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#45512 - 07/31/05 03:58 PM PSK for China
Anonymous
Unregistered


I will be traveling to China soon for a 2-week business trip just outside of Hong Kong. This is a VERY populated region.
I will be on foot quite a bit and operating out of hotel rooms.
Would anybody like to suggest a list of equipment for a PSK?
Please remember that I will be flying to Hong Kong and then crossing the border into a PHRASECENSOREDPOSTERSHOULDKNOWBETTER. country.
Has anybody tried to use the Steri-Pen on a trip like this?
Thank you for any help.---Marc

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#45513 - 07/31/05 04:23 PM Re: PSK for China
groo Offline
Old Hand

Registered: 11/02/03
Posts: 740
Loc: Florida
Cash, lots, and a light?

I'd leave all the suspicious looking gear at home. Wouldn't even take my HDS 60. Do NOT want to try to explain why a flashlight needs a microcontroller. <img src="/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

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#45514 - 07/31/05 04:46 PM Re: PSK for China
Tjin Offline
Pooh-Bah

Registered: 04/08/02
Posts: 1821
not really PSK things, but useful:

-carry your cash (and other valuables) concealed in diffrent places. Having just the amount of money for a day in your wallet which u use to buy things with.
-Tap water in unpurified, most people cook it. Rich people buy bottled water. So either buy bottled water or purify it.
-Insect repelent and sunscreen.
_________________________


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#45515 - 07/31/05 05:29 PM Re: PSK for China
BigAssDiesel Offline
Journeyman

Registered: 06/01/05
Posts: 58
You will be flying into the PHRASECENSOREDPOSTERSHOULDKNOWBETTER. country. HK is now a city of China.

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#45516 - 07/31/05 05:59 PM Re: PSK for China
Susan Offline
Geezer

Registered: 01/21/04
Posts: 5163
Loc: W. WA
When my friend's daughter (senior HS) went to China with her volleyball team, they were told to drink only beer. You could maybe drink bottled water IF it comes to your table sealed.

China uses "night soil" (human manure) to fertilize their food fields, and this stuff is NOT composted to remove pathogens. All the raw food rules apply here.

I would take a supply of the best water sterilization product I could find, and a good supply of Immodium, also.

I don't know if it is true, but I have heard that in Third World countries Giardia & Cryptosporum are NOT nearly as common as here.

Sue

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#45517 - 07/31/05 06:35 PM Re: PSK for China
groo Offline
Old Hand

Registered: 11/02/03
Posts: 740
Loc: Florida
So I'm bored. I pretended I'm going to China, and found several guides / tips / FAQs. One thing is obvious, to me, at least. Nothing you can take with you in a PSK will help as much as simply being familiar with guides like this before going.

Here are some of the more interesting bits:

From our own State Department:
Do not to drink tap water in China. Hotels almost always supply boiled water that is safe to drink. Buy bottled water and/or carbonated drinks. Make sure you carry water purification tablets to use when neither boiled water nor bottled drinks are available.

Be aware that HIV has become a significant concern in China. You should always ask doctors and dentists to use sterilized equipment and be prepared to pay for new syringe needles in hospitals or clinics.

Hospitals have sometimes been reluctant to release patients for medical evacuation in cases where they would prefer to keep the patient for an extended stay.

Ambulances do not carry sophisticated medical equipment, and ambulance personnel generally have little or no medical training. Therefore, injured or seriously ill Americans should take taxis or other immediately available vehicles to the nearest major hospital rather than waiting for ambulances to arrive.

If you are planning to rent an apartment with gas appliances while in China, be aware that in some areas natural gas is not scented to warn occupants of gas leaks or concentrations. Also, heaters may not always be well vented, thereby allowing excess carbon monoxide to build up in living spaces.



From awc-hc.org:
Always carry extra toilet tissue with you . Bathroom facilities, including those where you will have your professional meetings, vary greatly in quality. They generally do not have tissue supplies.

You should carry your passport and airline ticket on your person in a money belt or pouch which you can wear under your clothing. Never leave your passport and travel documents in your luggage at the hotel.

