Now lets talk about packing……

I have always heard the adage…..put out everything that you want to pack and then put half of it back!!  Every time I start packing I think this but have yet to actually do it.  AND, I have yet to go on a trip where I didn’t think that I took too much stuff!!!

In today’s world, it is even more important to keep the weight of the suitcases down to avoid excess baggage charges at the airport.  And for this trip to China, we have to keep the weight down to 40 pounds….the maximum allowed on internal Chinese flights.

We have recently invested in suitcases that have four rollers rather than two.   We used one that belonged to a friend and found it to be so much easier to travel with…..this trip will be  a good test.  It is also good to update your suitcases before a big trip.  The newer ones are so much lighter and easier to maneuver.

Fortunately most of our trips have not been in the Winter, so I haven’t had to worry a lot about taking bulky coats, however we have had some trips that crossed over the seasons.  We have learned to pack and dress in layers so that we can feel comfortable in all temperatures.

For this upcoming trip, we will be in an area where temperatures stay in the 70’s and lower 80’s.  SO…. I am planning to take lightweight skirts and  dresses, 2 pair of pants, 1 pair of Capri’s  and 6-8 shirts.  Because we will probably have some dinners out with “dignitaries”, I will also take a lightweight dressy black jacket that can be paired with skirt or pants.  I have found that Jersey type fabrics pack better.  Some are really heavy and I try to stay away from those, but many are lightweight and wrinkle free.

Since we may have the opportunity to visit some less developed areas, I will probably take one pair of jeans.

I will also bring a lightweight rain jacket (Northface) and a fleece jacket (Columbia).  

Now for shoes…..I am addicted to Flip-Flops and sandals.  My favorite for sightseeing are Chacos…….

For me, they fit comfortably, give wonderful support to my feet and legs, and allow me to walk for miles each day. 

I also carry a pair of plain old Reef’s…..

The last two pairs that I will take are a pair of dressy sandals and a pair of tennis shoes.

That sounds like a lot of shoes, but at least they are mostly small and dont take a lot of room or weight in a suitcase.

 

It is important to know the customs of the countries that you are visiting.  For instance, in India, women should not have bare shoulders and skirts should be below the knee.  So for that trip, I took mostly Capri’s.  There we also needed to be able to easily remove shoes since most houses were “shoe free” zones.

In the past I have not taken a travel iron, but am going to look for one this week.  We found that many overseas hotels will not give you an iron in your hotel room so I am hoping to circumvent this by bringing my own.  It is not for my clothes as much as for Michaels.  He has to dress in a business casual style which normally requires a bit of an  ironing touch-up.  This is the iron that I have been looking at……it has dual voltage which means that you dont have to use a converter with it.

We have learned to pack all of the liquid items (Shampoo, mouthwash, etc) inside gallon size Zip-Loc bags and have avoided a few disasters by doing so.  We do the same for toothpaste, deodorants and antibiotic creams.

Speaking of medicines, we each take at least one round of Antibiotics with us.  Our Doctor prescribes a basic one that will ward off stomach bacteria as well as respiratory infections.    These have come in handy more than once!!!

Michael and I both take a selection of vitamins and non-prescription pills each day.  My solution for carrying those (without having to carry huge bottles)  is to buy tiny zip-loc bags (the kind used for beads)  and to put one night’s pills into each bag.   We carry our prescription meds in the original bottles and always carry those onto the plane rather than checking them.

When we pack, we normally have one suitcase for my clothes and one for Michael’s.  However, we always put at least one complete outfit in the other persons bag.  That way, if one of us loses our luggage, we have at least one clean outfit to wear.  By the way, our bags have been lost numerous times and have always shown up within 24 hours…..a bit inconvenient, but not debilitating.

Finally, when we are traveling to countries whose food is completely different from ours, I have learned to pack a small jar of peanut butter.  If worse comes to worse, you can always buy a small package of bread or crackers, spread on some peanut butter and have a nourishing meal!!!!

OK…that is about it for the suitcases…..

 

In the last post, I talked about the electronics that we take when we are traveling overseas for longer periods of time.  In this post, I want to talk about getting around in a foreign country.

Fortunately, our first trips were to English speaking countries so we were able to figure out our procedures while speaking our native language.  Here are some things that we have learned……

The first question is “how do we get local money”……we no longer purchase local currency before we leave the US.  The exchange rates and fees are very expensive and it simply hasn’t been worth it.  Instead, we head for an ATM in the arrival airport and get our first cash there.  We have yet to be in any country that hasn’t had multiple ATM’s in the airport.  We only carry a minimum of US dollars and NEVER carry traveler’s checks.  Many countries have no idea how to handle them!!

Before you leave home, it is important to decide how you will pay for your trip…both  for cash withdrawals and purchases of goods and services.  Be sure to check with your credit card company and also your local bank debit card to see how fees will be charged.  We discovered that the fees were double when we used the credit card so we now only use our bank debit card.

