xyzAsia

One of the secrets of hassle free travel is to start the trip without the stress of wondering what you have forgotten to pack. If you are one of those people who spend the journey to the airport with a feeling in the stomach that you’ve forgotten something, then try preparing a packing list well before your trip, and use that as a checklist to make sure you take everything that you need.

As a frequent traveller, I have used a packing list for years, and can now pack my two bags and leave for the airport in less than an hour. My personal packing list is shown below, and you can use this as a guide to prepare your own list (of course, mine is for a man – a woman’s packing list will require more changes)

I normally travel with a suit-pack and a backpack (both with wheels and retractable handles). You will note from my packing list that included in each of these is a ‘fold-up bag’. These are those small black nylon bags that fold up to a very small size. One of them I use for throwing my dirty laundry into, and if I can’t fit it all back into the suit-pack when I return (dirty laundry seems to take up twice the space of clothes that are newly laundered and pressed), I check it in as an extra bag for the return trip. The extra bag is also useful for any souvenirs that you buy whilst away – they can be wrapped up in the dirty laundry.

The fold-up bag that I keep in my backpack is a smaller size. I keep that in case I am made to check-in my backpack by an over-zealous airline employee (my backpack is slightly oversize for a carry-on bag – I usually get away with it, but occasionally have to check it in if it is a small plane or on some domestic flights where the overhead bin is not large enough). I take my laptop computer out (which is in its own case with a shoulder strap) and then put my cameras, lenses, iPod and other valuables in the fold-up bag. Without all the padding of the backpack (it is a Lowepro backpack designed for carrying camera gear), once the contents are transferred to the fold-up bag, it is well within the carry-on baggage limits.

The ‘essential toiletries pack’ and the ‘essential medicines pack’ that you see in my backpack packing list are kept in the backpack permanently, so I don’t have to worry about transferring items from the bathroom and medicine cabinet when packing. If I run out of anything when I am on a trip, I restock as soon as I return, so I don’t have to worry about doing that before leaving for another trip.

The ‘essential toiletries’ are those items that I keep in my backpack that I may want to use on the journey or might be difficult to replace quickly if my suit-pack gets lost en route. Items that are easily replaceable I put in my suit-pack to save space in the backpack.

My ‘essential medicines’ kit was designed for me by a doctor for travel to countries like Afghanistan or North Korea, and other developing countries where you may have to self-treat common ailments. So someone traveling to Bali for a two weeks holiday would not have to take all of what I pack in my medicines kit (but the Travelan and Ultracarbon tablets would be a good investment to fend off a potential attack of ‘Bali belly’).

I have refined my own packing list after many years of travel. These days I rarely find I need anything that I haven’t taken, but at the same time I take nothing that is not essential to the trip. I hope you will find my list helpful in putting your own packing list together.

Suit-pack

Suit

Business shirts

Casual shirts

Slacks

Jeans (if trip includes weekends)

Ties

Black belt

Brown belt (if not wearing on plane)

Jeans belt (if trip includes weekends)

Black shoes

Brown shoes (if not wearing on plane)

Gym shoes

Shaver and power cord

Hairbrush

BlackBerry charger

Underpants

Handkerchiefs

Sports shirts (if trip includes weekends)

Gym shirts

Gym shorts

T-shirts

Casual or sports jacket (if not being worn on plane)

Inside pocket 1:

Leather document case

Blank CD-Rs for photo back-ups

Inside pocket 2:

Box of Strepsils lozenges

Box of Difflam lozenges

Box of Ultracarbon tablets

Box of Travelan tablets

Box of Panadol tablets

Chewing gum

Manicure set

Sewing kit

Compass

Broadband Internet cable

Large side pocket:

Documents/guide books

Computer cable lock

Hat

Swimming trunks

Hotel slippers

Folding nylon tote bag

Small side pocket:

Shampoo in plastic bag

Toothpaste in plastic bag

Toothbrush in plastic holder

Magic tape to seal plastic bags

Multi-vitamins

Retractable knife

Plastic cutlery set

Business cards

Black socks

Brown socks

Gym socks

+ for cold climates:

