I’m not one to spend much time watching amateur videos on YouTube, but I stopped working to watch this video of Space Shuttle Discovery’s final launch — shot from a passenger aircraft flying near Kennedy Space Center — over and over for about 30 minutes. Don’t send me any complaints when you end up doing the same! I’ll let the video speak for itself.

Via geek.com.

Visitors to Ellis Island are free to roam the halls of the restored Immigration Museum, which features the iconic Great Hall and processing rooms. Most of the island is off limits to visitors, however, including the entire South Side.

I was fortunate enough to have an opportunity to walk past the barriers today, for a tour of the Ellis Island Immigration Hospital, with photographer Stephen Wilkes as our guide. Roughly 1.2 million immigrants passed through the Hospital between the years of 1892 and 1954, and historians hope that the complex will eventually be accessible to all visitors.

Though nowhere as impressive as the photos that Wilkes was able to capture over the course of five years for his book “Ellis Island: Ghosts of Freedom,” click the “read more” link to view more photos from my tour today, and please consider donating to Save Ellis Island‘s South Side rehabilitation project as well.

Workers have already begun rehabilitation of the Hospital, though there is still much work to be done.

Wilkes speaks to a group of donors and volunteers. Having spent many days photographing Ellis Island between 1998 and 2003, he has become an expert on the structures of the Island’s South Side.

The Lower Manhattan skyline can be seen beyond a construction area on the South Side.

While the Hospital was still in operation, this curved corridor led doctors to the infectious diseases ward.

A kitchen in one of the buildings used to house doctors and their families.

The Liberty Science Center, located just west of the South Side.

The Ellis Island Immigration Museum, as seen from the South Side.

Want to see the rest of Ellis Island for yourself? Save Ellis Island hopes to eventually open the South Side to the public, but they won’t have the funding necessary to complete the rehabilitation project without the assistance of generous donors. Please consider making a donation at saveellisisland.com.

I’m about to board a flight to Beijing, where I’ll be working until Saturday. Because of China’s tight restrictions on Internet access — unless the situation has improved since my last visit, in June — it’s unlikely that I’ll be able to access social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook, and this blog until after I return. I may try to post by email, so we’ll see if that works. If not, have a great week, and I’ll be back on Sunday!

Yesterday, I almost fell for Thailand’s (apparently infamous) gem scam, which happens to be very well documented on the Internet. A conspiracy involving a dozen people and stores all over Bangkok, I was nearly convinced, until it came time to pull out my wallet. I’m going to pick up right where I left off, so check out the first part of the story to get caught up.

By the time we boarded our second tuk-tuk (this one costing even less than the first, with a driver who spoke excellent English and understood every single word), we knew better than to expect the driver (that’s him above) to take us directly to the sites he suggested. Doubling as a 70-cent tour guide, our driver stopped at several photo spots along the way, pausing for a few moments for us to snap a photo or two each time before aggressively merging back into traffic.

Click the “read more” link to read about the rest of our adventure, with plenty more photos for proof.

Our first stop was the Golden Mount, a legitimate attraction that was once the highest point in Bangkok — a city that seems to have grown as vast as Beijing.

As we climbed up the stairs, I was relieved to see that our day of touring had finally begun, even though it was already after 3 p.m. at that point.

We took several photos and headed back down to our cabbie, who was of course waiting patiently by the exit. He walked us around the corner to another temple (having already established a rapport with my father, telling him he looked like “George Bush, the father”).

Inside the temple, we met a very friendly gentleman who introduced himself as the temple’s “sponsor,” having recently donated $100,000 to keep the lights on. We really wanted to believe his story about how he made his fortune growing rice several hours from Bangkok, and came back to the city to visit often, for several days at a time. Being the temple’s “sponsor,” he naturally needed to spend his days hanging around to talk to tourists. After 10 minutes of his stories (to provide context for what was to come next), he casually suggested that we visit “Thai Center,” as we made our way out.

