Packing list (for future travelers) ...

This post is more for those coming behind me than for people just keeping up with our trip.

This is a list of things I am glad I have with me and also things I wish I had brought.

Things I'm glad I brought with me:

• snacks!
• keyboard for the iPad
• crystal light packets (I ran out after 3 days, though)
• vpn number (can't access the blog or facebook without it)
• did I say snacks!
• a fels-naptha laundry bar of soap
• toys (bubbles, books, crayons, travel doodle pro)
• cash (not able to use a credit card as much as I thought)
• hot chocolate packets
• Skype and FaceTime on the iPhone and iPad
• AT&T Global Data plan. (Steve set this up for me before I left.  The cost is $30 for every 120 MB of data we use.  When we talk via FaceTime audio, it uses about 0.5 MB/min, or about $0.12/min.  FaceTime video uses about 2 MB/min, or about $0.60/min.  We can use Skype or FaceTime for free whenever we have good wifi, but being able to switch to cellular data when the wifi is slow has been a big help.  In fact, Steve and boys back home would have missed out on Gotcha Day without it, because we weren't able to get connected to the hotel's wifi service beforehand.  This has also allowed us to exchange iMessages at very little cost, no matter where I am.)

Things I bought here:

• dish soap
• more snacks
• diapers (there are diapers here, even pampers and huggies, but they are not cheap)
• a fork
• a knife
• chopsticks for the room
• water bottles for the room.

I thought I would be able to buy a stroller cheaply if I needed one, but the cheapest one was about 50 or 60 U.S. dollars, and it was not a style that I would use at home.  The hotel in Lanzhou did have one to borrow (actually our guide borrowed it from somewhere.)  And the hotel in Guangzhou has one we can rent for about 3 to 4 U.S. dollars per day.  I ended up taking Amanda's, she is such a good friend!  I really ended up needing one, because Rachel does so well riding in one.  I have an ergo also, and it works with her on my back, but it is difficult to get her into it.  So we have been using the stroller mostly.  Other families are using carriers more, I think it just depends on the momma and the baby and their preferences.  I think it might be worth it to bring one from home even though it is an added difficulty on the plane rides.

What I wish I had:

• actually, more snacks that could be meals, like protein bars or pb crackers
• sharpie to mark whose open water bottle is whose
• a hobby, like knitting
• snow-pants for Rachel. I brought a heavy coat for Rachel, but I wished I had warmer snow-pants type things for her in Lanzhou.  It was very cold there and I really did get yelled at by the grandmas in the park.  (I live in Oklahoma, we don't buy snow pants unless we are planning a trip to the Rocky Mountains to go snow-skiing...)
• I wish I would have downloaded more movies or entertainment for Silas on the iPad and iPhone.  I assumed we would be able to stream shows or download additional videos from iTunes or ultraviolet once we had access to wifi, but the wifi was just too slow at our hotel in Lanzhou and also there was a restriction on video downloads once we were outside of the U.S.