1. A warm coat.
China is cold, colder than the US, also indoors in China is very often cinderblock with no heating to speak of, pack a good coat
2. A weeks worth of Tshirts.
In America I am an XL, the most common size in men's shirts. Conversely in China I'm a 6-7XL. Unless you have your shirts made for you it is impossible to find larger American sizes in China.
3. Hiking boots, walking shoes, sandals, casual sneakers.
I'm a US 13 in shoes, that's a Chinese 46. They stop selling shoes at a 36. Bring shoes from home or go barefoot.
4. 2-3 good pairs of jeans.
I like Levi's 511 commuter jeans, they are water proof, double stitched, and last forever.
5. 2-3 pairs of cargo shorts.
Just like China is colder than the US, China is also hotter than the US. With 80% of the population on the coast, chances are if you are in China, it's going to be humid. Pack accordingly.
6. A 1 year supply of the following items which are either, hard to find, not available, or really expensive.
Deodorant
-China is smelly
Tylenol
-China is loud
Imodium, Tums, Pepto
-Chinese food is spicy
Hand sanitizer
-China is dirty
Birth control/ contraception
-idk about you, but I'd rather not have a baby in a Chinese hospital
Tampons
-do not exist, if you are a girl, or traveling with your wife like I am plan accordingly.
7. Socks, underwear, under shirts.
Again Chinese sizes are small
8. MacBook
Chinese Internet can be touch and go and the Great Firewall of China makes things like Facebook and Google difficult, but any amount of time without Internet access is a pain and buying a computer in China is going to be expensive, and also in Chinese.
9. iPhone
I'm going to be taking the SIM card out and just using Wifi, international roaming charges are insane. Plus my phone is my camera. WATCH OUT FOR PICK POCKETS.
10. A good backpack.
I recommend a bag made by pacsafe, they are anti theft travel bags with locking zippers and slash proof material to keep thieves out of your stuff. (More on this in a later post)
11. Lonely Plant phrase book/travel guides.
Get the general China travel guide from lonely planet and then which ever big city you plan on exploring ( Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong are available at Barnes and Nobel). Having a little book that lets you ask where the bathroom is, can save you the embarrassment of miming that out in bad sign language.
12.Kindle.
I don't know about everyone, but for me books are essential, and I don't want to spend long flights, and long train rides bored. The selection of English language books is so limited it may as well be non-existent in China so my Kindle is coming with me.
13. Ukulele
Last time I brought a guitar and it was to big and heavy and just generally inconvenient. I grew up in Hawai'i and my Uke is a good, travel sized alternative.
14. Rolls of pennies
I'm bringing a few rolls of pennies to give to my classes, Chinese kids will think they are cool I promise.
15.photojojo lenses
Attachments for my phone's camera.
16. Taco seasoning.
Western food is hard to come by, but Mexican food is impossible, unless you make your own.
17. Herbal Tea
Everyone drinks tea, but with the diet restrictions that go along with being Mormon carrying your own tea is safer.
18. Business Clothes
A least one set of nice clothes may come in handy, plus it's better to pack it and not need it then need it and not have it.
19. Sunblock
Hard to find, and essential.
20.Business Cards
A card with your name, address and where you are from in English and in Chinese will save you, especially useful for taxi drivers.
Questions or comments? Did i miss anything? Blogminks@gmail.com
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