what are your travel essentials?

[Space Girl]

what do you always take away with you on your travels (apart from the usual sun tan lotion, clothes etc), your trade secrets as such?

I always take:

swiss army knife
small first aid kit
a bit if string and two pegs
a pack of lockets
safety pins
little torch
small sealable bags for things that are going to leak

[Cadmus]

a home-made bomb.

you never know if you're gonna run into some infidels.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y73/cadmus/SMILIES/osama.gif

[phildwyer]

Nothıng. That's part of the fun.

[Sweaty Betty]

Wetwipes

[maya]

swiss army knife
small first aid kit
a bit if string and two pegs
a pack of lockets
safety pins
little torch
small sealable bags for things that are going to leak
It's...






...MacGyver! :eek: :D ;) :cool:

[Space Girl]

I just had to look up who MacGyver was :rolleyes: :D

[Yossarian]

Nothıng. That's part of the fun.

Yeah, if you don´t think arriving at an airport in Bangladesh at 4am with no passport, no clothes, no money and no possessions whatsover isn´t fun, then maybe you just don´t know how to have fun dwyer-style!

[jonH]

bottle of water please

[selamlar]

Universal bath plug jobby.

[jonH]

turkish guidebook;)

[selamlar]

Where abouts in Turkey?

[jonH]

Kardak;)

[sunflower]

I never travel anywhere without earplugs. They are great for when you need to sleep on noisy planes and in cheap guest houses with paper thin walls.

[selamlar]

Kardak is uninhabited isn't it? WTF are you going there for?

[jonH]

just testing your geography/history

is it Turkish or Greek?

[selamlar]

Turkish.

Article 12 of the Treaty of Lausanne:


"[...] Except where a provision to the contrary is contained in the present Treaty, the islands situated at less than three miles from the Asiatic coast remain under Turkish sovereignty."

i.e. unless specifically mentioned these islands remain part of the former Ottoman states and as such pass into Turkish sovrienty. However, given that these are tiny uninhabited lumps of rock, the only use of them is a bit of sabre rattling on the greek and turkish sides, although admittedly it is usually Greece that starts these things.

[Boris Sprinkler]

sherpas

[AnnO'Neemus]

Swiss army knife
earplugs
Maglight/head torch
wet wipes
one of those little metal pots of Vaseline
tiger balm (takes the itch out of mossie bites, works a bit like Vicks if your nose is a bit bunged up)
rucksack/wheelie bag small enough to take as carry on - no faffing about checking stuff in
comfy walking boots

ETA: SW radio that can pick up the BBC World Service

[pinkmonkey]

I'm talking work trips here, coz my holidays don't involve any packing.

I take Travel wash and an elastic washing line. Then I only need 4 changes of clothes, no matter where I'm going.

Apart from one pair of comfortable shoes, I take some smarter ones and an evening type bag, just incase I have to go out for a posh dinner. That was my lesson learnt after one trip where I dressed like a tramp and ended up in a posh do with everone taking the piss out of my rubber flip flops and briefcase.

I've whittled down toiletries into alarge cheap tub of facial moisturiser that I use as body lotion as well and combined showergel /shampoo.

I hate taking loads of things with me, I prefer to travel light. I always take my laptop, plus back ups of all the files on it incase I have a disaster and the computer breaks.

For the plane a blow up pillow, eyemask and earplugs, I can sleep on a knifes' edge as long as I've got this. Plus a big hoody, it is my blanket.

Also US$ can come in quite handy if you get stuck anywhere, I've never not known anyone turn down US$. A client of mine used to keep a $100 bill for emergencies.

I take scissors, also hand sanitising gel for anywhere there are skanky dubious toilets with no soap.

I save maps up and any other info from previous visits, they go with me too.

[sleaterkinney]

I would take some medicine as well, It's difficult to get stuff like painkillers abroad.

[pinkmonkey]

If you take medicine make sure its in the original packet - some countries will treat stuff thats been decanted into something else as illegal drugs until its tested.

If you are handcarrying consider solid shampoo bars from Lush instead of piddly little 100ml bottles that they now limit you to.

[Nikkormat]

Pith helmet and .455 service revolver.

A roll of sticky tape, electrical type.

[Minnie_the_Minx]

A valid passport :D

[zoltan]

Passport
Visas
Credit card(s)

Now sadly no more - a Bottle of Tabasco - makes anything taste acceptable - You can often aquire a botle of something similar in most locales these days, what wth the war on terror liquid bomb terror horror carnage bollocks.

everything else is a bonus and travelling lite with no hold baggage make airports an absolute breeze;)

[NVP]

Passport-holder containing passport and various currencies. Currently it's got about fifty quid in it, $US100, 1000 Indian rupees and a similar amount of Nepali rupees.
Two credit cards, kept in different places.
Backpack.
First-aid kit with basic stuff like plasters and loads of stuff for diarrhoea (Lomotil and some antibiotics that'll sort you out for dysentery / giardia). Lots of ORS to rehydrate yourself if you're having some quality toilet time.
Laptop.
3 changes of clothes. I usually buy more at much cheaper prices when I get off the plane.
Torch.
Rough Guide to wherever I'm going.
One of those 'Trek Towel' thingies that folds down to almost nothing.
Lighter.
Sun-block. High factor stuff can be hard to come by in the Subcontinent.
Flip-flops if I'm heading to the beach, boots if I'm going to the mountains.
Baseball cap.
Bed-sheet in case the bed's grim.
Book for the plane.
Toothbrush.

That's about it, really.

On the way out I'll be travelling pretty light, on the way back I'll usually have loads of stuff.

[chilango]

Depends where I`m going....

basically two types of trip:

type a) cash card, a coupla changes of clothes and a book or two.

type b) tent, sleeping mat, down bag, inner bag, bivi bag, thermals, waterproofs, ice axe, down jacket, bear proof canister, big knife, big boots, spare boots, fleece layers, dried food, water purifier, gps navigation system, and so on...;)


I used to swear by all kinds of things as decribed in other people's posts...but don`t bother these days. you can get pretty much everything you need where you`re going. If they don't have it, you probably don`t need it!

[twisted]

Also US$ can come in quite handy if you get stuck anywhere, I've never not known anyone turn down US$. A client of mine used to keep a $100 bill for emergencies.


That's about all you need..loads of money. I like buying stuff when away so I often don't even pack anything more than a toothbrush really. Always got a kick out of coming back with foreign toiletries..gives you good memories every time you visit the bathroom.
Depending on how many suitcases or bags lying around the flat at the time, I often use the oportunity of travel to buy new shit.

[chilango]

Pah I`ve had $US turned down ....in the US. wanted a credit card. Bastards!



I also used to always carry a wad of Russian rubles in my pockets...to piss off pick pockets.:D

[Juice Terry]

Gaffer tape, zip ties and some anti-fungal cream.