After we returned to our tuk-tuk, our driver excused himself to the bathroom (why hadn’t he gone during the hour or two we had spent at the temples?), leaving us exposed to the other potential scam artists who were hanging out in the parking lot. Not a minute passed before a “lawyer” approached us, talking about the suits he just purchased at — wait for it — THAI CENTER! Speaking fairly good English, he asked where we were from, and then explained that he loved the U.S., and had earned his degree at UCLA (I guess he figured Columbia was too close to home). He mentioned the specific store where he purchased his suits (which I jotted down on my iPhone), and even added that Obama purchased his suits there (we didn’t want to disappoint him, so we let that one slide)! By then our driver had returned, but politely allowed us to finish talking to the lawyer as he washed the windshield of his tuk-tuk.

We asked the driver to take us to Thai Center (expecting an open-air market, or shopping mall), but weren’t surprised when we pulled up to the exact same suit shop that the lawyer in the temple parking lot had told us about. Of course the driver never asked for directions, and had been in the bathroom when the lawyer dropped the store’s name.

Knowing that we had been set up, we decided to go in to check out the store anyway, to compare pricing to what we had seen at stores in Hong Kong. The very opinionated salesman trashed Hong Kong workmanship (known to be the best in Asia), explaining that Thai suits were of far better quality. “Hong Kong suits, you wear for two months and throw away. Thai suits last for many years.” Well shit, I guess they had been full of it in Hong Kong — I imagine the two suits my father had purchased there were already beginning to disintegrate back at the hotel.

Nonetheless, the prices were very reasonable, and I ended up purchasing two sports jackets, two pairs of pants, and two shirts, while my father added one more suit and an overcoat to his collection.

We returned to our tuk-tuk, not discussing our purchases with the driver, who spoke of the Reclining Buddha that we were headed to next. A few minutes later, we pulled up to ANOTHER store — this one selling rare stones. We called out the driver on his scam, insisting that he take us to the Buddha instead. After a minute of the driver begging us to visit the store (“for his children!” … wow, these drivers have no shame), we agreed to go inside for a moment.

We walked inside to find the store empty — well, there were plenty of salesmen around, eager to send us home with an incredible deal. We looked at a ring or two before leaving the store. Amused by the day’s events at that point, we returned to our tuk-tuk yet again, assuming that the driver would actually bring us to see the Buddha this time.

I pulled out my iPhone, having noted the location of the Reclining Buddha earlier that day, and noticed that we were heading to the river, and away from the attraction. We instructed the driver to pull over, which he did, only to hop out immediately and pull out a laminated brochure for boat tours. “Just one boat ride and then Reclining Buddha,” he said, not willing to take no for an answer. We refused, and asked him to drive us back to the hotel instead. He started yelling, “No! Too far! Too Far!,” explaining that the boat would drop us off near the hotel. When we refused, he said he would take us to the dock to catch a public ferry for 20 baht (about 70 cents — the same amount as our tuk-tuk fare, and far less than the 1,000 baht for the private boat that he had suggested).

We said we would walk, at which point he set down the boat brochure and pulled out another — this one with nothing but pictures of women. You can guess what he was trying to sell at that point. My father began to walk away, but still sitting in the tuk-tuk, I refused to leave until he told me how much he had been paid for each of our stops. After a few minutes of waiting (literally), he finally admitted that he had been paid 200 baht by the suit store, about $7, and 10 times the amount of our taxi fare.

I exited the cab, feeling at least a little satisfied that the driver had not only admitted (finally) that he was being paid a commission for each of our stops, but revealing the amount (for one of the stops, at least). I asked our driver if we could have our photo taken with him — and to my surprise he agreed, even appearing flattered that we had asked — before he drove off without even requesting the 20 baht fare.

We walked around a market nearby, then met up with a couple friends of mine for dinner, who had spent that day at work while my father and I had quite the adventure in the city. My Thai friend wasn’t surprised in the least to hear our story at dinner, and at least we were only going home with some cheap suits, and not thousands of dollars in rare costume jewelry (the gems may have been real, but were certainly worth nothing close to the amount the stores were asking us to pay, even in the U.S.).

