Coltsfan Wrote:
QUOTE:
--Deodorant
--Decaf Coffee
--After shave
--caffeine-free drinks
--Crystal Light
--Large size shoes for men and women (size 11 (45) nearly impossible to find and very limited selection)
--Large size clothes (XL in America = XXXXL in China)
--Books in English
Regarding large size clothes, I haven't gone out yet in Dalian to find a decent tailor, but in Shenyang I had a great tailor who made me a couple of suits, three pairs of khaki's, three dress shirts, three vests, a tie, and various other things all reasonably priced. Sometimes I'd buy my own material and take it to her, other times she'd buy it for me after I described what I wanted. All the time things were far cheaper than what I could buy in the store -even if my size was available. Save the hassle and some money and have clothes made at a good tailor. Ask the ayi's in your neighborhood where they go.
Books are a good idea, but that's a lot of weight to use up in your luggage. Have your friends send you books from home. In the States you can ask at the
post office for an "M-Bag" and that's the cheapest rate to send stuff. (20 pounds will cost 18 dollars.) Of course, it's surface delivery and will take at least a month, but you could always send the stuff ahead of time.
Antiperspirant/deodorant while somewhat difficult to find is available, albeit rather expensive. Watsons has it available as well as other places such as Carrefour. A small bottle will set you back between 30 to 40 kuai. Best get friends and family to send bi-annual shipments of four or five sticks in your favorite flavor.
While Crystal Lite is sugar free, you can easily find a non-sugar free instant drink mix: Tang. It's available in many different flavors.
Decaf coffee... I'm pretty sure you can buy whole bean decaf coffee from Starbucks and grind it yourself. I buy whole bean coffee from Trust Mart.
caronx3 Wrote:
QUOTE:
* If you color your hair at home any color other than black/dark brown -- bring your hair coloring with you.
Before we go any further, I should point out that while it's OK to bring the color with you, bringing the developer is a BIG NO-NO. Oxidizers are NOT allowed on airplanes either in carry on or in checked baggage. Furthermore, it is also against US Federal regulations for people to send Oxidizers in the post. That means, you can't bring your developer with you. But, it's not a big deal as there are lots of beauty supply shops that sell both color and developer in bulk.
QUOTE:
...
* Cake decorating stuff...food coloring/pastes, sprinkles/jimmies, etc
Seen them just a few days ago at Metro in their baking section.
QUOTE:
* Measuring cups and spoons
* Scrapbooking materials -- ie. glue dots, stickers, specialty paper, etc
* Good chocolate
* Baking powder and baking cocoa
* Black tea bags
All easily available. Lipton tea bags are easy to find at the small local shops as well as Wal-Mart and the larger places.
Good Chocolate can be found at Trust Mart, Metro, and a lot of other places. You'll pay an imported price for imported Chocolate, but if you're in need of a good Chocolate fix, it's worth the price.
Baking powder I've gotten before. I think it goes by the name of "Edible Alkali" here. It's used when making Mantao. Yeast is also easily available at the small local shops as well as the larger places.
Metro carries baking chocolate, too. Same for measuring cups and spoons (but metric, of course).
QUOTE:
* Silpat mat
Not sure what that is.
QUOTE:
* Oil sprayer (have yet to find Pam here).
You've got me on that one.
QUOTE:
* Shoe and boot laces/strings
* Curling ribbon
Seen millions of times at the small local shops. Shoe strings and laces can be found even on the street. Usually sold with the socks. Every corner usually has someone repairing shoes, too.
QUOTE:
* Games
Good idea. But, then again, a lot of space/weight to use for such things. I'd suggest you see if it's possible to put them in with the books in the "M-Bag" from the post office.
For people here just a short time, these of course seem like obvious things to bring, but after you're here a while and if you're adventurous enough, finding these things is quite easy. If all you do is shop at Wal-Mart, Carrefour, or the BIG super markets, then your selection is actually more limited than if you actually go down and shop where more of the locals shop.
The "flea market" type places are your best bet for a lot of these things.
There is one place in KFQ where I sometimes buy my meats and veg (it stinks to high heaven!) located in the basement of a flea market type building and they have pasta, bacon, butter, cheese, and a lot of other imported things you'd NEVER think a place like that would have. Of course, if you're not too adventurous, you'd never venture down into a place like that, but then you'll miss out.
Coltsfan
Paulits
...
