Posts Tagged 5 things
5 Things I Always Pack – Beth Whitman
This month’s guest post with “5 things I always pack” is from Beth Whitman. She is the author and publisher of the Wanderlust and Lipstick guides for women travelers, the editor of WanderlustAndLipstick.com, and leads tours to Bhutan, India, Vietnam and Cambodia. Here’s what she carries with her when she hits the road.
1. SteriPEN
In an effort to reduce my garbage footprint when I travel, I always carry a SteriPen Traveler water purifier. I’ve used this on numerous trips to India, drinking the tap water (hint: it still tastes yucky) and have never gotten Delhi Belly as a result.
2. eReader
I still buy the print versions of guidebooks because nothing beats lying in bed at night and highlighting all the places I want to visit. But for leisure reading, I upload books to an eReader, like Amazon’s Kindle, so that I’m not wasting space in my bag on a heavy tome.
3. Eyeshade
I’m never without an eyeshade that I wear on the plane or in my hotel room when there’s too much light coming through the window. It’s cheap and takes up little space, but is such a lifesaver when I really want/need to sleep.
4. Cable Lock
Nothing beats the added protection of a retractable cable lock. I can lock my backpack to my bed on an overnight train or to a stationary object in my hotel room if I’m staying someplace where I’m a little concerned about leaving my valuables behind.
5. Digital Photo Storage
Of course I always have a camera with me. But, I learned a hard lesson (I lost – but later recovered – about 300 images taken in India) about backing up my images nightly. These are generally small units that have the capacity to hold far more images or video than I’ll ever take on one trip. I use one from Digital Foci.
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Posted by Tim in General Gear, Travel Light on December 30th, 2009
5 Things I Always Pack – Max Hartshorne
This month’s guest post of “5 things I always pack” is from Max Hartshorne, editor of the long-running popular travel site GoNOMAD. (I like that site so much I’ve written articles for it for years.) Here’s what he always carries when he hits the road.
Power Strip
Almost no hotel outside of the US has as many plugs as we electronically-oriented travelers need. So I use a little black compact power strip that gives me three places to charge and I only need to use one of the hotel’s adapter-needing outlets.
Blazer
I usually wear my navy blazer on the plane, it speeds me through security for some reason. It’s a piece of clothing that makes any man feel well-dressed. Coming to dinner without a jacket makes you look like a rube, and so does wearing those ubiquitous white sneakers that brand a traveler as an American tourist. For this reason I always bring nice-looking loafers too.
Gadget sack
These days, everyone has their gadgets and each one needs its charger. In a stiff nylon zip bag, I have my electric plug adaptors, (either the two-prong European style, or the larger three-flat plug used in Britain) my cellphone charger and the various USB cords I need for my computer.
Smaller pack
I like to travel with a nylon drawstring day pack, which holds my travel writer essentials; my camera, my notebooks, my sunglasses and a few pens. Having this smaller pack is crucial because my daypack is full of stuff that I don’t need when in the field.
Neck Pillow
When I’m facing a long flight, using an inflatable neck pillow along with the airline-issued pillows gives me a small chance that I will actually fall asleep in the air. It’s rare but the neck pillow makes it closer to being a possibility. Without it, I’m awake the whole time, no matter how long the flight is.
Max Hartshorne is the editor of the GoNOMAD.com travel website and writes a daily blog called Readuponit. He travels abroad about 10 times a year to write articles for the website.
Posted by Tim in General Gear, Travel Light on November 3rd, 2009
5 Things I Always Pack – JohnnyJet
This month’s guest post of “5 things I always pack” is from John E. DiScala, otherwise known as Johnny Jet. His site has been one of my go-to travel resource sites for close to a decade now. Johnny travels around 150,000 miles and visits over 20 countries each year. He and his website JohnnyJet.com have been featured over 1,800 times in magazines and newspapers and on all the major TV networks.
I always pack: In no particular order, mind you …
1. My wardrobe essentials:
- A bathing suit because you never know when the occasion may arise.
- A sports jacket to look smart. 
- If I wear sneakers I bring dress shoes or vice versa. A reversible belt (brown and black). I’m also keen on the ScotteVest SeV jackets—they have multiple pockets (like 18-52 depending on the model) so you can hide your valuables.
2. My work gear:
My Toshiba Portege A600 laptop, with a 3M privacy shield (so no one can read what I’m typing) and a Sprint wireless card so log on to the airport domestically from anywhere (I rent it for cheap from RovAir.com)
3. Ear plugs and an eye mask
Ear plugs block the noise on a plane or in a noisy hotel room. I don’t like the cheap scratchy eye masks that the airlines pass out; instead, spend $10 or less and buy a fluffy one that will make you look silly but feel fresh. I have one from Lewis N. Clark.
4. Travel Journal
The moment I take my seat, I write down my destination, the date, the airline, the type of plane, seat number, the listed departure time, the actual departure time, flight time and miles. I know it’s kind of Rainman-esque of me, but I used to do it back when I was afraid to fly, to focus my mind on something else. But now it helps me with my story details.
I also jot down what I did, where I ate, how much I spent, transportation modes, weather. And on the last page, I put stamps of all the countries I visited (see the picture here). I get my journal from Graphic Image or Barney’s New York.
5. A box of chocolates…
…for either the gate agent and/or the flight attendants. They can make or break your flight.
John DiScala’s JohnnyJet.com has been named “one of the top best money-saving web sites for travel” by Budget Travel Magazine, while the L.A. Times calls it “one of the top 10 essential travel resources on the internet.” Every week, Johnny hosts a “travel website of the week” for several radio stations around the country, he writes weekly for Frommers.com and he has written for USAToday, The Boston Herald, LAX Magazine and Coast Magazine. Sign up today for Johnny Jet’s free weekly travel newsletter at JohnnyJet.com.
