10 Hour Flight and no TP (Or The Essential Travel Accessory)

United Airlines Forgets Toilet Paper On 10-Hour Flight
From San Francisco To London



A great reason to carry one of these with you anywhere you travel:

   
      



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Travel Accessories - Which Are the Most Important Ones?

Travel Accessories - Which Are the Most Important Ones?

A guest post by Rita Rova from LoveMyVouchers.co.uk

 

Travelling is one of the greatest joys in a person’s life. It provides us with much needed relaxation time, recharging our batteries and therefore enabling us to handle our day to day busy and hectic schedules. But as great as it is, it requires a good deal of planning before we can even begin to relax. Packing is one of the most important aspects as the accessories we bring will determine how comfortable we feel in the new environment.

First and foremost you should consider your bags and suitcases. Regardless of the length of your journey, you will be carrying a variety of different items and you will often need to access them quickly. So a single compartment bag or suitcase is not a great choice – you need something with lots of compartments and additional pockets, so your belongings can be neatly organised and easy to find.

You also need a way to protect and distinguish your luggage from everyone else’s. Look for secure locks to make your luggage inaccessible to anyone other than yourself. Also get or create some individual and striking labels that make your luggage easy to identify amongst the sea of other suitcases at the airport.

Depending on the accommodation you have chosen, you may get some basic toiletries. The problem is, you never know what you are going to get. Some hotels provide a full range of accessories – shampoos, conditioner, soap, body wash, cotton wool and cotton buds, shower cap, toothpaste and even nail files and shoe shine. However, you can’t rely on this full range of accessories being there, and even if you do get them all, you can’t rely on them being any good. Shampoos in particular may react with your hair in an unexpected way, and soaps or shower gels can be drying, harsh and chemically. It is therefore wise to take travel size bottles of each of the things you will need. Make sure that you comply with the airline’s liquid regulations though when you are planning which toiletries to take. Don’t forget to also include things like sunscreen for the beach and a protective face cream for the mountain, and so on, as these won’t be provided by the hotel.

Make your own basic first aid kit and never leave it home on your travels. You should have some basic pain killers and fever tablets, anti-allergy medications, bandages, a bug repellent if you are going close to nature, etc. It’s always better to be able to help yourself than to rely on what the locals do or don’t have at their disposal.

No matter how big of a tech geek you are, it is likely in this day and age that you will be taking your mobile phone and possibly a camera. So don’t forget to bring their charges and connecting cables if there’s a tablet and/or laptop involved, unless you want to lose touch with civilization  It is also good to get an adapter if you are going abroad and you need to check what type of adapter is necessary for the country you are travelling to.

Ear plugs are essential to any great trip, so don’t forget to pack a pair. You never know what kind of neighbors you will have to deal with at the hotel, hostel, or whatever you have chosen, and you will want to get some sleep seeing as how you’ll be on vacation. This little invention will block the noise from the party going on downstairs and allow you to rest properly, rather than toss and turn all night.

If you are planning to visit several different locations and you will be travelling quite a lot, don’t forget to pack a travel pillow. You never know how much time you’ll have for sleep with all the sightseeing and activities, so the bus or train may be your only option. But neck cramps are not preferable, so a ravel pillow can be quite helpful.

With the exception of your essential travel documentation, the rest is up to you. The main thing is to do your research and make a list before you start packing so as not to forget something. Before you leave the house, go through each item on the list again to ensure you have not missed anything and then let the fun and relaxation commence.

Rita Rova writes budget travel advice for discount website, LoveMyVouchers.co.uk, where you can find the latest discounts offered from top hotels and travel companies.

10 Best Travel Gadgets for iPad

Bluetooth iPad keyboard/case
Tablets are all the rage. They are small, easy to use, come with full web surfing ability, and are convenient. That is convenient to a point. They are great to swipe through a bunch of web pages or apps,  however typing on them is not as easy. While I got used to typing on my iPad and do not really mind it, quite a few folks miss the feel and touch of their keyboards. So to keep the tablet convenient and at the same time improve use, there are now cases that have the keyboard built in. You have best of both worlds. Protection for your tablet and a full size keyboard.

