What to take with me

[Zhou Zhou]

Good point... ask for a Western Toilet.... I have been in a nice hotel only to have to change rooms, because these knees don't.... well you know

 

Yup, I always make sure the hotels have a western toilet and heat/air conditioner...and elevator is nice too...In my experience they usually put the lao wai up in the higher altitudes.

 

Even in our apartment building the elevator to my floor has been out for 18 months. We have an expression, "OIC"...Only in China.

[weiaijiayou]

Good point... ask for a Western Toilet.... I have been in a nice hotel only to have to change rooms, because these knees don't.... well you know

 

Yup, I always make sure the hotels have a western toilet and heat/air conditioner...and elevator is nice too...In my experience they usually put the lao wai up in the higher altitudes.

 

Even in our apartment building the elevator to my floor has been out for 18 months. We have an expression, "OIC"...Only in China.

 

reminds me of a few times ago when i was in beijing. apartment on the 20th floor, two elevators, at least one of which was out of order on any given day (sometimes the one not working switched mid-day -- only in china). the neighbor liked eating fresh walnuts first thing every morning, using a mallet. the first few days i thought there was construction going on next door -- only in china.

[george lee]

Good point... ask for a Western Toilet.... I have been in a nice hotel only to have to change rooms, because these knees don't.... well you know

 

Yup, I always make sure the hotels have a western toilet and heat/air conditioner...and elevator is nice too...In my experience they usually put the lao wai up in the higher altitudes.

 

Even in our apartment building the elevator to my floor has been out for 18 months. We have an expression, "OIC"...Only in China.

 

 

strange...all the hotels i been to in china, they don't have heat, only heavy heavy blankets in closet. AC is given but never heat from my experiences. i remember my first hotel in jianmen, turning up the heat but only cold air coming out of the vent. i thought it would take while to heat up but nothing, only cold air. i called front desk and asked for heat and they told me no heat, only heavy blankets . every hotel i went, i checked for hot air and nothing but cold air.

[Zhou Zhou]

strange...all the hotels i been to in china, they don't have heat, only heavy heavy blankets in closet.

 

 

My wife and I were in Beijing last month and it was cold at night, but the heat didn't work....my wife told me in Beijing they turn on the heat(steam) November 1st and turn it off March 1st...brrrr!

 

Ya know if you think about it the Chinese do a lot to conserve energy and environment....but it's a fact they are years behind catching up for the destruction caused be their industrial revolution.

 

ZZ

[Christopher]

As far as I am concerned, the young lady is in charge of deciding what she is up for. She's not a little girl anymore, and her family is hundreds of kilometers away. I'm just going to be a Boy Scout about it, and Be Prepared, because she ought to have a good time whatever she wants to do.

This sounds like a decent way to approach the situation, with one caveat: the decision shouldn't be completely up to her, as the seriousness of your own feelings toward her and your intentions for the future should also determine what you're willing to do (and, depending on the situation you may be walking into with a young lovestruck chinese woman, what you're willing to let her do with you). many of the chinese women i know are VERY willing to express their love for their man even before marriage. unfortunately, though, i've heard of a few cases where the american guy thought he would be in it for the long run, but then his plans changed.

 

your intentions seem to be in the right place. but to play off of your metaphor: don't think like a boyscout (i.e., "i'll do it as long as she wants to"). be a gentleman, err on the side of caution and romance. if you do, she'll want you even more.

Well, that's precisely what I meant by Be Prepared. Nothing would spoil a nice mood, and provide an opportunity for second thoughts like having to run out for a 3 pack before going further.

Edited April 23, 2009 by Christopher (see edit history)

[usaRichard]

 

It's the old, "If she'll have sex with you, she'll have sex with anyone" trip

people, each is unique and the circumstances cannot be grouped into "it's the old" too many varibles. Like life, we each try to see it thru our own window and say what should be for others.

[Randy W]

 

It's the old, "If she'll have sex with you, she'll have sex with anyone" trip

people, each is unique and the circumstances cannot be grouped into "it's the old" too many varibles. Like life, we each try to see it thru our own window and say what should be for others.

 

Sorry, I'll stand by what I said - mattman's comment was "an old" trip to lay on someone

[pkfops]

OK, having taken all of y'alls input and digested it, here's what I've come up with for my travel.

 

neck pouch:

-- passport w/ Chinese tourist visa

-- boarding passes/reservations

-- money/credit cards/ID

 

22" carryon:

-- 1 pair canvas pants

-- 1 pair chinos

-- 2 long sleeved shirts

-- 2 short sleeved shirts

-- belt

-- tie

-- 4 pair undershorts

-- 4 pair Coolmax/X-static socks

-- trail runner shoes

-- dance shoes

-- bathroom kit

 

messenger bag:

-- ziplock baggie

-- sleeping kit

-- modest gift for the young lady

-- computer gear

-- photo gear

-- iPod

-- electrical adapter

-- 2 ink pens

-- a few dozen paper napkins

-- baby wipes

-- 2 or 3 new books

-- extra change of underwear & socks

-- extra toothbrush

 

bathroom kit:

-- american style TP

-- antidiarrheal

-- laxative

-- ibuprofen

-- ranitidine

-- ambien

-- razor

-- comb

-- antiperspirant

-- dental floss

-- toothbrush

 

ziplock baggie:

