Travel essentials for overseas trips!
I returned to normal life this week after spending an incredible three weeks in Japan and I super wanted to write a travel essentials blog before I left but I'm really glad I left it until I was back! I've only travelled overseas three times so I'm definitely not a seasoned traveller. This time I tried to be more conscious about what I was packing. I still ended up bringing a lot of stuff that I didn't need, but I feel like I learnt some very valuable lessons on what I should bring with me the next time I travel overseas. All of this stuff is kind of self explanatory but it's just stuff I didn't think about bringing on past overseas trips.
- A powerbank!
This is like super mega ultra important. We were using our phones for navigation, looking up vegetarian friendly food places, opening and closing times of stores or places we were going, and for translating food packaging and other things we wanted to read. I had my camera with me on the trip, but on days I didn't bring my camera I would use my phone for taking photos too.
A powerbank will also come in handy if you're on a long flight or you're taking a long train while in your travel destination. We spent six hours travelling between Tokyo and Hiroshima and we were all using our devices to keep occupied. I downloaded A LOT of My Favourite Murder before I left to listen to on the flight over and on the longer train trips, and June downloaded Twin Peaks to watch together. Make sure you pack your own earphones if you're fussy about them (which I am) because it will save you from using the ones provided on your flight!
- Multiple travel adaptors & a power board
Make sure you bring more than one power adaptor when you travel. We forgot to bring adaptors when we went to the Philippines last year and it was a disaster. We couldn't find them ANYWHERE in shops. Our aunt had one power board which was compatible with Australian plugs so we were able to charge our devices but it made it very inconvenient and prevented us from doing basic things (like drying or straightening our hair!)
A power board will make your life simpler if you're bringing multiple devices (I had my phone, tablet, camera, and FitBit) because you can charge them all at once instead of switching them out. It will take up a lil extra room in your bag but it'll be totally worth it. I personally did not bring one this trip, but my sister and her bf did and I kicked myself for not thinking of it. Also, when you're picking your power adaptors try to pick one that isn't bulky so that you can make smart use of available powerpoints wherever you're staying. I brought two universal adaptors and they are very bulky.
- Pocket wifi (to be hired in your destination country)
A lot of Airbnb's in Japan will have portable pocket wifis which they will allow you to use and take outside of the accommodation. I'm not sure if this is common to other countries too! We also hired one for the entire duration of the trip so we would always have internet access while there. This was mostly for navigation purposes and so that we were able to find each other if we split up (one couple with the accomm wifi and one couple with the group wifi). It makes all of the difference to feeling safe and comfortable being able to still access the internet in a foreign place.
An alternative to this would be to get a sim card for the country you're travelling to, but as none of us were going to be making any calls while there it didn't make as much sense to us!
- Comfortable shoes
I made the mistake of bringing $4 kmart shoes the last time we went to Japan and I hated myself so much. My legs were in so much pain every day. This time I brought real proper actual shoes which were suitable for a lot of walking and it made such a huge difference. My legs didn't hurt the whole trip. It was the best thing I've ever done probably.
- Pocket tissues
This one stems again from our trip to the Philippines last year. NONE OF THE PUBLIC TOILETS HAD TOILET PAPER!!! It just was never there. I had never in my life taken toilet paper for granted because it's always been a given. Isn't it a god given right to wipe my butt lmao. Alternatively, you could buy some toilet paper and carry around a roll with you but pocket tissues are much more convenient and easier to conceal!
This actually came super in handy a couple of times and I was so proud in my heart that I had remembered to bring tissues with me. The first was when I witnessed a man spill his drink on the shinkansen and he didn't know what to do so I offered him my packet of tissues. He was so thankful!! The second time was when I really badly needed to pee but the nearest toilet was a squat toilet (which terrified me, I am so sheltered honestly) and there was no toilet paper.
Tissues are also excellent for when you spill something and for the obvious wiping your nose. Putting gum in, wiping the condensation off your water bottle so it doesn't ruin things in your bag, blotting your oily nose because you forgot your oil blotting papers. The possibilities are many.
- Hand sanitiser
Most of the restrooms in Japan did have soap, but the bathrooms in the Philippines often didn't. I'm not a massive germaphobe but I always use soap. Super good if the bathrooms don't have soap! Good for after eating! Good for if you're patting deer or other wild animals! Handling a lot of money!
Hand sanitiser is something I never have really used much of but I think it will become a more common part of my life because I'm so prone to getting sick. Do you know how filthy public transport and airline tray tables actually are? I do not want to think about it. They get touched by so many people!
- Nurofen (or a painkiller of your choice)
I get headaches a lot so I usually always try to carry nurofen with me and I have a stash at my desk at work. Also a good idea if you're a person who gets periods. I feel like this is one of those things which a language barrier would make it hard to access.
- Throat lozenges
Again, I get sick a lot and I almost always have a sore throat. I had swollen glands and a sore throat before we even left Australia so I brought a box of throat lozenges and I'm sooooo happy I did. I was much more comfortable and everyone else also got sick (probs from sharing food and drinks with me lmfao sozzzz). We did end up finding some effective Japanese throat lozenges but June had to do some googling because we had no idea where to even look. They were in the candy section!
- Bandaids
Just always have your preferred type of bandaids because you might not be able to get them where you are!! I only like really sticky fabric bandaids because they don't fall off after 1 second of using them. I brought a box and it was so great! I was wearing a new pair of shoes and having bandaids to reinforce my lil ankles prevented me from getting terrible blisters!
- Zip lock bags to seal any toiletries in (including in travel containers)
SO GOOD SO HANDY! If you don't want things leaking all over your bag remember to bring zip lock bags. No matter what travel containers I buy, they always leak! I don't know how to make them not leak it's a nightmare omg. Loofah? Zip lock bag! Cleanser? Zip lock bag! Shampoo? Conditioner? Skincare? EVERYTHING. GOES. IN. A ZIP LOCK BAG.
- A little zip up pouch - in place of a travel wallet
At first I was using a travel wallet but I realised the error of my ways when I bought a new smaller backpack and nothing fit inside of it because my travel wallet was so bulky. I couldn't have that because I was almost always carrying my camera and carrying it around my neck sometimes got tiring and annoying and I didn't want it. I ended up switching to a little zip up pouch I'd brought with me really early into our trip. Put everything essential in there! I kept my passport, rail pass, bank card, and all of my money in there. It took up hardly any space in my bag because it was all flat.
If you're travelling light, a lot of these things are things you can pick up quite easily in convenience stores (depending on where you're going!) but I felt a lot more prepared just HAVING them with me so I didn't have to make a shopping trip as soon as I arrived. These things are also useful to having during your travel to your destination country.
I'll write some travel blogs and post photos I took sometime really soon. I haven't even finished going through all of my photos, I took so many!
I hope you're all having a good day and week and month. lovelovelove Sam xoxoxo.