18 Feb 2017
And this is why when it comes to money, you can't trust anyone to do anything that won't benefit them.
Got an Xperia XZ. Transferring stuff from the iPhone 6 to this phone has been a pain in the butt, regardless of whatever is said about switching from an Apple to an Android on the Internet.
There are guides for this, yes, but not everything works as described!
For one, the mobile transfer app that came with this phone for the purpose of bringing old data from a previous phone over does not support the 2-FA that the iPhone requires, so it disconnects when it reaches the point where I am supposed to enter the code that is displayed in my iPhone.
Another issue is how not all my contacts are syncing through the Google and Hotmail accounts, so there are some important ones that had to be emailed over.
Also, Whatsapp on the iPhone does not like it when you are trying to bringing it over to Android. Seriously, when you can only backup your chats on iCloud, how else am I supposed to interpret that? Those backups aren't even visible via iCloud.com on my browsers!
Anyway, I'm seeing why we pay extra for an iPhone now. Getting used to the occasional lags in the keyboard will take a while more.
But never am I returning to Apple anymore. It's not all Apple's fault, but it remains a fact that it's annoying as heck to move from an iPhone to another OS.
27 Feb 2017
The Xperia XZ, if nothing else, is good for its display. So alive, the pictures look. My gf's LG G5 may take awesome wide-angle photos and my old iPhone 6 may take much sharper pictures, but it is on my Sony phone that they can be best appreciated.
So someone from Artsy asked me to post a link on my blog to a page on the website featuring the works of Yayoi Kusama. While not a big fan of either Ms Kusama or polka dots, I appreciate that they are working towards making art more accessible to everyone.
Not that the US$1500 pumpkin plushies by her are particularly accessible, but hey, it made me read up on her and realize that not only do I not know jack about modern artists, she is also quite a renowned artist who seems to be fascinated by polka dots.
I don't get her, but if polka dots are your sort of thing, the link is on the right, under my bio in the blog.
And here too: https://www.artsy.net/artist/yayoi-kusama
The Hangzhou/Yiwu trip was kinda unfruitful but it did let me learn a few things.
First, for decorative stuff and all sorts of jewellery, Yiwu has a huge market complex for them. It is probably the closest thing to Paradise that I know of for anyone dealing in these two categories of goods.
And that's including chokers that my girlfriend is trading as a part-time business. Seriously, there is two entire floors on four blocks that are just filled with shops that sell them in more forms than I imagined... in bulk.
Yes, I got rejected for trying to buy a few. Apparently, retail sales are frowned upon and tiny amounts like 50 pieces are only allowed if you're willing to accept double the price one might find from Chinese merchants online, and even that's only when the shopkeeper is in a generous mood.
Hence I deduce that if I were able to take several hundred pieces at one go, the prices they could accept might have been surprisingly low.
And as for myself, the biggest wholesale market for clothing in Yiwu is under renovation, and prices in Hangzhou were not competitive compared to what I am used to.
At least it was nice to check out these cities. The large proportion of Muslim population and shops in Yiwu was a surprise and allowed me to further explore the Chinese Muslim cuisine and Middle Eastern imports. It's my first time getting Jordanian canned food - not a huge deal but exotic enough for a trip that was supposed to be quite bland.
As for Chinese Muslim food, they got a little monotonous after a while, probably from using the same spices in all their dishes.
Or maybe it's just that what is available in the menus are limited to what outsiders can accept. I wouldn't know.
Anyway, the hotel at Yiwu was surprisingly good for the price and for a hotel in a small city.
The worst thing about it was only the crowded breakfast where we all had to share tables. The continental breakfast buffet spread was good with an egg station and a noodle station, just that the seating space needed an upgrade. However, the staff was well-trained and very friendly, so when I tell them something has run out, it didn't take them too long to refill despite clearly being understaffed (nobody manned the entrance till the end so it was free access for all). They also gave me one of the best rooms on the level, judging from the fire escape map on the door. There were a few other rooms of roughly the same size but none of them were at the very end of the corridor like mine was.
Having a coat room was amazing because of the need to wear an outer layer that doesn't get soaked in sweat like it would in Singapore, and it was a convenient place to leave the shoes at.
On the other hand, the hot tub was quite pointless because the water was nowhere near warm enough. At 4 degrees and without a strong heater in the room, the water cooled too quickly for the tub to be enjoyable. They improved the water heater by the last two days but the water, at best, could only be described as "quite warm" to me instead of "lukewarm". Not enough.
The staff made all the difference though. The doorman did his job and the front desk staff were surprisingly friendly and responsive for a hotel of its price level.
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