Category: essentials for travel

5 More Must-Have Travel Essentials

On February 7, 2020

In essentials for travel, travel hacks, travel tips

Travel tips and travel hacks to make your life on the road easier

It sounds counterintuitive, but it feels great when you head out on the road with just a few things in a backpack — maybe a ukulele — and little else.

That said, there are a few more things to add to the list of what you really ought to pack, and some travel hacks that can make the process easier on you. Here are some must-pack travel essentials that will make your life on the road much easier.

1. Kindle

I’m amazed when I meet fellow travelers who are still lugging around hard-copy books. ‘Travel light’ is one of the mantras of intelligent travel, and packing books – plural, inevitably, because if you’re a real reader you’re going to want more than one – just seems silly when the alternative is readily, cheaply available.

Kindles come in all kinds of various sizes, capacities and price points, but even the bare minimum model is going to hold thousands of ebooks. Converting books from almost any format including PDF almost always works a treat, and reading on a Kindle is just as easy on your eyes as reading an actual book, since it has no LCD screen like on a computer or tablet.

They stay charged for weeks, plus, as a confirmed dirtbag, I can assure you that it is very, very rare when you can’t find a particular title for free online one way or another. In other words, a Kindle saves you money on top of everything else.

It’s just easier this way. Give in to your digital overlords.
free images/pixabay

I get it, I get the argument that some people prefer the tactile experience of reading actual books. I do too. The feel and smell of old books is incomparable in its ability to transport you. But using a Kindle, especially as a travel hack, isn’t like a loyalty oath to Baron von Bezos or something. You’re still allowed to read real books, I promise.

2. Universal adapter/USB extension cord

There are some more or less universal adapters out there that go for like $12-$15 bucks. Some travel tips sites recommend bringing a lightweight power strip, but this kind of adapter works fine for me, since the only thing I really need an actual outlet for is my laptop, plus USBs for phone, tablet, etc.

I also have a really long USB extension that comes in real handy since the outlet is always, always going to be in the most inconvenient location possible, no matter where you go.

(Links are not recommendations, just to show style, price, etc. I know, I know, it’s fucking Amazon. So’s the Kindle and I hate that it is. Fact is, I’ve bought exactly two Kindles from them in the past decade, and maybe half a dozen books total, so.)

3. Plastic bags/Laundry bag

Gotta hate plastic bags, and I try to avoid them whenever possible. But since we end up with them anyway, I reuse them to death. I have a Sainsbury’s bag that I still use for grocery shopping and I haven’t been in the U.K. in four or five months.

And when you travel, plastic bags come in handy since you’re going to have stinky or wet clothes that you’ll want to keep separate. Also, extra bags come in handy for packing delicate or spillable items like shampoo, lotion, or bottles of booze. Won’t necessarily save you from some clean-up on Aisle Backpack, but it could help minimize the trauma.

As far as laundry goes, it might be worth the investment in an actual laundry bag, but again, I’m a dirtbag, so I just use and re-use a plastic one.

I have no idea what’s happening here.
pixabay

4. Super glue/Duct tape

Shit breaks, and when it breaks on the road you’re often going to be forced to buy replacement shit at stores you’re unfamiliar with, and you’ll have limited time to seek out the best bargains. A suitcase with a busted zipper is a nightmare, but paying three times the regular price to buy a replacement at the airport or in the first shop you find is pretty horrible too.

So while slapping some duct tape on there might be the whitiest of white trash moves (white trash is the inbred, toothless second cousin of the noble dirtbag, but we are not the same, just so you know) it works as a temporary fix until you have a chance to shop frugally for a replacement. Or a split raincoat, or a shoe, etc. etc.

Again, I’m not saying I’m walking around London or Madrid with duct tape all over me for weeks at a time, wearing condoms for shoes like the Crack Fox or something. We’re just talking about a temporary, emergency fix until a better solution that isn’t a complete rip-off presents itself.

Now, super glue. Here’s a travel hack I’ve used to temporarily fix sunglasses, phone cases, and all kinds of things while on the road. But the best reason to pack some superglue is in case you get a cut or other small wound and have no bandaids.

This might sound like some action movie shit, but the truth is, if you have a minor cut or one of those splits you get next your fingernails due to dryness or whatever, if you clean the wound then slap a bit of superglue on it, it won’t bother you anymore. It closes and protects the wound so you’re not forever banging it on something or poking it, and thus it heals faster, at least in my experience.

