A friend planning to travel to China with us this Spring just asked what I’d suggest she add to her Christmas list in anticipation of her first China trip. Since Mark is currently in flight to China as I type and packing is very much fresh in my mind, here are a few ideas I came up with that would be good additions under the tree for a happy-China-traveler-to-be.

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Mark got me a set of packing cubes for my birthday one year right before a trip to China. After using them once, I honestly can’t imagine traveling without them. They aren’t much money and work so well for organizing my stuff as well as allowing me to pack way more than I think will fit in my luggage which is always important.
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A luggage scale is a must have because that 50 lb. limit comes fast and the 44 lb. limit for a domestic flight in China comes even faster. At least one luggage scale for someone on a team of travelers is essential for packing and repacking in China. Here is one of our favorites.

 

I love Timbuk2 bags in general. I have several. And, this Q laptop backpack (in a funky martini olive color) is my favorite China carry-on bag. I use it on the flight, and I use it at the pearl market, and I use it daily at the orphanage and school. All that several times over, and it still looks essentially brand new.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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China travelers need a passport holder, preferably one that can hold an envelope of crisp, brand-new-looking $100 bills without them having to be folded. This one for cards, passport, travel documents, and even phone is awesome. I don’t have this one myself, but I really like that it zips shut, has the wristlet thing, and comes in some pretty fun colors.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yes, these tags are obnoxiously bright. But, that’s the point. Baggage claim is way easier with a couple obnoxiously bright luggage tags. These colors and the grippy texture are perfect.
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When traveling to China, you really only need a plug adapter (not an electric converter) for your computer, phone, iPad, and camera charger. They can handle the voltage and just need the right type of plug.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have never brought a hair dryer to China and had success. Even with the plug adapter, it just doesn’t work. I just went to a convenience store there and bought a cheap one that I take back and forth. But, I did invest in a flat iron that works very well both here and there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I know this TRTL travel pillow is kind of odd. But, what travel pillow doesn’t look a bit odd? And, when you are on a flight for 13 odd hours, odd is just fine. Whatever works. And, this one does. I should be getting freebies from this company for how many I’ve promoted and sold. I like that it is cozy and that it isn’t some big fluffy thing that I wear around the airport or have to tie onto my bag that gets filthy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have a pair of cabin socks I always put in my carryon for when I want to get a bit more comfortable on that forever long flight. These slipper socks are thick and cozy and have lots of color options.

 

 

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Always a welcome stocking stuffer. A Starbucks gift card is great for the airport before departing and when you only have one more flight to go before home. That decaf caramel macchiato or green tea latte just tastes even sweeter then.
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Bathrooms in China often have sinks but no soap. This mini container has teeny tissue-like sheets of soap that are perfect for such situations when using hand sanitizer just isn’t what you want.

 

 

 

This is also a handy stocking stuffer for the China traveler–travel sized, concentrated laundry soap. Then you can wash clothes to rewear what you need to and spot clean the spots you get from eating with chopsticks.
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I love clever travel solutions. Every China traveler needs something to bring order to plug adapters, iPad chargers, phone charges, headphones, etc. There are lots of them out there. But, this one from Bagsmart looks like a good one to me because I like bold colors so you can spot it easily in the depth of your suitcase or carryon.
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A toiletry bag is essential, and I prefer hanging ones to keep them from sitting in icky water on a bathroom counter. Grab this inexpensive one from NeatPack in a fun color.

 

 

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Sometimes you just get tired of drinking bottled water and room temperature Coke. Having a couple of these Crystal Light liquid things in your bag for such occasions makes staying hydrated a bit more tolerable.

 

 

 

Melatonin is your friend. And, it will make a good stocking stuffer that someone thanks you for later.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You need a travel journal that will inspire you and give you plenty of room for thoughts and doodles as you go and go deeper. I don’t have this one, but I kind of love the look of it and may be asking for it myself.

 

 

 

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Okay, so these are super expensive. I know. And, likely nobody’s buying these noise-canceling headphones as a gift since they have a high price tag. But, I had to share them because we were able to get a pair using frequent flyer miles that were expiring, and they are LIFE CHANGING. Seriously. If you have $250 to spare, get these. You’re welcome.
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Please don’t buy this for your China trip. It’s a post-China trip need. Every hotel room has an electric kettle to heat and clean water (no tea needed, just hot water). And, after China, you’re going to want one of your own. We have this one by Oster in our kitchen, and the blue light is so nice in the wee hours of the morning.
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Another gift idea I’d suggest would be books about China travel, culture, adoption if that’s why you are traveling….

