T-minus 3 Days and Counting

This is the part of any major travel like this where a flurry of activity kicks in. I'm in the final phases of packing, re-packing, pairing down to meet airline weight restrictions, re-packing and running on nervous energy. What have I forgotten? What have I neglected? What have I missed? Fortunately, I've done enough of this kind of travel to know that these thoughts and emotions are normal and will pass.

For the last three nights I've had dreams about arriving at the airport only to discover I've forgotten to bring my passport. I've had this dream for years, dating back to my earliest overseas travels. I've never actually forgotten it, but my subconscious is so worried about it! Out, out, damned spot!

   

Sort looks like one of those DUI booking shots you see when some celebrity runs afoul of the fuzz. I hope that star on my chin is part of the document overlay and not a Gorbachev-like birthmark that's only visible when photographed.

BTW, last year when I was in China, I did notice that the social networking type sites were blocked. I could not get on my blogging site, etc. I think I've figured out a way to deal with this, so I'm hoping my plans to blog from Xiang Sha Wan don't go awry. By saying so in this post have I just painted a big target on myself? We'll see. The next time you see my mug shot might be in a Chinese newspaper with the headline: American Subversive Identified By Star On Chin.

Comments

[Frank Field]

Brooks -- Please have a safe, enjoyable and successful trip. Best wishes for 2011. Frank

[Mitch Baltuch]

Not sure what you are putting in place to get around site blocks, but as a long time traveler to China, I can tell you that personal VPN will do the job nicely. Mine is from witopia.net. The $60/year subscription gets you a vpn that can connect to a number of servers around the world and allows for secure, anonymous Internet connectivity. It is also good for working on your computer in non-secure environments, such as airports and hotels. I use mine all the time.

There are several other VPN providers, but I don't have experience with them and witopia has performed quite well for me. I went to them after a recommendation of a colleague.

Hope you enjoy the trip.

[Douglas R Winn]

Merry Christmas, Brooks! May the joy of Christmas fill you with good cheer, and may your many new friends in China be warmly honored by you.