- Febreeze-you never know when/if you’ll get a chance to wash your clothes
- Perfume-see #1
- Boxes of Shout wipes-for emergency stains
- Detergent-for emergency sink washings (Judging by these first 4 either I’m a slob or traveling gets messy)
- A clock-it was surprising to me that these don’t come standard in most other countries, and also I can never do the math correctly to figure out the 24 hour clock
- A flashlight-useful in bungalows while on safari in South Africa, but also useful in places in Europe where shutters block out the light completely and bathrooms are kept in separate rooms from sinks…
- iPod-I have trouble sleeping in new places and this works great to drown out the unfamiliar noises of whatever new city I’m in; also good for unexpectedly long bus trips.
- Shoes you can walk in for miles-in case you incorrectly figure out the public transportation systems, incorrectly read the key on a map, or in case like me you’d rather tour a city on foot
- Pedometer-to prove to people how far you’ve walked, also a good fashion accessory
- Ointment-for bug bites
- Toilet paper-you can’t pack too much: see Dehydration Nation
- Towel-useful for hostels, sleeper trains, friend’s places and later for packing fragile souvenirs
- Poncho-I haven’t actually used it yet, but I have been caught out in rainstorms thinking “why didn’t I bring that poncho I packed?!”
- Sewing kit-I’ve never used one but my mom sticks one in when I’m not looking
- Battery powered portable smoke detector-apparently smoke detectors aren’t standard in other countries either and when my mom found out this got added (not really that helpful though since when I asked my cousins who live on the top floor of an apt building in Paris where the fire escape was they gave me a funny look and said “you wait for the firemen to come with the truck.”)
- An extra layer-if it’s summer
- An umbrella-helpful if the weather report is in another language
- A book-when you don’t know the language you often don’t understand how long trips will take
- A map-gps would work too
- A phrase book-in case you need the bathroom or directions
- A camera-of course if you’re touring
- Band-aids-if you don’t know how long you might be walking for there is a good chance you’ll get blisters
- Hand sanitizer-let’s be honest, I normally carry this anyway.
- Toilet paper/tissues-see Dehydration Nation
- Face wipes-after walking around all day it’s nice to freshen up before dinner or going out
- Breath mints or gum-I don’t like mixing bad breath and faulty pronunciations
- Sunscreen-I hear my mother’s voice in my head
- Water-I never recommend drinking a lot at a time since you never know when you’ll find a bathroom, but you also never know when you’ll find your next drink either so I recommend small sips…
- Shout wipes-I spill on myself a lot, and so apparently do my friends
- A lamp-wait that might be Mary Poppins I’m thinking of…
