On my way back

[con's fly is open]

So I'm gearing up to go back to China. In case I don't think of it, any suggestions on stuff I should take with me when I fly?

(apart from deodorant, condoms, floss, music and books)

[Newbs]

Copy on all the above, Con.

Also medicines, vitamin tablets, antibiotics if you don't trust the stuff available over here.

Talcum powder, unless you want to use the stuff that's here and smell like a bride's bouquet.

Blue tack, the ESL teacher's best friend. I found out why you can't get it here. If you use it to stick anything to the wall, when you peel it away the paint, and probably some of the render on the wall, will peel away with it. Still, who gives a t***

Cable ties are great when you are travelling. Tie on luggage labels, hang up clothes to dry and do all sorts of other things with them. Depending on sexual preferences they can even ... well we won't pursue that any further.

I'm going to bring back a can of eucalptus spray. If you're Australian well it brings back memories, and if your not it still makes the place smell nice, and it is the best thing for getting rid of so many stains.

I hope the above is of some assistance. If there is anything else that I think of I'll post it here.

Oh, by the way, there's been some changes here. There is no more spitting, there are heavy fines for polluting, all corrupt government officials have been rounded up and sent to the North West, yelling "Hello!" to foreigners has been declared illegal, with a 10 year gaol sentence for anyone found guilty and ESL teachers are now universally treated with courtesy and respect.

[Raoul Duke]

Maple syrup and antacid tablets for Raoul are always nice things to have. Never know when they'll come in handy...

Can you get eucalyptus spray with a hint of koala?

PS- your return is the best news I've had in a long time. Can't wait to see ya, bro...

[Newbs]

Con another serious suggestion. Next time I'm back home I'm going to buy one of those passport holders that you hang around your neck, underneath shirt etc. Good for passport and also the wads of money that from time to time need to be transported around here.

I redkon if you wear a bumbag or the waist belt you're just asking to be mugged.

Raoul, I don't think eucalyptus spray comes in koala flavour, but it should. There's a marketing opportunity waiting some bright, enterprising young Australian. (If such a person exists.)

[Lager]

I guess you mean aside from the Alberta Premium and a bag of weed?

Books are the thing. I would also take a bottle of Aspirin or Advil and maybe set myself up with some decent coffee...Even tea bags..Maybe some powder gravy mix and spices...

If I had room - also magazines and stuff like tourist brochures annd things to make class easier,,,

Maybe we'll cross paths this time..I'm trying to get something in Shanghai but....the depressing job hunt saga continues.

[Raoul Duke]

Hey Lager,
aspirin isn't too hard to find in almost any drug store here, and Advil (ibuprofen) is VERY easy....look for Fenbid (fen bi de).

The food things you mention are all available at City Supermarket. You yourself had some of the Illy Coffee RC brought me New Year's Eve...it is expensive, but it rocks.

This means that Con can concentrate (aside of course from my maple syrup and antacids) on weed. Maybe you can carry it in your new under-the-shirt passport holder.

More seriously, I got one of those passport/money holders for Christmas through my company. It came from American Express. Might be worth a check to see if one can be had through them...they are nice.

[George61]

Gon..bring some curry powder...I wish I could find it here... I crave a decent curried lamb with apple, banana, and some sultanas thrown in for good measure.

[con's fly is open]

Oh, yeah, spices.
Hey, what's the Shanghai winter like? Maybe some extra tuques, gloves and such would go down well. Or maybe they sell them there...

[Lager]

I simply can't find a regular toque...See the odd one so I guess they are out there..one fad this year is to see girls with their hands in a teddy bear..looks weird but the bear has a little hot water bottle in it...

Just how soon are you coming? actually seems to be warming up alrready---still cool though.

[ChinaGurl]

George: You can get McCormick brand curry just about everywhere!! At least, at most big supermarkets they have it, and you could probably get curry in bulk form at your local spice market if you knew how to say it in Chinese.

Con: Bring Q-tips. Or whatever your country's brand is of ear-cleaning swabs on a stick (in Canada they're Q-tips - the brand has become the product!). Chinese ones suck!

[Raoul Duke]

Con, Shanghai winters are not as bitter as those in your native Freezeyerassoffland, but they are still quite cold. Bring cold weather gear, and some longjohns can be nice to help live in a cold apartment. (Apartments here don't have the steam heat and insulation that you probably had in Liaoning. They're cold here!)

I strongly recommend bringing a nice basic black ski mask...the kind with eye- and mouth-holes. They don't sell these in China. They can take the edge off that icy Shanghai winter wind, with the added benefit of scaring the living bejeezus out of the homeys. Great fun in banks!

[Ruth]

Good suggestion, Raoul. If Con doesn't have blue eyes, the ski mask could minimize the laowai comments.

See ChinaGurl's thread on KD. If you are a KD fan, a few boxes can remind you of home when you need a western fix. I brought back spaghetti sauce mixes. Haven't really found the right kind of noodles yet, though.

