So there are some things we all know are non-negotiable for travel - many changes of underwear, an extra memory card for your camera and one very good sense of humor. But friends! There are some things I didn't even know I needed until I had to sleep on the dirty sheets/stuff toilet paper in the backs of my new flats/try to find antibiotic ointment in Hanoi.
Learn from my mistakes and stuff your backpack with these goodies!
BandAid Blister Block
Yes, I know you brought comfortable shoes. I'm sure you did. However, the shoes that are comfortable enough to wear around the grocery store are not the same as shoes that are comfortable enough to wear walking around every blessed inch of Barcelona. Short of ugly, giant Reeboks (which you are not wearing, right?) I'm not sure such a shoe exists. So bring your comfortable and stylish Clarks ballet flats, but bring these special blister bandaids as well. Because slowly filling up your shoe with blood is no way to travel.
Burt's Bees Res-Q Ointment
A modern day miracle, Res-Q Ointment is good on bumps, bruises, burns and bites. And because it's a nice thick salve, you can even use it on your cuticles and dried out elbows in a pinch. Take it from me - it's a lot easier to bring your own medicine than to stand in the Vietnamese pharmacy making the universal sign for 'rash.'
Sleep Mask
Because if you're sleeping in a hostel, someone is always going to come into the room drunk at 3 am, turn on the light, immediately turn it off again and then fall over. Also good for flights, bus trips and avoiding conversation with your seat partner.
Playing Cards
Seriously, at least 30% of your time away will be spent waiting for your transportation to arrive, being transported or killing time while you wait for the museum/ticket office/bar to open. Cards will help you pass that time. And! They are a great way to meet other people. Everybody likes a rousing game of Egyptian Rat Screw, right?
Sleeping Pills
Even though those tiny TVs in the airplane are great, a girl can only watch A New York Minute so many times, you know? Annnd, you feel approximately a million times better if you actually get some sleep on the plane.
Silk Sleeping Bag
Bedding in hostels and cheap hotels can be incredibly dicey. I actually knew several people who got bed bugs from a place in Fiji. Not nice. And some hostels charge you extra for sheets! Avoid all of this nastiness by bringing your own bedding with you. These are silky and decadent and the only germs in there are yours. (If you're heading to SouthEast Asia, wait and buy one there. Every vendor and his brother sells them for a fraction of what they go for here.)
What are your travel essentials?
More travel fun!
How to backpack for 6 months and still look awesome
Notes on Dealing with 'The Real World' after a Vacation
The Cure for Homesickness
Learn from my mistakes and stuff your backpack with these goodies!
BandAid Blister Block
Yes, I know you brought comfortable shoes. I'm sure you did. However, the shoes that are comfortable enough to wear around the grocery store are not the same as shoes that are comfortable enough to wear walking around every blessed inch of Barcelona. Short of ugly, giant Reeboks (which you are not wearing, right?) I'm not sure such a shoe exists. So bring your comfortable and stylish Clarks ballet flats, but bring these special blister bandaids as well. Because slowly filling up your shoe with blood is no way to travel.
Burt's Bees Res-Q Ointment
A modern day miracle, Res-Q Ointment is good on bumps, bruises, burns and bites. And because it's a nice thick salve, you can even use it on your cuticles and dried out elbows in a pinch. Take it from me - it's a lot easier to bring your own medicine than to stand in the Vietnamese pharmacy making the universal sign for 'rash.'
Sleep Mask
Because if you're sleeping in a hostel, someone is always going to come into the room drunk at 3 am, turn on the light, immediately turn it off again and then fall over. Also good for flights, bus trips and avoiding conversation with your seat partner.
Playing Cards
Seriously, at least 30% of your time away will be spent waiting for your transportation to arrive, being transported or killing time while you wait for the museum/ticket office/bar to open. Cards will help you pass that time. And! They are a great way to meet other people. Everybody likes a rousing game of Egyptian Rat Screw, right?
