Ten Things Not To Leave Home Without
We are into our third year of full time travel and it’s occurred to us that, after circumnavigating the world several times and endured extremes of climate, we have our packing down to a fine art.
Apart from the obvious items like tickets, passports, money, clothing etc these are the ten items that we would not be without. These are the travel accessories that are handiest, are multi-functional and make our time more enjoyable;
1. Cell phone: But it must be an unlocked, SIM card compatible GSM style cell phone – and not on a permanent contract from home as calls made while overseas are horrendously expensive. This way we can arrive in any country, buy a local SIM card that allows us access to the local network, then make local and international calls at very reasonable rates.
2. iPod or iRiver music system; So important to have our own music with us wherever we are. These systems allows us to have our entire collection of music readily available so whether it’s mood music, driving music or just music to curl up and read by, it’s all at our fingertips. Some people travel with a miniature pair of speakers for their iPod which is a good idea. We have an FM transmitter so that the iPod can be used with a car radio system while travelling.
3. A pair of Bose acoustic noise cancelling headphones each: Expensive but absolutely essential for all the long hours in aeroplanes as they actually cancel out the background noise and produce a sense of almost total quiet. Then listen to your own music or tune into the movie onboard.
Sometimes we just leave the headset on without any music while sleeping to create silence. We also use these Bose headphones while travelling in the truck as they cancel out the vehicle wind drum and tyre noise as well.
4. Electronic Diary: For storing the masses of information that we need like; names & addresses, phone numbers & email addresses. In the secret compartment; bank account numbers, PIN numbers, passwords & passport details to name a few. These neat little devices are so slim they slip into our wallets and are with us all the time. They also have a calculator, conversion tables, world clock and an alarm clock facilities. Some cell phones or Blackberrys have all these attributes.
5. Multi pin adapter plug; to charge all the batteries for the electronic devices above, not to mention our lap top computer, digital cameras and hair dryer. We have one very clever adapter plug that can be used in all countries and on different voltages. We also carry a multi board to have several gadgets in use or charging at the same time.
6. Headlamp; Great for getting up to the toilet at night, or even burrowing down into our luggage. An inexpensive headlamp has saved our bacon in many third world countries where the electricity supply is erratic and power cuts are long and frequent.
7. Swiss Army Knife or Leatherman Tool: Just the best thing from peeling fruit to opening a can of food to taking the cork out of a bottle of wine. Great for making minor repairs to footwear or luggage and when used with a roll of dental floss it makes a permanent sewing kit for busted back packs. But we are careful to store it in our checked luggage when flying as it would be confiscated at airport security.
Along the same vein we have a Casio Protrek digital watch which has alarm, time zones, altitude, barometer, thermometer and compass functions all of which we’ve put to great use.
Also a small collection of plastic cable ties (as used by electricians) is very useful in all sorts of situations.
8. Zip lock clear plastic bags; lots of them and in various sizes. Good for bundling similar type items together in your luggage, for sub-dividing toiletries and medications, storing snacks and packing a small lunch in, we use them for dozens of purposes. Some brands are even made to store large bulky clothing like puffer jackets and sweaters as they can be rolled up to expel all the air thereby reducing the item to fraction of it’s former volume in this vacuum packed system.
9. Tilley Hat: It’s the only brand of rimmed hat we’ve found that can be folded, rolled and squashed yet still retain it’s ability to function as a sun hat, sweat band, effective rain hat, something to sit on when the ground is damp and a fan all in one. They have various styles in mens and womens wear. Made in Canada and available in many stores globally they are also available via the internet.
10. Day Pack; We use the Deuter brand with the ventilated frame as the cooling effect is extremely important to us in the many different places and circumstances we find ourselves in. Well designed with just the right number of side pockets, clips and straps, they are ruggedly constructed and comfortable to wear. We use them literally every day.
And just a few words on other travel tips…..
Email address;
It’s essential to have a single secure email address that can be accessed from all over the world. Gmail or Yahoo is good but we use our own Internet Service Provider and work from their server, that is we do not download to our laptop as it’s much wiser to leave all our files, address books and the like on their server. That way we can not only use our own computer but also use internet cafes anywhere and still have access to all our own information.
Accessing Cash;
We live entirely out of ATM machines and depend on them for all of our cash requirements. We do not have a conventional bank account, a cheque book, nor a credit card (as these require monthly repayments) and do not use travellers cheques (as apart from the States they are cumbersome to exchange). So it’s extremely important to have a rock solid system of accessing our money.
We find that ATM machines all over the world are generally reliable but very frequently are either out of cash, not connected to our particular banking system or don’t accept our card. To get around this we now use four different cards issued from four different banks that are themselves located in four different countries. That way we have the field covered.
