If we are moving all the time on an extended trip packing and unpacking can be challenging, especially if you have to dig for stuffs at the bottom of the pile in a backpack. And some backpacks can be opened horizontally for easy access. But of course not everybody are backpackers or will be carrying backpacks. Luggage have wheels so many would prefer that. Packing smart is essential for a stress free travel whether you are a backpacker, packaged traveler or business traveler. If we can afford to stay in luxurious hotels many creature comforts are provided so obviously bringing stuffs like towels and clothes hanger are not necessary.
And in today’s modern world to stay connected fortunately many basic hotels or hostels provide wireless or Wi-Fi connection, though due to short coverage it could mean we have to be at the lobby to make use of these hi-tech facilities. Surprisingly some high end hotels have poorer Wi-Fi connection than basic hotels or hostels and you even have to pay for this essential service. These days most travelers would not travel without that all important smartphone or tablet or ipad. Even a remote Amazon jungle lodge has Wi-Fi! But if you are heading into the jungle the most important kit is mosquito repellent, though having Wi-Fi can be a surprised.Some travel kits, gadgets or accessories are useful as gifts especially to the kids when you do community visits. I gave away stuffs like baseball cap, flashlight, rain jacket, shoulder bag, etc., to some kids that I met along the way. Not only are the kids happy but the impromptu presents free up space in my luggage for souvenirs! Those are practical stuffs and it is not recommended to give the kids sweets or chocolates as dental care in some remote villages is almost non-existent. For practical reasons I tend to shop most of my souvenirs towards the end of the trip.
What to pack? Some gadgets, gears and accessories may look obvious but sometimes we forget we do need them or pack them in. Every traveler have their own must-have travel items, but even seasoned travelers or frequent flyers sometimes forget to bring along a power adapter or pack the wrong type of adapter or not bringing enough change of clothes (or bringing too much unusable gear) thinking they can easily find or do laundry once they reached their destination. Nowadays we can easily pick up universal power adapter in many gadget stores and even in the airports shops. For some missing items we may be able to buy them locally at the places we are visiting, but at remote or under-developed places those accessories or gears may not be easily available and we also do not wish to go hunting around for things at unfamiliar places unless we have loads of time. Shopping is part of traveling and can be a fun activity and is an experience by itself especially when shopping for souvenirs. We can always grab a t-shirt or two along the way for some change of attire or as souvenirs. Be practical. Pack smart and pack light. But packing just the right amount of stuffs is easier said than done. We certainly do not wish to over-carry but on the other hand in trying to travel light we do not wish to carry too little stuffs and short of some important gears, kits or gadgets to make our journey more comfortable.
Travel kits, gadgets and accessories should be fun, compact, light and as green. The pages are themed into essential, basic, green or eco-friendly, hi-tech, novelty or unique, air travel or flight, underwater, and kits, gears and accessories suitable for kids. Many basic travel items are essential depending on destination and traveling style. And many novelty items are unique. How to travel green? Green or eco traveling has picked up in recent years so there is a page dedicated to eco-friendly travel kits, gadgets and gears. Examples of green or eco-friendly kits and gadgets include solar powered flashlight and cell phone chargers. Batteryless solar powered gadgets are useful for outdoors, camping and as emergency and survival kit. There is a page listing compact and handy solar powered gadgets and accessories.
There are eco-friendly bags, luggage and backpacks that are made from recycled plastic or fabric and t-shirts and socks made from organic cotton. And there are shampoos made from biodegradable plant materials. It is great to go camping and be outdoors wearing eco-friendly gears and using green gadgets. An airline is experimenting using used cooking oil in combination with the jet fuel to fly their planes. Airplane cabin may soon smell like fried chicken and fries! Not that I mind. Bio-diversity has taken on a new meaning. And to reduce carbon footprint it is more fuel efficient to fly direct and during summer though traveling during peak summer months and flying non-stop may not necessarily be cheaper. And you can also buy carbon credits when you book your air-tickets. There are pages and tips on how to travel the eco-friendly ways and be green while traveling.
For the techies or business travelers who must be in cyberspace or stay connected wherever they are, there are fun, cool and smart hi-tech kits, gadgets and accessories that will come in handy. High tech kits, gadgets and accessories include tablets or iPad, smartphone, ultrabook and card reader. There are also wearable devices like smartwatch that can let you send email, check Facebook or tweet and listen to music on the go. You can also download apps in it. It is strange that Apple and Samsung will soon be launching iWatch when smartwatch has been in the market for a while now. Some hotels have gone hi-tech and have iPod docking station in the guest rooms. Having wireless connection for guests is a must. Modern travelers these days carry smartphones and tablet or iPad, while those on business will usually carry a laptop. Other than checking email and Facebook, among many things we can check flight status, local weather, currency exchange rates or buy tickets and book hotels or hostels on our mobile devices. As tech gadgets have become cool and user-friendly, easy and fun to use these gizmos are not just for the young, geeky or business travelers. Many senior travelers are tech savvy and are seen carrying smartphones, e-readers and other hi-tech gadgets. Font sizes can be adjusted to various sizes. For business travelers there are now many types of ultrabooks or tablet style laptops that are lighter than the conventional laptops so carrying these heavy gadgets are no longer a chore.
