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50 Years of Travel Tips

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Re: 50 Years of Travel Tips

#211

Post by crazygringo »

r0fl wrote: post #193
swat535 wrote: post #155

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’ve stopped caring about packing. Now I only pack the very basics, medication, laptop and chargers toiletries for shaving etc and a few clothes. Anything else I will most likely purchase or won’t need at all. I avoid checking bags, just a small carryon and my backpack. To me the more important items are travel requirements, road conditions, directions, etc.

Same! If I stay at a hotel instead of an airbnb I will not bring my toiletries. I’ll ask the front desk and so far 100% of the time the hotels I’ve stayed at will have a shaving kit and a toothbrush and toothpaste. I don’t live a minimalist lifestyle by any means, but when I travel with family, friends or solo I try to pack as little as possible. Sometimes no carry on, just a small backpack for a quick trip

...deodorant? Hair product? Nail clippers? Skin products?

I dunno, there's a lot of normal stuff I use a hotel isn't going to have.

Re: 50 Years of Travel Tips

#212

Post by crazygringo »

zeroq wrote: post #38
ghaff wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My counter to that is that, once you get out of major cities, even in the UK, there may be very few opportunities to pick up things including pretty routine first aid supplies. You probably also don't want to spend the first half-day of your vacation doing routine shopping. So, yes, you can often pick things up but don't count on it. If you're adaptable, you can probably manage (perhaps outside of some things like me…

My counter is if you can't produce it within a day it's most likely not a necessity.

I sure has heck don't want to waste a day of my vacation shopping for something I forgot.

Re: 50 Years of Travel Tips

#213

Post by crazygringo »

seer wrote: post #23
susam wrote: post #18

One travel technique that has worked very well for me takes place the day before my trip: using a pre-travel prep-and-packing checklist. I created this checklist about 15 years ago and still refine it occasionally. This list has three sections: A) Preparation tasks: Like printing essential travel documents, saving a backup to my mobile phone, buying foreign currency, activating data roaming, etc. B) Packing list: Min…

The one thing you _need_ to pack, apart from visa docs required for travel, is a credit/debit card. Anything you’ve missed can be purchased on location. Traveling to rural Vietnam looked daunting and dangerous for people from the EU, but once there me and the friend realized all the worrying and excessive preparation was for naught. We still forgot some things, an hour or two spent at the local shops and the problem…

> Anything you’ve missed can be purchased on location.

I really don't want to lose hours of my vacation shopping for stuff I forgot.

Vacation hours are precious. It's not about the cost of the goods you're buying, it's about the unique experiences you could have been having instead.

Shopping is not what I go to foreign countries to do. Well, except for supermarkets -- discovering new fruits and veggies is fun.

Re: 50 Years of Travel Tips

#214

Post by crazygringo »

titanomachy wrote: post #126

> In 53 years of travelling with all kinds of people, I’ve seen absolutely no correlation between where you eat and whether you have intestinal problems, so to maximize the enjoyment of local foods, my rule of thumb is to eat wherever healthy-looking locals eat. An interesting one. Tracks with my experience, although I have far less data. I’ve gotten sick a few times, but not after the sketchy meals that I thought wo…

> I’ve seen absolutely no correlation between where you eat and whether you have intestinal problems

Well of course, that's the wrong correlation to be looking for.

It's not where you eat, it's what you eat. Have all the cooked meat and veggies and carbs you want, but raw salads and tap water on the other hand...

Re: 50 Years of Travel Tips

#215

Post by r0fl »

crazygringo wrote: post #211
r0fl wrote: post #193

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Same! If I stay at a hotel instead of an airbnb I will not bring my toiletries. I’ll ask the front desk and so far 100% of the time the hotels I’ve stayed at will have a shaving kit and a toothbrush and toothpaste. I don’t live a minimalist lifestyle by any means, but when I travel with family, friends or solo I try to pack as little as possible. Sometimes no carry on, just a small backpack for a quick trip

...deodorant? Hair product? Nail clippers? Skin products? I dunno, there's a lot of normal stuff I use a hotel isn't going to have.

Deodorant yes

Hairgel I put a tiny bit in a ziplock bag because insane tsa rules care about the co rained size not the amount inside and I’ve had hair gel containers taken away before. Now I take enough for my trip in a ziplock back and that’s it.

My trips are short, have never brought nail clippers

No skin products. I just use the hotel soap

Re: 50 Years of Travel Tips

#216

Post by Ferret7446 »

simonw wrote: post #25
seer wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The one thing you _need_ to pack, apart from visa docs required for travel, is a credit/debit card. Anything you’ve missed can be purchased on location. Traveling to rural Vietnam looked daunting and dangerous for people from the EU, but once there me and the friend realized all the worrying and excessive preparation was for naught. We still forgot some things, an hour or two spent at the local shops and the problem…

My father once told me that as long as you have your passport, wallet and the name and address of where you're going everything else will work out fine. That advice has treated me well.

Nowadays, you should probably add a smartphone to that list.

Re: 50 Years of Travel Tips

#217

Post by zeroq »

crazygringo wrote: post #212
zeroq wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My counter is if you can't produce it within a day it's most likely not a necessity.

I sure has heck don't want to waste a day of my vacation shopping for something I forgot.

If I'm on vacation and I missed something it's either (a) something I can live without; (b) something that can be procured within a day if needed, which doesn't imply I have to dedicate all of that time, but rather that I will be going to town later that day or tomorrow.

Again, we're talking travel and holidays, not an expedition.

The counter examples people gave so far:

- a cable: well, maybe you don't need that cable anyway for the reminder of your 2-4 week holidays? Maybe you can occasionally borrow one at the reception or caffe? Is it a proprietary charging cable for your headphones or bike computer? Well, that's the advanture part mentioned in that article.

- clothing: trust me, local people will have exactly what you need for local weather. Getting quality or designer brands may indeed be difficult in remote places, but we're talking about an intermediate solution.

- working remote, lost computer: I know everyone tells you that the world will end if you won't meet the next deadline but that's not true. You can get a day or two off, things happen and people will understand. Meanwhile look for alternative solution, maybe a internet caffe? Talk to the staff at your hotel or local cafe, maybe someone can borrow you something for a day or two? If it's really that important, someone will ship you replacement. Again, it's the advanture part.

- medicine: this I must admit is tough one. If your life really depends on it then you simply don't forget. Sure, your luggage might get stolen but that's beyond your control and you have to cancel the trip anyway most likely. Otherwise you have the medicine in couple places, you should have a receipt and unless you're in a warzone medicine is generally available. I've been in this exact situation couple of times (Germany, UK, Ukraine, Vietnam) and I always was able to procure whatever I needed.

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