Practical Travel Tips – China
Bathrooms in China can be a challenging topic for Western Women. Along with this topic comes the topic of washing out ‘smalls’ along the way. We have found just a few places with clean well-stocked ladies rooms on this trip, but we’ve also experienced some appalling bathrooms where we had to change our clothes as soon as we got back to the hotel after having to use these stinky dirty bathrooms. So even if I brought one pair of underwear per day for this 15 day trip, it would not be enough.
Every few days I send out a couple pairs of pants and a shirt to be laundered. However every few days I have to do a ‘laundry day’ and wash several pair of underwear. So here’s my tip: I always collect liquid bath soap from hotels, and I save them for washing out Smalls. (socks and underwear) I always have a couple little hotel bottles of liquid soap for this purpose. Also I always bring one or two plastic hangers to hang up and dry laundry. Yes about one out of 5 hotels has a laundry line, but who knows what else has been hanging on that string? So I wash out my own smalls and hang them on my plastic hanger(s) to dry. I plan strategically so I will have enough time for them to dry. If my laundry comes back with more plastic hangers, I keep them for my laundry day!
As for visiting bathrooms in China, you must master the fine art of the Pre-emptive Pee. This means when there is a usable bathroom you go, even if you think you don’t have to go. I also drink less throughout the day when I am here, and I drink strategically….i.e. I drink that tea or water at the end of the bus or plane ride, not the beginning….when I know there is a clean usable bathroom in my near future. These are common sense, but I know plenty of people who have not thought about these strategies until it is too late. I also buy multi-packs of mini-Kleenex packets for a trip like this, so I always have one in my pocket and a backup packet in my bag. I would say 2/3 of the bathrooms I’ve visited on this trip did not have toilet paper, let alone set covers or paper towels, so BYOP. (Bring your own paper.)
Also different hotels may have different depths of sinks, and the stopper may or may not work. When you have a deep sink with a stopper that works, that is the time to wash all your Smalls! If you have a tiny little sink with a stopper that leaks, you are screwed. Ask me how I know!
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