Hints, Suggestions and Lessons Learned
It seems that “bullets” became all the rage while we were in China, so in an effort to keep up with you bloggin’ chicks here are some bullets for you future travelers to China:
• Buy a stroller, especially if you go to China during a warm time of the year. We could have really used a stroller on the way home. Waiting in line at immigration with a squirmy baby was a little tricky.
• Ergo makes the best carrier ever. It is comfortable for parents and baby.
• Stay at the Victory if you want a little extra spending cash! The rooms were bigger, breakfast was good, and the overall service was excellent. We stayed in the annex building and were very comfortable.
• If you don’t stay at the White Swan but want to try their fabulous breakfast be sure to take enough cash! The breakfast is about $25 bucks per person. It is good, but not that good.
• Don’t do your laundry at the “ladybug” store next to the Cow and Bridge. It was very expensive, granted it was about half of what we would have paid at the hotel. Use Jennifer’s.
• ART64 has the least expensive traditional dresses on the island. Mike is the sales person there. When you walk in to ART64 the store is the first one on the right. His dresses are 15 yuan.
• You have to buy a MeiMei doll at “A Gift From China”. This is a charity store on Shamian Island that supports children in China. They have lots of other great gifts. They also have a website.
• If you travel with your big kids you can rent bikes on Shamian Island. Chris took Ben and Hannah out and they had a blast riding around.
• Go to the Cow and Bridge early for dinner. Around 5:00 is best. After that the service gets slack and you will wait forever for your dinner.
• Lucy’s fish and chips were pretty good!
• I wouldn’t suggest buying Jade or pearls in Beijing, they are way more expensive than in Guangzhou.
• We didn’t buy any chops. I am sure they would have ended up in a drawer somewhere.
• We went with Ann from Redthreadchina.com shopping. She walks about a hundred miles per hour but she brought us to the markets and got us very good prices on the items we bought. It was well worth the $30 it cost us for her to take us around for 3 hours. It is less if there is a group of people.
• I wish I bought more wall scrolls. I bought 2 large wall scrolls for 40 Yuan a piece.
• You will need the 100+ zip lock bags that everyone says to bring. Eddie Bauer makes a small bag carrier. You can find it at traget as well as the refill bags. They take up less room and are good for stinky diapers, but you still need those ziplocks!
• Bring 2 bottles of the baby meds that you decide to pack, just in case you spill one.
• I couldn’t get Sophie to drink prune juice or eat baby prunes. Bring a baby laxative just in case.
• You don’t need to bring tons of snacks with you. You will be fine. If Ben can go to China and find something to eat… anyone can!
• You won’t have as much time and energy to blog as you think you will!
• Jet lag there isn’t bad….coming home jet lag sucks. You have won’t know until you live it, but it will kick you in the butt!
• If you are doing a life book or scrapbook for your child bring a page with you. We had the Nanny and the director write something to Sophie. As part of the adoption paperwork you child will have to place a red handprint or a footprint on a document, we pressed Sophie’s on a page for her life book.
• Ask if there is a way to contact the orphanage when you get home. We were lucky enough that the nanny that came with the director spoke English and gave me her email address. The director gave us her phone number.
• You can buy split pants outfits at most department stores. I bought an outfit for Sophie to show her what kind of baby clothes she probably wore in China.
• The U.S. Consulate is about a 45-minute drive from the WS. Be sure to bring food with you just in case. The traffic in GZ is wicked!
I think that is it. If you have a question just leave me a comment and I will do my best to answer it for you!
• Buy a stroller, especially if you go to China during a warm time of the year. We could have really used a stroller on the way home. Waiting in line at immigration with a squirmy baby was a little tricky.
• Ergo makes the best carrier ever. It is comfortable for parents and baby.
• Stay at the Victory if you want a little extra spending cash! The rooms were bigger, breakfast was good, and the overall service was excellent. We stayed in the annex building and were very comfortable.
• If you don’t stay at the White Swan but want to try their fabulous breakfast be sure to take enough cash! The breakfast is about $25 bucks per person. It is good, but not that good.
• Don’t do your laundry at the “ladybug” store next to the Cow and Bridge. It was very expensive, granted it was about half of what we would have paid at the hotel. Use Jennifer’s.
• ART64 has the least expensive traditional dresses on the island. Mike is the sales person there. When you walk in to ART64 the store is the first one on the right. His dresses are 15 yuan.
• You have to buy a MeiMei doll at “A Gift From China”. This is a charity store on Shamian Island that supports children in China. They have lots of other great gifts. They also have a website.
• If you travel with your big kids you can rent bikes on Shamian Island. Chris took Ben and Hannah out and they had a blast riding around.
