Basic Travel Essentials

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For me as a person, there are two things that I love the most, one of which is Food and the other is Travel. For the last 2-3 years, I have taken up the travel part a bit seriously and prefer traveling solo in order to explore as much as I can on the foot.

Some of these items are quite common hence a person has a tendency to forget them easily.

Based on my past travel experience, I decided to jot down some basic essentials that you should carry while traveling.

1. Travel Charger & Power Bank
- I remember on my recent trip to Spain, I had made sure that everything was packed but then one morning which I reached Seville, I realized, that I did not have the correct adapter and my travel charger. Luckily I had 2 power banks with me and both of them were full charged which helped me get through the night and helped me charge my phones just enough to use them for the day. Always carry Power banks if you have and keep them charged, they do come handy and helpful many a times. The first thing I did was go and purchase travel charges. At times they do not come cheap :P.


2. Comfortable Shoes
- This is one of the most important if you are planning to walk and explore the area. Make sure that you are already using the shoes for at least a couple of days so that you are used to them and there is no sudden surprise when you wearing them for the 1st time. I had a similar incident but luckily I had a stop in Dubai while traveling to Spain and I left my not so comfortable shoes at my relatives home and picked up one of my brother's sneakers.


3. Laundry Bags
- A few cloth or plastic laundry bags will help you collect all your used clothes. When you are jumping from one city to another, these bags can be used to keep the clothes and then when there is time, all you need to do is pick up those bags and go to the laundry and have them washed.


4. First Aid Kit
- A small pouch or box with all the medications that you need, some band-aids and other first aid essentials is always a good idea to have in your bag. I remember, while I was traveling to Hongkong and may it was something I ate and it did not suit my body and got an allergic reaction after a couple of hours. That is when one of the tablets came handy. So its always a good idea. Another good idea is to have travel insurance. Put in a sunscreen and a moisturizer as well. They are always there in my kit.


5. Nuts and Snack Bars
- For these, I would recommend that you carry small packs of assorted nuts as they are helpful when you are hungry all of a sudden and there is nothing around. I used to carry small packs of biscuits, nuts and also a couple of protein bars (not that I needed the protein :P). Whenever I was hungry and there was nothing, I used to eat these up to be satisfied temporarily


6. The Light Trolley Bag, Backpack, and waterproof pouch
- Another important thing that you should keep in mind while traveling solo or even with family and friends. Always opt for a trolley bag which is light and has not two but four wheels. It helps drag it around when you are hopping from one place to another. I had taken a spacious handbag which had two wheels and trust me, after one point, it became a bit difficult pulling it. A waterproof pouch is also helpful when you know the weather in the place you are traveling is very unpredictable and also if you plan to go for a swim or something. For me they have been a blessing on two of my trips, the first one being to Bunol where I had attended La Tomatina, it did save my phone from stinking of tomatoes after the event. Next was in Singapore (a blog is coming soon about the food here so follow and subscribe) where the weather is quite unpredictable. It can rain at any time.


7. Water Bottle
-A big bottle will come useful if you are backpacking and are also working on a budget. You can fill the bottle before leaving the hotel or hostel if the water there is drinkable. I did a similar thing while traveling across Spain, filled up my bottle from different places in order to save some bucks and enjoy more with the saved ones. Most of the places have drinking water flowing from the tap so it's perfectly safe and fine to do that.


8. Camera
- Do carry a camera if you have one so that you can capture some amazing views, food and maybe have a couple of photos with you in it as well (a new facebook display photo :P). Nowadays phones also have pretty amazing camera but have a DSLR makes you look more touristy (just kidding).

Also, there might be more basic travel essentials that I might have not listed but feel free to add them in the comments below for the other readers to make a note of so that when they decide to travel, it can be of help to me.

Btw, I forgot the mention, I do keep posting more about my travel and food on my social media pages and you can follow me on the for updates.
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