Posted by Tim in Business Gear, General Gear, Travel Light on October 8th, 2009
5 Things I Always Pack – Julie Blakley
Editor’s note: Today’s post is from guest blogger Julie Blakley, who runs TravelGearBlog.com. It’s part of the BootsnAll network—long one of my favorite travel destinations on the web.
flickr photo from jazzylolo
So often I see people trying to fit every traveler into a certain “type of traveler” mold. Either you are a budget traveler or luxury traveler. Either you roll your minimal gear into a backpack or you fold your clothes in a rolling suitcase. And, the most debated, if not ridiculous one, either you are a traveler or you are a tourist. However, I always found myself having problems with these compartmentalized ideas of what kind of traveler you are, because at least for me, I am a different kind of traveler on different trips. Sometimes it depends on the length of the trip, sometimes the destination, sometimes the budget, but I very rarely find myself always traveling exactly the same way. Sometimes I backpack, but sometimes I also roll my suitcase. And that’s the way it should be: traveling and adapting to your environment, your budget and the kind of trip you want to have.
All of that being said, there still a few items I always pack-whether I’m spending a month backpacking through the jungles of Panama or 2 weeks hanging out in Paris. Here are 5 items I make sure are always in my bag-whether it be a backpack or a rolling suitcase.
1. Water Bottle
A sturdy, reusable water bottle is a travel essential, and having one that is both BPA-free and plastic-free is both good for you and good for the environment. Skip buying individual bottled water on the road (unless you are in a place without safe drinking water of course) and stick to filling your water bottle instead.
Sure, you can’t bring these bottles full through security at the airport, but you can bring it empty and fill it up on the other side.
I have also found a variety of handy uses for my water bottle on the road-from carrying the last half bottle of wine with you for a picnic on the Champ de Mars in Paris, or filling it with the amazing fresh squeezed tropical juice from the guy with a cart on the streets of Santo Domingo (therefore saving one more Styrofoam cup from entering the landfill).
While I used to be a Nalgene girl, I recently have switched to the Klean Canteen stainless steel water bottle and love it. It’s light, it’s the perfect size and it always seems to keep your beverages extra cold (or hot).
2. A reusable, compact tote or bag
I always like to have an extra bag in my luggage that’s small, compact, and can be crammed into even the smallest space in your bag or purse. Having an extra re-usable nylon tote along with your gear is perfect for throwing your stuff in the bag and heading to the beach or bringing it along for shopping trip to one of the great outdoor markets in Paris.
No matter where you are traveling, you will always find some sort of use for these lightweight little bags. They are also a whole lot better for the environment than using plastic bags.
I am personally a fan of these nylon sacks, which come in a variety of great looking patterns and colors and cost about $15 for a pack of three.
3. Campsuds Biodegradable soap
Even though this was originally designed for camping trips, I have found a million and one uses for this biodegradable, vegetable derived soap while on the road. From washing out your bottle when backpacking to washing your undies in the sink in the hotel, I always find it nice to have this concentrated and environmentally friendly container of Campsuds in my bag.
Campsuds comes in a handy 2 oz. container (meaning you can even carry it on the plane with you) and is concentrated enough you usually only need a few drops for whatever job needs to be done.
4. Pair of flip-flops
It doesn’t matter if I’m going to the Caribbean or to Europe in the winter, I almost always have a pair of flip flops in my bag. As a budget traveler I often find myself staying in hostels and budget hotels where the bathroom is down the hall. Having a pair of flip-flops to quickly slip on for a late night bathroom run or to wear when showering in a shared facility is a travel essential for me. Sorry, but I am just not willing to go barefoot in any shared or public bathroom situation.
In general, I love travel items that can serve double duty and serve many functions. Flip-flops in sunny locales are great for jaunts to the beach and in colder ones can serve as shower shoes. Sticking a pair of sandals in your bag also takes up almost no room, and you’ll be eternally grateful you have a pair with you when staying in one of the party hostels in Paris, where you never know what possibly could have happened in those shower stalls the night before.
Plus, if you bring a cheap-o rubber pair of flip-flops and need every ounce of extra space on the way home, you can always toss them worry-free.
5. A lightweight towel
Again, this is mostly a travel essential for me because I’m a budget traveler who often finds myself in hostels, budget hotels, and friend’s couches. Since hostels sometimes do not provide linens, or only do so at an extra cost, having your own bath towel can not only save you some dollars but can also come in handy.
Since I also find myself often begging on the hospitality of my young, poor friends, I have found having your own towel can often endear you to your hosts who don’t always have an extra set of guest towels in their home.
Obviously, having a towel to take to the beach or pool in warmer locales and beach destinations is also nice. If you do get a single towel at the hostel, it also means you won’t have to make it work as both a shower towel and beach towel.
A towel can also function as a make-shift table cloth for picnics (when clean of course) or a blanket to sit on wet grass in parks. I’ve even used a towel to cover up with when I didn’t have quite warm enough of a blanket.
My friends may laugh at me, but my favorite travel towel is actually a Little Mermaid towel from my childhood. Not because I am still enthralled with the Disney movie, but because time and use has worn this towel thin-making it super lightweight, compact to pack and quick-drying. If you don’t have a lightweight childhood towel, something like these lightload towels can also work just great while on the road.
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Discovery Trekking Towels
Posted by Tim in General Gear, Travel Light on September 24th, 2009
