Must bring to Kunming - 8 month stay

Posted in: Forums > Living in Kunming • 19 posts • Newest

• • saikyo
    December 25, 2009
    13 posts
  • Hello everyone,

    Could someone give me a quick list of things that I should bring with me from the United States to Kunming for an 8 month stay with my wife?

    For example, I have heard that my usual deodorant is something I should be sure to bring with me, as the local stuff isn't quite the same.

    Any other tips? Looking for practical advice. Also, if there is anything my wife should be sure to bring please let us know as well.

    Can things like hair dryers be bought on the cheep over there? Should we just leave ours at home and buy a new one when we get there?

    We'll be traveling with a couple of suitcases each.

    Thanks!

• • laotou
    December 26, 2009
    620 posts
  • Voltage here is 220-240 V - that will fry most of your appliances - so make sure ANYTHING electric can handle the voltage. Also - you can't bring anything with compressed air and you're limited on the amount of liquids you can carry-on or ship in suitcases (check the homeland security or airport regs before you fly). That said - we have walmart, carrefour (french version of walmart), and metro (for buying in BULK). - but you need a wholesaler's card (cheap and easy to get) - you can buy most foreign goods there. Most US electronics are made here anyway. bon voyage!

• • seahorse62
    December 26, 2009
    87 posts
  • I would bring plenty of deodorant for sure. You can't buy it many places here and when you do find it it's not very good. You can get hair dryers here but I didn't find it cheap. However yours must be able to handle 220 voltage for it to be useful. If you take any medicine prescription or over the counter I would bring enough of that also. Welcome to Kunming.

• • laotse
    December 26, 2009
    6 posts
  • if you are a light sleeper i would advice you to bring enough earplugs, their hard to find here

• • fogdear
    December 26, 2009
    99 posts
  • fitted sheets, vanilla extract, medicines like pain relief, pepto bismal stomach type stuff, vitamins are expensive here, any children's medicines, seasonings like lemon pepper and steak seasons..., a good coffee maker is hard to find and the crappy ones you do find are expensive. sunscreen is also expensive.

• • Smillz
    December 27, 2009
    27 posts
  • Tell your wife she can definitely buy a hair dryer for cheap at street side shops everywhere. She may also want to know that tampons are almost impossible to find here, and if there are any particular kinds of cosmetics she is attached to, get 'em in the states. Finally, I'd make sure you bring plenty of socks and underwear- the stuff they sell here is pretty terrible.

• • saikyo
    December 27, 2009
    13 posts
  • THANKS these tips are great!

• • GBTEXDOC
    December 30, 2009
    105 posts
  • Sweaters. You will often want a sweater in Kunming. They can be bought here, but no harm in bringing your favorites along.

• • PerNordin
    January 1, 2010
    50 posts
  • Peanut butter.
    An open mind.
    Lots and lots of tolerance to none-american culture.
    A fork (if you dont handle eating sticks).
    A sense of self-humor and lack of self-importance.
    More peanut butter.
    Oh... and some corn chips.
    Did I mention peanut butter?
    :)
    Enjoy your stay.
    And please... stay away from the western eateries... buy and eat local food from small places. Same with shopping... stay away from Walmart, Carrefour et sim and buy from the small "hole-in-the-wall" shops on the off-streets or at the local market. You get better quality and better price and feed the local people instead of foreign investors.

• • PerNordin
    January 1, 2010
    50 posts
  • I second sunscreen.... it is easy to forget that at this altitude, the sun is very strong. I found good sunscreen here at same price as in Sweden, but it doesnt hurt to bring some. Minimum 25+. And when you get here, get some good sunglasses with proper polaroid function.

    Oh oh... and some peanut butter :D
    And corn chips.
    And some corn chips
    And peanut butter... :D
    And sun screen... seriously... its really needed here.

    But those are things to bring... the thing to leave behind is:
    All preconceptions of what life, the world, culture, society, food, colors, smells, fashion, taste, etc is about. Just leave half your brain behind... its full of preconceived junk anyhow, however liberal and open minded you are. You just dont need it.
    Remember... China has a culture that goes back thousands of years... USA is not even 300 years old... you will meet things you think are strange, but actually are very natural.... remember that YOU are the strange bird here... not the Chinese.
    :) I really envy you to see all this for the first time! Its really great! Just set your mind to the "wow" mode, and you will be fine. :)
    Be a child... accept and "wow" in everything... both the good and the bad and you will be in for the treat of your life time. :)

• • fogdear
    January 1, 2010
    99 posts
  • good peanut butter can be found in Carrefour, Metro, and Walmart.

• • Danmairen
    January 1, 2010
    427 posts
  • A good variety of socks can be bought in Walmart, Carrefour and Metro, underwear too but it's definately better to stock up on boxers before going here. As someone else mentioned: vitamins and any other daily supplements like fish oils. Vitamins here are insanely overpriced. Quality cosmetics and other care products are expensive here and sometimes specialized towards the Chinese (they stuff skin whitening chemicals in whereever its possible).

