Lost Laowai China Blog
The no-nonsense China expat and traveller community.



10 fantastic iPhone apps for your China life (Mar 10)
If you’ve gotten your paws on an iPhone or an iPod Touch, you’ve likely added lots of useful apps to it. You might, however, have overlooked the fact that there are lots of apps – many by Chinese developers – that you can use daily to help find your way around, speak the language, or [...]


Women’s Bathrooms in China — The Honest Truth about Chinese Toilets (Mar 8)
I know, everyone always comments on Chinese toilets – they are on the floor, big deal. Well, most of those people who write about the Chinese facilities are men, and let’s face it, when it comes to bathrooms, men have it easy. So here is what really goes on behind the 女 door. Are Chinese bathrooms [...]


A Tale of Two Medals (Mar 5)
“Hockey is not a sport in Canada – it’s a cult. It’s a religion” - Brian Burke, General Manager of The Toronto Maple Leafs and the 2010 United States Olympic Team One of the most vivid memories I have is watching a hockey game on TV.  I remember exactly where I sat, I remember the emotions I [...]


Fact or Fiction: Edition III (Feb 28)
Welcome back one and all to the February edition of Fact or Fiction.  Those of you who read either of the last two will know, every edition I will have a guest and we will discuss a few of the big issues in China of the day.  Every answer will have a “Fact” or a [...]


Video: Sergey Brin speaks about Google’s China decision (Feb 26)
Here’s a great video recorded at TED2010 earlier this month in which TED curator Chris Anderson talks to Google co-founder Sergey Brin about the company’s recent statements about their China operations. You can read the whole transcript of the talk here. Apologies for the far right-side of the video being cut off. It shouldn’t affect functionality [...]


Why I Cook — In China (Feb 25)
I have a confession to make. For the first four and a half years I lived in China, I did almost no cooking. Sure, I owned all the necessary equipment- I made sure of that. I wanted people to think I cooked, but didn’t really want to actually do it.  Going out to eat seemed [...]


Another Laowai’s Soundtrack (Feb 23)
Back in May, I made a post entitled “A Laowai’s Soundtrack“, where I listed 20 songs that helped define my China Experience. As the New Year ring’s in, I figure it’s as good of a time as any to revisit that.   Just as before, the purpose of this is to share a bit of [...] http://leftovercheese.com/the_RAA_Dont_Haunt.mp3


The laowai relapse (Feb 22)
There I was, a 6-month China veteran, standing in the middle of a Beijing street, having my first ever argument with a tuk-tuk driver, while my shell-shocked parents and younger brother gaped in awe.  To my credit, the argument was in Chinese.  Not to my credit, my part of the argument consisted of about 3 [...]


Jaiya’s Animal Rescue, hope for homeless animals in Shanghai (Feb 18)
During a conversation about the treatment of animals in China some time ago, I remember a friend saying, “what rights are animals going to have in a country that is still working out the rights of humans?” Anyone that’s ever been to a zoo in China knows just how true this is. Fortunately, like all things [...]


24 hours / 24 photos — Spring Festival in Liuzhou (Feb 17)
Michael Steverson, better known as “Expatriate Games” in the blogsphere and on Flickr, has put together an awesome project entitled “Xin Nian Hao – 24 Hours in Liuzhou“. The series of photos and accompanying stories chronicle an entire day (one photo an hour) over CNYE and into the early morning hours of the first day [...]