The moral of the story: Don’t trust anyone when traveling overseas, especially if what they’re pitching sounds far too good to be true. And always do your research before making any large purchase. Your credit card company won’t be likely to wipe your record of a $5,000, 2-carat loose sapphire, especially with your signature on a receipt.

Here’s how it all began:

Shortly after leaving our hotel, my father (who is joining me for the Bangkok portion of my Asia trip) and I met “Charlie” (on the street in the photo above), an incredibly friendly, well-dressed Thai man who introduced himself as the head of security at our hotel, explaining that he had seen us in the hotel earlier this morning. “Charlie” seemed suspiciously friendly, but not enough to raise any initial concern, so we allowed him to talk us into abandoning our plans to visit the Grand Palace, instead choosing to check out the wholesale gem market at Thai Center, which he explained was open to the public for two days only — for the first time ever — in celebration of its 25th anniversary. He suggested a couple other sites, including a temple that I didn’t recognize, and walked us down the street to the nearest taxi stand, helping us choose a tuk-tuk, and even negotiating the fare (just $1, including all of our stops) with the driver.

Our tuk-tuk driver spoke English surprisingly well (our far more expensive sedan cab driver from the airport didn’t speak a single word of English), and drove us several miles down narrow alleys to our first site — a non-discript Buddhist temple.

In the temple we met “Chef Tony,” the “Executive Chef at the Four Seasons in London,” who broke the ice by asking if we were Buddhist (!!!), before explaining that he was in town to visit his family, and to take advantage of the incredibly low prices for rare gems, which he was purchasing for investment.

“Chef Tony” spoke briefly about his family and life in London (which he claimed to absolutely despise) before quickly changing the subject, focusing on his gem purchases.

I STRONGLY suggest that you click the “read more” link to continue.

As if on cue, “Chef Tony” pulled out a map of Bangkok, identifying a market where he found the best deals. Then he pulled out a notepad and pen, drawing a flow chart while explaining the advantages of buying gems directly from the source in Thailand, rather than spending “several times more” to purchase them in the States. Slightly insulted that our new friend felt the need to draw a flow chart to explain a basic supply chain, we listened attentively, admittedly curious about how we could take advantage of similar deals.

Just as quickly as he pulled out the map, the chef reached into his Louis Vuitton handbag to display two certificates of authenticity, which featured photos of his two recent purchases (and displayed Monday’s date). I didn’t consider questioning Tony until I was unconvinced of the authenticity of the certificates themselves.

Just a few moments later, Tony pulled out a brochure from The Exotic Center — the same rare gem market that “Charlie” had mentioned an hour or so before.

Even this didn’t raise concern, and we returned to our driver, asking him to take us to the market (which he found without asking for any directions).

As we arrived at The Exotic Center, our driver emphasized that we should take our time shopping as he waited outside. Really? All that waiting for a single dollar?

After we walked into the market, we were whisked up to the third floor by a woman who met us at the entrance, and made our first stop at a long jewelry counter. After a sales associate pulled out  a tray of mens’ rings, I began asking questions about the market, anniversary promotion, and typical distribution channels, since the market was set up like a large jewelry store with unique items, rather than the wholesale market I had envisioned.

Only interested in gems for investment, I asked to see loose stones, and was brought into another room with tiny gems, with prices ranging from $3,500 to $10,000 and up, depending on quality and carat size (typically just over 2 carats) for each stone. I admittedly know absolutely nothing about gems, but thought it was a bit odd that the store’s blue sapphires were priced higher than diamonds, especially after Tony had mentioned that prices were three times higher back home.

I decided to leave, but reconsidered when the saleswoman explained that the direct-to-consumer sale ended today, in just under four hours. Instead of leaving, I asked to use their computer to do some research. The first woman we met led me downstairs into a back office, where she showed me to an empty desk so I could search the Web. After about five minutes of digging (and finding not one reference to the market under its current name), I stumbled upon a website called “Bangkok & Thailand Scams,” and this post (click for link) in particular.

I emailed one of the comments to my iPhone, and brought it upstairs to show my father. We quickly left, and returned to our tuk tuk, which was still waiting outside. We asked the driver to take us to the Grand Palace, but after a few minutes of driving I noticed that the blue dot on my iPhone was traveling in the opposite direction of our requested destination — into a questionable-looking area — and instructed the driver to pull over and let us out.