Make one or more copies of your passport photo page, your Chinese visa, and your international airline ticket. Keep these copies with you, but not in your money belt or pouch. If you lose your passport or travel documents, your copies will still be safe and will help their replacement.

We do not recommend drinking tap water anywhere, even at your hotel. The attendants on each floor of your hotel will bring you a thermos of boiled water anytime you ask. You can purchase bottled water from the shops located in your hotel's lobby.

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#45518 - 07/31/05 11:20 PM Re: PSK for China
Anonymous
Unregistered


How soon? You want to get everything you need for your shots. Odds are, you will be in the major metropolitan areas, and they are modern cities. But, you get 5 miles out of the city, and you are pretty 3rd world conditions in a lot of ways.

Others have said drink only boiled water. Part of me says pack plenty of water purification tabs, but if you are going there on business, don't let your local contacts see them. Serious insult. So long as you are in HK you should be OK. China is huge and poor and badly run, but thier enginneers aren't fools. And the Brits made a good system. If you want to be subtle, a waterbottle with a purifier/filter cap?

Carry with you exam gloves and 1st aid item; the stated sources aren't kidding when they say that EMS is almost nonexistant. Carry any meds you need on your person.

Carry your ticket, id, passport and all your visas (IIRC, you need an internal visa to cross from HK to the PRC proper) in a pick-proof manor. Maybe a travel wallet under your shirt and tie. Some people are saying cash, and it isn't a horrible idea, but I don't know what the current state of currency control is. If you bring in too much western currency, you might get hammered by thier cops.

Religous items are really, really twitchy. If you wear like a crucifix or a magan david, that should be ok, but documentation will make thier noses twitch. Remember, the state religion is Mao.

No knives, not even a micra or SAK classic. A low-to-medium flash light that runs on AA or AAA. Unless you smoke, nothing to light a fire with. We are talking seriously stripping out the kit, but remember that you are still talking about a repressive regieme that has serious paranoia issues when it comes to espionage and sabotage.

They will mostly looking at internal wreckers, but keep in mind that if you are doing anything terrifically important, or just look it, don't be suprised if you see the same person around you a lot- it will be your official tail. Take it as a compliment, they think you are impressive.

Take it for granted your hotel phone will be bugged. They might not listen, but they are probably recording. If you are bringing a laptop, talk to your IT guys about ghosting your machine before you leave, then formatting it and reinstalling just what you need. When you get back, have them save the items you need saved, then format the drive and put that old ghost back in. The local ISPs have some really spffy spyware that will want to give you. Among other things.

And whatever you do, don't act suspisious. YOur company won't be happy if you get PNGed or worse.

Wow, all the old paranoia and the rules to the games just came back. :P

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#45519 - 08/01/05 12:26 AM Re: PSK for China
Anonymous
Unregistered


So, water, the most basic item for survival, is unfit for consumption..
Lousy medical care and lots of HIV.
Low quality flashlights only.
No knives. Yuck

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#45520 - 08/01/05 12:46 AM Re: PSK for China
Anonymous
Unregistered


Basically.

China's political structure is about the next-to-worst case senario for shifting from PHRASECENSOREDPOSTERSHOULDKNOWBETTER.. It is a police state, and they are laughing up thier sleeves as we and the Japanese fund thier military growth as they by more and more from Russian.

Planet of fools.

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#45521 - 08/01/05 05:40 AM Re: PSK for China
Anonymous
Unregistered


My parents went a while back, under the auspices of the People-to-People program, a fairly high-end NGO that sets up cultural exchange program for professional groups.

First piece of advice: trade in your luggage for lightest stuff you can find; expect to have to carry it.
2) Don't drink water that did not come with a seal on it; don't trust the 'boiled water' in the hotel.
3) Take imodium, and consider getting your doctor to give you a Rx for a stout enteric antibiotic

My father had health issues. His doctor put together the equivalent of an Advernture Medical "Savy Traveller" kit. No problemm with the authorities, at least on that trip.

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