Back from China and it was amazing!

[2PrincesseInTow]

First, thank you to those who have done trip reports on China! They inspired me to take this adventure and it was an absolutely wonderful trip.

As there are already wonderful detailed trip reports I will share (or emphasize) a few points:

- Bring swim suits. The pools at the fabulous hotels you will be staying at are amazing. Our family made a point of trying to enjoy a little down time at the pool. We had a great group of junior adventurers and we met up several times at the pool. Swim caps are required by law in China although the Peninsula hotels didn’t seem to enforce that and Ritz Carlton had caps to borrow.

- speaking of the pool... GO TO THE POOL IN HONG KONG the view from the pool deck is amazing during the day but especially at night. You access the pool from the floor below so don’t give up when the elevator doesn’t go to the pool level.


- airport security is not like the US. Umbrellas, personal fans, Wi-Fi cubes, lithium batteries MUST be in your carryon and taken out with your phone and iPad/computer. Liquids in your carryon must be small like US but must be in manufacturers packaging. With 5 internal flights, we got it all down pretty well. Had a pouch for electronics that I unzipped in the tray and that worked and used another for our fans. DD’s glitter cell phone case was confiscated by security at our final flight... they decided the liquid in the case was petroleum based They also pat you down after you walk through the metal detector.

- Connectivity - we used Nord VPN and had no problems with email and social media. We tried to use our Skyroam for Wi-Fi and for some reason did not have good luck. We ended up using DH’s iPhone hot spot.

- The food was really amazing. All of the ABD included restaurants were very good. We did have a switch in Beijing to the hotel’s restaurant the first night instead of Duck De Chine. Only day it was a bit off was the “Amazing Race Day” when you fly in and out of Xian, otherwise very good.

-add a few days pre and post if you can. We had 3 nights pre trip. Two at HK Disneyland and one at Peninsula. HK Disneyland is small so we really didn’t need two days but with jet lag it worked out well. We also took a day and a half tour of Hong Kong and Tai O fishing village which were great. The ABD Hong Kong portion is very brief.

Post in Shanghai we did three nights at Shanghai Disneyland Hotel. It’s a very crowded large park. Original plan was to do two park days but the kids (and me too) needed a relaxing day so we enjoyed our last morning at the Peninsula and explored Disney Town and had dinner at Aurora. The park day I splurged on a private guide which was fabulous, it was a Friday and wait times were crazy - busier than the Wednesday we were there with ABD group. Soaring wait on Wednesday was 1:50 and on Friday 3 hrs. Our final day we did a wonderful tour with Miki Tours ( recommendation by Cousin Orville in his trip report ) to a water village with a dumpling making class. It was the perfect end to our trip.

Please let me know if you have any questions. If you’re considering this adventure.... book it!

 

[abdgeek]

Thanks for the extra packing hints. I leave Monday for my pre-nights and am packing now. I have a couple of questions about your list:

1) We were told umbrellas had to be in checked luggage. Has that changed?
2) Personal fans—are you referring to battery operated or hand held?
3) I take extra AA batteries for my camera and always have them in a ziploc bag in my carryon. Do you remember if they need to be prepared a specific way? (In Australia they made me attach them together with tape so that the ends wouldn’t touch.

 

[2PrincesseInTow]

Thanks for the extra packing hints. I leave Monday for my pre-nights and am packing now. I have a couple of questions about your list:

1) We were told umbrellas had to be in checked luggage. Has that changed?
2) Personal fans—are you referring to battery operated or hand held?
3) I take extra AA batteries for my camera and always have them in a ziploc bag in my carryon. Do you remember if they need to be prepared a specific way? (In Australia they made me attach them together with tape so that the ends wouldn’t touch.

Our umbrellas had to be in our carry on bags so it must have changed. That being said, all of the hotels you are staying in have umbrellas in your closet so if you don’t want to bring one it would just be your flight days when you are without one. I ended up wearing my raincoat more than using the umbrella.

Fans- yes, battery operated personal fans. We grabbed them at HK Disneyland our first day as it was very hot and humid. (We are not used to humidity where we live)

We did not have any of that type of battery and I didn’t hear anything specific about them. Sorry, I don’t know the answer.

Have an amazing trip!

Sara

 

[kaseyC]

Thank you for sharing your tips. So glad you had a great time. We leave on July 4 for our July 7 trip. So excited!!

