don’t leave home without it!
My new neighbors really like each other. You know, like that. You can hear their, um, liking through the walls in three the rooms in my apartment. They are nothing if not enthusiastic. So, the other night when it became clear that I wasn’t going to actually fall asleep while they were going at it, I went into my closet and dug out my travel kit. Come to me, ear plugs!
Anyway, it got me thinking that I should probably share the contents of that kit. From Scotland to Italy, that kit helped me travel (and sleep!) comfortably in all kinds of situations. In fact, along with the necessary toiletries, I don’t leave home without it.
The obvious:
Ear plugs. The budget traveler’s best friend. Hostel dorms are full of all kinds of sounds at night - snoring, coughing, talking, cell phones. Most traveler’s are very respectful, but even so, you’ll want these. I use ‘em on airplanes and trains, too. Or for sleepovers.
Face mask. Keeps the light out, duh. Because it’s not always conveniently night time when you need to catch a few z’s. Also good for sending the signal that you are not interested in the in-flight “meal” (seriously, remember when they used to feed you?) and want to be left alone. Ooh, and if you fly Jet Blue on the red-eye, they give you one for free!
The not-so-obvious:
Mini flashlight. Mine’s an itty-bitty LCD light from Target.
Band-aids & mole skin. Travel sometimes means lots of walking in uncomfortable shoes.
Handi-wipes. Shout wipes. Travel is unpredictable and messy.
Extra hair elastic. A couple of cough drops. Mini-roll of Rolaids.
Packet of Immodium caplets. Packet of Advil. Packet of Tylenol PM.
I know it sounds like a buncha stuff, but mine all fits in a six inch zipper pouch that I toss in my purse. Easy peasy.
Do you have anything you can’t leave home without?
Ear plugs, YES! My neighbours like each other so much they’re trying to make mini neighbours at all hours of the night and day.
Instead of a mini flashlight, I wear one of those headband flashlight thingys. Like a miner’s hat but without the hard hat bit.
Tide-to-go pen.
Shower cap.
Travel toothpaste - the flat foil package kind. Because I always forget to pack the regular tube!
-chapstick
-hair clip
-one time use eye glass cleaner (Lenscrafters will usually give you a box for free when you buy glasses)
-hand sanitizer
-Listerine strips
-Safety pin
-Immodium - You said this one and I give it a second! You’ll thank us the time you need it and have it available.
-Other random assortment of drugs (no not that kind)….allergy, pain, etc.
My travel kit has all of the above PLUS a mini-sewing kit (lost a button once, never again) and those band-aids with the antibiotic ointment already on them.
And plain dental floss. The little sample sized one you get from your dentist every visit. I find that when I can’t brush my teeth, if I can floss for some reason my mouth feels cleaner. That and (plain) floss is excellent for things like cutting cheese.
I think my travel kit may be a little bigger than yours but it does have all of these things you (and others) mentioned (except the face mask) plus a pillow case. I don’t know, I just like having my own pillow case when I travel. I put it on the hotel pillow. I know it is strange but, for some reason, the smell of the soap that some hotels use on their linens is very distracting to me at night.
Most of the above, plus those travel packs of the face wipes, dramamine, a toothbrush and toothpaste, and a nail file.
And unwaxed dental floss comes in handy for many reasons. I’ve used it as a clothes line. Seriously.
My travel kit has everything your’s does plus Off bug wipes and Emergen-C, which usually helps deal with a hangover.
One thought on the immodium - best not to take it if you have food poisoning…it just keeps the bacteria in you longer, wreaking greater havoc. I always have a nail clipper with me, too..and gum! (never know when you’ll run into a cute foreigner).
I second (or third) the dental floss. Just in case you are still in doubt over it’s use, here are a list of some of the uses I’ve found for it over years of travelling:
- Of course flossing teeth- never neglect your gums!
- hanging up mosquito nets
- sewing closed a hole in mosquito nets and window fly screens
- hanging laundry
- tying wet clothes to the outside of a moving vehicle to dry
- tying back my hair once after losing all hairbands
- wrapping tightly around a piece of plastic bag to seal a leaky air-conditioner hose dripping water incessantly onto the floor.
- cutting cheese (as Shana said)
- improvising a kite out of a plastic shopping bag and floss to amuse curious village kids in Nepal
- tying my room key around my neck in a dodgy communal shower in rural India
- Joining my sandals back together after they broke one hour in to a 15 hour bus trip.
- Holding a fan’s electrical up out of a pool of rising water on the floor in the monsoon in East Timor….
Good god, the list goes on. Needless to say, I always carry dental floss, and the beauty of it is that it is so small yet so versatile.
Oh and I always carry my own sterile syringes when travelling in developing countries- you don’t want to get caught in an accident without them and end up at a clinic that doesn’t have any clean ones (though this is rarer and rarer these days, it is still a possibility, and was definitely more common when I started travelling seriously 8 years ago).
Wow, all my travels and I never considered dental floss. Bandannas are super useful, tie back your hair, or use it as a towel in bathrooms with no paper. Also, a packet of tissues whether for your nose, or again, for bathrooms. Public restrooms in Japan and other Asian countries rarely have tp.
A very interesting blog post. What would you say was the most common problem?
There is apparently a lot for me to study outside of my books. Thanks for the fantastic read,
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