As a lover of traveling, I have been to some of the most beautiful destinations worldwide. I've learned a lot while traveling, and I am always up to sharing my tips and tricks with fellow travelers! In 2019, I traveled across the gorgeous country of China to see Brian perform on tour.
Today, I am sharing all of the things I learned while exploring China!
1. Make sure to have Google translate on your phone. Not only does this free app audibly take what you are saying and immediately translate it into the languages you need, but it also writes it out as text on your screen in case it is easier to hold your phone up for them to read it.
Side Note: Even with us traveling to many of the larger cities during Brian's tour, only about 30% of hospitality workers we interacted with knew English. In a way, why should they know English? We should learn more of the languages of the places we are traveling to. Make sure you are always approaching the workers with the utmost respect when interacting with them.
2. I have never had to squat over so many small holes in the ground to use the bathroom. It was definitely a learning curve. Even in some of the most beautiful theaters that the country has, there are not standard European American-style toilets. I always traveled with my own toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and antibacterial wipes.
3. We also traveled with masks before masks were a thing all over the world. Air pollution can be tracked on several free apps that are available.
4. Make sure always to have cash and small change on you for roadside eats and taxis. The majority of our Chinese hosts used the WeChat app that paid for all of their items.
5. Be prepared for some tummy issues. I ate a lot of spicy foods, and it did not always agree with my stomach. I was fortunate enough to be given that advice before I left, and I packed a lot of Pepto-Bismol chewable tablet for myself and anti-diarrheal tablets.
6. One of my favorite experiences was enjoying the different Chinese spas. Some of the hotels would even have entire gardens filled with hot springs, and each spring would have a different type of tea or flour that you could enjoy in the water.
Side Note: Despite us knowing very little about the language, we also got many massages at different spas. They always serve you lots of food and drinks and an hour massage feels more like a two-hour experience by the time you are eating and drinking before and after. There also are TVs in the massage rooms for you to make a day of it and hang.
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