Clifton Fadiman once said, “When you travel, remember that a foreign country is not designed to make you comfortable. It is designed to make its own people comfortable.” Keep this in mind before you pack your bags. If you’re one who can’t survive a trip to the fridge without your iPod, or a trip to the shops without SMSing twelve people to inform them of your venture, obviously you’ll need to sit down and plan how to best utilise that precious space and weight in your luggage. Others prefer to merely “go with the flow”, take what travel brings to them and try indulge in the local lifestyles without the corruption of the ‘goodies’ from home.Obviously the items you pack will vary according to individual tastes, as well as the destination. But I’ll try to give a rough guide on what I believe to be essential items for when I travel, outside of the requisites (such as a passport).
First, the ‘Honourable mentions’:
Multivitamins: Unless you’re travelling through some Asian countries, you’ll find there will be a severe lack of fruit consumption. As a result, you’ll either shrivel-up and die for not adhering to the laws of the ‘food pyramid’, or you’ll merely feel less than 100%. Either way, multivitamins will help you! While we’re on the topic of ‘medication’, bring sleeping pills.
USB: I cannot stress enough how important this is! If the TAB were giving odds for the likelihood of you losing your camera, it would probably be around 1:1. Take a large USB or two, back-up your photos as often as possible!
Photocopies of Passports: If you lose your passport, this may save you some trouble with language barriers. The last thing you want to do is be stuck in some obscure Mexican police station shouting “taco taco” amidst an anxious attempt to explain your missing passport.
Now for the top 6:
6. Travel insurance: It’s hardly an object (so it gets a low rating), but it’s absolutely vital if you’re going to be on the move a lot, particularly in “dangerous” areas. Yes, it is somewhat expensive, but given the threat of theft when in transit, the dividends it will pay when covering stolen goods will cover the cost and then some. All it takes is a momentary lapse in concentration, and a ‘professional’ thief (usually gypsies who struggle with the concept of integrity or job classifieds) will swoop on your luggage faster than a fly to shit! Just remember to file a police report if something is stolen! Of course, the principal precautionary reasoning behind travel insurance is for the coverage of injury or death. Without looking at statistics, I’d say the chance of an injury increases when travelling. The road rules are different; the location is unfamiliar; you participate in activities that may be foreign to you (such as skiing, surfing or eating a baguette). For example, if you’re travelling to somewhere like Mumbai or Bangkok, the possibility of a road accident is going to be a lot higher than at home given the chaotic and unpredictable nature of the traffic (picture an agitated nest of wasps). Make sure you’re covered!
5. Power adapter + power board: The power converter is rarely forgotten, but what a lot of people fail to capitalise on is the invention of the power board. Rather than wasting money and space on several adapters, or mere time by alternating charging appliances and forgoing simultaneous use, take a power board! 1 adapter… 4-6 home-grown appliances! This way, you can charge your mobile; use your laptop; turn on your strobe light; blend a margarita; and cook a beef stew in your slow cooker all at the same time! Ah the blessings of technology.
4. Locks: Padlocks, combination locks, zip locks, chain locks… you name it! If you’re travelling through somewhere like Eastern Europe or South America – in other words, areas renowned for mysterious cat-burglars or gypsy families raiding unbeknown sleeping train passengers’ luggage – bring lots of locks! Combination locks will give you peace of mind when you sleep in transit, and a chain lock will secure your luggage to a train pole whilst you catch some Z’s. If you’re staying in a hostel, bring your own locks! They’re often not provided, and given the… er… ‘integrity’… of some people that frequent such places, it’s a good idea to secure your valuables. Maybe put a lock on your kidneys too.
3. iPod – It’s hard to believe how normal an iPod has become since it’s initial launch in 2001. It’s essentially an icon of the decade, a symbol of contemporary lifestyle. When travelling, its value increases ten-fold. Transit can be a terribly boring experience, particularly if you’re unfortunate enough to be stuck with long, monotonous day travel (save for a scenic trip past the Bavarian Alps or a Lucerne-Interlaken route!) This tiny accessory will carry 8 or 16 gigabytes of your life. A simple rotation of the thumb and press of a button will see to it that an otherwise unbearable nine hour stopover in Singapore will be transformed into a retro ho-down courtesy of ‘The Very Best of Prince’. Face it, music is a large part of our existence, and an iPod will save you carrying a discman, two-hundred CDs and twenty AA batteries. Thank-you Steve Jobs!
2. Digital Camera: Yes, it’s stating the obvious (as are a lot of these), however your trip will be immortalised if you put your camera to good use. I specify digital for obvious reasons (unless you’re a photography enthusiast) – they’re extremely compact; you can review photos instantaneously and delete unwanted photos; it avoids having to worry about the issues with film due to the potential for backups.
1. Diary: Similar to the camera, there will inevitably be some priceless stories that will be soon forgotten. Whether it is a drunken encounter with a Swedish backpacker in Berlin; a jail-term in Brunei for revealing too much skin; or losing a kidney in a Brazilian slum… a lifetime of alcohol abuse will erase such unremarkable memories. A daily entry into your diary could ensure such stories aren’t lost to Alzheimer’s or in the drunken haze that is your life. Furthermore, a quick report on your feelings and emotions in a certain location could trigger that nostalgic longing for a return upon reflecting a few years down the track!
Well there you have it, my top 6 "must packs" before you travel. There are other objects on my list that deserve a mention, but you'll have to figure them out for yourself. Good luck!