We paid the agreed-upon fare and hopped in a real taxi (the kind with four wheels and four doors), and set off for the Golden Palace. We didn’t walk 100 feet before a good samaritan approached us, explaining that the Palace was closed for the day, and that we wouldn’t be able to enter wearing shorts anyway. He suggested some alternatives, and walked us over to a row of waiting tuk tuks, negotiating a fare of about 70 cents, including all of our stops, of course.

To be continued! Check back tomorrow to read about the rest of the day’s scams, including one that actually ended up costing us some money.

Update: Read about the rest of the day here.

I’m going to start this post off with a warning: If you hold a U.S. or UK passport, don’t bother trying to go to Shenzhen without a Chinese visa. Temporary “day pass” visas (valid for the city of Shenzhen only) are available to most other passport holders, but for whatever reason, U.S. and UK are specifically excluded. That said, if you’re able to get a visa, a visit to Shenzhen is a must, if only for an hour or two. I have a one-year multiple-entry Chinese visa, so I was able to cross the border into China, while the two friends traveling with me were not permitted to leave Hong Kong.

If you fall within the “able to get a visa” category, then getting to China couldn’t be easier. Simply take the MTR East Rail Line to Lo Wu station. The ride takes about 45 minutes from one end of the line to the other. Assuming you don’t already have a visa (and you’re not a citizen of the U.S. or UK), look for the “China Travel Services” desk before exiting the MTR fare zone. You’ll know very quickly whether or not you’ll be able to get into China (the agent simply told my friends “no no no no no no” when she saw their U.S. passports). If you get the same response, head on back to Hong Kong WITHOUT passing through the MTR fare checkpoint. If you don’t cross the fare gates, you’ll avoid paying a fare of about 39 HKD each way (totaling more than 10 USD roundtrip). You can simply return to a station in Hong Kong and pay a much more reasonable fare.

If you do manage to get a Chinese visa (or already have one), then you’ll first pass through the MTR fare gate (you can use your Octopus card), followed by Hong Kong immigration.

Click the “read more” link for many more photos of Shenzhen, shopping, and information about the immigration process.

After you leave Hong Kong, you’ll cross an enclosed bridge into China (notice the significant security presence in the photo above).

After crossing the bridge, you’ll continue on to Chinese immigration.

If you manage to exit Hong Kong immigration before obtaining a Chinese visa, you can try your luck on the Chinese side (not recommended). The immigration agent at the visa window didn’t speak any English, and was more interested in chowing down on his boxed lunch than helping tourists.

Congratulations! You’ve made it to China (after passing through another immigration counter, which I didn’t dare photograph).

There are no English signs, English speakers, 7-Eleven stores, or Bentleys here, so brace yourself for immediate culture shock. It was by no means a fair sample, but from the market workers I spoke to, it seemed that many of the locals don’t know much about Hong Kong, and have certainly never been there.

What there are plenty of, however, are stores selling knockoffs. You can buy a knockoff of pretty much anything — designer bags, clothes, even electronics. The prices aren’t nearly as low as what I’ve seen in Beijing, however, so if your travel plans include a stop in another Chinese city, I’d avoid shopping in Shenzhen.

The good news is that you won’t need to venture far from the border to buy them. Luohu Commercial Center is one of Shenzhen’s largest shopping “malls” (your mall at home is nothing like this), and it’s located just a few feet from the Hong Kong border crossing.

See these iPhones above? They’re not real. Not only can you find one knockoff iPhone model in China — there are literally dozens available, with many of them sold in Shenzhen, which ironically is where Foxconn manufactures the iPhone 4G.

There are also legitimate products sold in Shenzhen, such as prescription glasses (though many of the frames are designer knockoffs).

You can also buy jade in Shenzhen, though I’d suggest checking very carefully for fakes.

Oh, and of course clothes as well, including fake Polo shirts, pants, and designer suits. Negotiated prices were significantly higher than those in Beijing, however, so I left empty handed.

