Be well- prepared for travel!

Image Copyright Navjot Singh

Apart from the normal travel checklist which everyone has to tick prior to their journey, (Vaccinations, Visas, Currency exchange and Hotel booking etc.), you’d be surprised to know the large number of people who, while maintaining that they are indeed clean and correct, tend to easily forget or just don’t bother to take certain essential products on long haul trips (irrespective if its for business or pleasure). Now while the following may all seem like common sense (and it is), people do sometimes brush these aside believing “they will never require them”, so, here are a few personal recommendations from my own experience – I, for one, have got into a routine habit of taking them wherever I go in the world, and it doesn’t weight more than half a kilogram! (Please note this is just my personal two cents of advice, whether you take it is up to you, of course!):

• Water proof antiseptic bandages (especially if you are going to take part in Sports
• Recommend you take your own towel (while Hotel towels may be clean, there is always the unpleasant thought that a lot of people have used the same towel before you, and especially in places where the Hotel/Hostel may not be of a luxury quality!) 
• Recommend you take any Rehydration Tablets (for Diarrhoea and vomiting), a decent factor ”Sun cream/spray” and a good quality “Insect Repellant”- this is true for most tropical places, and also places where the water quality is not deemed acceptable (though on that note it goes without saying that Water should be boiled before drinking and ice-cubes should be avoided at all costs- even in five star hotels!)
• Basic First Aid like Paracetamol or any cough relief tablets.
• Recommend you take your own Shower gel, Shampoo, Toothpaste, Shaving Cream and Tooth brush (Hotel kits may be acceptable, however, in some places even a no-frills kit from Asda is better off!)
• For long haul flights, a mouthwash or strong mints are recommended (but then again, 99% of passengers probably don’t brush their teeth between the two meals served on a, say, 12 hour flight)
• On long haul flights, to counteract the lack of moisture and protect from bad smell/germs, most people use moisture cream or aftershave (men) on their face (or even Olive Oil extracts…this does work).
• Perhaps even take a small pillow for long haul travel- a seat recline of 31 inch (32 inch on some airlines) is not really comfortable for any flight over 11 hours.
  

The following is essential for travelling in places like China, India and other countries where the definition of a toilet is a “Hole in the ground”:

Now, imagine you have been sight seeing on a ridiculously hot, humid and sticky day, and when nature calls you come across a “toilet” which is essentially no more than just a hole in the ground with no tissue paper, no water to clean the unmentionable parts and no soap; or even worse if there is no toilet for miles- then you will know what I mean! On the whole I try to avoid using public toilets at all costs (anywhere in the world), however when nature calls, options can be limited as mentioned above! While travelling anywhere in the world, no matter where I go, I always take a bottle of water, plenty of tissue paper, liquid soap and hygiene wipes. Amusing as it may sound while reading this, you can only thank yourself for being so well prepared! Basically, the reasons for all these preparations are simple: you want to arrive back home in the same clean and healthy way in which you left prior to your trip- and thankfully (touch wood), I have never been sick abroad, ever. All the mentioned products don’t cost much, and they don’t weight much either.