Prep for China Trip
Send final payments to CAWLI after referral, agency fee and
travel costs.
Get medical review of baby’s
records.
Check on medical info about
traveling to that province at that time of year. See if there is additional
medication we need.
Apply for visas to China consulate
in NYC. Include express return envelope. Here is their web site, including visa
application form:
www.nyconsulate.prchina.org/eng/index.html.
See if we need visas for Hong Kong
(or any other place you are stopping). Apply if so.
Tell our health insurance about
baby. Make sure she is covered from time we first get her in China.
Mail gift package to orphanage.
Arrange for extra plane seat for
baby and car seat for flight home.
Decide on travel plans. Fill out
agency travel form.
Get $6000 in cash ($4500 in new
$100 bills, $1500 assorted)
Make 4 copies of each family passport.
Get 4 passport photos of kids and
8 of parents.
Get portable CD player for kids.
Get Harry Potter books on CDs.
Get another GameBoy game.
Set up two webmail accounts, for
sending email home. Set up mailing lists in webmail.
Get new camera.
Look into HIV testing for our baby. Make a decision about
this.
Make list of emergency numbers in
various cities.
Buy travelers’ medical insurance
from InternationalSos.com: www.intsos.com.
Paint baby room. Set up furniture.
Make master packing list. Here is a very helpful set of packing lists, written by people who have returned from China: www.fwcc.org/packtips.htm. We suggest reading these as a starting point.
Get our own tickets for
international flights.
Set up all local hotels and flights.
(CAWLI handled this, but we verified it.)
Arrange for local guides. (CAWLI
did for us.)
Make our own hotel reservations in
Hong Kong.
Make sure we have all travel
tickets.
Get blank books for writing travel
journals.
Find out about airport check-in
times. Make limo reservations to airport.
Make sure we have enough /
right-sized luggage.
Pack for trip. Limit is 44 pounds
per person in China. Also allowed one carry-on and one smaller personal item.
Get all adoption and travel
documents organized into three envelopes (province, Guangzhou, extra copy of
everything to leave with a friend at home).
Give copies of important documents
to friend here, for emergency mailing if we need them.
Call airline 24 hours before
flight to confirm and to see if we can get better seats.