When you’re ready to head back to Hong Kong (one hour in Shenzhen was more than enough for me), simply walk over to the border crossing, just around the corner from the market.

You’ll still have another chance to buy a knockoff iPad or iPad Mini (!!!) before crossing the border.

Head on over to Chinese immigration, and be prepared to wait in line for quite a while. The line was only about 20 minutes long when I arrived, but it stretched around the corner by the time I made it up to an immigration officer. Crossing back into Hong Kong is much simpler than exiting China (my passport has never been examined so closely), for whatever reason.

The Shenzhen skyline from the Hong Kong side. Who knows if I’ll ever return…

I’m leaving to pursue a career in real estate. Yeah, you heard me correctly – real estate. I’ve grown to love the ins and outs of Manhattan’s real estate market after making some recent investments – to the extent that I come home every night to check the latest listings, and even get text alerts on my phone when the closing price of a property in my neighborhood becomes public. I couldn’t pass up this opportunity, even if it meant walking away from a job I worked so hard to get. I’d be happy to explain exactly what I’ll be doing when I see you in person – the position couldn’t be a better fit.

I’ll still be the geek who refreshes the live stream frantically during Apple keynotes, and the guy you ask which entry-level DSLR to get your dad for Father’s Day. I plan to continue writing for PC Magazine and other publications on a freelance basis as time allows. You might even see me at parties and media events, as a “plus 1” of one of my very good industry friends, or perhaps representing my soon-to-be-frequently updated Tech, Travel & Tuna blog (look up – this is it).

The good news: not being tied to a magazine frees me up to post here more, to be more blunt in my Twitter posts, and gives me time to really play with some of the gadgets I never had a chance to before. The bad news: I’m leaving a corps of incredible journalists and some very hard-working vendors, who made my job a constant adventure.

As always, you can reach me at zshonig [at] gmail [dot] com.

Zach

P.S. Below you will find the job description for my soon-to-be-vacant position at PCMag.com. Please let me know if you have any questions about the required qualifications or job responsibilities.

Staff Editor – Consumer Electronics

Job Responsibilities:
–Produce, line edit, and write product reviews
–Write news stories, blog posts, and weekly newsletters
–Write and edit product roundups and buying guide
–Maintain a product reviews database and provide general support for analysts
–Help to maintain and update 15 landing pages on PCMag.com
–Prepare product photos for landing pages
–Meet with vendors for product briefings
–Represent PCMag at industry events

Applicant Requirements:
–At least 4 years of editing and online production experience, preferably in the tech arena. Knowledge and experience with the aforementioned product categories is a plus.
–Solid writing and editing skills and a keen eye for detail. Copy editing experience is a plus.
–Experience working with a content management system. Image editing experience is a plus.
–Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, competitive, deadline-driven environment
–Self-starter and proactive problem solver with a positive attitude
–Interest in and experience with social media is a plus
–Bachelors Degree (Journalism, Communications, or English preferred)

Here are the basic steps (read on further below for a bit more detail):

1. Sign up (and be accepted) for the Starwood Preferred Guest American Express card using the referral link I send (Email me for the link).
2. Email me a screenshot of your account statement once your 10,000 Starwood points post (6-8 weeks after you first sign up for the card).
3. For every 20 referrals, I will have someone in that group of 20 randomly select an iPad winner (more details below). If there are fewer than 20 referrals but more than 10, an iPod touch will be awarded. If there are 40 referrals, two iPads will be awarded, etc. If there are fewer than 10, a random gadget of my choosing will be awarded. The winner can also select a $500 cash prize in place of the iPad. Basically, the more friends you tell about the contest, the better your chances of winning!

Now the fine print:

My good friends know how much I love the Starwood Preferred Guest card (and my iPad), and several of them have the card themselves (thanks to me) and love it just as much as I do. Points I’ve earned from my SPG card have paid for trips to Peru and Japan in their entirety. But truth be told, I’m not simply offering this contest out of the goodness of my heart… SPG will award me 5,000 points per referral, and if enough people sign up for me to award four iPads, then I’ll be able to take my family on an awesome vacation!