[con's fly is open]

As a matter of fact, I have never outgrown my passion for KD. But I could easily go through 2000 boxes before I return to Canada, so what's a couple of boxes gonna help? I can always buy them in Shanghai... for 38 RMB a box.
Good call on the Q-tips, Corey- I'd clean forgotten. And maybe I'll bring over whatever gloves n' masks 'n toques 'n such I can find on sale.

My arrival time has been bumped back again: last week in Feb, now. God, I can't wait to get out of here. Calgary and I are starting to bicker again.

[wOZfromOZ]

Hope you get the chance to come out to Jiading one weekend you bastard - meet the family and have a few beers and hopefully discuss your reverse culture shock thesis without having us suffering manic depressive spirals.

and George,.....
"George: You can get McCormick brand curry just about everywhere!! At least, at most big supermarkets they have it."
- the 'gur'l is right - use it to boil fresh chicken pieces i boiling water and then roast them in an oven for an hour - delicious with a gravy sauce with chips (frys).

wOZfromOZ

[Lotus Eater]

I came back to Oz with my suitcases loaded with stuff my visitors had left behind, and will be returning with them loaded with books (including resources for my next semester courses), an Oz calendar, some magazines that I intend to subscribe to, hair conditioner (wearing beanies etc really kills my hair, the conditioners here don't help), an English version of Windows (my laptop was loaded with the Chinese version, which I "converted", but really want to have the English version), Aquim (handwashing stuff that is great for travelling when there is no water), coffee beans and smoked tomatoes - best tomatoes in the world - way better than sun-dried. Plus timtams

Thought about an full-length oilskin drizabone but decided the weight was too much. Have a shorter driza, but not oilskin, which has been good - wind and water resistant.

Trying to get my travel agent to convince the airline I need an extra baggage allowance

[con's fly is open]

I'm getting down to the serious packing. Keep the ideas coming, you pack of reproba wonderful support group, y'all!

[dearbarbie]

Raoul said:

I strongly recommend bringing a nice basic black ski mask...the kind with eye- and mouth-holes. They don't sell these in China.

haha, i got hounded with a million pedlar people trying to flog these at me on the great wall on friday...

[Raoul Duke]

Really? Are you sure they weren't just stocking caps, or those visor things that still expose the full face? I looked for ski masks forever in a million markets and never could find them. I've never seen anyone wearing one, even in really cold places like Changchun!

[Ruth]

Raoul - Not sure what Barbie was being hounded with, but I saw the real thing in a couple of hat stores in Beijing. I made a mental note of the fact, due to the comments in this thread about them. The ones I saw were black, with two eye holes and one mouth hole, and long enough to keep the chin and neck warm. The holes were outlined with white.

I could have bought an Olympic toque for $1. Yes, they were shoving them in my face and saying, "only one dollar, eight yuan, one dollar".

[Raoul Duke]

Things must be looking up...I was definitely the King of Changchun in mine. It was mailed over from the States...couldn't buy them there or in Dalian, cities where covering every inch of your body is a matter of survival.

Meanwhile I hit the streets of my new neighborhood in my ski mask a couple of days ago. I'm happy to report that it has lost none of either its warmth or its entertainment value.

[Lotus Eater]

didn't bring back a ski mask, but did manage to sweet talk JAL into extra baggage allowance, so bought back something close to 30kg of books, plus a couple of bottles of Oz port (from a winery tour I did), my smoked tomatoes, smoked garlic, timtams and microwave popcorn. Conditioner, handcream and plenty of calendars and some jewellry made by a friend of mine from Oz sandstone to give to people as gifts. The XXXX hat I brought back was too small for my Chinese friends head - stuck with it now.

Everything else I wanted is available in China!

[Lager]

Any advice on talking them into extra weight?

I'll put this here rather than a new thread.

Now a case of LOUT OUT. Shanghai became a case of "mutual fed-upness" (like that term, saw it today somewhere.) It wasn't going to work---by coincidence I had a fresh e-mail from agent who dealt with a friend of mine. So it's off to Korea/

I'm actually suspicious already and maybe didn't think this through---it all happened fast. Some sort of adventure awaits!

[Raoul Duke]

lager said:

So it's off to Korea/

I'm actually suspicious already and maybe didn't think this through---it all happened fast. Some sort of adventure awaits!

Whoa Dude! When?
1. Be really careful...they rival China for weasel behavior.
2. Stay on the Saloon there!

[George61]

Out of the frying pan into the fire??? Good luck Lager.

[Lager]

I'm a little nervous-going on nothing but a brief phone call. I could end up back in a week. Worst that can happen is....well I guess to be robbed and left for dead on a mountain would be the WORST. We'll see. PC rooms are everywhere and I'll be on more than the last month.

We'll be sort of International with Wolf in Japan and various others in NA.

Won't go into detail but this Shanghai place are goofs. In fact a guy did a runner just before my falling out. I should have caught it when I paid a visit but I was too anxious to be here.