Only carry a Mastercard and/or Visa…..American Express, Discover and other cards are not regularly recognized.

For security, we each carry two cards….one bank debit card and one credit card.  AND, the credit cards are for two different accounts.  That way, if one of us loses our wallet, we still have credit cards that will work…….Trust me, we learned this one the hard way!!!!

Also, it is important to contact your bank or credit card company and tell them that you will be using the card overseas during the specified period.  If you don’t pre-authorize these withdrawals or payments, your card could be frozen.  And again, ask me how I know this!!!!

Ok…you are ready for your first foray into the unknown land.  The first thing that you want to do is write down the address of the apartment, house or hotel that you are staying in.   If you are staying in a hotel, write down the phone number as well.  This way, WHEN (not “if”) you get badly lost, you can ask for directions or, as a worse case scenario, hail a taxi and get a lift back to your temporary home.

Our favorite saying while traveling is….”Well, we are lost…..but we are lost in _____”(Rome, Paris, London, Bangalore, Kunming, Porto…..you get the idea)!!

 

When I step out into a foreign city, I always carry one bag/purse that holds everything that I need…

….my wallet with a driver’s license (for ID), credit cards and cash  (leave everything else at home…..your library card or coffee house punch card wont work here)

….cell phone

….a map of the city

……my reading glasses (so that I can read the map!!!)….actually these normally reside on TOP of my head and not in my purse.

….camera with extra batteries and flip video

….lightweight rain jacket and compact umbrella

….sheer scarf (for throwing over my shoulders if I am entering temples or churches that require more modest attire)…..I purchased mine for $5 from Walmart and I fold it over about 4 times and then tie it into a knot.  It resides comfortably in the corner of my purse until I need it (mine is white)….

AND….most importantly…..

….a small notebook and pen so that I can take notes about everything that I see.  I normally buy a Mead notebook that is about 6×9 and has a wire binder.

I carry a small “click” type pen that will fit down into the spiral of the notebook.  I do not carry pens with removable caps because that is one more thing for me to lose!!!

I try to find a purse that fits comfortably over my shoulder but doesn’t hang down too far.  I like to be able to clamp my elbow down on top of the purse while I am out.  This makes it much harder for a pickpocket to do his worst!!!  I also try to carry a wallet that will fit into an interior zip pocket of the purse.  That way you have two types of protection for your valuable assets.   I do not normally carry a backpack, but if I am carrying one in crowded areas, I put it on my chest rather than my back.  It is simply too easy for someone to get his hand into your pack while you are busy looking at a local sight.  I also tried carrying a messenger bag,  but it was too bulky for easy carrying.  I try to carry bags that are black or another neutral color….I don’t want my bag to be the first thing that people notice about this lost tourist!!!!

If the country is not English speaking, I carry a VERY small dictionary or other book to help me if absolutely necessary.   In China, I am making flash cards with about twenty phrases written on one side in Chinese characters and then in English and also spelled phonetically on the back.  I will see if this helps or not!!!

If I am needing a travel guide, I tend to tear out the pages that I will need for that day and not carry the entire book.  Most of them are TOO big!!!  As an aside,  I think that Rick Steves’ puts out the most informative book, especially for European countries.

When I got on to Amazon to find this picture,  I  realized that you can purchase these guides for Kindle so that would be an easy way to have the guide without it taking up too much space or weight!!!

I love cities that have Metro systems.  They are normally easy to navigate and you always know where you are going to end up.  Not so with busses as they can turn ANY and EVERY direction!!!!

OK….enough for now…..more to come

Over the years we have had the opportunity to spend long periods of time in other countries.  Most of these trips have been 3 to 8 weeks in length, and we are currently preparing for 5 weeks in China.

Several people have asked me exactly how you go about traveling for such a long period of time.  Since we are in the process of preparing for another trip, I thought I would keep a list of the things we do and tips that I have……

Since I am a HUGE technology geek, lets start with that part of our travels….

Michael and I both travel with a computer.  His is for working (since most of these trips are work related for him).  I carry mine so that I can keep easy contact with my clients and, more importantly, my trip diary, photos, Facebook and Blogs!!!!

Since we are traveling to China this time, I have purchased and installed a Virtual Private Network (VPN).  I dont understand exactly how this all works, but when I sign onto the internet using the VPN, it acts as if my computer is located in Atlanta, GA rather than in a coffee shop in Kunming China.    This is important because China blocks Google, all related Google products (blogspot etc)  and social networking sites such as Facebook.   Also, I pay bills online thru my bank and using the VPN makes it nearly impossible for someone at the coffee shop to steal my personal information.

We also use our computers for communication with friends and family in the US.  Our favorite feature is SKYPE.  If you have never used it, SKYPE allows you to have a face-to-face video chat for free….no matter where the two of you are located.    It will also allow you to make international phone calls to landlines for only 2.3 cents per minute.  This is the method that I use to contact our Mothers (who do not have computers ) and also to make other necessary phone calls.

