Tips For The Techy and Tetchy Traveller

1. The first thing a traveller should learn to say in any foreign language is "Where's the toilet?"
2. The first thing a traveller should learn to recognise in any foreign language is "He/she/they ate it!"
3. Pray that you never need to apply tips 1 & 2 simultaneously.
4. Pack light

  4.1 This is the mandatory tip to pack light. This usually takes the form: lay out everything you need to pack, and all the money you are going to take. Now throw away half the packing; double the amount of money. My version is: pack as light as possible, and rely on getting the things you need, and consumables, enroute.
  4.2 My packing list may follow at a later, as an example.
  4.3 Stuff sacs, and compression sacs really improve the quality of life for everyone within earshot of the luggage packer.
  4.4 Use hotel laundry to save on your packing - at least in China.

5. Only aim to do one thing a day.
6. It is always worth getting on friendly terms with hotel housekeeping staff; restaurant greeters; and reception staff.
7. Resign yourself to being out of communication with friends and family; or if keeping in contact, prepared to spend a lot of time, money, and effort to sort it out - there will be a separate tips, concerning only communications.
8. The combination of some background work in the language of destination, combined with a phrase book, is synergistic - my results are much greater from the two combined, than they would be for each individually.

Applying some of these rules:
Rule 5
Monday was arriving in Beijing, finding my hotel, and settling in.
Tuesday was sorting out onwards tickets, getting laundry back, finding out about Wi-Fi, and generally finding out a little about the neibourhood - local convenience shops, supermarkets, metro stations, and exploring within and just without the city block I am located on.
Wednesday, I caught up with a couple of sights that I haven't managed previously - the ancient astronomical observatory, and the Lama Temple. At least that was the intent. I had guessed that the Lama Temple was Buddhist, and was the temple used by earlier Dali Lama's when meeting with the rulers of China. When I got there the big attraction seems to be the newly reopened Confucian temple. I do find this disturbing - what has Confusius to do with temples. Also, given the resurgance in Chinese political life of the new Neo-Confucianism, I find it in theory valuable and capable of providing valueable insights. In the event I could not summon the energy to go round this temple, whatever it is, and contented myself with getting a SIM and a meal.

Rule 4.3
I have three 2.5 litre stuff sacs; a 5 litre one; and a 7.5 litre compression sac. So the total number of things to pack in my rucsac is 10 - five stuff sacs; first aid kit; wash kit; pair of light trainers; and security net.

Rule 4.4
Chinese hotel laundry is wonderful. In Beijing, it is no longer ridiculously cheap, but it is still very cheap. I have just had all my dirty clothing laundered (about 75% of the non-cold weather clothing I have with me) for under £15. Done in 9 hours, and comes back neatly folded, packed in individual cellophane bags, and perfect. I have never had any problems with any of my laundry at a Chinese hotel over a period of 20 years and multiple hotels in multiple locations.

Notes
My packing list, which is about double, or even triple what I would have liked it to be is attached. A substantial reason for a lot of the excess is the place, altitude, activity, and season I am going to. I will be at 3500m+ for most of my stay in China, on the Qinghai Plateau, or in Himalayia. I anticipate doing some trekking. Spring does not arrive in this area until June, and I know from previous trips, that temperatures at altitude can, over a 24 hour cycle, range from -20oC to 20oC. I need cold weather clothing and this constitues one third the excess weight and two thirds the excess bulk. The other part of the excess is my gadgets - computer, smart phone, camera, MP3 player, and gadget to ensure I can do secure authorisation on my bank accounts. This is two thirds the excess weight and one third the excess bulk (technology is wonderful). I do regard this trip, as all my trips, as an opportunity to take photos, so it is a little difficult to see how I could have cut down on this, without abandoning the opportunity. Equally, for some strange reason I determined to keep in (one-way, for the most part) communication with everyone, and hence the other gadgets.