Which leads to the next question I've been getting so frequently: "so....are you all packed yet"? Hahaha. Yeah right! My bags are all currently empty, BUT I do feel mentally packed and prepared. To help future travelers who may go to India (or come visit me in Tanzania), I am going to share with you what I'm planning on bringing with me for my travel abroad.
First off, I got vaccinated and medicated. I had five injections (hepatitis A, tetanus, polio booster, yellow fever and....one other one I've forgotten) and one oral vaccination (typhoid). I also have malaria medication, which I started taking 3 weeks ago. I'm taking methloquine, otherwise known as lariam. I started the medication early to see if I would have any of the possible crazy side effects, and so far so good. It's good to start the medication one month-6 weeks before you leave on your trip so you can change malaria meds if you need to before you go, but I'm just going to have to bank on being in the clear. I also have azithromycin for diarrhea (oh joy), an iodine kit for sanitizing water, and a basic first aid kit. I have just enough to get me through my first few weeks in India, and I plan on buying the bulk of my medications for Tanzania while I'm in Bangalore. They are cheaper to buy in India, and are comparable to our medications. I'll load up on malaria meds, diarrhea meds, and antibiotics.
Secondly, documentation. I'll need my passport, visa for India (which I had to get in advance and is printed in my passport), and yellow fever certificate in order to enter Tanzania (I'll get my visa for Tanzania at the border when I leave Rwanda). I've made copies of these documents for each of my bags. I've also secured "Flying Doctors" insurance in case I have to get life flighted to the hospital in Nairobi, Kenya for a medical emergency.
Then besides clothes, there are all the other little details you don't normally think about when you take a trip in the states. I have an electricity converter kit (thanks Pat!) so that I can stay in touch with all you hoodlums. I have two wind-up LED Flashlights for when the electricity goes out in India and Ngara (and one even has a radio! Thanks Lisa & Mike!) And a money belt to keep everything on the DL (thanks Carly!). I've also loaded up on DEET. Mosquitoes, watch yo' back!
Also, I learned a long time ago on my first travel abroad trip that one of the worst things to be when you're away from home (at least for me) is BORED! So...I've brought things to tide me over. I've packed three games (a deck of cards, bananagrams, and raptor jacks - all chosen for their convenient size), books (like "teach yourself Swahili"...although I'm planning on buying a good amount of books in India), and a photo book of my family and friends. I also have a plethora of electronic toys, including my ipod, amazon kindle, laptop, and camera. In doing so, I am breaking my number one packing rule when flying: NEVER pack anything of value that you would be disappointed to lose. I'm just crossing my fingers on this trip that I don't run across any a-holes in the airline systems that decide to steal any of my stuff...because when traveling abroad, everything you own seems to hold greater value, because you have so little that you can actually claim as yours.
What I am NOT bringing:
- Toiletries (getting these in India. Cheaper and less to carry during the first phase of my trip)
- Jewelry (other than what I'll wear on the plane, which will be minimal)
- Lightweight clothing (also buying in India)
- Make-up (sayonara!)
During my travels, I will make sure to update you all and let you know if I made any good calls or bad calls with my packing choices. Also, I realize I haven't talked much about my actual trip plans yet in this blog and where I'm going, cause I figured I would save that for when I've actually traveled to places and have cool stories and pictures! But...just to give you a little taste, here is the general area of India I will be traveling to with Jarrod, the state of Kerala:
Any other packing suggestions? Comment below and let me know! Thanks for reading :)
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