havecarryonwilltravel

After a few days of mundane chores it is time to get back to dreaming and prepping for our upcoming trips. The dreaming is all part of it and dreaming can extend what is actually 35 days on the road to 6 months of entertainment.

The other day I was reading someone else’s blog and in amongst all the text there was this little bit of info that tweaked my interest. It said; the author arrived at the airport in Kolkata and was told that he was not able to take ANY liquids past security in his carry on luggage. This of course would pose somewhat of a problem for Debbie and me, as all we take is carry on. The statement required further investigation. Both on the legitimacy of the claim and if it proved true, what can we find as substitutes for the ‘liquid’ items we usually carry.

Debbie got on the internet (such a wealth of info) and checked out the Indian airlines that we will be traveling on. Jet Lite made no mention of the restriction whatsoever, but Jet Air was quite specific in the fact the all liquids had to be in checked luggage. The blog was right. Now how do we get rid of all our liquid so we can continue to carry on our bags.

First of all we made a list of what we usually take in our 1 litre ziplocs.

• Shampoo
• Shaving Oil
• Tooth Paste
• Laundry Detergent
• Polysporin
• Face Moisturizer
• Sun Tan Lotion
• Mosquito Repellent
• Visene (eye drops)
• Heat Rash Cream
• Vaseline (for Debbie’s toes)

As we were not aware of any solid products that we could substitute for all the liquids we have carried up to now, we will have to spend some time on the computer and some time talking to people in the know. Then we will purchase some of the products and try them out at home and on our upcoming short trip to Bonaire.

Shampoo

There exists shampoo in bar form. Who would have guessed? After looking into it, bar shampoo is quite common. The first one I found is produced by a company in the eastern U.S., J.R. Liggett. The product looks good but I cannot find anyone in Canada that sells it. The bars are $6.99 on line, not a bad price, but the shipping from both J.R. Liggett, and Amazon.com is $25.00. $31.99 for a 3.5 oz. bar of shampoo, I don’t think so.

We phoned around town and found several places that sell shampoo in bars. Lush, a cosmetic boutique offers a good assortment but slightly on the expensive side. I contacted a couple of health ‘food’ stores, stores that sell natural products. In Edmonton, they are Good Earth General Store and Planet Organic. Both had several brands of natural bar shampoo. Debbie and I chose a $2 bar from a company called Soap Works.  There are advantages to using this type of product as they generally do not contain ‘detergent’, an ingredient in most shampoos that is not good to your hair or the environment.

Shaving Oil

I have used an electric razor my whole life. However, I do not consider it an option when I am traveling. When switching to a safety razor I did not want to carry a canister of shaving foam, pressurized canisters were not allowed in carry on luggage even before crazy people started blowing up planes. After some looking I found ‘shaving oil’,  the one I use is a Somersets product.  The stuff is great and a very small amount is required for a very long trip. Unfortunately, it will not qualify for our trip through the Kolkata airport. Again the net provided us with our solution. The propaganda states that the shampoo bar doubles as shaving cream, and then there is another product that comes from Sea to Summit,  it comes in 50 leaflet packets, it is called Pocket Shaving Soap. Haven’t tried it yet but we purchased a small packet from a local camping store, Camper’s Village for $4.00 and I will be experimenting with it over the next while.

Tooth Paste

Until our last trip, when we had to make a stop over in the U.S., we did not put our toothpaste in our magic 1 litre bag. About a year and a half ago we had to connect a flight through Houston and we were informed that tooth paste must be included in the bag of liquids. So now we are on the search for a non ‘liquid’ tooth cleaner. On to the web again and bingo, tooth powder. The stuff we are trying is by Eco Dent. Available on the internet from the U.S. but the same problem as the shampoo, $7.00 for the powder and $25.00 for the shipping. We found it locally at a health food store, The Good Earth General Store, for $7.95, still expensive for tooth cleaner but if it works, it is exactly what we need.

Laundry Detergent

Liquid Tide has been our standard for the past 10 years or so. It’s liquid so it is now passe. We could opt to return to powdered Tide but since we are exploring all sorts of alternatives why not laundry soap. Sea to Summit has laundry soap leaves. 50 to a pack amazingly small and light, Camper’s Village again, $4.00. We are going to take them to Bonaire and try them out.

Polysporin

This one is a tough one. Have not been able to find a substitute for it. The best we can come up with is alcohol wipes. They should work as an antibacterial cleanser but it will mean cleaning the wound several times instead of just applying Polysporin once a day when the bandage is changed. I asked a couple of pharmacists and neither had any suggestions for substitutes. Both suggested that keeping a wound clean with soap and water was as good as using alcohol wipes. Polysporin just promotes faster healing.

Face Moisturizer

Not being a ‘sensitive new age guy’ I choose not to use face moisturizer. Debbie on the other hand, being female, does partake, so we were on the look out for a solid version. Lush has such a product made from mushrooms, but it is quite expensive, $14.00 for a small 3″X2″X 1/2″ bar . Planet Organic has a version as well so before we jump in and buy the expensive stuff Debbie is going to visit there and check it out.