Check these out:

• • • China in Ten Words
    • Age of Ambition
    • Message from an Unknown Chinese Mother: Stories of Loss and Love
    • Wish You Happy Forever: What China’s Orphans Taught Me About Moving Mountains
    • Eating Bitterness: Stories from the Front Lines of China’s Great Urban Migration
    • One Child
    • China’s Hidden Children
    • The Good Women of China
    • Dreaming in Chinese
    • Wanting a Daughter, Needing a Son

These links are Amazon affiliate links. What that is an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon. 

Long after I’d be asleep if I were at home, Chiang Mai is wildly alive. Traditional Thai music in one ear. Eye of the Tiger way too loud sung with an accent in the other. Fish to eat. Fish to eat dead skin on your feet. Young children shopping for leather elephant keychains and other crafts with parents on holiday speaking languages I can’t recognize. Young children beside their parent trying to make a living from all those on holiday selling their wares or begging for mercy in any form of currency.

 

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I think they’ve come to expect it. Kind of like children on Christmas morning. They know that when we come, we don’t only have bags full of art supplies and toys and vitamins for the children. They know that somewhere in those bags is something for them. And, I love that they’ve come to expect it. I love that they know I’m never going to come and forget them.

It’s always a challenge for me though. What can I bring that wasn’t made in China? What can I bring that speaks their love language, that is easy to pack, that I can bring lots of because there are lots of them.

With only a month before this trip, I still had nothing. My mom, who has become pretty adept at Pinterest surfing, had an idea–aprons. She made one that I loved and hand wrote instructions so I could enlist some other helpers. We asked three more women to join my mom in making them, each one the same but different so that each ayi could pick her one that was her own. I had a plan–each of us on the team could wear one as we served and then we’d give the ayis their own before we said goodbye. I had no idea how many we’d need in order for two different orphanages–maybe 40? Maybe 50?

Emily’s aprons were the first to arrive in a pile of beautiful color. She made way more than I had asked for. I started making plans for the extras. My mom’s motherload came next. She too made more than I had asked her to make. Valerie’s and Angi’s aprons had not yet arrived, but they were most certainly going to be overflow. When Valerie’s package arrived, the 10 I asked her to make was 14. That’s okay. I would just save them for the next trip when we would go to a different place.

A few days before we left, I got a message from one of the orphanages. They told me that they had 32 caregivers. Okay, so that was a few more aprons than I thought we’d take there we’d be okay still; we had extras. I counted out 32 aprons and left the rest in a pile. Two days before we left, I got a message from the other orphanage finally answering my question from weeks earlier. 56 caregivers. Oh no. I panicked. 56? There’s no way we’re going to have enough aprons! Wait, no need to panic, I know what we can do. We’ll skip the part-time caregivers and give them something else little; only full-time ones would get an apron. But, I panicked again when I asked the director how many of those 56 were full-time and how many were part-time. They were ALL full time.

Angi’s 10 aprons had not yet arrived, and I had not counted how many made up the stack I had. But, I knew we’d be short. A day before we left, Angi’s aprons arrived. Like the other women, for some reason, she made a couple extra, sending 12 instead of the 10 I had asked her to make. I opened the package and marveled at her work and all the color, amazed at how all four women are able to take a flat piece of fabric and make something out of nothing. As I started to count up all that we had, I thought about how I could make up the difference. Should I run out and get nice hand lotions? Would Target have aprons that I could spread among the handmade ones?

10 became 40 and then 60. Aprons laid in stacks of 10 on my living room floor. Stacks and stacks until I counted the very last one. We needed 88 for all the ayis. We had 93–the exact number we needed for each ayi and the 5 of us.

Perfect.

I don’t know how it happened. But, it did. And, it was just the message I needed that He’s going ahead of us, even to the point of directing these four ladies to make just a few more…just in case.

I even got this picture sent to me later–this ayi very proudly added to her apron to hide any dirt.

Perfect.