The questions of any discerning traveller; what may/may not be needed in 5 months of travelling/living abroad? What will be accessible to me once I arrive in my destination? What sort of goodies/emergency products are necessary for travelling?
Well, these deep philosophical questions that one could wax poetic ad nauseam about (see what I did there?), but the reality is that it’s the most practical things that I need. The easiest thing to pack is obviously clothes. You don’t want to be invited to a dinner for lottery winners in order to claim your prize and realize you forgot socks. Likewise, you don’t want to walk into the dirtiest, cruddiest shit covered hostel of your life and discover you don’t have hand sanitizer. So, what did I bring? Nothing especially exceptional, given the climate of Australia; t-shirts, shorts, polos, jeans, dress pants, hoodies. Other important products? Hygiene essentials (soap, shampoo, deodorant, toothbrush, toothpaste, electric shaver, nail clipper, lip balm, moisturizer), Linens (towels), Medical (Advil, allergy pills, band-aids, topical antibiotic), Shoes (Sandals, Flippy Floppies, Vans Slip-Ons, Sneakers), the usual.
However, living in an unfamiliar place requires the consideration of things that I would probably be passed over if I didn’t have a moment of serious thought on my toilet and write down potential needs. For example, if I land and need to do laundry in the first week, and don’t have time to go to the store, what will I do? If I break my glasses after getting into a fisticuffs with an indigenous life form, what will I do? Oh crap! I’m going to this place for school; I’ll probably need to bring some school supplies/know where to get them. Staples or Business Depot don’t exist in Australia!? What about my contacts, visa information, health insurance, etc. etc. I’ll probably need a pillow too… who knows where I’ll be sleeping (a pretty terrifying question for mothers everywhere!)…
Another really important consideration is whether or not you have enough of the local currency to get you by. Most banks in Canada don’t hold too much exotic currency. You normally have to wait a week or two while the bank orders the currency from its main reserves. Me, being quite forgetful, realized this yesterday and hence am going into Australia with a $50 bill of local money. But! Luckily, since I’ll be stopping by in Hong Kong, I plan on hitting up a bank and changing over some of my money. I also brought a decent amount of traveller’s cheques and Hong Kong money so I won’t be completely destitute while visiting family/being a traveller.
With this day and age, technology is pretty much more important than breathing, less important then a college degree (Bazinga!). Since everyone who needs to do any form of work needs access to a computer, one must definitely need to bring along with them a laptop. But of course, not everyone loves North American plugs as much we do. I managed to pickup a universal plug from my local CAA (Canadian Automotive Association) so I can travel and plug in my laptop without worrying about separation anxiety from the fluorescent glow of my computer screen. My sister got me an iTouch for Christmas, (as well as this nifty bag which was a talking point everytime I rode the bus in Hamilton! http://www.thinkgeek.com/computing/bags/817c/images/1591/ ), which has actually been a lifesaver for me. I was able to compile all my contacts and addresses in one location and keep updating it and have it readily accessible. I’ll explain the process of picking up a phone and internet connection once I reach Australia, as I only have a general idea of what to do. I’m not a professional and have no idea what I’m doing, so bear with my amateurish-ness at blogging/informing you of nothing in particular.
The point is that packing for travels for long periods of time is pretty tedious, but I managed to solve all these dilemmas by thinking through what I absolutely could not pickup on the way, or I needed immediately. It turns out after packing; everything I needed conveniently fit in one large suitcase.
BUT wait! Osama bin Laden and his cronies are trying to ruin the things in the modern world that make everything easy and convenient, and throw a wrench coated in vitriolic hate to slow down and impede your travel plans.
Everything you need has to fit into your suitcase. It also has to weigh less than 50 lbs per bag, and if you REALLY need it, has to fit within certain dimensions. Oh and no liquids! Really these restrictions aren’t too much of an inconvenience, although things to remember when packing.
Another important thing when travelling is to remember to bring things to trade with the indigenous population with, as currency is often frowned upon in exchanges as it is menial, common, and done with little to no thought.For example! When asking friends (or friends of friends, of friends) for helping, it’s best to greet them with some gifts from your homeland. You also have to remember that you're family/friends will use you as a mule to transport goodies to distant relatives and people you've never met.
My flight plan also coincides with Chinese New Year, which was both a pain and kind of interesting. It was a pain because all the flights in and out of Hong Kong were completely booked, as extremely frugal Chinese decide to skip town to avoid dishing out those beloved-by-children-and-unmarried-singles red pockets. If you’re Chinese you’ll understand, otherwise google/Wikipedia what I mean. It’s also interesting because as part of that tradition, I’m responsible for bringing some interesting “presents with me”. This picture should explain…
Since I'm techno-retarded, this picture doesn't really do justice to what I'm bringing across the ocean. Of course, it's actually not really a big deal transporting goodies, and I'm joking about having to bring this stuff over (Not about the gifts, I’m actually bringing about 4 lbs of dried sausage with me in my luggage). I’m more than happy to accommodate gifts/presents for people, especially those who have been so kind as to help me find a place to stay, inform me of communication options and basically watching out for me when I’ve never met them before, and only have the word of friends to vouch. A small gift here and there is a tiny bit of appreciation for the time put into helping someone they’ve never met or spoke too before find a place.
Well, I leave in approximately 12 hours. Tomorrow means going to Tim Hortons (and probably Starbucks) and doing some last minute errands, while at the same time being both super stoked/terrified of travelling alone. The next post will be in Hong Kong, 12 hours into the future. If Apple and Google merge to form the soul-sucking-apocalypse machine that ends the world, I’ll warn you guys ahead of time.
Best,
Rick
Bingo, Asians. They pack light, travel efficiently, and they have a thing for slip on shoes. Gotta love 'em.
- George Clooney as Ryan Bingham [on getting through airport security]
Up in the Air
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