website Posted February 12, 2004 at 04:36 AM Report Posted February 12, 2004 at 04:36 AM I have been in Asia off and on since August 2001. During the nearly two years I have been here, I have seen and learned many things about this place. I have have lived in China, Vietnam, Thailand, and the Philippines. I have also visited most of the countries in East and Southeast Asia including Japan, Korea, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore. I am not an expert on Asia, but I do think I am qualified to comment on what has shocked me here and share some tips on Asia, mainly in regards to China. Southen Asia has been my favorite place because the cost of living is very low, jobs are plentiful, and the weather is warm. Living is pretty easy for Westerners here because of the novelty factor and the common perception (true or not) that foreigners in Asia are worldly and rich. Foreigners often feel like movie stars here even if they were losers back in their home countries. China especially is a culture shock, though. People in China tend to stare, cut in front of others in line, not say "excuse me", "sorry", or "thank you", spit, urinate outside, vomit everywhere, hold hands with same-sex friends, and wear two-piece suits to do construction work or pajamas to go shopping. Owning a car, speaking English, or seeing foreigners are rare here. Windows are often opened here in the winter and hot water and heaters are hard to find. Clothes are of poor quality and very small. Living in a third world like China may be harder than its sounds. Electricity, water, and Internet services may often have outages. Don't overestimate how much you may miss seeing books and magazines in English, western food, ice, churches, safe tap water, and western medicine. China seems advanced in some ways and behind in others. For example, China still uses oxen to plow, yet has DVD players, telephone cards, and the big city skylines look futuristic. China has bullet trains, but the stewardesses and nurses wear uniforms from the 1960's. John Denver and The Carpenters are still popular here. Visitors should also be aware that China has many pickpockets. Shenzhen, Guangzhou, and many other cities have gangs that wait on busy corners and target unaware people with bags. Be careful! If you come to China, be sure that you consider bringing supplies of the following difficult to find items: Deodorant Dental floss Underwear Large clothes T-shirts Your Shampoo Socks Syrup Razors Shaving cream Salad dressing Mustard Pancake mix Croutons Pickles Big shoes BBQ sauce Tacos Taco sauce Coffee? Cobbler/pies Lettuce, butter, cereal, raisins, fresh milk, and cheese are very difficult to find here. Many of the above items may be available in Asia, but the brand may be not be very good or the price will be very high. I hope this is helpful to someone. You have been warned. Quote
Quest Posted February 12, 2004 at 05:14 AM Report Posted February 12, 2004 at 05:14 AM Depending on where you go in China.. Quote
tara Posted February 12, 2004 at 05:41 AM Report Posted February 12, 2004 at 05:41 AM Thou its a culture shock....still think ones gotta respect each other's culture....and guess its pretty obvious that one won't find items from one's homeplace at the same price in China....isn't that a economic factor....no demand...low supply and high prices.... Quote
smithsgj Posted February 12, 2004 at 07:32 AM Report Posted February 12, 2004 at 07:32 AM http://thorntree.lonelyplanet.com/messagepost.cfm?postaction=reply&catid=19&threadid=396092&messid=3287086&parentid=0 Quote
markalexander100 Posted February 16, 2004 at 07:26 AM Report Posted February 16, 2004 at 07:26 AM http://thorntree.lonelyplanet.com/messagepost.cfm?postaction=reply&catid=19&threadid=396092&messid=3287086&parentid=0 Hey, that's not fair. Imagine if you went all the way to China and realised you'd forgotten your croutons. Quote
smithsgj Posted February 17, 2004 at 02:38 AM Report Posted February 17, 2004 at 02:38 AM Does anyone have a good, idiomatic translation for "croutons" (and all other soup/salad ingredients, please). Quote
website Posted October 25, 2004 at 05:56 PM Author Report Posted October 25, 2004 at 05:56 PM Here are some more products that are difficult to find in China: Turkey Stuffing Fruit cocktail Canned tuna Whip cream Gelatin Aspirin Cranberries Cranberry juice/sauce French bread Frozen strawberries Index cards Cherries Litter boxes Poptarts Parsley/oregeno/paprika/dry mustard/cumin/basil/thyme/dill weed/celery salt/rosemary/peppercorns/cinnamon/garlic salt/tarragon/ onion powder/cilantro seasonings Worcestershire sauce Frozen pizza Hamburger/hot dog buns Waffles Toasters Fish batter Tartar sauce Corndogs English books Large bras/condoms/sweatshirts Tampons Perfume Power converter Bible Cereal Pasta Gyros Nyquil PeptoBismol Diet Coke Chapstick Reese's Peanut Butter Cups Breath mints Nachos Chex Mix Pretzels Marshmallows Salsa Graham crackers Tortillas Shrimp cocktail sauce English muffins Fortune cookies Eggrolls Snapple Cotton balls Calamine lotion Construction paper Felt Duct tape Powdered sugar Baking powder Pudding Chocolate syrup Conditioner Large towels Cake mixes Easter egg dye Caramel Kool Aid Gatorade Bacon bits Pot pies Lasagna Potato salad Ice cream cones Ranch dressing Food coloring Canned pineapple/prune juice Blueberries/raspberries