A new adventure to China

Today marks the countdown.

Officially, I will be in China in less than a week! So exciting. I have a mess in my living room. Clothes, meds, and bags spread everywhere. It's been that way for a week or two now. I figure if I look at the stuff enough, I'll be able to figure out exactly what will make the cut. Make it to China that is. The comfy neck pillow? It takes up so much space... But I'll be flying for ages! Figure in all of the dodgy accommodations and train rides and I expect that it may be given a coveted space in my new "Beast" duffel/backpack. It is a huge bag-but more importantly-light weight. I don't plan to fill it. I plan to keep it under 20lbs AND make it fit in my overhead space on the flights over there. That sounds like a lot, but when I think of how heavy one pair of Chaco sandal's is, I start to think, "maybe only 1 week of underwear is enough." I think the Chaco's will also get to come on this trip.

I have done quite a bit in preparation for this trip. I won't be making the plans, I've left that up to Intrepid. I will be taking a tour of China that begins in Hong Kong and makes it's way by ground transport to Beijing. No I won't be going to the Olympics. I'm sure it would be great, but I have other things to do and I don't really care to be caught up in that cluster. I'm actually only going to China because my good friend helped a couple with twins under 5 years old move to Shanghai. She's been there for the past couple weeks. Anyway, what I've done: Got the Japanese Encephalitis Vaccine, Anti-Malarials, Tummy drugs, Traveler's Cheques, Chinese Yuen, a stock of toilet paper and purell, unlocked my phone, got a new small camera, and somehow talked my boss into giving me 4 weeks off form work!

Yes, I have been a busy girl.

Sadly, my "medicine cabinet" for this trip is bursting out of a TSA approved zip-lock. How horrible would it be to be sick for a once in a lifetime trip. I'm also carrying a bit for my travel buddy. Due to my recent Lasik eye surgery that requires me to carry plenty of sterile eye drops, my liquids may not make the cut, so I'll have to figure out what to leave behind. And do you realize how much space toilet paper takes up? I think I'll be folding it into 10 square sections and shoving them into convenient zip-locks. But it's too soon to tell. I still have a week to pack after all. Nothing has actually made it into the bag yet. It's all still spread across my living room.

So here I am. Typing my experiences in a place where few will read rather than putting finishing touches on my packing plans or resting since my throat suddenly started bothering me. I'll have the memories, eh?

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