Bring or Buy? This one’s easy.

Don’t bother hauling a stroller across the Pacific to start your trip. Just buy one in the city where you and your child are united.

The simple “umbrella” stroller isn’t necessarily cheaper, even at Wal*Mart - about US$15-20 - but you’re not going to be taking it on treks of more than a few kilometers, anyway. Find the cheapest, slimmest model you can get; you don’t need cupholders or iPod docks for the two weeks in China.

Plus, if it happens to get damaged on one of your flights, you’ll be out less money.

                          

On Shamian Island, numerous laundries and gift shops promote “free stroller rentals” in exchange presumably for your patronage. The first question in our heads was, what did the kid who used that stroller before us do while he was in there?  Second, am I that worried about fifteen dollars? Third, am I going to get any use out of what I purchase back home?

Two years later, we still use our cheapie umbrella stroller occasionally as a backup or for the grandparents to toss in the trunk when they babysit for the day...