I'm not a good traveller

I'm a frequent traveller, but they're not the same thing.

I think anxiety level is based on how often you do something, and how far you are going. Do it often, or not go very far, and it's OK. Go 12,000 miles and visit three countries you've never been to before, and its a problem.

Sometimes I'm well prepared, and sometimes I do something stupid...like book a flight for Wednesday 7pm, which means I have to be at the airport at 5pm, which means I have to be on the shuttle bus at 4pm, which means I have to leave my house at 330pm, which means I have to pack an entire workday into 6 hours...and of course I hadn't even packed.

So at noon, whilst making lunch, I threw 6 underpants, 4 pairs of socks, 2 shorts, swimming trunks, jeans, 4 shirts, 1 sweater, tennis shoes, sandals, and some toiletries in a bag. I still had plenty of space so rather than switch to a smaller bag, I added a large board game, a camera lens, and a couple of boxes of snack bars.

In my carry-on I had already consigned myself to taking my laptop, as I still had work to do. I also brought 2 books, 4 plums, some dates, gluten-free bread, my camera and main lens, pills and the rest of my toiletries. At the airport I added a bottle of cologne and two bottles of water. To call it a ;carry on' implies I could lift it, which was becoming dubious.

I also brought chargers for my laptop, phone and shaver, even though I knew they wouldn't fit in Chinese plugs, and I didn't have an adapter. (I had ordered an adapter two weeks ago--ironically from Hong Kong--but it had not arrived yet.) Spoiler alert: I did buy an adapter in Beijing, but everywhere I went had "universal plugs" and so I never actually used it. When I got home, the adapter I ordered was waiting for me, so now I have two unused adapters for sale.

But minor issues aside, I was relatively confident I wouldn't starve to death, that I would be let into all three countries I was visiting, I wouldn't catch any nasty bugs, and I'd return home, safe in 18 days.

Of course I have no doubt Australia and New Zealand will be lovely; it's Beijing that worries me. To be fair, I'm not going for very long--jut two days--and I've booked a room at the exotic-sounding 'Holiday Inn Express.' I've flagged a number of vegetarian restaurants, and there is plenty to do in the city centre. A friend already warned me of the scams I'll likely encounter, I have cash, and if I can charge my phone (and keep it from getting stolen) I'll have a map. So hopefully I'll come away as excited about China as my friends are.