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Q: I leave for China in 23 hours!!!...Any last minute advice?
Yup, the time has come. It seems just like yesterday I was a fresh faced little boy with the hopes and innocence of an infant, posting on this board asking questions about getting a job in China. Now everything has fallen into place and the stars have aligned. What was once a distant dream, is now an impending reality. I feel like it's not really happening, but indeed it is. So my fellow eChinaCities friends. please bestow upon me any last minute nuggets of wisdom!
PS. Anyone know how I can cope with a 15 hour flight to China and a 6 hour layover in Shanghai??? Both seem like pure torture of the worst kind.
10 years 12 weeks ago in Transport & Travel - China
Re your post script: Drink a lot of whiskey... I mean orange juice. And have fun on the nutty-schizoid roller-coaster ride you are about to embark upon.
Check back with us in six months, okay?, from the loony bin or cultural/spiritual/real prison cell you're chained to somewhere in the darkest heart of China...
(Time for a sound effect: Vincent Price laughing: A haha ha ha ha mujuararahaha haha ahahaha...)
Have fun, WT!
DO NOT PANIC !!!!!!!!
No worries, you'll be fine. In Shanghai, beware the nice cute students inviting you out of the blue for a tea ceremony, wine, coffee, art gallery... Scam 
with the Spring Festival getting up to speed, things will be a bit empty. Enjoy it 
Welcome to China. There looks to be a big party here waiting for you. Enjoy your experience and do check in with us on here. 
bring some basic medical supplies in your hand-luggage (eg asprin) you might need them after a long flight.
as has been said above, enjoy the experience and don't worry about BCD's - everyone has them
make sure you have clothes with lots of pockets and always carry paper with you everywhere you go, bring some small bottles of sanitizers to clean your hands when the bathroom is too dirty to even think of using the sink.
bc powders for the drinking headaches and immodium for the diarhea, also mucinex for the chest congestion from the pollution. condoms if your in a small city here.
Control your temper and pride, leave your culture in your own country.
Don't trust anyone, and make sure you control your anger... otherwise you might turn green and start throwing people around...
Stock up on medicine, clothes, food as much stuff as you can take of what you like, as hard to come by in China.
Flights will seem easy in 1 years time if you get around China and have experience with train rides- my mate took a 50 hr train journey on a seat, so a 15 hr plane ride is a breeze for him now.
Don't drink the water straight from the faucet, boil it first!
Stay away from the street vendor food until your insides are used to
all the different 'regular' food.
Enjoy your stay; you've never experienced anything like it [probably].
Don't get too enthusiastic, don't show it to anyone, keep it for yourself. Don't think you're something above anyone, be as humble as you can and prudent. Be friendly but not naive. Be observant and learn to see where people are trying to dupe you. Learn to love the contradictions and the upside world you're about to discover. It's just not your word, so give up on it or don't follow by the rules at home. Learn quickly and you will adapt as well. Give yourself like 3 months to understand what's going on around. Beware the Honey moon period. It's the most dangerous, as to my experience. Don't even think people are this much nice because you're so special. Avoid to show off and enjoy but as prudent as you can be the friendly people around you.
All in all, it's up to you how you will make your life comfortable or a hell wherever you go.
Enjoy China, but don't get in love with it.
1 make sure you have a open return ticket !! 
2 try not to show fear as they feed off it 
3 cry into your pillow to muffle the sound 
4 copies of passport and any other papers 5 worry beads and cross they will not keep the blood suckers away but can help you get away , How you say ? firstly spread the beads on the floor so they trip over them and use the Cross as nuckle dusters 
. 5 make sure you get mental help when (if) you get home
have fun old mate hope it goes well for you
Get a money belt, but go for the super thin ones, the ones that you can hide discretely UNDER your shirt. NEVER let anyone see you have one on, go find a private bathroom or changing room if you need to take anything out.
For the flight, if you are flexible enough, pull your knees close to your chest and lower the table tray. Then put your legs in a criss-cross on the table-tray and leave them elevated there for the whole flight. That will prevent your legs from getting too restless and is a great sleeping position. Who cares about what the person next to you thinks, I always do that on flights, but I'm much more flexible than the average person, so in the event you can't physically do that, just walk up and down the isle of the plane when you need to.
The flight here is not so bad, it's when you go back that kills.
Buy some new socks and boxers(if you go that route) leave your common sense at home, 'cause it ain't so common here, and enjoy the adventure. You seem to be a guy who likes to plan things out, as evidenced by your previous posts. The thing is, it's the opposite here. Your school will tell you about days off or days you have to work at the last minute. Even the gov't is known to change work days in relation to holidays. I'm a planner myself, and it's maddening at times, but unforgettable.
Good luck!
Scandinavian:
I grew up on the mantra "failing to plan is planning to fail". In China it would simply be "even planning to fail fails"
Scandinavian:
Don't know if it is a good thing. But it seems to be the norm and people are not bothered about it.
Good luck and don't forget about us OK! Check in here when you arrive and you can talk us through your first few weeks. And then we can see/hear you experience all the things yopu have read about on this forum for the last little while.
Thank you all for the advice! I am wide awake and doubtful I will sleep at all before I leave to catch my flight in 2.5 hours. I'm not going to lie.. I'm getting some slight cold feet. I know it's too late to turn back now, and I don't want to at all.. But it's finally hit me that this is actually happening. It will all be OK. It's an adventure.. This is just the beginning... I can do this...
JacobJohn:
Be brave in all your adventure, enjoy it and let us know how did you find China. We all know and share our frustrations around here so yours will be a just fresh and awaited one. Afterall, China if it doesn't "kill you" it will make you strong. I am sure you know what I mean.
You want some advice?
Have a back-up plan incase one of your bags are lost... that's what happened to me when I first arrived in China.
Other than that, just relax... be observant and take the good with the bad.
Have a good trip.
If a massage parlour has a pink light in the entryway/christmas lights outside if it, it is not really a massage parlour. it is a brothel.
Sorry, I voted your question down because I misunderstood it.
Misunderstandings are normal.
Have fun dude.
Although this is too late for you perhaps another will read this. My best advice to you is whatever you do, “do not” do a belly flop onto your hotel bed when you arrive. I had heard that they were hard, but nothing can prepare you for the reality of it.
Scandinavian:
this is outstanding advice :) very important knowledge
ou812:
It wasn't meant to be that serious, but it was a rude awakening when I did it
dom87:
lol funny thing, i did the same but backwards and almost broke my back
Where are you flying from and where will you be heading?