Sleeping Pills
Even though those tiny TVs in the airplane are great, a girl can only watch A New York Minute so many times, you know? Annnd, you feel approximately a million times better if you actually get some sleep on the plane.
Silk Sleeping Bag
Bedding in hostels and cheap hotels can be incredibly dicey. I actually knew several people who got bed bugs from a place in Fiji. Not nice. And some hostels charge you extra for sheets! Avoid all of this nastiness by bringing your own bedding with you. These are silky and decadent and the only germs in there are yours. (If you're heading to SouthEast Asia, wait and buy one there. Every vendor and his brother sells them for a fraction of what they go for here.)
What are your travel essentials?
More travel fun!
How to backpack for 6 months and still look awesome
Notes on Dealing with 'The Real World' after a Vacation
The Cure for Homesickness
17 comments:
These are some great travel tips. I haven't really gone an adventurous trip in awhile (ie anything where I'm not in a hotel or friend's place) but I think that a lot of these could be useful no matter where you're going
"Because slowly filling up your shoes with blood is no way to travel" is going down in history as one of the best lines ever blogged.
I concur with daddylikeyblog - hilarious line!! & thanks for the heads up too... I'll be headin overseas for a month later this year - gotta make sure I keep these things in mind!
Bambola x
I never travel without a book, but I don't know why, I never ever even crack the spine.
My dad says to pack pepto bismal.
Whether he's in Spain or Vietnam, my father always consumes something that makes him sick to his stomach.
What IS the universal sign for rash?
Sal, ya know - pretending to itch yourself all over, while squinching up your face.
Or, you could just point to the sexy, sexy heat/friction rash you developed from the vinyl seats on the bus to Saigon. Hooooot.
band-aid makes a blister block thing in non-bandage form. It's basically like a little deodorant stick. You just rub it on your foot where your feet rub, and no blisters all night! It's amazing! I love it because I can wear it with heels and not have the visible-bandaid problem
I would say pills in any form! I've been known to get motion sick and Dramamine works for both that and puts me to sleep... two in one. And I tend to get headaches so I always carry ibprofen with me. And the pepto is a good idea too... new country, new food....
OOOO! I love this list... can't wait to buy these things and put them to use on my European adventure :)
I love Egyptian Rat Screw! So raucous. And amen on the silk sleeping sack thing. They're brilliant and totally saved me in Borneo - in hot weather they are perfect for using as a light cover.
those are all great ideas. I definitely agree with the sleeping mask. we traveled in se asia and india and my sleeping mask was a total lifesaver. I'm also a fan of earplugs. getting decent sleep while traveling is crucial for me.
I'd be careful with sleeping pills - check out the customs regulations of the country you are travelling too first because some countries are really funny about that kind of thing.
I can't travel without a notebook. Not just good for writing down adventures but also games of hangman etc when bored, and drawing things you can't explain (although rash is prolly better acted out than drawn!)
Don't forget blueberries - the secret to success! Heehee I cried with laughter when I saw your comment. Visualisation and blueberries... ;)
A ball of string! Perfect to conjure up a makeshift clothes line & replace dying shoelaces.
Also: a Swiss Army knife (because it opens everything from a bottle of wine to an uncooperative tin can) & lip balm. I swear I get chapped lips the minute I get off a plane. ;p
(Just discovered your blog, I like it very much!)
Amelie: *blush* thanks! It's always great to see new readers joining the party!
Kelly: That is awesome! And significantly more sexy than bandaids.
I'm new too. :)I wish I'd found this before some travel disasters. Ah well.
I always bring an ace bandage because I'm clumsy and had to hike halfway round Innis sheer with a sprained ankle once.
Fabric glue, double sided tape, or self adhesive velcro is also nice for us clumsy people who tend to rip clothing since getting sewing kits on a plane is a hassle now.
Ginger Candy is nice for avoiding motion sickness if Dramamine makes you feel worse than the motion sickness.
I second the string, although I once set up a fairly effective clothesline with some waxed floss and some shoelaces for the heavier stuff so that's improvisable.
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