Pumpkins Hot dog buns Cake decorations Chilli Casseroles Clam chowder Cotton candy Baking pans Ovens Melba toast Romaine lettuce Garlic bread Rye bread Pie shells Shortening Bagels Muffins Cupcakes Donuts Au gratin potatoes Meatloaf Brisket Bumper stickers Smoke detectors Insulation Fluoride Birth control pills Cinnamon rolls Danishes Maybe some of these items are seasonal or can be bought in large cities like HK, but it's still amazing how such common and simple products are so difficult (impossible?) to find here. Many Chinese just don't realize how deprived they are. People looking for brothels, dried fish, cooking oil, noodles, rice, or 50 kinds of tea, will find China to be heaven. Other people may find Zhongguo to be a bit boring after a while. Eating rice, noodles, and dumplings everyday gets old quick. Overseas Chinese are lucky that they can go to the local Chinatown if they get a little homesick when they are abroad. Too bad foreigners can't have the best of China and the best of our home countries, too. At least saving money is easy since most things are cheap and there's not many good things to buy. Although foreigners in China probably won't miss these items if they are just coming here for a little two week holiday, those who plan to stay longer should consider having someone send them care packages or packing an extra large suitcase. Perhaps there could be a market for foreign products in China. If a smart business person considers the 1.3 billion Chinese and the 230,000 foreigners living in China, he or she could make a fortune importing foreign products here. The few imported goods already in China are just a drop in a bucket. Pepsi, Coke, and McDonald's are fine, but it would be nice to have Thai, Vietnamese, Middle Eastern, German, Greek, and Indian food, Italian Garden, Burger King and Taco Time, too. China has been cut off from the rest of the world for years and they don't know what they've been missing. -------- http://www.aussieinamerica.com/food/waffles.htm Quote
geraldc Posted October 25, 2004 at 07:03 PM Report Posted October 25, 2004 at 07:03 PM Try find your closest Park n Shop or Wellcome (they have quite a few branches in China now), they have lots of western convenience food. Alternatively give up trying to get US stuff and adapt to the local way Turkey- eat chicken instead Stuffing- does anyone even have an oven in China? Fruit cocktail- make fresh fruit cocktail Canned tuna- try the local tinned fish instead, fried dace (acquired taste) Whip cream- do what the locals do, use condensed milk Gelatin- boil some pigs trotters Aspirin -you can get aspirin Cranberry juice/sauce French bread- just get used to mantou Strawberries - Index cards- buy a big bit of card and some scissors Cherries - Litter boxes- by this do you mean a cat's toilet? Poptarts- if there are no toasters in China, what use are pop tarts? Parsley/oregeno/paprika seasoning - paprika is just dried chilli isn't it? Frozen pizza -again no ovens, you can't cook a pizza in a wok Hamburger/hot dog buns -find your closest Japanese style bakery Waffles Toasters - bring your own Fish batter -make your own, mix egg, flour, milk and stir Tartar sauce -put pickles in mayo and just pretend Corndogs -don't think I've seen cornmeal in China, so that's a problem English books -Amazon deliver worldwide Cereal - park n shop and Wellcome stock them Pasta -you can get macaroni Gyros -you mean the sandwich? Quote
liuzhou Posted October 25, 2004 at 11:32 PM Report Posted October 25, 2004 at 11:32 PM I live in a relatively small city in Guangxi - not one of the the richest provinces. There are few foreigners here. Almost everything on your list is available here. Deodorant - yes Dental floss -yes Underwear -yes Large clothes -get them made T-shirts - yes Your Shampoo - yes Socks - yes, but I do have these sent from England Razors - yes Shaving cream -yes Salad dressing -yes Mustard -yes Pancake mix - make it! it's only flour, egg and milk! Croutons - fry bread Pickles - half the market stinks ofpickles Big shoes - depends how big! BBQ sauce - make it! Coffee - yes Turkey - yes! Thre is a turkey farm outside of town! Stuffing - make it! Fruit cocktail - you mean little bits of fruit cut up and mixed together! Canned tuna - yes Gelatin -yes Aspirin - Come on! Try a pharmacy. French bread - yes Strawberries ?????? I love the strawberries in China. Index cards - yes Cherries -yes (in season) Parsley/oregeno/paprika seasoning -yes Hamburger/hot dog buns - yes Toasters - yes, I have two, both bought locally. Fish batter - make it! Tartar sauce -yes Cereal - just tucking into my Kellog's cornflakes right now! Pasta - yes, various shapes Lettuce - yes Butter - yes Fresh Milk - delivered to the door every morning just in time to pour onto the cornflakes I would be amazed if these can't be found in Shenzhen. Maybe you need to get out more and look! Quote
chengdude Posted October 26, 2004 at 09:37 AM Report Posted October 26, 2004 at 09:37 AM I agree; if you're living in Shenzhen and can't find the aforementioned items -and a whole lot more- then you need to get out more. The simple solution: go to a Metro; you'll think you've died and gone to (insert your favorite supermarket chain). A trip to a Carrefour should round out the rest. The one caveat: you pay. Outside of the big stores, there is a thriving grey market, in which everything being brought into China is going to come from Hong Kong through Shenzhen...at least that's what a small shop owner where I live told me as I was looking through the shelves/refrigerated case of salad dressings, taco fixings, junk cereals, Pop Tarts, pancake mixes, cake & brownie mixes, sour cream, etc. etc. etc. Quote
