Murray packed his clothes before I could take a photo or two. He has decided not to be extravagant and take extra clothes for Australia. (Although, we still have a few days before we leave so that may change.) So, we are taking an extra bag just for me! And to carry presents!
Note: I packed the extra bag today and Murray has two shirts, a pair of shorts and a pair of socks inside it. Plus, we each have a pair of sandals in the bag and are wearing light hikers on the airplane. The light hikers are for Australia and the sandals are for Indonesia. In the extra bag I have a pair of jean shorts, a pair of black pants, two T shirts, a dressy sweater and scarf, a jacket, and a medium weight Icebreaker zip up sweater. Lounging around pants and heavy socks complete my clothes. We also have a 1 litre jug of maple syrup and some baby presents in the bag. So the bag is full but not stuffed.
So far, everything I need for Indonesia fits into my dive roller bag and my knapsack. I still have to add my toiletries and liquids and the first aid kit, so we will see.
I thought I would write a few words on some miscellaneous items.
First Aid Kit – We always take some form of first aid kit. How robust it is depends on where we are going. Our Indonesian one has mostly Band-Aids, Polysporin, cold medicine, tummy upset medicine and pain relief drugs. We also carry a separate Zip Lock with certain prescriptions. This time we have Ciproflaxin for UTIs and travelers’ diarrhea and Amoxicillin for upper respiratory infections. The intent is not to use these but there is a certain amount of security knowing we have them if we need them and cannot get to a doctor.
Liquids – Even though we are checking our extra bag, we are still going to carry our toiletries and liquids in our carry on. We have small bottles to decant shampoo, liquid Tide, hair gel, moisturizer, ear care stuff etc into. I start a collection of all the liquids on the shelf in the bathroom and then I get two 1 litre Zip Lock bags and divide the contents between the two. Once we are at our final destination, these bags get resorted into our toiletry bags and the first aid kit.
Toiletry Bag – I have a great toiletry bag but it stays at home on most international trips and I use a Zip Lock. The bag is just slightly too big without the liquids in it so it is a waste of valuable space to take it. Murray has a small flexible plastic toiletry bag that he uses.
Underwear – I take 3 pairs of undies. Icebreaker very light wool ones. They are the best travel (and everyday) undies a lady can buy. They breath and are not hot. They wash up very easily and dry super fast. I rotate the 3 pairs and usually wash out a pair every night in about 2 minutes. Murray takes 2 pair and is still traveling with the old style ones. They don’t dry so quickly. mmmmmmm Maybe I will buy him a pair of men’s Icebreaker to try.
Noise Cancelling Headphones – If you have ever considered buying Noise Canceling Headphones, especially for long haul flights, DO IT! I cannot believe the difference it makes. After wearing them on a flight, I get off the flight with a clear head and hardly any ringing in my ears. Amazing!
Compression Socks – Murray started to suffer from quite swollen feet after long flights, so we invested in some compression socks. Again, a wonderful idea! I know our feet aren’t swollen after wearing them. The ones we bought are very lightweight and I found that my feet got cold wearing them, so I put a pair of socks (which I was taking anyways) over top of them once I get on the plane.
Carry On – Most airlines allow passengers to carry on a “Standard Article” and a “Personal Article”. The Standard measures 55x23x40 cm and the Personal 33x16x17 cm. Our dive carry on bags are slightly larger than the Standard size when fully packed but still fit onto any airplane from a 737 and larger. We have discovered this over the years and know if the flight is using a smaller aircraft, we will have to check the bags. The Personal item has a wide variety of interpretation as it can be a purse, briefcase, knapsack etc. (And have you seen the size of some peoples’ purses!) The instructions onboard a flight usual say to place the smaller item under the seat in front of you. On a dive trip, I carry a knapsack full of my underwater camera gear, and it is not a small bag. I figure that as long as it fits under the seat, I am good to go.
That’s all the miscellaneous thoughts for now.
Getting closer.