*Disclaimer: I think it should be clear by now that I AM NOT A FUCKING DOCTOR, lol. There is such a thing as actual, medical-grade superglue that is likely less toxic, but the regular stuff is apparently okay to use occasionally too. Given all the other chemicals we put in our bodies and breathe in every day, it’s probably not going to kill you to do this once or twice.

**Again, NOT a qualified medical opinion.

5. Hand Sanitizer

Oh dear lord, may the old gods and the new help you if you travel without hand sanitizer. As travel tips go, bringing hand sanitizer may be a bit of a cliché or already known by everybody who reads these kinds of things, but I see far too many people on planes, trains and buses who don’t use it. All you have to do be convinced, in my opinion, is take a moment to feel the sort of grubby, grungy, greasy feel of the handles and straps on a city metro.

Laden with germs, every one of them.
Eduardo Davad/Pixabay

No, really. Really take moment to run your hands over the surface of the metal. Reeeeally get in there. Brushed aluminum is supposed to be smooth, isn’t it? Not pebbled? Or abrasive? Or sticky?

And then think about how we talk about the recirculated air on airplanes causing colds and worse: WTF do you think the bathroom door handle on an airplane – or any other surface for that matter – is doing??

When I first came to Santiago and started teaching English as a second language, I had to pick up lots of classes that were all over the city, so I rode the metro and bus a lot. But I found shortly after I arrived that I got super crazy sick with a nasty cold that lasted forever.

This part is strictly speculative, but I think there is something to be said for the idea of your immune system not being equipped to deal with strains of germs and viruses that are not common where you’re from when travel a long way. Even after I got over that initial nastiness, I found I kept getting sick on the regular.

Then I noticed two things: those grubby handholds on the metro and buses that I mentioned before, and the fact that there is almost never soap in Chilean public restrooms, and hot water literally never.

It all came together one grim winter morning on the metro when I saw this old guy sneeze into his hand – thank you for the courtesy on that – but then immediately grab the hand-hold metal pole again after a perfunctory wipe on his pants leg.

Presto change-o, once I bought and started RELIGIOUSLY using hand sanitizer EVERY TIME I got off the bus or metro, my frequency of colds plummeted.

Anyway, hope these travel hacks/travel essentials help you on your next trip! Thoughts and comments welcome as always.

Cheers,

5 Essential Travel Tips

By kurtis bright

On February 2, 2020

In essentials for travel, travel tips

Travel Tips: Things I Would Never Travel Without

When it comes to travel tips, it may be a cliché, but you can pretty much assume that anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.

I mean, yeah, it’s a cliché, but like most truisms, it’s based on truth.

Part of the joy of traveling is of course learning to embrace the unexpected. Dealing with all the things that life on the road throws at you is half the fun: we adapt, we shift our expectations, we improvise.

Why must I always be waiting, waiting for you…
(pixabay)

But having said that, there are certain travel essentials, ways to make it easier on yourself when you’re far away from home and likely to have limited knowledge of local shops.

And it’s also going to be cheaper if you don’t have to make emergency purchases, without a doubt.

Items like socks or adapters – and essentials like beer – are of course usually pretty easy to find, no matter where you go. But for the dirtbag traveler, avoiding extra, unnecessary costs is vital. (You want to keep that beer budget intact. Don’t need to be wasting that money on frivolous items like, you know, food.)

And it is often cheaper than food. Or at least more fun…
kjb / Pichilemu, Chile 2018

At any rate, these travel essentials can not only make it easier on yourself, but also on your thin-ass wallet. Here are a few travel tips that I’ve found come in really handy when I’m on the road. (Products linked are not an endorsement, merely to demonstrate style and price.)

1. Bluetooth headphones

Yes, I realize we are talking dirtbag travel tips here, and bluetooth headphones sounds like one a them fancy city folk devil devices. Nevertheless, Bluetooth headphones will change your life. You can find a pair of perfectly serviceable Bluetooth headphones for $20, and believe me, they are well worth it. The hassles you avoid by not having to deal with tangled cords, ear buds forever getting yanked out of your ears, or damaged by getting caught on things is priceless.

