ruthlynn

Just now read an article about the smog in China....so go to your drugstore and buy a package of masks...like they wear in surgery...paper ones....they don't take up much room...I used about 3 for our entire trip...even in Shanghai where we stayed at the beautiful hotel....their potpourri was cloying in the hallways....these masks are not expensive and will help...they are blue on one side and white on the other. Have a great trip....enjoy enjoy enjoy BSK...most fabulous meal!!! We were there last October.

@Mrs. Tiggywinkle: I used Google Translate ap...it writes what you say in Chinese and speaks what you say...it helped but we really weren't in a situation where we couldn't speak English Also what we used most was the currency ap...that way we knew what the market exchange rate was...hotel exchange rates were a little different. Have a great trip!

@CTGirl: We bought silk scarves and ties...great place in the silk market in Beijing and in a large department store in Hong Kong. Know the difference in silk and synthetic (ask the salesperson to show you: they should use a lighter and catch one of the fringe on fire...if it catches fire and makes ash, then it is silk; if it melts, it is synthetic). We bought small travel chess sets for grandsons in one of the shops at the Shanghai garden; also some little dolls; bought beautiful pearls for our granddaughters and pearl drop necklace for me and my daughter in Beijing; bought carved jade bracelet for daughter at wholesale jewelry shop in Hong Kong; kites, chopsticks, bought a beautiful embroidered shawl in Tibet, and my pride and joy: the silk embroidery piece in Shanghai...it was shipped to our home. I'm sure it was part of the sales pitch but the young people do not want to learn this art so it is supposedly dying because the young people want to play video games...mine took 1 1/2 years to make

I think it has all been said but here are my absolute items that are needed:

a battery operated hand held fan (travel section in WalMart; buy extra batteries) you can probably sell this for several hundred dollars at any point in the trip!!

febreeze--travel size; this will allow another day's wear from your clothes; take 2 or 3 bottles

masks--buy in drugstore; throw away; wear them on the plane; on the motor coach, etc. We had some smog but were sick for 2 months after returning home from "kennel cough"--you know, the coughing from breathing airplane air, hotel air, motor coach air, riverboat air, and being with the MILLIONS of people!!

a packable hat....take it and wear it!

elevation medicine if you are going to Tibet--contact your doctor!!!

the toilet paper and sanitizers--found in the travel section of WalMart...these are purse size and do not take up much room

This trip is arduous and exhausting, but I would go again in a second.

Buy silk scarves...they pack easily and are appreciated by everyone.....learn how to tell if they are really silk....and my silk embroidery picture is my pride and joy that I purchased in Shanghai...

Enjoy!!!

To everyone going to China: Go to WalMart and go to the camping area. Buy: 3 or 4 rolls of toliet tissue (purse size), a hand held battery operated fan (purse size), small packages of tissues, hand sanitizer. Then go to the office/school area and purchase crayolas (one of the last remaining items that is made in the USA) (several packages) to take to the children at the school. Do NOT miss going to visit the children....the highlight of our trip. Go to the drug area and buy whatever tummy drugs you need plus tylenol or headache medicine you need. We purchased cheap underwear at WalMart and then threw them away daily on our trip to cut down on laundry. Buy some masks so if you have bad pollution days, you can wear a mask....they help. Download translation apps on your phone and that will be all you need to communicate with anyone....we downloaded Translate and ITranslate Voice (both free apps).....English appears, Chinese (mandarin) appears, and voice appears. We took state maps to show to the children....they loved this....and I allowed my little boy to play with my IPhone....I had downloaded the free Talkin' Carl.....I was the hit of the class. You don't have a lot of time to get out the spreadsheet and go over all of that with the children. You don't have ANY down time so take sleep aids if you have problems sleeping because you are up at 5:30 and finally down at 11 or 12 p.m. A great trip....but go prepared!!! If you go to Tibet, please please remember to get elevation medication from your doctor.

to Lauren Spray: This is advice to you and everyone who is planning on eating at the Black Sesame Kitchen....be sure to print off the directions that are on their website...they have the directions in English and Chinese....and be sure to take that with you because if you find the alley, you will probably have to call the Kitchen for Coco to come out and lead you back to the restaurant. Our private guide could not even find this place....so go prepared with the driving directions and the telephone number...This is a great experience and the food is absolutely delicious....they don't have many desserts in China, but leave room at this restaurant for their fantastic dessert....their version of bananas foster is what we had....I would fly the 21 hours again just to eat at this place.

at Debbie 4C: We took the Roof of the World in October 2012 and wound up in Hong Kong on October 24, 25, 26. We were so exhausted by the time we arrived in Hong Kong that we did not see as much as we should have to have spent that extra money. We hired a private guide and car to take us to get the rest of our purchases at department stores instead of those outside junk markets. If we took the trip again, we still would choose to go to Hong Kong because this will probably be our only trip to China.