We also set our SKYPE account  to forward to our cell phone (more about that below) so that if someone called my SKYPE account and my computer was not connected, the call was forwarded to my local cell phone. 

Now SKYPE works great if you have internet in a hotel or other quiet place.  The problem comes when you are using it in a crowded internet cafe….you dont want everyone to hear all of your conversations and frankly the other occupants dont WANT to hear your conversation either!!   So, I pulled out the bluetooth headset that I bought for my cell phone, and low and behold, I found that I can sync it to my computer.   Then when I use SKYPE, all of the  incoming conversation goes thru my headset and I can speak quietly into the headset and it is easy for the listener to hear.

NOW, about phones…….if you use your standard Cell phone in a foreign country, it will normally cost over $1.00 per minute.  We have paid as much as 1.95 per minute!!!!   For a long trip, that is just not acceptable.  So, we have learned to purchase prepaid SIM cards for the country that we are visiting and use those for our phone calls (mostly local since we use SKYPE for international).   In order to do this you need to purchase an “unlocked” phone or get your Cell Carrier to unlock your phone.  (Not all companies will do this and not all phones can be unlocked).   Once you have this unlocked phone, you can put the SIM card in and that phone will now have a local (Italian, Chinese, etc) telephone number.   Michael and I each carry a phone and use this mostly for keeping in contact with each other while we are separated in the countries.  It is also nice for our hosts to be able to reach us using a local number.  You can normally use these phones to make international calls as well, however the rates vary greatly from country to country.   When we were in England, our card allowed us to make calls to the US for 9 cents per minute!!!

For this trip we are adding two other pieces of technology.   Michael purchased a Kindle so that he doesn’t have to carry 5+ books with him for the month.  So far he has enjoyed reading from it and we are anxious to see how it goes for this trip.

I also have purchased a Portable Hard Drive to use in backing up my photos.  It is about the size of a small notebook and will hold LOTS of data.  As I take photos, I will download them onto my computer, download them onto Michael’s computer, back them up to the hard drive and then erase them from my camera card.  The only way that we can lose them is if BOTH computers AND the hard drive are stolen or lost….hopefully not a scenario that we have to worry about.

I obviously carry a camera.  I know that there are tons of smaller ones around, but I LOVE my Olympus SLR!!!!

I have three batteries for my camera and have labeled them 1, 2 and 3.  I start out with all of them charged and with battery number 1 in the camera.  When it dies, I put battery number 2 in.  When I get back to home base (hotel or apartment) I re-charge Battery number 1 and put it back into my bag.  I found that if I used them in order, I would never have trouble figuring out which one needed to be recharged, and by having three, there is always an extra one floating around for emergencies.  By the way, I bought the two extra batteries online for $8 each!!!

Finally, I carry a Flip Video Camera.  It is wonderful because it is VERY small and VERY inconspicuous when you are trying to surreptitiously video some scene!!  I also like that it plugs straight into your computer and videos are super easy to upload and edit!!

 

Last, but not least you have to carry all of the cords for each of these devices.  Many of them can be charged from your computer which means that you dont have to carry a big plug with you as well.

When you travel to foreign countries, you need to carry plug adapters that are appropriate for the countries that you are visiting.  Most of the electronics shown above do not require that the voltage be adjusted (which would require a converter), but simply that the plug be modified to fit into the local sockets.  These are normally purchased in sets that have all needed adapters.  We now have several sets so that we have several plugs for whichever country we are visiting…..

Next installment……getting around……

 

Here I am in London…….

 

Here I am in Portugal……

In Australia……

In China…….

Now, there is ONE thing that is the same in each of these photos….that’s right, the brown bag.  It has been a wonderful travel bag as it easily holds all of my paraphernalia such as camera, Flip Video Camera, notebook, umbrella, rain jacket, etc.

BUT, I am now officially tired of having EVERY overseas photo of me contain that particular bag.

Since we are getting ready to spend 7 weeks in Italy,  I did some searching online and found a pattern for a bag that I wanted to make.  I dutifully bought the fabric, zippers, clasps and other bits and pieces.  This week I cut out all of the bits, fused some of the interfacing and got ready to sew.

THEN, my daughter said….”why dont you just buy a Messenger Bag”….it would probably have everything that you want, plus it has an adjustable strap that can be worn across your chest or shortened as a purse.   Dont you just hate it when your daughter is right????

Last night I found this bag on Amazon and I really like it.  It is not as colorful as the one I was going to make, but it might be better to have something that blends into the background rather than one that stands out and says “Steal me”!!

It arrives on Monday and if it isn’t what I want, I will probably be out of time and have to resort to the old brown bag…..oh well, there are some good memories associated with it!!!!

So much for trying to do some sewing!!!!