What to bring
Mar 26th, 2007, 05:08 PM
#1
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What to bring
I am touring HK to Beijing with 15 others in late May for two weeks. I am thinking I can probably buy half of what I need in HK and otherwise trying to travel light. I am looking for suggestions of must have's that I need to bring from US. Should I bring a portable pump-style water purifier or just buy bottled? (I will be hoteling, not camping), any medicines like imodium,dramamine,bug spray just in case? What about vaccines beforehand?
I am also one of those gadgeteers, but trying to talk myself out of bringing laptop/phone/gps/pda/thingamajigs. I would like to make some contact with family and work(I know)sometime. Thought about renting a phone from stateside company that will work in China . People tell me I would be crazy to leave my laptop -I could use it as virtual tourbook and keep in touch with all of you. It just keeps adding up.
Other than the usual clothes, raingear camera, adapters -what are must haves and the good ideas?
I am also one of those gadgeteers, but trying to talk myself out of bringing laptop/phone/gps/pda/thingamajigs. I would like to make some contact with family and work(I know)sometime. Thought about renting a phone from stateside company that will work in China . People tell me I would be crazy to leave my laptop -I could use it as virtual tourbook and keep in touch with all of you. It just keeps adding up.
Other than the usual clothes, raingear camera, adapters -what are must haves and the good ideas?
Mar 26th, 2007, 05:19 PM
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Plan to drink bottled water.
Bring any medicines you need or think you may need. Counterfit medicines are a major problem in China (which is the source for most of the counterfit medicines in the worls, according to a recent article in the NYT).
For vaccines. read all about it at www.cdc.gov/travel. Note that in my experience, most tours do not give accurate info on recommended vaccines. They simply note that "none are required" which leaves mush info for the individual to discover for themselves.
Leave most/all of your gadgets at home. Your cellphone probably won't work there anyway, you'll have to pay for your internet connection for your laptop (and you'll worry about it getting stolen), which is more expensive thn using internet cafes. And do you really want your pda reminding you of the meetings you are missing?
Even adaptors (if you need any, given my advice to leave your electronics at home) are readily available on loan from your hotel.
Less is more.
Bring any medicines you need or think you may need. Counterfit medicines are a major problem in China (which is the source for most of the counterfit medicines in the worls, according to a recent article in the NYT).
For vaccines. read all about it at www.cdc.gov/travel. Note that in my experience, most tours do not give accurate info on recommended vaccines. They simply note that "none are required" which leaves mush info for the individual to discover for themselves.
Leave most/all of your gadgets at home. Your cellphone probably won't work there anyway, you'll have to pay for your internet connection for your laptop (and you'll worry about it getting stolen), which is more expensive thn using internet cafes. And do you really want your pda reminding you of the meetings you are missing?
Even adaptors (if you need any, given my advice to leave your electronics at home) are readily available on loan from your hotel.
Less is more.
Mar 26th, 2007, 08:19 PM
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If you have not already packed them, some things to bring would be:
1. Hat
2. Umbrella (is an excellent sunshade as well)
3. Small travel binoculars
4. Flashlight
5. Earplugs
I don’t know what you mean by ‘buying half of what you need in Hong Kong”. While you can buy virtually anything you want here, I don’t know that I would want to spend my time in Hong Kong shopping for clothes, and unless you really want to hunt around in the discount bins (which again takes more time), you won’t find clothes to be any cheaper (although there is no sales tax). At least that has been my experience. There is a lot to do and see here in Hong Kong, I don’t understand why you would want to waste it shopping for clothes. Get thee to the Lands End website and be done with it.....
I would never carry a laptop on a holiday, but that is just me. Too heavy, too bulky, one more carry-on I don’t want to lug around. It’s also a reminder of work. It could get stolen of course (although in about 15 years of leaving them in plain site in Asian hotel rooms I have never had a problem with this). If you could get a really light version of something just for writing a journal, getting e-mails and connecting to the net, and you didn’t mind lugging it around and did not care if it were lost/stolen, then that is up to you. Most hotels are going to charge you like US$20 a day for a connection. However, I think you will find cybercafés in many places in China to check e-mail for free or a very low connection charge, try cybercafe.com for a start. In Hong Kong, you can find free Internet access at Mix sandwich shops and most Pacific Coffee Company outlets (go to http://www.mix-world.com/default.asp and www.pacificcoffee.com for locations; FYI, you really should buy a cup of coffee or juice to use the terminals.)
As for a phone, really who are you going to call? Everyone in the States will be 12-15 hours behind your time, and it’s often hard to find a convenient time to call; it’s either too late for you or too early for them. You can also just call from your hotel room using a calling card. For “emergencies” other than in Hong Kong, you are gong to be hard pressed to find English speaking operators, so you are better off finding a real person to help in the event of an accident. The most useful thing might be a Blackberry, you can get e-mails and use it as a phone if necessary (just make sure you have international service). It’s small and light. You can write notes to yourself and even access the internet.
