Barrow’s and Common Goldeneyes, Surf Scoters (closer than I’ve ever seen them before), Ring-billed and California Gulls, Black Phoebe, Cedar Waxwings, Marsh Wren, and Eared, Pied-billed, and Western Grebes.

For land birding you’ll need to go a little further afield. The local Audubon center is in McClellan Ranch Park in Cupertino, which is good for about 30 species in the morning. A recent trip yielded Steller’s and Western Scrub Jays, Bewick’s Wren, Violet-green Swallow, Nutall’s Woodpecker, Black Phoebe, California and Spotted Towhees, Brown Creeper, Anna’s Hummingbird, Hermit Thrush, and Yellow-rumped Warbler. The trail follows Steven’s Creek and is to your left as soon as you enter the parking lot. The ranch is small and the trail can be covered from end to end and then back again (it’s not a loop) in a couple of hours. It’s probably about 20 minutes to get there from the hotel, if you aim to show up at dawn. However, rush hour traffic on the way back can be hazardous to your schedule. Allow at least an hour for the return trip.

If you have a full day off, the local favorite for hiking is probably Big Basin Redwoods State Park. From November through March you can also take a ranger led hike to see the elephant seals at Año Nuevo State Reserve. This is very popular, space is limited, and reservations are required. Make them early.

If you have a spare Sunday or Saturday, you may be able to take a trip with the Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society. Most field trips do not require reservations unless otherwise stated. Just show up at the appointed location at the appointed time. The group is quite friendly. Membership is not required.

Silicon Valley is not known for its tourist attractions. A lot of the most interesting work goes on behind closed doors at companies like Sun, Apple, and Google; and they don’t give tours. However, there are a few places worth checking out. The Winchester Mystery House is worth a visit, as is the Tech Museum. The recently opened Computer History Museum in Mountain View may also be of interest to those in the industry.

One popular destination for out-of-towners and locals alike is Fry’s Electronics. This is the only store I’ve ever seen where you can buy an oscilloscope off the shelf at eight in the evening. Not just one either. You actually have a selection of oscilloscopes to choose from. They also satisfy more prosaic needs ranging from junk food to computer equipment to pornography. When your TiBook power adapter catches fire (as mine did last year at Software Development 2004), it’s nice to know you can hop in your car and buy a quick replacement. The nearest Fry’s to the convention center is at 1077 East Arques Avenue. Take Great America south. cross 101, and then turn right at the second light onto Scott. Then drive about 1.5 miles till you see it on the right.

What night life there is in Silicon Valley is to be found in downtown San Jose, around South First through Fourth streets. The light rail will take you there from the convention center. There is an AMC 21 Theatre not far from the hotel (but not quite walking distance). Go toward 101 from the hotel on Great America Parkway. Turn right at Mission Blvd just before you get to the freeway. Then left at the first light. From that point just follow the road (it loops a bit), and you can’t miss it.

That’s about it. Unless you’re a birder or a golfer, there’s not a lot to distract you from the convention. Maybe that’s why so many conventions seem to end up here instead of more interesting cities like San Francisco or New York. Still, there’s more here than I thought there was when I arrived at my first convention at this site five years ago. I hope this makes your convention experience a little more pleasant.