Suntan Lotion

Sun protection comes in a stick like lip balm. For $12.00 Planet Organic sells Aubrey Natural Sun SPF 30. Rub it on and smear it around. I’m quite sure this will work.

Mosquito Repellent

I don’t like DEET. I figure anything that melts plastic on contact is probably not good for humans. I’m not sure I would like malaria either. In all fairness, I have not tried it but once on, you have it forever, so I’m not sure experimentation is a good idea. Camper’s Village sells DEET towelettes 30 for $9.00. Thankfully, there are several alternatives to DEET, we just don’t know if they work.  Totem Distributors sell Citronella Patches for $4.00, Vitamin B1 patches for $9.00, and wrist bands that emit mint for $7.00. We are going to try the citronella patches first, but now we have to wait for an influx of mosquitoes to give them a whirl. At worst we will purchase the DEET towelettes and see what we can melt.

Visene (eye drops)

Don’t require Visene often, but sometimes in big cities the pollution gets to our eyes or if I pass through a place that causes my allergies to act up it is good to have. This is a tough one to find in a solid form but I think water will work in a pinch.

Heat Rash Cream

Nappy rash cream if you are British, hydro cortisone if you a technical type. It is good for “minor skin irritations”; from heat rash, sunburn, poison ivy, reactions to detergent. The pharmacists did not have a ‘solid’ type replacement for this either. I expect that if we are in need it we will stop at the local pharmacy and purchase something that we can dispose of at airport security if necessary.

Vaseline

When we are walking a lot in a hot climate, our hands and feet swell. Don’t know the medical reason but I do know they swell. Other than a bit of discomfort it doesn’t bother me much, but Debbie gets blisters on her toes. We have tried several ways to try to alleviate the problem, from mole skin when the blister starts to develop, to socks made of fabrics that should wick moisture. Going with the adage ‘an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure’ Debbie started putting Vaseline between her toes (an old runners trick) each morning before we left to explore where ever we were, and it works like a damn. The trouble now is that Vaseline is considered a ‘liquid’ and we are trying to eliminate ‘liquids’. A trip to the Running Room and lo and behold they sell a product called Body Glide used by runners to help with raw nipples when running long distance in hot weather but the container specifically says, “good for toes.” It will be experimented with over the next couple of months.

No matter how good our system is, or how set we are in your ways, we have to constantly reevaluate. The world around us changes daily, there are new rules and innovations all the time. Had it not been for one crazy person trying to blow up an airplane, the rules about liquids on board would never have been instituted and we would never have had to change how we carried tooth paste. Had it not been for one sentence in a blog I happened upon, Debbie and I would not have even thought about all the ways to comply with some obscure regulation. As it is we have probably stumbled across some fantastic, new to us, products that will make our way of travel easier and better.

We tried to come up with a wonderfully descriptive name for this list, which is posted under ‘Packing Lists’  on the menu bar, but in the end, it is just ‘Other Stuff’.

For Bonaire, I have crossed the following stuff off the list :

• bike cable lock
• binoculars
• calculator
• crossword puzzle book
• daypack (maybe)
• drawing materials
• eating utensils, bowls
• glasses for map reading
• guidebook/phrase book
• insect repellent (maybe)
• iPod and headphones (maybe)
• journal
• mosquito coils
• pocket notebook
• sheet sack
• small padlock and keys
• toilet paper
• umbrella

Some notes on the stuff not crossed off.

Adapter Plugs

It looks like Bonaire has the same type of electrical outlets have we have in Canada. We are going to check with the hotel to make sure. Will get back on this one.

Alarm/Watch

Traveling is about the only time both Murray and I consistently wear a watch.  Both watches have alarms in them for those early morning wake-ups.

Canada Trinkets

We always travel with a small bag of Canada pins and stickers. If given the opportunity, we will hand these out to children.

Pocket Notebook

When we went to China, I took a small 2 1/2″ x 4″  pocket notebook with me. It became invaluable as this was where we wrote the “Words to Learn in Local Language”.  The notebook also had the Chinese character for rice noodles inscribed in it for easy reference.  It came in very handy! I carried the notebook either in my pocket or in an outside pocket of my purse, where it was easily accessible.  I would recommend taking one if traveling to a country where English is not the official language.

Laundry Soap and Clothesline

Traveling with little clothing means doing laundry frequently.  We carry a small bottle of liquid Tide.  We have found the liquid detergent mixes with the water and clothes much better than powder. We sometimes do the laundry in the shower (while one of us is showering) or in the sink.  Once the clothes are rung, we lay them in a towel, role the towel up and then stomp on the roll.  It is amazing how much water comes out when this is done.  Then the clothes can be hung on the clothesline or put on a hangar to dry.  T shirts maintain their shape very well when this towel method is used.  If we know we have to do laundry, we will share one towel for showering and then use the other towel for laundry stomping.  We also time laundry to days we know the towels will be changed, if they are not changed every day.  The towels tend to get saturated and don’t dry too quickly.