 

[abdgeek]

Our umbrellas had to be in our carry on bags so it must have changed. That being said, all of the hotels you are staying in have umbrellas in your closet so if you don’t want to bring one it would just be your flight days when you are without one. I ended up wearing my raincoat more than using the umbrella.

Fans- yes, battery operated personal fans. We grabbed them at HK Disneyland our first day as it was very hot and humid. (We are not used to humidity where we live)

We did not have any of that type of battery and I didn’t hear anything specific about them. Sorry, I don’t know the answer.

Have an amazing trip!

Sara

Thanks for the clarification. I usually travel with two liquid items in my carryon that are not in manufacture packaging. I was wondering whether they would be ok, so it's good to know I should put them in my checked luggage or leave them home. I also normally just use a raincoat, so it's good to know that I can borrow the hotel umbrellas and not have to pack one.

 

[2PrincesseInTow]

Can’t believe I forgot to recommend my new favorite food! Egg waffles or waffle puffs... there are several names for them. We first saw them at HK Disneyland and then heard about Mammy Pancake which is Michelin recommended. The Mammy Pancake shop in the photo is within walking distance of the Hong Kong Penninsula. I may or may not have ordered a waffle maker as a souvenir of our trip

They were definitely a Hong Kong thing but we did find them in the airport in Guilin as well.

 

[OhanaCuz]

If you want them again look around for local Boba tea places. I've seen them at some of them.

 

[kaseyC]

Please let me know if you have any questions. If you’re considering this adventure.... book it

I have a couple of quick questions as we prepare to leave next week.
1. Were the use of chopsticks required for meals? I can use them and I've even been practicing more but I'm still not good with them.
2. With heat, humidity and it looks like we may have quite a bit of rain, what types of clothing did you wear? What were you really glad to have brought with you? What did you wish you would have left at home? What did you wished you had brought but didn't?

Thanks.

 

[sayhello]

I have a couple of quick questions as we prepare to leave next week.
1. Were the use of chopsticks required for meals? I can use them and I've even been practicing more but I'm still not good with them.
2. With heat, humidity and it looks like we may have quite a bit of rain, what types of clothing did you wear? What were you really glad to have brought with you? What did you wish you would have left at home? What did you wished you had brought but didn't?

Thanks.

I'm not @2PrincesseInTow, but I can answer some of this. I hope 2PrincesseInTow doesn't mind.

1. The use of chopsticks was not required. You could use them if you wanted to, but it was totally voluntary. Regular silverware was available. The only meal where it was sort of needed was the soup dumpling meal at Din Tai Fung in Shanghai. The "proper" way to eat them involves chopsticks and a spoon, but I'm sure if you couldn't work it out, they'd help you figure how to do it with silverware.
That said, I'd encourage you to try using the chopsticks! It's really a great part of the culture, and someone might be able to give you a hint that will make them work for you!
2. Shorts, T-Shirts, gauzy tops and a nice light shirt & yoga pants if I wanted to be a bit dressier is pretty much all I wore. Some people wore capris or light dresses. Except for a couple of dinners, it's really a pretty casual trip. I was really glad I brought a small umbrella that I could have in my purse at all time. Even if it wasn't raining, it was really useful to shade yourself from the intense sun. I was also glad the Guides gifted us with small battery-powered fans. I don't know if they do it for all the departures, or if they did it for us because it was the first trip that started in Hong Kong, but it was heaven! And a GOOD HAT and sunglasses!

Sayhello

 

[2PrincesseInTow]

I have a couple of quick questions as we prepare to leave next week.
1. Were the use of chopsticks required for meals? I can use them and I've even been practicing more but I'm still not good with them.
2. With heat, humidity and it looks like we may have quite a bit of rain, what types of clothing did you wear? What were you really glad to have brought with you? What did you wish you would have left at home? What did you wished you had brought but didn't?

Thanks.

1. Chopsticks were available but not required, we always had western silverware. We sometimes were lacking serving utensils so the chopsticks came in handy.
2. We also got a battery operated fan as is mentioned above. I mostly wore shorts and gauzy tops. I wore the same dress for the first and last night dinners. I’m glad I grabbed my jean jacket and raincoat at the last minute. Airplanes and airports were sometimes cold and I preferred my raincoat to an umbrella. With my pre and post trip days, I walked 109 miles according to my phone so I was happy to have a good pair of walking sandals. DH wore dri-fit polos and shorts everyday and long pants only on the first and last nights. I took too many nicer long pants.... as was mentioned above, it’s a pretty casual trip. We did not attempt any nicer restaurants on the on your own nights. Also glad to have swimsuits.

