What You Need to Travel to China

I am traveling to China here in a bit, and I'll be there for a few months teaching English. I am such a big fan of researching for my trips, that's just a part of my personality. It gets me so excited for the travel to see where I am going, what I'll be doing, and preparing for it. So here is what I have done to get ready for China.

Medical

I got my shots (immunizations, vaccinations, and the like) at a Travel Center on an Army base. With all the travel military folks do, they have a really nice set up. You can make an appointment or just drop by and explain where you're going and that you're doing and they will figure out what you need. They were really great about walking me through each recommendation and the possible shots that you can/should get based on where I am going. They explained everything, which I loved, and printed off the material so that I didn't have to remember it all. I had such a great experience with them. So, military folks, I guess you're set that way. If you're a civilian, I'm not sure what what kind of work you need to do but wherever you're going, I suggest doing a little research to at least understand how many shots you're likely to get and what you're getting yourself into. For example, as I did my research for China, I found that Malaria is still a problem there in some parts, so I know now that I should be wary of mosquito bites. Although there isn't a vaccination for Malaria you can take an anti-malarial drug while your there to help prevent contacting the disease. I didn't end up getting that because the area I am going to be in is low-risk, but it's good to know that I should pack a lot of bug spray and anti-mosquito gear.

I ended up getting four shots: TDAP, Hepatitis A, Japanese Encephalitis, and Typhoid. Hepatitis A and Japanese Encephalitis need a second shot (Hepatitis A, six months after first shot and Japanese Encephalitis, four weeks after first shot). So that's important to remember the second part.

My program (ILP) also helped me get ISIC Premium health and travel insurance, specifically for travel abroad. This insurance lasts a year and it covers a variety of things like: stolen property (camera/purse/passport/phone, etc), lost airline baggage, and subsequent fees from a delayed flight. If you want to learn any more about what it covers, you can find that here.

Flight

Figuring out my fight schedule was fun. So I'll leave Utah at about 2:00 PM and after about fourteen hours of flying and two hours of layovers I will arrive in China at about 8:30 PM the next date.

When I come back I'll leave China at 1:30 PM and, after a similar amount of flying and waiting, will get home at 2:00 PM that same date. Times zones are weird. I fly through United so I was able to get the miles for my flight onto my account, which is awesome. I looked at the checked-bag fees though. It looks like most ILP volunteers take two checked bags plus their complimentary carry-on and personal bag. My first checked-bag is free with United, but my second one will cost me a pretty penny so I think I will try and make it work with one. I believe in myself.

Money

You have to worry about three things when looking at money in China: Credit Cards, ATMs, and Cash. From my research it looks like the best Credit cards for this kind of travel are the Chase Sapphire Preferred and Capital One. I'm applying for both and waiting to hear back. The best bank for USA to China travel is Bank of America. When you are a card holder there you can use China Construction Bank ATMs, which are kind of everywhere over there, with low ATM fees. Cash, however, is the best way to pay for thingd over in China. Apparently they don't accept a lot of credit or debit cards is smaller/local settings. If you're staying at a nice hotel or the like, they will, but because cash is so big over there, I am ordering a couple hundred USD worth of Chinese Yuan (CNY) from my local bank and squirreling it away for the flight over. If you want to see where I got my information check out these two awesome sites that really lay it out for you in terms that you can understand: NBC News and Nomadic Matt .

Going with ILP, you have to be prepared to pay $2,500 upfront for there plan and for transition costs like phone, baggage, insurance, and (from what I've heard) you have to be ready to spend at least $1,500 while you're over there to pay for souvenirs, travel, vacations, food (you don't always want to eat the school food). So I am looking at $4,000 for to go to China for 16 weeks.

For the teaching plan at ILP, you pay them $2,220 and they take care of your flight, room and board, and your meals. On the surface that seems like a good deal, and then a you start to get ready, you realize that there is a lot more the take care of, and it isn't cheap. They ask you to bring a suitcase of teaching supplies with you, for me that would mean the purchase/fundraising of supplies and and incurring a $100 baggage fee there and back ($200). So far, I have managed to raise enough supplies to fit within my 50 lbs weight-limit and enough money to check it and get it there, but I won't be able to afford bringing a 2nd checked bag back with me from China to the USA.

As well as all this research, I also found this great video. It was mage especially for ILP volunteers going to the school I will be at, but it has a lot of general travel tips for anyone who is traveling to China.

Next week, I'll be talking about how I got my electronics and everything ready for the transition.

Happy Planning,

Challis Hackley