We have been carrying some thin cord for a clothesline.  The clothesline is carried in an old pill bottle.  Murray has found another type of clothesline that we are going to try.  It is made of braided surgical rubber tubing.  It can be bought from Amazon.com (Flexoline), Rick Steves (Travel Gear Clothesline).  One concern is the volume of packing space this option uses vs the pill bottle option.

Duct Tape

We always travel with some duct tape.  It is wrapped around the clothesline pill bottle.  It is just enough to make small repairs.

Flashlight

A flashlight is a necessity for safety.  We often do not use the flashlight, but if the power goes off, or there is an emergency, we will have it.  When we were in Tibet, we stayed in a hotel in Tingri, near Mt Everest.  Upon checking in, we were told that there was no power, so we would not have lights when it got dark.  Our flashlight came in very handy that night.  There are a number of travel flashlights on the market now – small, lightweight, easy on batteries.  We use an older Bossman flashlight and when it expires will purchase a smaller one.

Moneybelt/Necksafe

When flying to a destination, Murray and I will split up any cash and travelers cheques that we are carrying. Murray carries his share, plus credit cards, in a moneybelt.  He wears it low, over his hips and wears looser pants/shorts. If the package is bulky, Murray has found this more comfortable than a necksafe .  The money belt stays hidden until we get to our destination. He also wears a necksafe with only our passports in it that is easily accessible.

I wear a necksafe.  It is beige and soft on the skin side. I wear in around my neck and it hangs just below my bust and tucked into my pants. I also wear looser pants and shirt to accommodate the necksafe.  I wear a scarf draped around neck and hanging down my chest, to hide the cord of the necksafe and the bumps that may show.  I will put my extra credit cards in it also.  The necksafe will also stay hidden until we reach our destination.

We decided a while back that we wanted these items actually attached to our bodies, not in a purse or bag.  This helps to ensure that the money, credit cards, passports are not stolen, lost or forgotten.  We arrived in Siem Reap, Cambodia and were standing in the visa line-up behind some other travelers.  The mom suddenly realized that the bag with all their holiday cash had fallen out of her purse and must still be on the plane! She tells her teenage daughter to run back to the plane on the tarmac to get it. (Duh!) The daughter didn’t get farther than the doors before security stopped her.  A big discussion ensued and finally an airport employee ran out to the plane and retrieved the bag.  Mur and I just shook our heads.

Large 8 x 11 Envelopes

This trip marks the first trip we are going to start carrying a couple of large envelopes with us.  Why? When we were in Vietnam, we stayed at a hotel in Hanoi that had a safety box at reception to leave important stuff in (passports, extra travelers cheques, plane tickets etc).  We had all the stuff in the moneybelt and then the fellow at reception placed the money belt into a large envelope, sealed it and had Murray sign across the sealed opening. This way we all knew that no one was going to take anything out of the envelope.  Brilliant!

Years later, having forgotten about this trick, we go to Belize.  Stay at a fairly nice hotel that has safety boxes for each room at reception.  We put our extra travelers cheques and a bit of cash into Mur’s money belt and give it to the receptionist and he places it into what we think is our safety box. To make a long story short, some cash and 2 travelers cheques were stolen from the money belt. Luckily we had made a list of what was in the money belt.  The hotel manager was very good dealing with the situation and we got reimbursed for the cash.  AMEX reimbursed us for the travelers cheques.  Lesson learned.  In 15 or so years of traveling, this was the first time we had an issue like this and hopefully the last.

We are going to use the envelope method from now on when we have to leave items at reception.  We are also going to make a list of the contents of the envelope.

Sink Stopper

You never know if the bathroom sink will have a proper stopper in it.  Doing laundry in a sink that won’t hold water is material for a comedy.  Carry a sink stopper.

Towels

On a dive holiday, we check with the hotel to see whether they supply towels for the pool.  If they do not, we take our own.  Sometimes we take old towels and leave them. 

Water Bottle

We take water bottles with us on the flights so we always have access to water. Don’t take your favorite water bottle from home – you will be sad when it gets lost.  Take a water bottle that is disposable. Remember to take it empty through security and fill it up once you are on the other side.  Or plan to buy a bottle of water once past security. I don’t like doing this as I end up with a bunch of Canadian change that has to be carted around on our trip.

Green Garbage Bags/Kitchen Catcher Bags/Ziploc Bags

I will get a large ziploc bag and put inside it the following, ensuring all the bags are flat and have no air in them:

• 2 green garbage bags
• 2 kitchen catcher bags
• 1 – 2  large ziploc bags
• 2 -4  1 litre ziploc bags
• 2 -4  sandwich size ziploc bags

Over the years, we have found the extra ziploc bags come in very handy for carrying travel receipts, a purchase we don’t want to get wet, food and for replacing ripped 1 litre bags for airport security.  A kitchen catcher bag is the perfect size for a laundry bag. Don’t remember the last time we used a green garbage bag but as soon as we leave it at home, we will need it!

The remaining stuff on the list is pretty standard – cameras, pens, sunglasses etc.  This list looks like a lot of stuff, but most of it is small and fits in purses or the nooks and crannies of a suitcase. Most of the stuff is pretty obvious, but the idea of a list is  to not reinvent packing every time and rely on the list. If you use the list, please personalize it!