Plus you can listen to music or podcasts and adjust volume, change tracks, pause, mute or stop all from a button on your ear rather than hauling out your phone every time you need to adjust something. That is super helpful when your hands are full dealing with your bags or paying to get on the metro or any one of a million other situations you find yourself in while traveling. Not only that, even when you’re not listening, Bluetooth headphones are a great prop to help you avoid unwanted conversations with lunatics and Mormons and the like.

‘Scuse me bra, do you have a moment to talk about Dude Jesus Christ?
kjb / Pichilemu, Chile 2018

2. Earplugs

While we’re on the subject of ears, why not mention earplugs? On the plane you will inevitably be seated next to some mewling brat at some point, and good earplugs are a lifesaver. Plus, no matter how closely you peruse the Airbnb or hostel listings and reviews, you can never really know what the neighborhood’s noise situation is going to be like until you get there yourself. And one travel tip I strongly recommend is shelling out a little more for the gel type of earplugs. They cost a bit more but save you money in the long run because they last forever, unlike the cone-shaped foam ones that get squeezed to death pretty quickly, in my experience. On top of that, you can use them for swimming – six months later I still have an entire box of three pairs I bought last summer in Montenegro and I was in the water every day. (Yes, they aren’t pretty, but hey, I am a dirtbag after all, right?)

3. Cash

So I rolled in to Belgrade, Serbia around 10pm after a really cool all-day train ride through the mountains from Montenegro, only to find that the tiny little train station – which, granted, is being upgraded and moved – had no ATM. Plus, it was way the hell out on the edge of town, so there were no shops or banks with ATMs nearby, and thus I had no way of getting local currency like I had planned to do upon arriving. That meant that I couldn’t pay for a taxi even if I had been able to find one. On top of that, once I got to an ATM after I managed to contact my super awesome host (who actually drove out there to pick me up) we discovered that my bank had shut down my debit card because I forgot to inform them I was traveling to Serbia.

Fucking oops.

Makes the world go around, unfortunately.
(pixabay)

Plus it was Saturday night, and the bank’s customer service lines didn’t open again until Monday morning Mountain time. So several lessons learned all in one neat package: luckily I had euros and found an open currency exchange, so I could exchange them on a Sunday, otherwise it might have been a very hungry and sober Sunday and most of the day Monday due to the time difference. Bring extra cash even if you plan to exchange or simply withdraw money when you arrive where you’re going, because you just never know.

4. Snacks/Breakfast

This one is a pretty common travel tip, to bring snacks with you, not only to avoid starvation, but to avoid exorbitant airport and airplane prices. I always try to bring stuff like peanuts, an apple, or a peanut butter sandwich, and to be honest I go pretty heavy on all that because I get fucking cranky when I’m hungry.

No, coffee makes the world go round.
(pixabay)

But I take the snacks thing a step further and try to already have something for the next morning as well. I hate waking up in a strange place starving, and then right off the bat having to go out and forage for food. Yes, of course there’s always a restaurant around that’s willing to take your money if you’re truly famished. But I’d rather save my precious funds by eating simple stuff I prepare myself for breakfast and lunch, and only occasionally spring for a nice dinner. For starters I always bring my little Italian coffee maker and a Tupperware container of coffee because I am not fit for human contact without a cup of real coffee. Another easy-peasy way to make sure you have at least something to line your stomach before venturing out is to bring some oatmeal in a Ziplock bag. Most Airbnbs or even hostels are going to have hot water and sugar, and if you have some fruit to go in there, even better.

5. Wet wipes

Wet wipes are an absolute lifesaver of a travel tip that will make you feel so much less dingy and gross. Yeah, you’re going to sweat, yeah, you’re going to be waiting for buses and trains and cabs amid the dust and exhaust of stations and street. But if you can occasionally wipe your face with a cool, damp wet wipe, it can change your outlook 100 percent. Plus if you run out of hand sanitizer – and dear god, don’t do that – a wet wipe is a decent workaround. Never assume there will be soap in the bathrooms where you’re going!

Also, as far as wet wipes go, let’s not get into it, but the bathroom, guys.

(I’m talking about pooping. And your taint. You know, the place where you get stinky. I hope that was subtle enough.)

I’ve got a bunch more of these that are less gross, but I don’t want to make one single, insane, long-ass list, so I’m going to break it up into pieces. More to come, and if you have any ideas for travel tips of your own, or thoughts about these, please leave a comment or send an email!

Cheers,