Just in case... (10 indispensable things to take on holiday with you)

Member Name: x_elff_x

Product:	10 indispensable things to take on holiday with you
Date:	28/04/01 (1840 review reads)
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Advantages: There are ten of them

Disadvantages: Some people may have a ten phobia

I like to travel and I travel a lot. Over the years I have found that there are definitely a number of core items which I 'must have' if I am not to be found tearing my hair out at my chosen destination or en route some minutes/hours/days later.


1. Travel and Associated Documents.

These have to be absolutely numero uno when it comes to packing your bags - after all you won't get far without them. Under this umbrella I would include any tickets (or email printouts in the case of ticketless airlines), passport if you are travelling abroad, travellers' cheques (should you have chosen this method of carrying money) and a cashpoint card.

I personally withdraw cash straight from cashpoints on my holidays abroad, although if you are going to the deepest darkest back of beyond this may not be possible. If, like me, you travel in the main to cities and towns then I would recommend this option. You get a good exchange rate and don't have to worry about carrying large sums of cash - always check with your bank that you will be able to withdraw money at your chosen holiday spot before you leave though, just in case.

Another tip with regards to this documentation is to pack it somewhere where you can access it easily, but which is secure, say in an inside zip pocket of your rucksack. And always remember to keep your list of traveller's cheque numbers separate from your actual cheques.


2. A spare purse

This may sound like an odd choice, but I find there is nothing more infuriating than delving into your purse for that bus/taxi fare in a country where you are unfamiliar with a. the currency and b. the language and discovering that you have pulled out a load of sterling coins too.

By having two purses you can leave the one with the British cash (and perhaps those travellers' cheque numbers) back at the hotel while you go out and spend, spend, spend in the foreign currency of your
choice. Similarly, when you are ready to come home you can see exactly how much mulah you have left without having to separate the stuff out.


3. An International Phonecard - particularly if you are going to the US

I'm untrustworthy, I really am. With objects I mean. I leave stuff everywhere I go and am quite renowned for it. This means that unless I really have to, I don't take expensive stuff on holiday with me and expensive stuff includes my mobile phone. Not only might I very well lose it, I can never be bothered shelling out the extra for the phonecalls when a simple phonecard is much less cumbersome and cheaper to replace in the event of catastrophe.

You might have noticed I said "particularly in the US" up there. Well, I bring you a cautionary tale from the elfin handbook. Last year, upon travelling to Florida I didn't get a phonecard - oh fool that I am! On arrival at my destination, I discovered that ATT (the omnipotent telecom company) wouldn't accept my British Visa card (different digit numbering I believe) and that I couldn't place international calls from my hotel room. So it was that I found myself at the equivalent of 3am after 24 hours of travelling, feeding 15 dollars' worth of quarters into a pay phone in five dollar lumps, just so I could tell my loved one I had arrived. Believe me, it's not worth it, buy a card!


4. Books

Another travel essential. I always try and take a couple of softback page-turners on holiday with me, especially if I have a long flight in store. I would suggest you don't pick a holiday to take that book that you found oh-so-boring the first time you tried to tackle it, but really feel you should read. You will only get frustrated when you get oh-so-bored the second time, plus you won't have anything else to read, you'll get annoyed, air rage may ensue and before you know it you will be up on a lawsuit for attacking a stewar
dess... so be warned!

The other type of book I nearly always take along is a travel guide or two. I personally find the Time Out Guides a really good option as they are a good pocket size and cover most of the bases. I often couple these with one of the Dorling Kindersley Eyewitness Guides. These aren't quite as lightweight but feature lots of pretty pictures of key buildings and the like at your destination, which can mean you save a bit of money as you won't have to buy additional guides.

When it comes to packing your guides, be sensible. Ask yourself if you are *really* likely to read it en route to your destination, if the answer is 'no' do yourself a big favour and pack it in your suitcase, it will save you being weighted down on the plane.

Top Tip - If your favourite travel guide is more akin to a coffee table book than a pocket filler it is a good idea to go through it before you travel and photocopy any relevant must-have pages, that way you can leave the bulky thing at home!


5. First Aid Essentials

This little kit will obviously vary depending on your destination as, obviously, if you are going to a malaria area or somewhere where the water is dodgy you will need to pack the appropriate drugs and purifying tablets. Websites like travelhealth.co.uk can help you decide what you will need.

Even if you are not going anywhere exotic, er, say to Yorkshire, it is still worth packing a few essentials. I always take the following:

- Ibruprofen-based tablets (Eg Nurofen) - These are great for headaches/hangovers, but also double up for those times of the month which we ladies always seem to find coincide with our holidays. I used to just pack feminax, but the man in my life has a problem with taking this for a headache for some reason... perhaps he thinks he will grow breasts.