The first person in each group of 20 will be contacted to select a winner based on a random number assignment (each email account will be assigned a random number, and the first person in each group will simply select a number between 1 and 20).

This contest is in absolutely no way affiliated with my employer.

You can email a screenshot of the points in your account to enter, but each winner will be required to provide me with temporary access to their online SPG account (not the AMEX credit card account) so I can verify that the promotion rules were followed correctly. (So no submitting screenshots!)

Though this contest appears to be in compliance with the SPG promotion rules, if SPG decides to cancel the promotion or my account at any time, then I will be unable to award a prize. Each cardholder will receive 10,000 Starwood points just for signing up for the card, however (20,000 points is typically enough for one roundtrip domestic airline ticket). The SPG AMEX is a credit card, so use your best judgment before signing up for the card. There is a $45 annual fee AFTER the first year, though you may cancel the card at any time after your 10,000 points have been applied. Please read all the fine print when signing up for the card.

Please feel free to contact me with questions.

Good luck!

Zach

Q: Well, how was Beijing? Should I go?

A: After spending two months living in Beijing, I’d hesitate to recommend the city to tourists looking to soak up Chinese history and culture. Sure — there’s plenty of that in Beijing, but there’s so much more to China that you won’t be able to see through Beijing’s environmental and propaganda haze. I came to tolerate life in the city towards the end of my journey, but only because the Olympics were in town, and many familiar Western conveniences became available, such as an Apple Store and Cold Stone. Unless you speak Mandarin, communication with locals is almost always impossible. Some are learning limited English, but are unable to pronounce words correctly due to a lack of native speakers to practice with.

For photographers, Beijing can be a great place to shoot on clear days, but unfortunately, the sun only breaks through the clouds every so often. If you’re only in town for a week, you may not have a single day without a hazy blanket to get in the way of you and that perfect shot. The Chinese make incredible subjects, and are generally more open to photographers than Westerners. Unfortunately, I think much of this comes from a fear of confrontation, especially when they’re unable to communicate with the foreigner behind the camera.

Q: What was it like to work at the Olympics?

A: I can’t even begin to describe the Olympic experience – it was so incredible to be able to work alongside the world’s top photographers, reporters, and athletes. Just being around the athletes was a thrill – there were so many, from almost every country in the world. There were also plenty of opportunities for staff and journalists to mingle with athletes outside of the competition venues, especially towards the end of the Games.

During the first week of competition, I answered questions for photographers at the road cycling course (and ended up doing quite a bit of computer troubleshooting as well). A few days after road cycling, I transferred to indoor volleyball, where I worked as a flash quotes reporter, interviewing athletes in the mixed zone alongside reporters from around the world. Often, we had to work through translators — it was really an experience unlike any other.

Q: Can I work at Vancouver 2010 or London 2012?

A: Honestly, I’m not quite sure. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) required the Beijing Organizing Committee (BOCOG) to hire native English speakers from overseas only because very few were qualified in China. Fortunately for the next Winter and Summer Games, that’s not the case — both will be held in countries where English is the official language. If you’re an expert with relevant experience, feel free to contact VANOC or LOCOG for more information about joining their staffs during the Games. I’d certainly recommend giving it a shot — working at the Olympics is an experience like no other.

I have a few regrets about my experience in China. Some are less significant, and were only realized when I read the United Airlines magazine on the flight back to the States. I can’t believe I spent two months in Beijing and only visited half of the locations they suggested in their cover article. I never made it to the restaurant, Made in China, but I certainly heard great things. My biggest regret, however, is not taking more time to travel around the country. I visited Shanghai and Tianjin, and made a side trip to the suburbs with Vincent Laforet, but I really wish I had taken more time in the beginning of my trip to explore other parts of the country. Some friends flew to see pandas in their native habitat near Chengdu, or visited the Terracotta Army at Xi’an. I’d love to visit China again at some point in the near future — but I don’t think Beijing will make it on my itinerary.

This marks my final post to Behind the Lens at the Beijing Olympics. Thanks for visiting, and feel free to continue sending questions or adding your comments to individual posts.