To those going to Tibet, BE SURE to get the elevation medication from your doctor and remember to start taking it at the doctor's required time. If not, you will probably wind up receiving oxygen and IVs from the Tibet hotel doctor.

This trip is a marvelous trip. The food is very bland...they don't know how to use spices with their food...lots of food and very hospitable people. Our guide, Leo, was fantastic. If you go early to Beijing, make reservations via email to the Black Sesame Kitchen....best meal we had on the trip. There was silk to be purchased at the silk market which is a block and a half from the Beijing Fairmont. We also bought silk scarves and ties at the market in Beijing and then more scarves at department stores in Hong Kong...they don't take up much room. If you are a diet Coke fan, don't expect to see any until you get home. I paid $8 for one in Beijing at the hotel and it said diet Coke, but it did not taste as ours do. Paid $18 for two glasses of iced tea in Shanghai at the Fairmont Peace....you have to ask for ice and for black tea.....they serve green tea and iced tea is beyond their comprehension. Have a great trip!!!!

@CTGIRL Even a small happiness ball was around $300 and we toured two jade stores in Beijing. Beautiful things...I bought the jade zodiac signs (paperweights) for our family for about $20 each, bought a small jade pendant for a daughter with 3 Chinese characters on it for about $500....nothing is cheap in these jade stores and there is very little bargaining. We bought pearls for our granddaughters in Beijing and paid around $400 per strand...you can buy them cheaper in the USA but these were beautiful and had high luster. We bought a beautifully carved jade bracelet for $600 for our daughter in Aberdeen (Hong Kong)...a forced shopping stop at a family wholesale jewelry store...beautiful jewelry made there in their store....my favorite was the embroidery gallery in Shanghai...another forced stop...we purchased a large picture of a Chinese girl dressed in the Meiou province costume....got them down to 30 percent off of listed price....it was shipped by the gallery..frame, glass included to our home...arrived about a week after we returned home....it was an expensive purchase but this is becoming a lost art in China...the young girls do not want to learn how to do this from their mother, grandmother, or aunts. I am so glad I bought this. We bought fans (beautiful fans which we framed), chess sets, dolls, and kites for our grandchildren in Shanghai....in the area where they took us to see the gardens. We bought silk scarves and ties at the silk market in Beijing (about $20 each) and more silk scarves at a department store in Hong Kong ($25 each). Lots of junk offered by local vendors which we steered clear of.....lots of shopping opportunities but didn't have room to bring back all that we would have liked to purchase. Happy shopping!!!

Cruiselion: We were on the Roof of the World tour in October. The luggage is as described by others. Our guide had "cousins" in every city who saw to our luggage from pickup outside our hotel room to delivery at the next hotel room. We took 3 big bags and I told our guide at the beginning if there was a problem with weight to contact me and I would pay whatever was necessary as they recommend only taking 2 bags. He said he thought everything would be okay.....and it was, but I kept repeating this to him at every city. We were impressed with the airlines....much better than domestic American Airlines, that's for sure!!! We would wait in the terminal until he and the local guide got our boarding passes, then process through security (which differed in each city--only one time did I have to be hand searched because of lots of hardware in my body), and on to the boarding gate; upon arriving at the next airport, we met as a group at the luggage pickup and our guide and the "cousins" gathered up our luggage (our guide always counted our bags to see that they all had arrived); we boarded a coach and off we went to the hotel....usually our luggage arrived in our rooms within an hour. Viking has all of the logistics correct and we were very impressed. Great tour and a great time....our guide was Leo and he was what everyone wants as THE greatest guide ever!!!

