Travel Tips

Air Freshener (the pump type)!!! The diapers can really stink up a hotel room & you never know who will be ahead of you in the airplane bathroom!Take pens on the plane. Lots of forms to fill out prior to landing.

Aerosol cans are prohibited on all flights in China - none in check-in or carry-on.

Travel Alarm Clock. White Swan doesn't have clocks in the rooms.

Gift Bags, Tissue Paper & Tape. Do not wrap anything, the airport could make you unwrap.

Ziploc Bags (quart & gallon sizes). Awesome for so many things!

Toiletries - ziploc all toiletries, lotions, etc. "just in case". Air pressure changes alone has made some containers leak. Plastic is safer than dealing with glass in luggage - put in ziplock bags, let out the air. if somehow the luggage gets smooshed enough to break the plastic - hopefully the ziplock will contain it all.

Laundry in China, always remove it from the bags ASAP!!! It is usually still damp!!

Keys For Your Luggage! Don’t forget your luggage keys!

Inflatable Beach Ball. fun and takes no room.

2'x2' piece of a picnic tablecloth, the plastic kind with felt backing (makes a great and easily washable diaper changing place)

"White-out" Marker. It’s easy to correct mistakes on the forms. Hard to get new copies.

Passport Photos. Obvious reasons

COPIES of: driver's licenses, passport page 1 and birth certificates. These will make it easier to obtain a replacement passport on the off chance yours is stolen or lost.

This tips have all been from adoptive parents that have made the trip to China and have been gracious enough to post on my yahoo groups. So a big thanks to all of them. Check back because I will be continually updating this list!

Pepto Bismal daily. Take two in the morning and two in the evening. The bismuth in them "has antibacterial qualities" according to doctors, and they are good for much more than just heartburn. They can actually help nip in the bud any Montezuma's Revenge type "bugs" that make it into your system before they reproduce enough to become problematic.