Unique travel kits and accessories are simply unique, cool and fun. A few gadgets may look odd, bizarre or unusual. Unique travel kits, gadgets and accessories include mini travel fan, simple yet useful water-proof plastic pouch, foldable clothes hanger, packing cubes to separate and identify your clothes easily, dual-time wrist watch and compact DSLR grade mirrorless digital camera with Wi-Fi sharing and downloadable apps capability. So instead of carrying bulky and heavy full-frame DSLR camera this pocket size camera will come in handy. For more zoom function interchangeable lens camera kit can be bought separately. The pocket-size DSLR grade mirrorless Wi-Fi camera is probably the travel gadget for 2013. Due to its compact size mirrorless digital camera is less intrusive so more suitable for city shots as carrying bulky DSLR cameras are not recommended at some theft prone cities. Apart from smartphone, a camera is a must-have travel item. Fun travel kits include light sticks, part masks and wigs and card games to keep ourselves pccupied during long travel in the train and passing time in hostels. A smartphone loaded with games can also be fun if we wish to go to the next level and counting how many candies we can crush!
Traveling with kids has its own different needs so there is page listing some useful fun kits that may come in handy to keep the kids entertained and occupied for hours, for long road or plane trips or somewhere in-between. The types of kits, gears and accessories to bring will depend on the age of the kids. Kids travel kits include snack and play tray, toys and crafts, backpack and trolley. There are mini trolley luggage and backpacks made specially for kids. Adults love to push luggage so are the kids! There is also a page containing some basic Spanish phrase words useful for those heading to Spanish speaking countries and a list of travel guide books, maps and downloadable free travel apps. A phrase book and dictionary are very useful to bring along when visiting a place where the language is alien to us. There are booklets that we can easily carry with us. We can also get the electronic version or download apps to our smartphone. Of course it would be great if we can learn the language before leaving home so that we do not have to grapple with it when we reach there. It would be nice to be able to speak the foreign language and have some conversation with the locals.
In this internet age and the need or obsession to stay connected, top travel gadgets will be skewed towards tech gizmos such as smartphone, tablet or iPad and other tech toys. The lighter the gadgets the better. However tech traveling is not for everyone and carrying tech toys around may not be everyone’s cup of tea. What are essential for some may not be for others. There are many travelers who prefer to be as tech-light as possible so as not to be bogged down by technology and detracts from the enjoyment of travels and real human interaction. Some will enjoy looking out and watching the world go by, writing a journal or reading a book while sipping a cuppa of coffee. Though more and more folks these days will be seen holding a e-reader and they look pretty cool too. Afterall a e-reader can store lots of books electronically without the weight. But bringing technology along in our travels means carrying along the charging cables and plugs and unfortunately each device has their own type of connector so adapters may be necessary. Fortunately adapters are small and handy. Carrying shiny looking expensive gadgets indeed do have risks as sometimes they attract unwanted attention from thieves. Unless they are really necessary it is best to leave heavy laptop at home. Some also recommended not bring along tablet or iPad and instead to use hotel or hostel computers or internet cafes.
Even low-tech travel items have become more innovative. There are now lighter weight expandable luggage to squeeze every inch of space for that souvenir or two. A trolley luggage used to be two-wheels but have become four wheels just like a car. It will be difficult to escape high tech traveling because the minute we step into an airplane we will be seated in front of inflight entertainment with so many buttons and channels to choose from that it can be mind boggling. And we certainly have heard of the hi-tech dreamliner. However fanciful inflight entertainment and pillows and blanket may not be available if you are traveling in budget or low-cost carriers so you may have to bring along some comfort kit or purchase them on board.
For entertainment you can bring tablets, iPad, iPod, etc, to keep you entertained. The good old paperback can also keep you occupied. There is a page dedicated to flight kits and accessories especially for long haul or red eye flight. Even if we fly economy we certainly want to be as comfortable as possible. Flight kits and accessories such as neck pillow for head rest, eye mask and earphone for inflight entertainment will hopefully help us get to our destination fresh and jet-lag free. Airlines will provide headsets but the quality is usually not great so its good to bring our own earphone. For long haul flight full service airlines usually provide standard amenity kit consisting of small foldable soft toothbrush, mini single use toothpaste tube, sleep or eye mask, a pair of ear plugs and a pair of cheap looking socks. Some travelers collect amenity kits as souvenirs or for future travels. We can also bring our own mini toiletries to bring on board the plane or for use during transit. These days we can find may stores including the ones at the airport selling small TSA approved travel size kits that can be conveniently carried in our hand carrier. We love to carry handy mini items that we can easily throw in our luggage or carry-on but unfortunately we cannot change the size of our shoes and a spare pair of shoes, thick clothing or towel will take up the bulk of the luggage space!
The basic, essential and useful travel kits, gadgets, gears, accessories and documents are summarized in the checklist page which may be useful in your upcoming trip. This checklist is useful for all types of travelers. Some items listed may not be necessary depending on destination and traveling style. Lean packing is great if we know exactly what to bring. Apart from electronics gadgets, high-end camera kits and specialized gears, some of the best and practical travel kits, gadgets and accessories are in fact cheap low cost items which we can easily get from department stores and supermarkets.
All the travel kits essentials can be found in this website. Basic, handy, practical, high tech, novelty, unique, green or eco-friendly, kids and flights kits, accessories and gears. And there are some bizarre, unusual, cute and funny accessories, gears and gadgets that can be useful as travel gifts. This website gives travel gift ideas especially if you are looking for some unique, fun and interesting items so that the traveler will have a unique, meaningful, enriching and memorable traveling experience with a little bit of fun along the way. Travel accessories are much more than luggage tag and passport holder. All to make our travels even more interesting.
Apart from the usual shorter trips or vacation, I have a done a couple of extended traveling mostly in South America, staying in hostels, budget hotels and occasionally in tents, speciality lodges and homestay with local hosts. I do splurge in luxurious hotels but these are few and far in-between. All these provide different traveling experiences and I cherish them all.
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