@Milling 73: We were on the Roof of the World Viking tour leaving the USA October 6, and returning October 27. It was very warm from Beijing to Xian and very very humid....take a battery operated fan with you at all times. In Tibet, it was very very dry and cooler; from Chungking to Shanghai it was in the lower 70s and rained very lightly on us in Wuhan at the museum and the next morning in Shanghai...very very humid and warm in Shanghai...upper 70s. Take a mask for the pollution in the cities because if there is not a breeze, the pollution is almost unbearable. Cooler in Guilin because we were on the Li River, but warmer and more humid in Hong Kong. Could have sold my fan for a lot of money in different places. I am very hot natured, but even the "little people" were very warm. No flowers anywhere because Chinese gardens have rocks, not flowers. However, at Tienanmen Square they had beautiful floral decorations because they had just ended their fall festival....also flowers along the streets because of the fall festival. If you see flowers in China, they are set on the ground in pots just as they come from the greenhouses. In the hotels, you will see gorgeous floral arrangements. Don't take an umbrella because every hotel and the ship furnished umbrellas. Take a raincoat that packs into a tight portable package. My husband wore a light windbreaker on the sightseeing boat on the gorges trip but I never used my raincoat or a jacket. If you go to Tibet, you will need a jacket in the airport.....we froze there...the only time I was cold during the entire 22 days. Hope this helps.

@rahrah50:

Coke Light is available...paid $6 US$ in Beijing for one and $5 US$ in Tibet for one.....they do NOT taste as our USA diet cokes taste.....but they will do in a pinch. Sprite was the best tasting soda I found there. At the lunches and/or dinners, soda is a choice. They have no clue about ice or iced tea. I had to ask for a full glass of ice and then ask them to pour black tea into the glass. But wine is always available!!!

To all of you who are going on the China Viking River Cruise. Here is my review:

Do not take robe, slippers, or umbrella...all furnished at all hotels and on boat. Take plenty of toilet paper, toilet seat covers, hand sanitizers, and a hand-held battery operated fan--all to be found in the camping section of WalMart. Take hat. It was VERY humid. I understand that cooler weather has arrived; I'm sure also very welcomed!

Went a day early to Beijing. We made reservations at the Black Sesame Seed Kitchen--best meal we had on the trip. Our table was the United Nations: 4 from South America; 2 from Denmark; 3 from NYC; 3 from Florida, and 2 Texans.

Bought scarves (do the lighter test to determine whether or not they are 100% silk) at the silk market.....offer 20 to 30 percent of what the vendor is asking. Good place to purchase children's kites. Bought pearls for granddaughters and jade in Beijing. Bought embroidered picture in Shanghai...is being shipped; bought more scarves in Hong Kong; bought chess sets for grandsons and beautiful dolls and fans for granddaughters in Shanghai at the gardens; at wholesale jewelry in Aberdeen bought beautiful carved jade bracelet for a daughter. Prices are not as cheap as one would think they would be anywhere in China. Bought a beautiful embroidered cashmere stole in Tibet at the government store. Most of the time the street vendors and street markets just have junk....beware!!!

We were fortunate enough to be in a very homogenous group...all very nice and friendly; no one was rude and only one time was anyone late. Our guide, Leo, was superb. He is the epitome of outstanding kindness, organization, professionalism, and decent human being. He knew where every "happy room" western toilet was everywhere we went, and everything went as planned. We were under heavy security in Tibet but a very interesting city, Lhasa. All hotels were 5 star...the Hilton in Xian was the least favorite. No one in our group ever figured out the light switches in any hotel!!!

If you go to Tibet, be sure to get the high altitude medicine. Even some who took this medication experienced problems; two couples had to have oxygen and IVs. The terra cotta warriors were unbelievable...the old farmer is there signing the books that are sold in the museum gift store and you can take a picture of him if you pay him. Go to all of the shows--even the Beijing Opera...the costumes and music are wonderful. Chinese food is very bland but there is an enormous amount of it at every place....the dumpling dinner in Xian was a hoot!!!! 18 different kinds of dumplings....I had to stop after 5!!!

Be sure to go to the school...it was the highlight of our trip. The children sing and dance for you and perform for you in the classroom. We took Crayolas (one of the few products still made in the USA) and pencils. My husband was a hit with his Texas map showing them where we were from. The kids all loved playing "Talking Carl" on my iPhone. There is a cash donation box if you don't take gifts.