In each case we use debit cards, not credit cards; that is, we have a card that behaves like a credit card but draws funds from a preloaded account. That way we are not charged any fees nor interest and, so long as we keep the account in credit, we always have access to our money. About twice a year we top up the cards to have enough cash for the next six months.
This may sound like a curious way to arrange our financial affairs but remember that we have no home address and are frequently abroad for 10 to 12 months at a time so conventional ways to handle personal cash do not work for us.
Clothing System;
What many people call their wardrobe we call our clothing system. Having been in places as diverse as the sympathy orchestra in Salzburg to a show in London to skiing in the mountains of Utah to hiking in the deserts of Arizona to tramping in the rain forests of New Zealand to scuba diving in Vanuatu we need a to be adequately prepared.
It’s incredibly important to have a clothing system that can be packed into a single piece of luggage and yet be functional enough throughout all these changing activities, climates and countries. Remember that we do not have a home base to work from and do not do these trips as ‘out and back’ type excursions as most people would. We are constantly on the move and need a clothing system that will keep pace with our ever changing environment.
The answer for us is in the modern travel clothing available from band names such as North Face, Columbia, REI and Mountain Hardwear to name a few. These brands all make a terrific range of multi purpose mix’n'match clothing that is made from fabrics that are scrunchable, quick drying, wind and rain resistant, hard wearing, wickable (will wick the sweat away from our skin to evaporate) as well as looking good too. Using the idea of layering our clothing we can start out the day in cold temperatures, move into a warm zone and strip down a little then tolerate a rain shower in the afternoon. By evening we can dress it up a little and go out to a restaurant all in basically the same outfit. It’s amazing how little we can get by on.
And one word on jeans – don’t. We find that jeans are heavy and bulky to pack, they do not keep us warm in the cold and are very difficult to dry once wet.
We also hire specialized gear (like scuba diving and climbing equipment) on location and sometimes buy cheap local clothing which we discard later.
Luggage;
We have found the best type of luggage to pack and travel the world from is a soft sided carry all with a solid platform base that also has wheels and a pull handle. This type of luggage does not get damaged in transit, is easy to haul around and can be pushed and squashed into the boot of a taxi. And once emptied they can be flattened and stowed away.
Solid suit cases get knocked around in transit and are bulky to stow when not in use. Backpacks are not easy to live out of and have too many straps and buckles that get damaged along the way.
Travel Insurance;
We find it critically important to have the best travel insurance available. We have heard lots of horror stories about travel insurance that was found to be insufficient for the claim submitted. Young travellers buy cheap limited event coverage or even travel uninsured but we would never do that. The 90 day versions that are bundled with some of the higher level credit cards are good but do not suit us as we are away for much more than 90 days.
We purchase whole of the world all events travel insurance and it’s the health coverage that’s important to us. We can always replace a stolen camera or buy another flight for a missed connection but it’s the health coverage that costs the big bucks. We tick every box so that we are covered for scuba diving accidents, recovery by helicopter, action sports and we even buy out the excess for total piece of mind.
This company has a 24 hour hot line that can be called toll free from any phone in the world. We have used and tested this coverage to the maximum when Graeme had 7 nights in a Swiss hospital where he received major surgery for a twisted intestinal tract and the insurance company was marvelous. The company paid the lot in full even before we had to pay for anything.
Our whole of the world, all events total coverage with all boxes ticked is US$1,000 each for a complete year. That’s not expensive for the coverage.
We purchase this insurance from an agent in Christchurch, NZ. His name is Greg Woods and he can be contacted on greg@yesberg.co.nz Give him a call and mention our name.
Guide Books;
There are lots of them, Lonely Plant, Rough Guide, Jasons, Orbits and others. They are good for all round information and they all have their particular attributes with a target group of readers in mind.
The one that best suits our travel style is Rough Guide. It seems to have the best cross section of the information that we seek including history and cultural aspects as well as suggested must see sights and tips.
Lonely Planet is good but allocates far too many pages to finding the cheapest places to sleep and eat, catching local buses and generally trying to save the last cent on every admission price.
Rough Guide seems to be pitched more at travellers like us who are happy to stay at three star hotels with attached bathroom, use a local guide occasionally and generally enjoy a more affluent travel style but without missing any of the best experiences.
A word of warning on guide books generally though, we see far too many people earnestly pacing around, guide book literally in hand (usually LP) following the absolute letter of every suggestion in their effort to ‘discover’ the world. This results in nothing more than a guide book version of seeing the world and lots of overcrowding at these localities.
We use Rough Guide as just that, we know we aren’t going to see it all and we’re happy with the bits we stumble upon and leave it at that.
