Salam Woke! people!
Whether traveling overseas for the first time or for the zillionth time, sometimes we still forget the essentials things to pack when leaving overseas. Here we want to discuss our travel essentials to pack before leaving overseas.
1. Bags
Before going into details, we would share our secret tips for traveling abroad, especially if it is more than 1-week trip. We usually pack our things into three bags: a) a small (usually sling) bag for easy access of passport, money, phone and a pen (to fill arrival card), b) a regular bag for laptop, immigration documents (see point 4 below), and medicine to be taken on board, 3) a luggage for clothes and everything else that may be checked in (depends on the size of the luggage).
Rule of thumb with bags is: never bring more than you can carry with your own hands! You will NOT need 3 luggages for 2 or even 3 weeks trip, let alone shorter trips than that.
2. Passport
Dang, what would you do without a passport on your hand? When traveling abroad, this is the number 1 priority to be on your pocket/small bag. We would also make copies of the passport to be put inside the regular bag and the luggage, it would make easier for identification of the owner of the bag/luggage in case they are lost (hopefully not!).
3. Visa
Yes, we can visit some countries without visa, but other than Asean countries, unfortunately Indonesian passport is still not very strong abroad
Wikipedia gives a list of visa requirements for Indonesian passport holders here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visa_requirements_for_Indonesian_citizens
Don’t forget to also check directly to the embassy’s website of the country you are going to visit, just to make sure the list in Wikipedia is still valid.
Also note that sometimes you need visa even for just transiting in a country, pay attention to these details to avoid being rejected to enter the country (been there, it wasn’t fun , had to pay some fee for changing flights to avoid transiting in that country.. another story for another post! ).
4. Travel Insurance
Depending on your destination, it’s always good to have travel insurance, just in case. And if you do, don’t forget to bring a copy of its policy on your regular bag!
5. Supporting documents to pass immigration
Sometimes you can pass immigration with just a passport (and visa, if required). But some immigration officers will ask a lot of questions and require you to provide the proof. To anticipate this, I usually bring a) copies of hotel bookings, b) copies of flight tickets (return and encompass the whole trip) and c) cash and bank cards (debit and/or credit cards).
The most important information they usually want to know are a) your itinerary (it is good if you prepare a printed itinerary as well), b) your hotel bookings (that you will not be homeless during your trip), c) your cash and bank cards (that you will not commit crime during your visit to get money) and d) flight ticket back home (that you will leave their country as planned in your itinerary).
Always good to prepare the answer to those questions just in case they ask ?
6. Phone, Camera, All Chargers and Adapters
I mean, what can we do without a phone? And with Instagram era, camera is pretty essential for all vacation! :p
Don’t forget to bring all chargers too, and remember if you check in your luggage, pack all chargers in regular bag instead of the luggage.
I usually bring travel adapter and multiple outlets too to make sure all of my electric devices can be charged in my destination. ?
7. Clothes according to the season, shoes and sandals
Bring necessary clothes according to the season of your destination. During winter, we usually bring 1 winter jacket and some thermal clothing. While during other seasons, we usually only bring one sweater for the plane, and some clothes.
Tips to pack clothes, plan your clothes per day. Remember you can wash/re-wear your clothes during your trip, you DON’T need to bring 14 set of clothes for 14 days trip. Always bring enough but not more than you can carry yourself ?
1 shoes and 1 sandal are always enough for every trip, unless you are attending an event that require special sandals/shoes.
Dont forget you will also need some underwear and pjs
8. Praying clothes and mat
Not every place abroad provides places to pray, and if they do, not every place provide praying clothes (mukena). So pack it in your bag so you have no reason to not praying during your travel! ?
9. Skin care
Since usually you will be outside most of the day during vacation, sun screen is very essential to bring on your trips. It’s also good if you can bring set of skin care that you usually use at home, to avoid any break outs or any skin problem during the trip.
10. Medicine
Other than personal medicine, some things we usually bring everytime I travel are tolak angin / antangin (we know we know, we are so Indonesian! :p), anything to warm the body (for us it’s peppermint oil, and wintergreen for headache, digize for any digestive problems) and any allergy meds.
What NOT to pack:
1. Towels: whether you are staying in hotels or Airbnb, usually towels are provided. Don’t add more weight on your luggage just because of towels!
2. Hair dryer: sometimes you have to check with the place, but most hotels or Airbnb provide hair dryer, so don’t need to pack it in your luggage.
3. Shampoo and soaps: unless you have very sensitive skin, usually hotels and Airbnb provide shampoo and soap. Even if they don’t, they are usually pretty cheap to buy in your destination.
Do you have more tips to pack for your trip? Comment below and let us know!