Take a little something from your state or hometown to give to the hostess whose home you visit in the hutongs to have tea. Makes one very humble and grateful for all of our blessings in the USA. We also had tea with a Tibetan family in Lhasa....we took her some little mugs with our hometown and Texas on them.....she really appreciated them.

If the Viking river boat, Emerald, was built only two years ago, then it was obviously built in China....already showing signs of wear and tear. The wait staff, Maggie and Eddie, were fabulous and these are such hard-working, talented young kids.

Worst memory of China: the constant smell of sewage emanating from the sewer grates wherever you went. Pollution is really bad; two of us had to wear masks on several days. The cloying smell of oil or potpourri in the Fairmont hotel on the Bund in Shanghai was overpowering.

The Chinese people were kind and their lifestyles are very difficult for me to comprehend because it is so crowded and there is no personal space for them....to live in 300 square feet and travel so far to work (if they do work) is difficult to understand. We are very grateful for our experience.

This is not a trip for the faint of heart nor the lame or crippled. It is a very arduous trip....get in shape before you go or you will be left behind. I cannot imagine going from Shanghai to Beijing with you ending up climbing the Wall and walking the Square, Forbidden Palace, and Summer Palace....thank goodness we went from Beijing to Shanghai...got the worst over with first.

Thanks to Leo for a flawless trip; thanks to Viking for the experience; thanks to everyone in our group. Cruise Critic.com helped immensely in our planning on what to take and what to expect. We were the most knowledgeable in our group because of all of the great information you shared with us on this thread.

Enjoy your time in China. So glad for the experience, but don't ask us to meet you for Chinese food any time soon!!!

Ruthlynn from Texas

Yes, FB is blocked in China - but you CAN access it and any other site you want, you just have to go about it a roundabout way. You get your own personal VPN connection - as long as you have access to wireless, you can use it. It's about $7 for 30 days access, which works fine for our China trip. Let me know if you would like the website to get this.

Would you list the website for the VPN connection? Sounds much easier to use this than to deal with the other. ruthlynn

Kohola: Beautiful pictures of your lovely trip....you two travel with such eagerness and such pleasant smiles.....that makes for a great time! Thanks. Ruthlynn

Mtlycew1: Thanks so much for the information....lots of tips. We are getting excited about our Roof of the World trip on October 8. We are going a couple of days early to Beijing. Thanks again. Ruthlynn

I wanted to do this also because we wanted to fly American, but our TA said she was very hesitant to schedule this flight because if there is a problem with the airlines and/or the flight itself and you have to spend time in Tokoyo, one must have a visa for that country also and so we decided to go with her choice of flights direct to Beijing and direct back from Hong Kong......but I still like your idea of getting out and walking around.......

Thank you, Kodismom, for all of the valuable information. We are going on the Roof of the World tour October 8...leaving a couple of days early. Planning on making reservations at Black Sesame Kitchen...have read lots of good things about it. Did you have problems with baggage with the intraChina flights? Just one bag plus a carry-on for each person or did you have more than one bag? We are also taking the extended trip to Hong Kong. Thanks again for all of the information.

Thanks so much to all of you who responded about the tips for our China trip! We've been to Europe twice so we have done most of your suggestions......all except carrying different credit cards.....I'll do that next time and I think we'll get cards that don't charge fees. Also, great idea about different SD cards for our camera. I have taken a virtual pharmacy before but had not thought of Ace bandages.

Keep any and all hints coming.......thanks again.

They are VERY liberal about lugguage. We carried 2 large suitcases with a suitcase inside of each plus a carryon each. We came back with 4 large suitcases 3 carryons and a silk rug carried on!

 

Our guide, Iowa, told us as long as we supported the Chinese economy, not to worry! We did have our FedEx bill of Ladonna ready just in case!

Thank you for this information about the luggage....I cannot go for a weekend with just one bag!!!! Any other advice concerning this trip: what TO do and what NOT to do???? Would appreciate any help.

We are booked on this tour for next October. My question is: Is only one (1) piece of luggage allowed? What if you have more than one piece of luggage?

Would appreciate any advice....our trip is from Beijing to Shanghai and then the extended trip to Hong Kong.

Thanks.