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

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="" />

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.

You will be flying into the PHRASECENSOREDPOSTERSHOULDKNOWBETTER. country. HK is now a city of China.

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

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.

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

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

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.

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.

"You should always ask doctors and dentists to use sterilized equipment and be prepared to pay for new syringe needles in hospitals or clinics."

Unfortunately, some poor countries don't HAVE new syringes & needles even if you BEG to pay for them. Consider taking some with you in original sealed packages, in your checked luggage.

If you want to take a lighter without anyone fussing, keep a couple packs of cigarettes nearby. Security may wonder about a Bic with no tobacco, but they understand smokers.

Sue

Water-take a Katadyn water bottle that has both a filter and iodine treatment
in the cap. Lots of viruses as well as worms there so you need both. Have someone write in Chinese what it is on the bottle so they don't hold you up in the airport wondering what it is. All the hotels have an electric pot for boiling tea water or they will bring you boiling
water for tea if you ask. Use plenty for drinking, brushing teeth etc.

Money-even the Bank of China won't take wrinkled US currency sometimes, bring
only new currency.

I brought several multi tools in my luggage to give as gifts to some drillers I was
working with-no problems in the airports. My wife carried a magnesium fire starter without incident. I also had two bibles and since it was for my own use and in English they didn't care. I left one there with a Tibetan College student who needed a book in English to practice. Incidently, if you try and spread a religion and get caught, they will send you home right away, but the national you try to reach out to will be thrown in jail or worse.

wash your hands, wash your hands, wash your hands

buy medical evacuation insurance, you don't want to be treated for something serious there. I met a fellow whose doc purposefully made his broken arm worse so he could treat him for a more expensive injury.

The government deals harshly with their own people who harm tourists, so it is pretty safe there for Americans. The pickpockets work in gangs and carry knives so don't make a scene if you catch them.

Food is so cheap and good, try some of the fancy eateries as food is about 1/8 the price of food in the US.

"When my friend's daughter (senior HS) went to China with her volleyball team, they were told to drink only beer."

Man, things sure have changed since I was in high school! <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Seriously though, I wonder why beer would be ok and not soft drinks? Something to do with the fermentation process maybe?

Vince

Probably the alcohol content. IIRC you can't get higher than around 14-15% without distilling.

some of the responses, I'm guessing, are from folks who have a) never been there, b)travelled there in the 80's or c) read one too many espionage novels. either that or I have been extremely lucky.....

I travel there at least once a year for approx. 2-3 weeks at a time. I like to travel a bit so I'm all over the place.

I usually carry: 2 spydercos (endura/delica/goddard), multi-tool, 2 flash lights (inova X5/infinity ultra), FAK, and a chain wallet in addition to usual luggage. never had a problem with the populace or cops, but then I like to keep a low profile. btw, all gears are clipped to pockets or carried on belt. you won't have a problem with battery in cities.

Theft is a big problem in any big city, my chain wallet stays inside the waistband, I wrap the chain around my belt so it will stay in place.

never had any problems with food except 1997, been carrying Imodium AD since and never used it. Buy bottled water, hotels will provide either coolers or boiled water in vaccum bottles. btw, don't drink from tap, not even the locals do! never needed potable aqua, if you are indeed in a place where that becomes a necessity, you are going to need more than that.

if you stick to major cities the public restrooms inside most places are perfectly serviceable, but carry some type of fragrant inhalant would be helpful. you might have to "buy" TP. (in quotation because it's mandatory in some places) It's when you go to the rural area that you do need to carry some with you.

I carry purell with me, you'll want it or something similar.

never been followed (as far as I know) but then I'm an atheist, no hellfire and brimstone speech from me. I also don't strike up conversation with strangers about politics.

do you have a route planned out? how about fluency language wise? you are flying into hongkong, but if you go to the mainland you should be fluent in mandarin. that will help you more than your gear.

two additional things:
try not to drive in China, taxis are cheap and the drivers are a lot braver than you are likely to be. the beer is a lot stronger than some of the popular brands in the US. most of the domestic beer I've seen are in the 25-30 proof.

david.