Here's a bit of vintage Yes and Yes for you. Why? Because I'm too busy traveling down the east coast and running up those Rocky stairs to write new content.
There are some things widely known as 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 South East 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?
Got the travel bug? Check out my ebooks and podcasts on making long-term travel a reality! Only $15 forpetessake!
There are some things widely known as 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 South East 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?
Got the travel bug? Check out my ebooks and podcasts on making long-term travel a reality! Only $15 forpetessake!
11 comments:
Painkillers - because have you ever tried to ask for paracetamol or aspirin in another language - it's hilarious - well not that hilarious when you have a headache lol.
Guide book - or the pages that you want to take with you. Also helps if you have a list of phrases even if its just to ask for directions.
Pictures of your home & family and postcards of your home town as little gifts for new friends!
I am living in Bangladesh right now and I have to say: it was totally unecessary to bring a one year supply of tampons. At least in the bigger cities, you can buy everything. But it was a good idea to bring my own medication. (and earplugs are another thing that I brought and don't want to miss..)
But one thing you should get at home and not abroad (at least if you are going to south asia) is waterproof make-up. Local brands are not made for sweaty european skin and other brands are very difficult to get.
Safety pins so if you have a malfunction like say the strap breaking on your only clean bra, you can do an instant repair. You'd think it'd be easy to pick up something like safety pins anywhere but I got caught out and had to end up buying an expensive sewing kit just to get one pin!
A note: The link to the Clarks ballet flats is broken.
I looked through my 3-week Hong Kong + Thailand packing list to remember what is unexpected, but necessary, and I think some paracord or rope of some such comes in really handy. I know most things you bring along should multitask, but in such humid places, a clothesline for drying clothing is really a necessity.
saving this post for my next trip! I can see how each and every item would be sooooo essential.
Be careful with bringing your own bedding...it will not prevent you from getting bed bugs! They still come because they're attracted to heat. In fact, one way to check is by using a hair dryer to blow hot air onto the bed...if they're there, they come straight up towards the heat. We found this out on a youth group trip...luckily (for us girls), it was the guys who had them in their beds and there were none in the girls but it was a pain and all the guys stuff had to go to the laundromat to be dried on high and have all the bugs killed.
Sleeping pills are the way to go! Do it!
Sleeping pills on the plane were a bad call for me, but I think everyone is different.
I would second Han's recommendations as well.
I recommend extra (!!) pens. Usually access to a printer can be hard to find, and sometimes you need to write out confirmation numbers, schedules, etc (esp if you are in a non-English speaking country). I somehow only took 1 pen with me and lost it, and I had a ridiculously hard time finding a place where I could easily buy new ones.
Also, in European countries I would recommend getting one of those credit cards with the chip from the currency exchange place in the airport. A lot of places won't take regular American credit cards (the kiosks at the train stations for example).
Enjoy Philly! My husband and I had a great time there this summer.
A tip of Elle (or anyone else with pen issues) - use your camera to a take a photo of the screen, esp maps, or timetables etc at stations. Always good to do as a backup in case you can't find where you've written things down anyway and you usually have your camera with you on hols.
Lucas' PawPaw ointment. Similar to the Burts Bee's stuff but it's a godsend. It's my everyday lipbalm but when travelling, it becomes my everyday everything.
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