Shanghai, China
April 2006

Suggestions on packing

Hey everyone. Bill and I are just back from our taiji China trip, and the travels brought to my awareness some things you might want to put on your "essentials" list for Shanghai. I also added some commentary (in italics) to the existing list.

additions:

• eye patch for sleeping on the plane (and ear plugs, listed below)
• protein sources - nutrition bars, packs of tuna, protein powder (people on our taiji trip got pretty tired of the food and just needed a pure protein boost; you will probably have access to more meat than we did)
• line for hang drying your clothes
• Airborne (drugstore for <$!0) to take on the plane, around coughing people
• slippers
• coffee and a french press (already listed below but was SO WONDERFUL to have that it's worth listing twice if you drink coffee)
• Imodium for any bout of diarrhea, Cipro for GI problems lasting longer than 24 hours (you need to give your body a chance to get rid of it before you start taking the Cipro)
• fiber source

passport (make a copy of the main page and keep it in a separate secure place in case your passport is lost)
under-the-clothes security pouch (you want to keep your passport, ticket and money with you all the time - don't leave it in the room)
walking shoes (and shoe bags or ziploc bags for bringing your dirty shoes home in your suitcase)
notebook
workout shoes and clothes
travel pillow and pillowcase, sheet
vitamins, herbs
photos (of yourself, your family to show the teachers)
camera (battery, charger)
Chinese phrase book/dictionary
woolite (shout travel size towlettes - work miracles)
travel towel
hand sanitizer (Purell)
handiwipes or wet wipes
bandaids, Neosporin
international cell phone (some companies like Cingular can add on an international package before you go, but the calls are expensive, around $2/minute. it's sometimes cheaper to use a Chinese calling card or to call from the hotel).
ear plugs for sleeping (critical on the plane and in loud hotel rooms)
*toilet paper (even the most modern facilities don't always supply toilet paper)
power adapters for appliances
iPod
travel alarm
sunscreen

There is plenty of bottled water - no need to bring your own, no need for water purification pills.

Bring ground coffee and a personal size French press if you want your Starbucks coffee. It will help with the jet lag.

It is strongly suggested that you pack everything into one checkable wheeled bag and one carry on bag.

Bring cash, an ATM card from a large bank, or travelers checks - a surprising number of places don't take credit cards.

Some places don't take some credit cards at all, and some don't take all credit cards. I was told the card should be from a large bank (like Chase). You can call your credit card company before going to see if they are on the list of the major hotels and restaurants.

Medications/shots

Tetanus/diptheria vaccination
Hepatitis A, B vaccinations (2-3 shot series)
Malaria prevention (shots or pills)
pneumonia booster
typhoid vaccination
Meningococcal
Cipro antibiotics for any bacterial GI problems
diarrhea medicine (Lomotil, Imodium)
allergy medicine

the above are only suggested - none are required. you must make your own decisions about what shots to get and what meds to take.

for more information on suggested immunizations: CDC website

for more info on packing for overseas trips: onebag