Adam Posted November 3, 2004 at 04:19 AM Report Posted November 3, 2004 at 04:19 AM Im just preparing to come to China, and am staying in Beijing. Are there any essential items that aren't available. I saw website mentioned razors and deodorant, though Im not too worried about tacos and poptarts. I hate packing What should I bring, that most cant live without and wouldnt think of bringing in the first instance? Im there for three months. Quote
markalexander100 Posted November 3, 2004 at 06:42 AM Report Posted November 3, 2004 at 06:42 AM Deodorant and razors won't be a problem in Beijing. If you're a reader, there's not much in English other than classics (plus expensive, mainstream paperbacks). Heavy to carry, though. Quote
wix Posted November 7, 2004 at 02:51 PM Report Posted November 7, 2004 at 02:51 PM The only thing I ever really missed was a good selection of books and magazines in English. Quote
ChouDoufu Posted November 7, 2004 at 03:22 PM Report Posted November 7, 2004 at 03:22 PM bring deodorant. you can find some in BJ, but it's usually not very great, or expensive. Plus you can bring along the kind of deodorant you like. deodorant is small so you'd only need a couple (unless you are a deodorant using maniac). if you use chapstick and are addicted to a certain brand, it wouldn't hurt to bring that either. the prices are the same in chn and the US. Quote
Jizzosh Posted November 18, 2004 at 05:13 PM Report Posted November 18, 2004 at 05:13 PM I can't wait to be there among those of you who are already there! My question is practical in nature as well. I could care less about food that will be unavailable because our American diet is not always the most healthy now is it? But, my question is this. I'm 6'3" and when I lived in Taipei, it was kinda hard to find clothing that was adaptable to a person of my stature. Now, I'm not fat by any stretch of a western opinion, but I do work out, and so I have a larger chest than most of the Asian men I have encountered in my travels, although nothing uncommon here in the States. Will clothing be hard to locate or will I have to resort to custom made suits and tailored shirts? That would be okay I guess, but there's nothing so comfortable as a nice pair of Lucky jeans... I'll be in Beijing, so I can't imagine that they would not have anything to accomodate westerners, but if it's like Taiwan, they just never seem to have large enough sizes. (Even the westerners that I met there were seldom as tall as me.) I just want to avoid the whole geek, Michael Jackson style, showing your socks, short pants thing. Oh, and just a curiosity.. In Taibei, none of the McDonalds had BBQ sauce available for the nuggets, much to the dismay of my exgirlfriend. Mainland same of different? And it might just be me, but the fries at the McDonalds in Taiwan and Japan were far superior to those in the States... always so fresh! Well zaijian! Josh Quote
Shingo Posted November 21, 2004 at 06:33 AM Report Posted November 21, 2004 at 06:33 AM Fresher than the fries in the States? How can that be possible....sometimes the competition just isn`t much to live up too. Quote
website Posted November 21, 2004 at 02:32 PM Author Report Posted November 21, 2004 at 02:32 PM If you are over 6' tall and are coming to China, be sure you bring all the clothes you will need during your stay. The quality sucks here and the sizes will be too small. You get what you pay for. The good news is that I went shopping around Shenzhen at Park 'N Shop, Jusco, and Carrefour recently and I found some foreign products for sale. Wal-mart in China is a big letdown and other grocery stores here like Rainbow, A. Best, and Newlife suck unless you never get tired of eating Chinese food. Shaving cream 14 RMB Pancake mix (1 Japanese Brand) BBQ sauce 24 RMB!!! Coffee? Canned tuna 8 RMB Aspirin Small bottle for 3 RMB French bread 3 RMB! Frozen pizza (1 Japanese Brand) Hamburger buns Toasters Cereal (Grape-nuts!) Syrup (1 Japanese Brand) Imported goods in China are very expensive and hard to find, so better bring as much as you can. The main foreign products that foreigners can count on seeing in China are Colgate, Crest, Safeguard, Tide, Snickers, Hormel, Miracle Whip, Coke, Duracell, Kodak, and Pepsi. Watch out for fakes, though! Quote
yonglan Posted November 21, 2004 at 05:23 PM Report Posted November 21, 2004 at 05:23 PM Website, are you really suggesting people bring over croutons, barbeque sauce, and pickles? Quote
vinhlong Posted November 22, 2004 at 11:05 AM Report Posted November 22, 2004 at 11:05 AM Don't know about Beijing, but in my family's home town there are lots of tailors who will make custom clothing... Quote
Lu Posted November 22, 2004 at 01:08 PM Report Posted November 22, 2004 at 01:08 PM Am a 1.78 m tall girl (I don't know how much that is in the American system, but anyway I'm really tall for Chinese standards), and had no trouble at all to find clothing in Beijing. Quote
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