- Plasters - Never, ever leave home without these. However well you walk your shoes in before hand,
they will always pick the moment you are away to wreak their revenge on your feet. In this country I find I walk a lot more on holiday which can lead to unforeseen blisters and abroad you have the sweat/sun/mossie bites to contend with too. I prefer to take a length from one of those rolls of plaster as you can cut it to fit the size of the problem.

- Small pair of scissors - Ideal for snipping off loose threads, broken nails etc and essential for use with the plaster mentioned above, unless you have stronger teeth than me.

- Insect repellent - If, like me, the midges/mossies love you take some with you, if you can take one of those lovely electric ones you plug in the wall and stick the tablets in at night. There is nothing worse than having lumpy legs when you are wearing your most revealing holiday clothes.

- Rehydration salts - Ah, the trots, I know a lot of people who never leave home without them, so a couple of these sachets tucked away won't come in wrong.

- Lipsalve/suncream/aftersun - obviously this may not be necessary if you are planning a wet weekend in Oban (which actually can be quite fun) but if you are going all transcontinental these really are a must. Tip - put the lipsalve in your flight bag if you are going long haul, the air conditioning plays havoc with your lips after a bit.

Phew, all that lot may sound like an immense amount, but if you take them out of their bulky packaging they will pack into your sponge bag relatively easily - which brings me neatly on to...


6. Sponge Bag

Much underrated as a flight accessory I always put this in my flight bag. Try not to over pack this, it really is tempting. Unless you are going to Ulam Batur (and these days probably not even then) you really do not need to pack a huge bar of soap. Most hotels and hostels provide some and even if they don't it is easy to buy some once you arrive. Personally, I try and collect a stash of those
little soap bars you get given in hotels and pack a couple of them just as an emergency stop gap.

The same applies to shampoo and toothpaste, pack small bottles if you can and make sure you confer with your pal/mother/bloke/sundry other travelling companion, if you have one, so that you don't double up on things like this.

If you are a lass you will probably want some make-up too, and I guess blokes might need razors et al, but again I always try and keep this stuff to a minimum. After all there are only so many lipsticks you can wear at once! If you want to do all that cleansing, moisturising and toning stuff get thee behind me Satan, oops sorry, er, take a combination one if poss. I find the nivea wipes are quite good.

Top Tip - Pack a change of underwear and a T-shirt in here if you can too, just in case your case doesn't make to your destination as quickly as you do. There is nothing worse than discovering your luggage is lost at 10pm at night in a strange land and not having a spare pare of pants! Well, I suppose there are worse things, say forgetting your bottle opener, but you get my drift.

7. Address Book

Don't forget this or you will never ever hear the end of it from anyone in your family, your friends etc etc. If there is one thing people hate more than you going on holiday without them, it is if you go on holiday without them and don't put yourself through the torture of writing postcards. Think of it as penance for the national psyche.

If, like me, you are unreliable re objects and look at your address book as your lifeline to the world, set aside a separate one for holidaying, just in case you have one tequila too many and leave it somewhere.


8. Bottle opener/Corkscrew combo

I know I should probably have some kind of Swiss Army knife that does 3001 useful things, but all I need to do is open my beer/wine with ease, to which end £1 for the above article seems
to be something of a bargain. There is truly nothing more irritating than slogging with a rucksack to the fleapit of your choice, rescuing some beer from the local supermarket and then being unable to open it, marriages have broken down over less, so my advice is take a good screw and you won't go far wrong.


9. Travel plug

Now, I know I said that I didn't take electrical stuff. But my other half does - his electric razor and for some reason he often gets the urge to flatten his clothes with a travel iron too - I despair! So this is an essential if you are thinking of taking anything gadgety with you.


10. Space

I have saved the best till last. The one thing I always try to take with me when I go away is plenty of fresh air in the top of my rucksack. This fresh air will be at an absolute premium when you see that voodoo hunting mask/Pope in a snowstorm/Spanish donkey that you really cannot live without once you return to Blighty.

If you pack your rucksack/case/travel bag and discover it is so brimful it requires a masters degree in origami folding techniques or a small team of contortionists just to close it before you go, it is **too* full. Take something out, you won't miss that 15th top or 8th book, really you won't, I promise you. And if you discover you absolutely cannot live without it you can buy a new one from your destination... because then you will have some space to put it in.

Well, I think that's about it folks. Thanks for bearing with me, I hope this is of some use.

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