PREPARE FOR A LONG ROUND THE WORLD TRIP (PART 4: GOODS)
By: Sergey Lovchev
Tags: Travel, Stuff, Planning, World

Looking ahead I must say that it is quite difficult and sometimes impossible to buy specific goods on the way. Only generic stuff like clothing and shoes could be found everywhere. That is why I urge you to think very well what stuff is important, consider it as critical, and take it from home or buy in advance. Take into account airlines typical baggage allowance: 7kg for hand luggage and 23kg for checked baggage.

Below are listed some not quite obvious items to take.

Bags

Big army bag or travel backpack (severity: critical; dates: T, D — 7)

Remember that the allowance mentioned above includes the bag. Typical big suitcases are about 5–7kg which reduces effective load noticeable. An army bag is the lightest big bag possible. Mine is 1.5kg only. Avoid putting fragile items inside, or wrap them properly. Of course, you must be fit enough to carry 23kg on your back.

Lightweight big suitcase (severity: critical; dates: T, D — 7)

Another solution is to buy a lightweight suitcase to eliminate drawbacks mentioned above. They are about 3.5kg, and worth the cost.

Waterproof backpacks for hand-luggage (severity: critical; dates: T, D — 7)

That is a light and spacious bag in contrary to wheeled plastic suitcases for the same purpose.

Various

Light umbrella or rain suits (severity: normal, dates: T, D — 7)

Typical umbrellas are heavy. Maybe it is a good moment to buy a durable lightweight one. Or get a light cheap rain suit.

Sticky notes and pencil (severity: high, dates: T, D — 7)

Oh, this helps to understand each other in foreign countries so much! Also, this is a good way to keep your smartphone in a pocket, not in your hands.

Photo-camera (severity: critical, dates: T, D — 7)

I personally do not consider a smartphone as a good way to take pictures of colourful views, and take pictures in difficult conditions (such as low light, fast movement). May be not important for you.

Water/sand-proof case for camera (severity: critical, dates: R, D — 7)

Underwear (severity: critical, dates: R, D — 7)

On the one hand, less to carry, easier to move. On the other hand, to save time we prefer to wash approximately once a week. Moreover, underwear is not the biggest contributor in our baggage.

Power bank (severity: critical; dates: T, D — 7)

Must have. Additionally, can replace a car USB charger where there is no USB ports in a rented vehicle.

Sport mats and clothes (severity: critical; dates: T, D — 7)

You will not visit your favourite gym for many months, however nothing can stop you from doing some exercises to stay healthy and be in a good shape.

Travel pillows (severity: high; dates: T, D — 7)

It seems to be a hard fact that (well designed) travel pillows really help to alleviate discomfort of sleeping while seated. During the trip there will be many such occasions, so help your body to have a more or less proper sleep. There are a number of excellent pillows at the market. They are quite different as they are designed for different people. Pick one that suits you.

Good kitchen knife (severity: high; dates: T, D — 7)

We normally cook for ourselves when we travel, as this is significantly cheaper and healthier than dining out. There are some knifes everywhere, of course. As an owner of good knifes I can say that cooking is significantly faster and easier with a sharp knife. Available nowhere.

Sunglasses (severity: high; dates: T, D — 7)

Absolutely must have not only to protect eyes from hard UV in equatorial countries, but also from dust when riding on a tuk-tuk or scooter.

MacBook Air 11” with SSD 64GB or more (severity: critical; dates: T, D — 7)

Small, light, cheap and durable laptop. Many tasks on the Internet cannot be done using a smartphone or tablet still. A backup storage for photos as well.

Portable speaker (severity: high; dates: T, D — 7)

Initially we were going to use the laptop to listen to music when doing sports or watching films. But its sound turned out to be so “plastic” that I bought a small Bluetooth speaker, and rather happy about it.

Currency converter (severity: normal; dates: T, D — 7)

Despite I am good at mental arithmetic after just a couple of countries it becomes tiresome to convert prices. My favourite is Currency by Jeffrey Grossman for great UI and offline mode.

Sticky tape (severity: high; dates: T, D — 7)

Helps to pack and fix small holes.

Trash bags (severity: normal; dates: T, D — 7)

One more useful, cheap and simple thing for packing.

Maybe 3G/4G mobile Wi-Fi router (severity: critical; dates: T, D — 7)

Depending on how many devices are used outdoors (out of home Wi-Fi connection) for Internet access, this cheap device may save noticeable amount of money. It is significantly cheaper to buy one SIM only with many Gigs included than two or more SIMs with only a few Gigs allowance each.

Base set for arts/hobby (severity: critical; dates: T, D — 7)

That is my thing. In order to continue art lessons, a very limited set of tools for drawing and painting was selected, including a special travel easel.

It is a long trip, why not use this time for self-development?

USB chargers

List devices (severity: critical; dates: T, R)

First or all, build a list of USB-powered devices that you will have to charge. Assess realistically how many of them will be normally attached simultaneously. As a result, you will realise how many ports are needed.

A pair of high-power USB chargers (severity: critical; dates: T, D — 7)

The quality of mains will vary. What will you do if your sole charger burns out? Cost and weight of an extra charger is not worth the risk. However, if you travel with a laptop, consider it as a charger.

Taking into account that you will charge multiply devices simultaneously, choose a charger that supplies at least 1A per port. At the moment my favourite models are Splaks USB Charger 40W and BlitzWolf BW-S6.

Electricity

List devices (severity: critical; dates: T, R)

First of all make a list of wall-powered devices that you need. Assess realistically how many of them will be normally attached simultaneously. As a result, you will realise how many power sockets are needed.

Wall sockets (severity: critical; dates: R, R + 7)

Next, using the draft route Google for standard power sockets in the countries on the list. This will give you an idea of what types of plug adapters are necessary. These are simple physical adapters that have one layout of input holes (to plug your devices into the adapter), and another layout of output pins (to plug the adapter into a wall socket).

Voltage (severity: high; dates: R, R + 7)

Unfortunately, there are more aspects to check: voltage and frequency. The thing is that some countries use ~220V, some ~120V; regardless voltage frequency can be 50Hz or 60Hz (http://www.school-for-champions.com/science/ac_world_volt_freq_list.htm). You need to check information provided on your power adapters that they support the standard of every country you are going to visit. If they don’t, you have to replace the adapter, or not use that device. Alternatively, you can buy a power converter, but they are heavy and expensive.

Why is severity not critical? Fortunately, vast majority of modern power adapters support typical combinations of voltage (100–250) and frequency (50–60). Of course, you have to check them before plugging in another country. In our case only my rather old hair trimmer had a 220V-only power adapter.

Power boards (severity: critical, dates: T, D — 7)

Now, if more then 2 wall sockets will be in use regularly, the best idea is to take a small power board.

Plug adapters (severity: critical, dates: R, D — 7)

Anyway, for every wall socket you need a plug adapter (based on the list compiled previously). There are two general options: a set of one-to-one adapters (e.g. Type I to Type A, Type I to Type F and Type I to Type G) or a universal adapter (e.g. Type I to Types A, F, G). I personally prefer one-to-one solid quality adapters (e.g. Korjo) to reduce fire risk. Sadly, universal adapters usually of low quality, bulky and heavy (impossible to have good cohesion in a wall socket). Up to you, of course.