Haha YES! You've been holding my hand through this entire process and I can't tell you how much I appreciate it!

This is all really good advice--especially the info about the moisturizer and the trains. I had been thinking having doors on the sleepers was a good thing, but I would agreed that I'd prefer not to be in sleeper with 3 men that I don't know.

Right now I am trying to book my tickets to China using miles and I am thinking that I might cut my planned trip to Korea short so I can get to Beijing by mid-Nov because it sounds like it will still be more manageable then. I am thinking of Beijing-Xi'an-Chengdu-Shanghai-Guilin-Yangshuo-Hong Kong because these all seem to be well-touristed spots that I hope I'll be able to meet other travellers. Do you think that's a reasonable itinerary? Anything I should add or remove?

I had thought I could plan it when I got there, but when I looked at flights from Japan-Korea-China they weren't particularly cheap and I thought I might want to use miles for them, which means I have to start planning before I'm really ready! I'm still trying to get every settled here, getting rid of my apartment, decide what shoes to bring, etc. And I'll get a pair of long underwear before I leave.

Thanks again!