Booked that flight to Beijing late January and was going to do a couple of cities.
Now I'm reading that its ultra toxic and smoggy and I'm thinking farrrrkk. Will need to wear a facemask as the smog is toxic. What's a traveller to do?
Suggestions? I might get out of the city asap and go south. What a waste of money. Reading the damn stories online makes me wish I hadn't booked.
Who else is in the same shoes?
you drink food? what a brain-dead comment. ahhahaha
You're a bit slow huh? Hahhaha
I would try and see this as an opportunity to wear some outfits which might otherwise look out of place
Just chalk it as part of the experience and don't let it ruin your trip.
A short exposure isn't going to ruin your health (assuming you don't have any major health conditions like Asthma).
I'm sure there are plenty of things which detract from various travel destinations e.g. pickpockets in Asia, gypsies in Europe, mosquitoes and ticks in Africa, water quality in India, etc. etc. but if you don't go you'll never experience all the wonderful sights first hand.
Focus on the positives and make the most of it! I'm sure the smoggy conditions would make for some awesome photo opportunities too!
Is "pickpockets in Asia" a thing? I've been to many Asian countries and never experienced it or even heard anyone complain about it. Certainly not compared to pickpockets in Rome, Barcelona, Paris, etc.
Haha, was just a general comment but was thinking of those purse-snatchers in Malaysia that ride on motorbikes and grab bags off unsuspecting people walking on the side of roads.
Fair enough. I haven't spent that much time in Malaysia. Although I did see in Cambodia one scooter pull up next to another and a tiny kid - 2-3 years old, I kid you not - reach out his chubby little hand and grab the purse of a lady on the other scooter. She just swatted his hand away in annoyance but I thought it was hilarious.
Yeah the pickpockets are more rampant in Europe. It's still quite common in Asia too but just not as often and normally does not happen in the generally more civilized countries like Japan or Taiwan.
Late January isn't an ideal time to go to China, even without the smog, you'll be faced with crowds everywhere as it is Chinese New Year. Can you still cancel the flights at all or change the dates? If not, the air quality varies daily so be sure to check the rating before you go out.
Don't drink the tap water, just buy bottled water in big 4L bottles, but I disagree with supnigs above on the food. Food in China is delicious, it gets even better the more south you go. Still, Peking duck in Beijing is a must try experience, also the weird and wonderful delicacies you can buy in the night markets (I won't tell you what, you'll see when you get there).
"Late January isn't an ideal time to go to China, even without the smog, you'll be faced with crowds everywhere as it is Chinese New Year. "
would that be the opposite? most people will leave city to stay with families so big cities will be empty?
also a lot of places will be closed because of CNY. Even KL is half empty during CNY time.
I don't normally travel during this time any more so I don't know exactly what it's like now. But a few years ago when I did travel during Chinese New Year it was crowded everywhere, people are travelling out of the city to go back to their hometowns, but others are coming back into the city as they might be working somewhere else during the year. The airports are not as bad as locals use the trains a lot, so the long distance train station was a nightmare.
Chinese new year, I don't think I slept well during that period because of fireworks. You could hear those throughout the entire week.
Also the air I think was worse because of that as well. Though all that was before the olympic, might've changed, might've not changed.
Good thing you didn't leave this post to the very last minute! You've still got a couple of weeks to stock up your luggage with this:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/99291100/original-canned-air-fr…
Don't forget to bring a straw!
I doubt NYC canned air is that much cleaner :)
"Will need to wear a facemask as the smog is toxic."
at anytime anywhere anyday, always wear facemask in china. they have smoke the whole year round
Well, it'd be interesting. I'm dreading it a little but oh well. Yolo!
Just enjoy the atmosphere. Take your ventolin if you need to use it here. I spent 6 weeks living in Wuhan and the sky was always grey and so became any white washing.
You'll survive and come back to appreciate blue skies and wonder what effect global warming will have on future generations.
Major hospitals are in Shanghai and Beijing, other ginormous cities do not have specialised drs and up to date equipment.
Just enjoy the atmosphere.
Pun intended?
Take a look at this website: http://aqicn.org/city/beijing
And buy some N95 or KN95 disposable masks. 3M or Honeywell seem to be the popular ones.
yeah I'm going to buy some masks. how awesome. #welcometochina
As someone that lived in China and is Chinese, lol.
Not to dumb down the danger, the pollution is terrible and I would not want to live there but I would never recommend anyone not to go due to pollution useless they have severe asthma or known lung issues….but I also wouldn't recommend going to London or New York but you never see that on the news.
Also Chinese New Year is a great time to go if you want the least pollution. Everything shuts down, including all the factories that produce the smog. Remember Beijing Olympics? Clear blue skies for the entire duration because the government wanted it.
I lived there for two years in a city called Zhengzhou, with worse pollution than Beijing/Shanghai. Currently alive and healthy so a short stint there won't permanently damage you.
Just my 2cents, happy travels! or good luck with your refund!
yeah. if you think that the air is bad. wai ttill you drink teh water and food. hahahah