25 Essential Things I Bring Along While Traveling

There is a huge debate among lady travelers on what to bring during a much anticipated trip either going solo or with your family. Two out of five lady travelers tend to pack their entire closet and fit it into a rolling shoebox ( I mean luggage trolly's :-).

Women are more fashion-conscious than men

Undeniably yes, We want to look good in our pictures right? but sometimes you have to be smart and still fashionable when packing your things. 

Bags?

The differences between traveling with a suitcase and backpack are vast. What you should reach for when it’s time to pack up the belongings can differ depending on the trip and what you’re looking for in a bag. To tell you honestly, I prefer backpacks because of mobility, weight distribution and good for complex itineraries like adventure or bouncing from one place to another. Suitcases are great if the road is paved, who wants to drive it over to a grass or dirt right? but on the contrary, luggage's have advantages for easier access, organize your things in a breeze, more storage and weight relief. Both luggage's have advantages and drawbacks.
Whats in my Travel Bag?
1.) Sunglasses

• Sunglasses is essential for protecting your eyes from harsh UV rays. I don't want to squint all the time when I'm at the beach or in high contrast areas.

2.) Medicines

• This is the most essential thing that every traveler should have. My kit includes pain relievers, anti- allergies and Diarrhea suppressants, Betadine Solution (Pack), band aids, gauze and Alcohol pads.

3.) Sanitary Napkins

• Add a pack of sanitary pads  to deal with personal emergencies. You know what I mean. But don't underestimate their uses because they can be useful in extreme cases of bleeding. They absorb well and they are sterilized before packaging. It can also act as padding to your delicate items such as camera lenses, smartphones and electronic devices.

4.) Panty Liners

• No need to explain :-).

5.) Toiletries

• Small sizes of personal care items like makeup, skin and feminine care, dental and hair care product. Most hotels and Inns provide shampoos and a small bar of soap for free. Sometimes we collect them and may come handy on our next vacation that doesn't involve staying in a hotel.

6.) Power Bank

• Powerbank is a USB charger, which is also portable and is great for charging devices such as android phones, pocket wifi, iPad, iPhone, and other portable devices that need 5 volts or less. Powerbanks are measured in Milliampere Hours or mAh. Modern powerbanks often range from a very diminutive 2,000mAh to a massive 20,000mAh . In this case, get the highest mAh powerbank you can afford, it’s always better to have extra juice rather than run out mid-charge! The battery capacity is displayed in your phones battery or google it.We rely heavily on the internet while traveling (street maps, hotel bookings, travel infos and weather). Based on my observation,  3g will drain your phones battery quickly over wifi so it's better to have one before your phone goes dark.

7.) Cash | Credit Card | Identification Card

• .Bring a considerable amount of cash to spend and bring your credit cards with you for emergency and shopping purposes :-). If you stay in one of those hotel rooms that have the energy saving feature ( using keycard to turn on and off the lights and power in your hotel room). When you leave the hotel room and remove your room key, the lights and power go off. Great power saving invention but what if want to charge your gadgets while you're away? Simple! You can use your personal id as a substitute for your room key card to power up the room. 

8.) SmartPhone

• The era of mobile banking and mobile internet that fits in the palm of your hand. Cool right? We used it a lot for navigation(Google Map) and weather updates. But do take note that it's a  power hungry device. Bigger, more powerful screens naturally require more battery power. 

9.) Ordinary Mobile Phone

• Bringing an old mobile phone ( no internet enhancements, 2 liner phones) might come in handy if you're in dire need to call someone or an emergency. They consume less battery power than the smartphones and charge fast.

10.) Mirrorless Camera

• I sold my Canon DSLR and upgraded to a  versatile, interchangeable lens, lightweight and superb quality mirrorless camera. They are smaller and the image quality that's on par with many DSLRs. Two years ago I bought my first mirrorless, an Olympus Pen with two interchangeable lenses. Quite nice and sharp but too grainy. I sold it and purchased a fuji xa1 and been blown away by its quality.

 11.) Baby Nail  Cutter / Clippers

•  Somewhat essential but we always carry it whenever we travel.

 12.) Light Slipper

• Not all hotels or inns have slippers, so it's better to bring one. 

 13.) Light Towel

• When packing, one thing I want to make sure I have at all times is a towel. Normal towel takes up much space in your bag, even rolling up tight, it's still a thick log cramming up of the bottom on your bag. I bought a large microfibre pocket towel (24 x 48 in) and weighs just about 3.9 oz. That’s so light you don’t even know it’s there! and super easy to fold into a pouch. They may be lightweights, but this towel absorbs thrice than its weight. Drying? No problem! Wringing out this towel will quickly get rid of much of the water it’s holding. Then you just hang it up, come back a couple hours later and it’s completely dry! If you’re in the sun, it’s even faster. Try Sea to Summit Microfibre Pocket Towel.  

  14.) Big Scarfs

• You can use it as a blanket, bed cover, towel, scarf and head cover.

  15.) Storage Devices

• We take a lot of photos in raw format . Camera Raw file is an uncompressed, superb quality and unprocessed version of your snapshot. RAW files are huge in size and takes more space and time to backup and we color correct our photos for our blog so it's an essential device for us. Try Western Digital Passport storage devices. 

 16.) Light Colored Tops

• Light colored tops is much cooler than dark colored tops.Dark tops absorb more heat from the sun than light colored ones.

 17.) Black Leggings

• I bring a couple of leggings along because they are lightweight, versatile and comfortable especially when  hiking or moving from one place to another.

 18.) Plastic Bag | Ziploc

• We use it to protect our gadgets from sudden rain.  We also use it store wire chargers and plugs.

 19.) Dual Plug Adaptor/ Splitter

• Most hotel rooms have limited power outlets. To ease the headache of recharging your electronics, carry an outlet splitter with you.

 20.) Gummies | Life Saver

• This prevents me from motion sickness during long bus rides. 

 21.) Satin Pajamas

• Extremely light and comfortable.

 22.) Fitflop (Not flip-flops)

• They're insanely comfortable and tough but quite expensive. I trekked Palaui Island and Batad in Ifugao with just my fitflop. 

 23.) Rubber band / Elastic Bands

• To save more space in our bag we usually roll our clothes and wrap 2 elastic bands around them to securely hold it. 

 24.) Comb

• Of course you don't want to look bad on your pictures right?

 25.) Socks

• I bring socks with me to warm my feet during long bus trips. 

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