Wednesday, September 19, 2012

What You Might Not Pack (but wish you had)

Ever say "I wish I brought that!"  Consider this list of items you might not pack, but wish you had.  Includes, hygiene, health, just in case items and food.

Rather just drink your coffee or tea over crazy stories and photos?  Blog index is to the right! 

1.       Locks for backpacks and luggage  
2.       Wisp disposable toothbrush (great for airplanes and when no safe water)  
3.       Hand sanitizer gel and Wet Ones wipes 
4.       Fresh Bath Wipes (for body cleaning) 
5.       Flip flops (be willing to toss at end of trip) 
6.       Mole skin (for blisters – cut in pieces before departure if no scissors being packed) 
7.       Nail clipper and file 
8.       Thing to clean under fingernails 
9.       Pepto Bismol Chewable Tablets  
10.    Bandaids and Neosporin 
11.    Bug spray 
12.    Hat, sunglasses and sunscreen 
13.    Tweezers 
14.    Electrolyte packets (like Propel and oral rehydration salts)
15.    Immodium and Gas Ex 
16.    Ciprofloxacin (consult with your doctor)
17.    Pain killer and fever reducer (like Tylenol) 
18.    Qtips 
19.    Lip balm 
20.    Hair bands (for hair but also to help organize clothes in suitcase) 
21.    Small towel (some hotels overseas do not provide and sometimes you just need a towel) 
22.    Silk Sleep Sack (protect against bed bugs and dirty sheets, get extra warmth) http://www.backcountry.com/grand-trunk-silk-sleep-sack-single 
23.    Comfortable shoes (love my Chaco sandals) 
24.    Plastic bags (sandwich and grocery bag sized for laundry, wet items, souvenirs, liquids) 
25.    Memory stick (back up photos) 
26.    Converter (electricity) 
27.    Credit Card with no foreign transaction fee 
28.    Paper and pen 
29.    Water bottles (full)  (place in checked bag for fresh water upon arrival) 
30.    Small cans of tuna 
31.    Rice cakes (break in half, place in plastic containers. Re-use containers on trip as needed) 
32.    Protein bars 
33.    Trail mix or nuts 
34.    Cereal (put into plastic bags, store inside shoes for travel to avoid crushing) 
35.    Peanutbutter 
36.    Gum

(Is your passport up to date or near renewal?)

3 comments:

  1. Not only would this list be helpful if I were in a different stage of life, but like good fiction, it also instantly transports me to a novel new time and place. I feel distant land at an angle; my stomach rises with the taste of new water.

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  2. Are you travelling to the middle of nowhere? Because I believe in traveling *light* with carry-on only. (Yup, done that even for a two week journey to the other side of the planet.) You know the saying about how there are two kinds of luggage- Carry-on and Lost? True, and from experience. I chant this mantra while packing.
    So many of these items^ can be purchased wherever you land, unless you are heading to Antarctica. But maybe that's where Wacky Aunt is taking us!

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  3. Agreed. How a traveler packs and budgets is absolutely a personal choice. Choose items from the list as you please (so you later don't wish you had). I have traveled light - with ALL of those items. Tips on how I manage that are a great idea for another blog post. Thanks!

    My preference is to anticipate needs, protect my travel budget and give where I can. For example, shopping for items in London is jaw droppingly expensive. Items I purchase at home and pack either return home for use another time (at home and traveling), or are donated to people in need in my destination.

    Yes, for some destinations I knew or anticipated that items would not be available (or safely available). I hope you keep reading to see where more of these places could possibly be :) One was the highlands in Fiji (post below) - complete isolation and I was suffering from giardia!

    Thanks for reading and your comments!

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