For vaccines, you should have an updated tetanus no matter where you live. If you don’t have an update hepatitis, it is too late for you to star the series for Hep A and B, but talk to your doctor as you may be able to get a shot of globulain for temporary Hep A immunity (again this is something that you should have no matter where you live). I would not take any malaria meds for where you are going. I would also make sure you are updated on things like a polio booster (a problem in India, not China but no point in not having one).
I think the Imodium is a good idea, mostly because if you need it, you won’t want to have to go out looking for it....you don’t need a water purifier. You can drink from the tap in Hong Kong (despite some local superstitions about this). You will have easy access to bottled water all over China.
1. Hat
2. Umbrella (is an excellent sunshade as well)
3. Small travel binoculars
4. Flashlight
5. Earplugs
I don’t know what you mean by ‘buying half of what you need in Hong Kong”. While you can buy virtually anything you want here, I don’t know that I would want to spend my time in Hong Kong shopping for clothes, and unless you really want to hunt around in the discount bins (which again takes more time), you won’t find clothes to be any cheaper (although there is no sales tax). At least that has been my experience. There is a lot to do and see here in Hong Kong, I don’t understand why you would want to waste it shopping for clothes. Get thee to the Lands End website and be done with it.....
I would never carry a laptop on a holiday, but that is just me. Too heavy, too bulky, one more carry-on I don’t want to lug around. It’s also a reminder of work. It could get stolen of course (although in about 15 years of leaving them in plain site in Asian hotel rooms I have never had a problem with this). If you could get a really light version of something just for writing a journal, getting e-mails and connecting to the net, and you didn’t mind lugging it around and did not care if it were lost/stolen, then that is up to you. Most hotels are going to charge you like US$20 a day for a connection. However, I think you will find cybercafés in many places in China to check e-mail for free or a very low connection charge, try cybercafe.com for a start. In Hong Kong, you can find free Internet access at Mix sandwich shops and most Pacific Coffee Company outlets (go to http://www.mix-world.com/default.asp and www.pacificcoffee.com for locations; FYI, you really should buy a cup of coffee or juice to use the terminals.)
As for a phone, really who are you going to call? Everyone in the States will be 12-15 hours behind your time, and it’s often hard to find a convenient time to call; it’s either too late for you or too early for them. You can also just call from your hotel room using a calling card. For “emergencies” other than in Hong Kong, you are gong to be hard pressed to find English speaking operators, so you are better off finding a real person to help in the event of an accident. The most useful thing might be a Blackberry, you can get e-mails and use it as a phone if necessary (just make sure you have international service). It’s small and light. You can write notes to yourself and even access the internet.
For vaccines, you should have an updated tetanus no matter where you live. If you don’t have an update hepatitis, it is too late for you to star the series for Hep A and B, but talk to your doctor as you may be able to get a shot of globulain for temporary Hep A immunity (again this is something that you should have no matter where you live). I would not take any malaria meds for where you are going. I would also make sure you are updated on things like a polio booster (a problem in India, not China but no point in not having one).
I think the Imodium is a good idea, mostly because if you need it, you won’t want to have to go out looking for it....you don’t need a water purifier. You can drink from the tap in Hong Kong (despite some local superstitions about this). You will have easy access to bottled water all over China.
Mar 27th, 2007, 06:54 AM
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Thanks -good suggestions. The reason I was going to shop in HK -well everything I look at here -Columbia, Northface etc. all have 'Made in China' labels. But if its a hassle and not any cheaper then I can Land's End it.
A Blackberry -sounds like a good idea. I am from a rural area without much wi-fi access so haven't looked into this but sounds like the best alternative. I will look into it. I suppose one model will work as well as another?
And a calling card using the hotel phone-gee, I forget that the old ways sometimes work better . Haven't been abroad lately, as you might tell.
A Blackberry -sounds like a good idea. I am from a rural area without much wi-fi access so haven't looked into this but sounds like the best alternative. I will look into it. I suppose one model will work as well as another?
And a calling card using the hotel phone-gee, I forget that the old ways sometimes work better . Haven't been abroad lately, as you might tell.
Mar 27th, 2007, 07:04 AM
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The issue for the Blackberry is whether it will work for you in China. Someone resently posted ehre about taking a Blackberry to Japan, her company said it was all set up for Japan, and... it wouldn't work. Remember that other countries use different protocols for cells phones, wi-fi, etc. So I wouldn't buy a Blackberry for this trip as it probably won't work!
Mar 27th, 2007, 08:10 AM
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From what I understand, It's actually not too late to start the twinrix vaccine for hep A/B. The first 2 doses have to be at least a month apart and from what I know they will provide some protection, even though you don't have the third dose. Talk to your doctor or a travel nurse for more information.