 

[carolinatennisgirl]

Thank you for the tips. For your raincoat did you use a heavy weight or light weight raincoat? I’m curious because as hot and humid as it sounds like it will be, I’m afraid my Helly Hansen heavier raincoat while keeping me dry, would be too hot. I have a much lighter weight rollup raincoat but it’s not the best at keeping me dry if I have to be outside in the rain for a longer period of time. Thanks!

 

[sayhello]

Thank you for the tips. For your raincoat did you use a heavy weight or light weight raincoat? I’m curious because as hot and humid as it sounds like it will be, I’m afraid my Helly Hansen heavier raincoat while keeping me dry, would be too hot. I have a much lighter weight rollup raincoat but it’s not the best at keeping me dry if I have to be outside in the rain for a longer period of time. Thanks!

My opinion? Definitely the light one! You will die from the humidity if you bring a heavy raincoat! I had a very lightweight one from LLBean.

Sayhello

 

[abdgeek]

2. With heat, humidity and it looks like we may have quite a bit of rain, what types of clothing did you wear? What were you really glad to have brought with you? What did you wish you would have left at home? What did you wished you had brought but didn't?

Thanks.

I’m in HK now doing pre-nights for the ABD that starts tomorrow. Based on previous reviews I only packed active wear shorts and tops for touring. They have been a godsend!! I’m from the south and the humidity here is very different. I’ve taken a tour each day and have been dripping in sweat the entire time. You may have a different experience, but the average temperature has been 32.5C for my pre-nights. You don’t really feel the heat, just the humidity. Even though the weather said it was going to rain everyday, it has only done so for about 15 min while I was out. It seems to rain mostly in the early morning or late evening. All the locals carry small umbrellas in their bags.

I have eaten at a number of nice restaurants and the dress code is smart casual. Think business casual. No one wears jeans to dinner. A nice pair of pants and a top are fine. They have more requirements for men( no shorts, tank tops, etc). I obsessed about what to pack for my trip before I left, but realized upon getting here that what I packed was fine. Definitely pack a hat and a fan. I don’t normally wear one, but when the sun is out it is really intense and the fan will help move the air.

 

[Cousin Orville]

So glad you enjoyed Shanghai and Miki's tour. I loved Shanghai DL. We ate at Aurora's, and I thought it was fantastic!

 

[Grifdog22]

My opinion? Definitely the light one! You will die from the humidity if you bring a heavy raincoat! I had a very lightweight one from LLBean.

Sayhello

Another place to look for great performance gear for dealing with heat, humidity and rain is Duluth Tradiing Company. Unlike LLBean, they still guarantee everything forever, and frankly in the last couple of years, their products are better in our opinion. We are REALLY HARD on stuff, but I also hate lugging around too many clothes. The Armachillo is quick cooling and really works! Their shirts have UV protection and anti-stink built in. They also have about 55 stores so you can actually go see, touch, feel and try on the things. My DW was only an LLBeaner, and is now a convert, thanks to the twin DDs. Having clothes that work, fit and make traveling effortless really adds to our enjoyment of trips. Just my two cents, but this is a company off most people's radar and has been a Godsend to us.

 

[sayhello]

Another place to look for great performance gear for dealing with heat, humidity and rain is Duluth Tradiing Company. Unlike LLBean, they still guarantee everything forever, and frankly in the last couple of years, their products are better in our opinion. We are REALLY HARD on stuff, but I also hate lugging around too many clothes. The Armachillo is quick cooling and really works! Their shirts have UV protection and anti-stink built in. They also have about 55 stores so you can actually go see, touch, feel and try on the things. My DW was only an LLBeaner, and is now a convert, thanks to the twin DDs. Having clothes that work, fit and make traveling effortless really adds to our enjoyment of trips. Just by two cents, but this is a company off most people's radar and has been a Godsend to us.

Thanks for this. I've started receiving catalogs from the Duluth Trading Company, but I've never heard of them (who knows how I got on their list!) I'll have to take a closer look at it now that I know they have quality stuff!

LL Bean actually recently opened a brick-and-mortar store here in Columbus, so I bought my light rain jacket in-store!

ETA: Looks like we've also got a Duluth Trading Company not too far from where I work. Cool! I'll check them out, too!

Sayhello

 

[LuckyPenny911]

Looks like a fun time, y'all are so cute! I hope to go there some day!

 

[Theta]

Who were your guides?

I heard Christian is now on the Magic doing the Med. Anyone know if this is correct?