• Go to the Cow and Bridge early for dinner. Around 5:00 is best. After that the service gets slack and you will wait forever for your dinner.
• Lucy’s fish and chips were pretty good!
• I wouldn’t suggest buying Jade or pearls in Beijing, they are way more expensive than in Guangzhou.
• We didn’t buy any chops. I am sure they would have ended up in a drawer somewhere.
• We went with Ann from Redthreadchina.com shopping. She walks about a hundred miles per hour but she brought us to the markets and got us very good prices on the items we bought. It was well worth the $30 it cost us for her to take us around for 3 hours. It is less if there is a group of people.
• I wish I bought more wall scrolls. I bought 2 large wall scrolls for 40 Yuan a piece.
• You will need the 100+ zip lock bags that everyone says to bring. Eddie Bauer makes a small bag carrier. You can find it at traget as well as the refill bags. They take up less room and are good for stinky diapers, but you still need those ziplocks!
• Bring 2 bottles of the baby meds that you decide to pack, just in case you spill one.
• I couldn’t get Sophie to drink prune juice or eat baby prunes. Bring a baby laxative just in case.
• You don’t need to bring tons of snacks with you. You will be fine. If Ben can go to China and find something to eat… anyone can!
• You won’t have as much time and energy to blog as you think you will!
• Jet lag there isn’t bad….coming home jet lag sucks. You have won’t know until you live it, but it will kick you in the butt!
• If you are doing a life book or scrapbook for your child bring a page with you. We had the Nanny and the director write something to Sophie. As part of the adoption paperwork you child will have to place a red handprint or a footprint on a document, we pressed Sophie’s on a page for her life book.
• Ask if there is a way to contact the orphanage when you get home. We were lucky enough that the nanny that came with the director spoke English and gave me her email address. The director gave us her phone number.
• You can buy split pants outfits at most department stores. I bought an outfit for Sophie to show her what kind of baby clothes she probably wore in China.
• The U.S. Consulate is about a 45-minute drive from the WS. Be sure to bring food with you just in case. The traffic in GZ is wicked!
I think that is it. If you have a question just leave me a comment and I will do my best to answer it for you!
posted by TBG Happenings at 11:55 AM
13 Comments:
Maryellen, this info is great! Now if only I knew whether or not I'll ever GET to China... And who knows if all these places will still be there when I get there! lol...
Maryellen, did the kids have ear troubles on the plane? That's worrying me!! Anthony had a lot of ear trouble in the past....does the chewing gum thing work??
Did you guys get sick in China? Hubby is worried about the kids!!
Great bullets! I love the ideas for the lifebook.
Keep smilin!
Ditto to Hedda's comment! Thanks though, seriously, I'm gonna need all the help I can get- even if it's 5 years from now.
Hell it better not be, right?
Now upload some Sophie pics you fool, you know that's what we're jonesing for!
So ya spilled the antibiotic eh?
Thanks for the tips! There won't be a WS when I go. I have heard the Victory is bigger and cheaper.
Carol,
No problem with ears on the plane. Bring a decongestant just in case that seems to help, and yeah the gum thing works.
No we did not get sick in China....well except chris did get a cold. Get antibiotics just in case
Love this post!! Great advice. And we need all we can get.
PS. Kris has a point...
Where are the Sophie pics??
I second all of Maryellen's comments. We are not at the victory hotel though. We are at the China Hotel. Very nice! Food is EXCELLENT. And, there is a Starbucks inside the building. The only thing I would add is, the province part of the trip is a difficult one. Be prepared for emotions to run high.
Can't wait to leave for home this Saturday even if I will get kicked in the butt with some major jet-lag. :0)
Great advice! Our biggest problem was not bringing medicine for us, but we had plenty of baby medicine for Sofia. The Babylax was a lifesaver since Sofia would not poop the first three days. The stroller was also our saving grace and our internet connection was so slow in China it was nearly impossible to blog.We really liked Lucy's too. Did you take your picture with the statues outside of Lucy's too? Fun times! Glad to see you guys are doing so well. Sophie is beautiful.
Hugs,
Jonni
Um, I came back to add my request of a growing number....where are the photos??? I've had to laugh at Ms. Sophie sitting on that red couch crying no less than 12 times since you have posted nothing more for me to drool over.
If your ready for another trip you can always cruise to Naples this weekend. =0)
Miss ya girl!
xoxo
So good to see Sophie at home! I cannot wait until I can say those words.."home for 1 week". . .
gotta love those noodles too. Maddy loves noodles of any kind. :0)
Gee, hope they do things the same way by the time I evah get there. Thanks for the tippies!
I will have to remember all that... sounds like you all had a great time. Now... if only my turn will come...lol
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