Mar 27th, 2007, 08:15 AM
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The North American name brand stuff like you mention won't be cheaper in Hong Kong unless you know where the factory outlets are.
But I buy lots of casual clothings in Hong Kong everytime I visit. Bossini sells clothes that are similar to Gap or JCrew or Land's End. Very decent quality. T-shirts sell for about $8-10. Which is about half the price of those N. American brands. They have dozens of stores everywhere, and at every mall. Not much more for long-sleeve Ts or button-down shirts.
But I buy lots of casual clothings in Hong Kong everytime I visit. Bossini sells clothes that are similar to Gap or JCrew or Land's End. Very decent quality. T-shirts sell for about $8-10. Which is about half the price of those N. American brands. They have dozens of stores everywhere, and at every mall. Not much more for long-sleeve Ts or button-down shirts.
Mar 27th, 2007, 08:20 AM
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If you want to use a cellphone, get an unlocked tri- or quad-band GSM phone here if you don't already have one. Ebay or Tigerdirect or elsewhere often have some around $80 to choose from.
Get a local card in Hong Kong. Several companies offer prepaid SIMs, starting at around US$6 - should have enough minutes to call local and the US for a few days. In China, do the same and buy a Shenzhouxing prepaid SIM for your occassional cell calls.
If you need to make long calls, then use a phone card and landline.
No idea about Blackberry.
Get a local card in Hong Kong. Several companies offer prepaid SIMs, starting at around US$6 - should have enough minutes to call local and the US for a few days. In China, do the same and buy a Shenzhouxing prepaid SIM for your occassional cell calls.
If you need to make long calls, then use a phone card and landline.
No idea about Blackberry.
Mar 27th, 2007, 04:54 PM
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AT&T sugggests just buying a phone card in China and using it. I imagine hotels would still have some sort of surcharge.
As far as clothing I was just thinking casual. Coton blends -pants, socks. T-shirts are souvenirs anyway. Sounds like a light gortex raincoat (it rains late May?) and small travel umbrella might be better brought from home. I wont be chasing outlets. I just thought that walking down a street I might just pass by such a shop.
As far as vaccinations I will ask my doctor (do they ever say no?). Hep A sounds like a good idea. I wasn't sure if there was a particular need in China for Hep B since age/ health/ lifestyle isn't an issue for me. I was considering a tetanus/diphtheria booster.
So if I leave the laptop/phone/gadgets at home I can concentrate on photos. Any thoughts on whether to bring enough cards with me or somehow downloading them to storage on my laptop, no, I mean internet storage, no , man now what do I do?
As far as clothing I was just thinking casual. Coton blends -pants, socks. T-shirts are souvenirs anyway. Sounds like a light gortex raincoat (it rains late May?) and small travel umbrella might be better brought from home. I wont be chasing outlets. I just thought that walking down a street I might just pass by such a shop.
As far as vaccinations I will ask my doctor (do they ever say no?). Hep A sounds like a good idea. I wasn't sure if there was a particular need in China for Hep B since age/ health/ lifestyle isn't an issue for me. I was considering a tetanus/diphtheria booster.
So if I leave the laptop/phone/gadgets at home I can concentrate on photos. Any thoughts on whether to bring enough cards with me or somehow downloading them to storage on my laptop, no, I mean internet storage, no , man now what do I do?
Mar 27th, 2007, 05:00 PM
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Personally, I just buy enough memory cards. Shooting 10MP in RAW, I can still get ~800 photos from a 8GB card, which can be as cheap as $60 for SDHC or $80 for Compact Flash from newegg.com. I have two 8GBs and one 4GBs, which is enough for 2,000 pictures in RAW. All for about $200 - which is less than most harddrive storage. So, one less gadget to bring.
If I shoot JPEG, I'd get 2-3x as many.
If I shoot JPEG, I'd get 2-3x as many.
Apr 12th, 2007, 10:47 PM
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Well several weeks later I have been keeping up with the posts. Six weeks to go. All the advise has been great in this forum and I have begun to recognize the regulars on the other topics. A hearty thanks!
I did get to have the Hep A/B in time (30 days min in between).
I also ran into onebag.com that has a wonderful packing list and encouragement to leave much of it at home. Just a carry on, and small amount of sink washing. I'll buy another bag at the end of the trip there for purchases to check.
From gadgetry to minimization is a big jump for me, but worth the try.
I did get to have the Hep A/B in time (30 days min in between).
I also ran into onebag.com that has a wonderful packing list and encouragement to leave much of it at home. Just a carry on, and small amount of sink washing. I'll buy another bag at the end of the trip there for purchases to check.
From gadgetry to minimization is a big jump for me, but worth the try.
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