    If you don't speak Chinese then try to learn how to read a menu. I wish I had done that right from the start. You only need to learn maybe 60-80 characters to get a decent understanding of what you are ordering and its easily worth the effort. Try Yunnan food,, it's awesome.

    If it's your first time in China don't even think about taking a look at the kitchens in restaurants. For a country obsessed with weird advice on health the hygienic standards are appaling. You'll learn to live with it. The bathrooms too (or rather the holes in the ground cleaned once a day if you are lucky). The Chinese sometimes have a very ehm, relaxed view towards bodily functions which foreigners sometimes find extremely disgusting. Again,, you'll adapt.

    Open mind and try not to judge too much, it can be hard but Kunming and Yunnan is actually a decent place to live. Plenty of amazing places to go and visit in this province.

• • saikyo
    January 7, 2010
    13 posts
  • Hey guys, I depart in like 2 days. The random questions are coming out of the woodwork.

    Can I buy Listerine in Kunming?

    How about Vaseline brand body lotion?

    How about allergy medicine like Claritin-D

    How about dental floss?

    Sorry these are so random questions, but this will affect my immediate packing needs.

    Thanks!

• • lummerlaoshi
    January 7, 2010
    95 posts
  • You can buy dental floss at Carrefour and Metro and mouthwash such as Listerine shouldn't be a problem. I'm not sure about the body lotion or allergy medicine.

• • kemeilin
    January 7, 2010
    16 posts
  • The dental floss here is not so good, and they don't have the nice fat waxed floss like Glide. As for tampons, you can get OB at Walmart, the quality is as good as US and they are much cheaper.

• • Smillz
    January 7, 2010
    27 posts
  • I've seen Vaseline brand body lotion around, and a Chinese version of Claritin that contains the same ingredient (Loratadine) is available, but you won't be able to find anything that contains the D (decongestant) part.

• • PerNordin
    January 9, 2010
    50 posts
  • As laotou stated: think of the electric current. All electrics you have, you can pick up cheaply in KM.

    Things you can get in KM, but need to think about:
    KM is very high altitude = very thin air = very strong sun = you need sunscreen and good polarising eyeglasses.

    Happy travel!

• • laotou
    February 23, 2010
    620 posts
  • if you don't mind the cost - Parkson (renmin lu) is a HKG chain (as well as watsons) - dunno if they're REALLY HKG but they have 'em in HKG too. Good place to stock up on stuff yanks miss (in addition to the aforesaid walmart carrefour etc. Shop around in the hao you duo chinese supermarket - you can find cheese and dairy products (usually). For groceries - use the omipresent farmers markets - fresh (but to quote monty python...don't forget to haggle).

    One of my friends staff lived in Tokyo for several years and married a Tokyoite (woman) and another friend (also Tokyoite) teaches Japanese waaaay over at the old new Yunda campus (yangpu). Drop me a line if you'd like intros. As for Japanese food...dunno - but salvadors has good mexican (especially the deep fried doritos corn chips!...yummy).

    for deodorant - we opted out of the aerosols and just use baby powder. If you still have family back home - they can SOMETIMES ship non-perishables such as stick deodorants, etc - just ship it snail mail - it'll take a month...but hey...yunnan life is slow...laidback...and for us - beats beijing, shanghai, and hkg anyday (except for the international food - although salvadors has better pseudo-authentic peasant mexican than most of the places in BJ as of last year).

    Enjoy your stay - maybe you'll get hooked and decide to settle here!

    PS - yes, you CAN buy toasters and toaster ovens here...guomei - the huge chain electronics dept store. and if you're looking for transportation - look for 2nd hand bicycles and electric scooters (and find a REALLY long extension cord so you can charge the beast)...ask your chinese compatriots to help on this one...minimize the gaijin/laowai rip-off factor.

• • Greginchina
    February 23, 2010
    239 posts
  • you can buy roll on deodorant in watsons but its adidas. you're paying way over the odds for the name, 50 yuan for a deodorant. so its probably worth bringing some but its really not such a big deal.
    Some of the advice above can be ignored. Eat whatever you want to eat. Feeling a sense of obligation to eat strictly Chinese street food every day is as irrational as seeking overpriced western food every day. Do whatever makes you comfortable. Variety is the spice of life!

• The Old Theatre Inn
• Lost Garden Guesthouse & Restaurant
• Chicago Coffee
• Kunming Mei's Mandarin School
• As You Like
• Keats School
• Moondog
• GoKunming
• YMCA Club 1933
• Slice of Heaven
• Kingsway Tented Resorts
• Bakery 88
• Camel Bar
• The Mask
• Kunming College of Eastern Language and Culture
• My Favor Restaurant
• Chapter One
• Wonders Of Yunnan Travel
• O'Reilly's Irish Pub
• Salvador's Coffee House
• Wangtianshu Restaurant & Deli
• Tenwest Mandarin School
• Cacao Mexican Restaurant
• Flying Tigers Restaurant
• Kunming Yu-Cong Enterprise Management Company
• Huiying Dental Clinic