Overcoat

Sweater

Scarf and gloves

Singlets

Backpack

Centre compartments:

Nikon D100 camera body (check battery charged and memory card empty)

Mini-tripod

Nikkor 80-200 mm lens (with UV filter fitted)

Folding nylon tote bag (underneath)

Hoya 77mm Circ PL filter

Hoya 72mm Circ PL filter

Cokin Grad ND2 filter

Cokin Grad ND4 filter

Cokin filter holder

Cokin adaptor rings (77mm and 72mm)

Left hand compartments:

Nikkor 12-24 mm lens (with UV filter fitted)

Nikkor 24-120 mm lens (with UV filter fitted)

Essential toiletries pack*

Eye shades (underneath)

Nikon D100 battery charger and power cable

Right hand compartments:

Nikkor fisheye lens

Air blower (underneath)

Nikon Speedlight SB800 (check batteries)

Essential medicines pack** (underneath)

iPod (check battery charged)

Sony Cybershot (check battery charged and memory card empty)

Sony battery charger (underneath)

Universal power point adaptor (underneath)

Top zip pouch:

Spare Nikon rechargeable battery

CF memory cards

SD memory cards

USB CF memory card reader

USB SD memory card reader

USB flash drives

Lens cleaning brush

Top zip pocket:

Photocopies of passports and credit cards

D100 and SB800 instruction books

Targus aircraft notebook computer power cables

Bottom zip pocket:

Disposable raincoat

iPod USB cable

iPod earphones

Shutter cable release

Lens cleaning cloth

Front compartment:

Notebook computer (in carry case with power cable)

Sunglasses

Reading glasses

Keys

Passport and ticket wallet***

*Essential toiletries pack: deodorant, face wash, sunscreen, mosquito repellent, antiseptic cream, lip balm, dental floss.

**Essential medicines pack: Mefloquine 250mg (if traveling to a malaria region), Augmentin 625mg, Imodium 2mg, Maxolon 10mg, Buscopan 10mg, Dextromorphan 15mg, Clarityne 10mg, Ponstan 500mg, Panadeine 500mg, Strepsil lozenges (one strip), Difflam lozenges (one strip), Ultracarbon tablets (one strip), Travelan tablets (one strip), Bandaids.

***Passport and ticket wallet: Passports (check validity of visas), tickets, itinerary, hotel booking confirmations, currency notes for countries to be visited plus USD/EUR notes, foreign coins for countries to be visited, frequent flyer membership cards for airlines on itinerary, hotel membership cards for hotels on itinerary, travel insurance card, spare visa photos, ballpoint pen.

PS: In case you are wondering what Travelan tablets are, they are an Australian bio-technology ‘invention’ which contain antibodies which work to counter the effects of the major strains of E. coli (ETEC) which are the major cause of travellers’ diarrhoea (TD) – the most common health problem of international travel, especially in developing countries.

It is a completely natural product, made from colostrum which is harvested from Australian dairy cows that have been immunised with an Australian patented vaccine to produce very high levels of specific antibodies against the common strains of E. coli. The antibodies in Travelan bind to the E. coli in the gastrointestinal tract and inhibit their attachment to the gut wall, significantly reducing the chance of the bacteria secreting toxins and causing TD.

You take a Travelan tablet before each meal when in an ‘at risk’ area, and clinical trials have shown Travelan to be 90% effective in preventing TD. Even in the 10% of cases where it doesn’t work, it reduces the symptoms of the TD. Travelan also contains high levels of other anti-microbials, which assist in providing protection against a wide range of disease causing pathogens, and high levels of lactoferrin and lactoperoxidase which provide further non-specific anti-microbial activity.

I know this sounds like an advertisement for Travelan (I promise I am not on a commission to sell it) but given that it is not well known outside of Australia (at least at the time of writing this) and having had trips to India, Vietnam and the Philippines spoilt by bouts of TD, I believe it is something that every traveller to Asia should pack in their medicine kit. You can buy it at pharmacies in Australia, but if you don’t live in Australia you can order it by airmail through their website at www.travelan.com.au