-- hand sanitizer

-- toothpaste

-- shampoo

-- hair gel

-- deodorant body wash

-- facial wash

-- shave gel

-- antifungal cream

-- hydrocortisone

-- antibiotic cream

-- sunblock

 

sleeping kit:

-- neck pillow

-- eyemask

-- ambien

-- 3 oz Bacardi 150 proof rum

 

computer gear:

-- laptop

-- headset

-- mouse

-- power brick

-- Ethernet cable

-- sound cables

 

photo gear:

-- digicam

-- UV, CPL and IR filters

-- extra SD cards

-- charger & spare battery

 

clothes to wear on the flight:

-- hoodie

-- short sleeved shirt

-- cargo pants with drawstring

-- slip on shoes

 

Before I go:

-- get vaccinated for HEP A

 

I have a nice deal in that I can park at my office and take a bus to the airport, so I will leave my cell phone and car keys in my desk.

Depending on who your cell phone carrier is you may want to take it. One of my biggest fears in China is being seperated from my wife and not being able to find her in the crowd. I unlocked both of our phones before we left and since the wife went ahead of me she picked up GDMA pre paid sim cards for us. I know T-mobile and ATT phones work in China.

 

 

I know the feeling.

 

On my first trip we were out at a busy street market in GZ.

 

My wife stepped to the side to use the phone after being paged and I lost sight of her. All I saw were people with black hair.

 

You've gotten some good advice but I would go light on the tech gear and bathroom items. At best take some kleenex packets. Remember they do have stores there and at a better price. What they don't have is foot powder/spray.

 

A money belt with enough $100 to cover you while you are there and to buy an air ticket home if needed is a safe bet.

 

If you have a backpack, secure the zippers with snap swivels. Most thieves don't know how to unlock them.

 

have fun

[shadeOgray]

Is the name on your credit cards exactly the same as your name on your passport? Middle name or middle initial? Someone add the Jr you never use to one of them? If it isn't you can run into trouble.

 

I tried to use a card with my middle initial and not my middle name that appears on my passport at a large store in Beijing and after being shuttled around to several cashiers, several phone calls and extended conversation with my then fiancee, they handed my card and passport back and she said "let's go!", refusing to tell me what they said. Back at the hotel I found out she was told I was trying to use someone else credit card! She was embarrassed and I was asked to prove that I really was me!

 

So if one of your cards says EXACTLY what your passport says, it could save you some trouble.

I don't intend to use my card any place but the ATM so I should be ok. We did run into some thing similar once with western union and went pretty much as you described.

[Guest jin979]

dont forget house shoes

[chengdu4me]

Good point Jin! If you have feet bigger than size 9, good luck getting the house shoes in the hotel to fit! If you are size 11 or larger, you won't even be able to get your foot in them.

[jsa23]

Good point Jin! If you have feet bigger than size 9, good luck getting the house shoes in the hotel to fit! If you are size 11 or larger, you won't even be able to get your foot in them.

 

Haha, I goofed on this the first time. I wear size 15 shoes, and didn't bring an extra pair or anything to wear indoors. The results were pretty humorous, me hooking a couple toes under the straps of the house shoes and basically walking on the balls of my feet whenever I was inside.

 

I definitely concur with Jin's advice on this one, for anyone with even moderately large feet.

[pkfops]

For laundry:

 

Clothes are to be handwashed nightly.

 

The little lady will teach you.

 

"You no send clothes to hotel laundry, somebody might wear them."

 

Remember; this is also a training session. Know the signs.

[bokiwen]

Just some notes from my experiences ---

 

- Some hotels will give you bottled water every day --- I typically used that when brushing my teeth. (BTW: some hotels even provide new toothbrush and toothpase every day!)

 

- I usually get a z-pack from my doctor. 3 out of my 5 trips I've had to use them (of course, maybe my situation is different, because I was working in some steel mills, where the air quality is perhaps a little worse).

 

- I don't take them with me, but I would usually buy an iron and small ironing board in China. Typically hotels don't have them, and if you hand wash your clothes, it can help with the wrinkles.

 

- Power Adapters (which can be readily bought in China). Some hotels have these "all in one" power stips, where you can plug in US plugs which are rated for 220/240 V.

 

- Used my ATM typically at Bank of China.

 

- If you are going to take a shot of rum to help you sleep, you might have to buy it on the plane, or perhaps duty free. I'm not sure the TSA will let that through.

 

- Just something I liked to do, is bring some $2.00 bills or some $1.00 coins. I enjoyed giving them away to people I worked with, and occasionally sometimes children would come up to me, and I would give them some. A word of caution on this, as sometimes I would give money to beggars (I could tell you a story of a woman and child I saw that who were paper thin), and this was a source of disagreement between me and my wife.

[Zhou Zhou]

My wife loves me to bring her a bottle of, Southern Comfort, but I can't blame her. I take it in my checked luggage.

 

A woman and her little girl (granddaughter) came up to me to sell a rose ...my wife and her friend jumped on her like fleas on a dogs back...they didn't like her using the little girl to beg/scam lao wais.

My lao po picks and chooses who I can give donations to on the streets...what can I say? ZZ