Roll-up Keyboard
For those with tablets that might already have a case or who do not need a keyboard at all times and would rather have a slimmer gadget to take a long, there is the roll-up Bluetooth connected keyboard. It is made of flexible silicone material that rolls ups and can be easily stored in your travel bag. And because it is made of silicone it can be cleaned with soap and water so you have it clean and ready for next trip. It can be quickly recharged via a USB connection.

Power up Backpack
To work, iPad needs power, that is what I call a "duh factor"

Solar backpack

Travel bags come with many features, though being able to not just store your tablet but also charge it is one of the best. Backpacks, such as the Powerbag Back Pack, have a battery installed that can provide juice not only to the iPad, but also to your smartphone, e-reader, music player and any other device that can be connected via USB. The battery is easily charged with included AC adapter. And it can be connected while inside the bag, no need to take it out, though you do have that option.

AC adapter

Since a electric socket is not always available when traveling, there are bags with newest technological advancement, solar power. The solar powered backpack captures the sun’s rays as you are walking storing the energy within the battery. It is ready to provide some juice to your gadgets while out and about. It does not need to be clear sky and sunshine, though preferred, for the battery to charge. The panel absorbs UV rays even on a cloudy day. And these backpacks also provide great storage and transportation for your travel gadgets :)

Hand-cranked generator
Another great source of power when traveling is you. With hand-cranked generators you can manually build up enough juice to give your gadget much needed staying power.

A good set of earphones
iPad is one of the few Apple gadgets that does not come with its own earphones. Watching movies while traveling, catching up on the shows or presentations, listening to music and music videos, and playing games are some of the great reasons this gadget is an essential accessory for the tablet. One of the better pair of earphones, and the one I have included in previous posts, are the Klipsch Image S4. These headphones have noise-canceling technology yet relatively small with great sound.

And if you would like to hear all of the above out loud, wireless speakers are a great addition. Jawbone JAMBOX seamlessly streams music via Bluetooth connection and it lasts up to 10 hours of power from internal rechargeable battery.


Eye-Fi Wireless Memory Card
Featuring built-in WiFi, Eye-Fi X2 memory cards simplify photo and video upload, sharing, organisation and back-up. Simply slip the memory card into your camera,

iPad stand
Tablets are great for watching movies and catching up on your shows. That is what we use our for when we try to keep to our goal for this year of having dinner at the dinner table. We use the Arkon portable stand that is quite sturdy keeping the iPad in place and also padded resting it comfortably. The stand also folds small for easy storage.


Apple iPad Camera Connection Kit


iPads usually come with this gadget. Theses adapters make it easy to upload pictures and videos onto the iPad. You can transfer the files directly from the SD card or using the USB cable.


iPad Case
From simple Smart Cover, to those with crazy designs and built-in stands and other cool functionalities, there are many choices to keep your iPad clean, safe, and stylish.


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Look Ma No Hands - Photos with Gorillapod

Pictures with Joby



Why good to have on a trip:
- easy to use and mount to the camera
- light
- sturdy material
- no need to ask strangers to take pictures or hand them your camera
- no holding your camera at arm's length to take a photo of yourself and your friends
- can take as many pictures as you like
- adjust the angle of the shot as much as you like

Did You Know?:
Great for most point and shoots. Comes in different versions

What other are saying:
Joby Gorillapod SLR Tripod Review by Digitalcamerareview.com

"great for travelers. I love this product! Easy and quick to set up, small for packing and light so it doesn't add weight to your pack."



Joby Tripod on Amazon




What do you think? Let us know below

Most important pack when traveling

First aid kit is an essential pack of supplies that can be a difference between continuing a great vacation and not.

Smart Travel kit, is designed to support one or two people on an extended trip. The kit is essentially a well stocked medicine cabinet that you can take with you wherever you go. Weighing in at just over a pound, the Smart Travel comes packed with bandages, gauze, a thermometer, tweezers, medical tape, and much more. It also includes medications to treat a variety of stomach ailments, blisters, dehydration, fever, and other minor aches and pains.

Baby-proofing kit by Travel Tot is a great pack to have while traveling and home also. The easily packable kit comes complete with corner, outlet and doorknob covers, plus a cabinet lock, cord-wind up and other assorted gadgets. Other items included in the kit are: finger pinch guard, electrical outlet plug covers, foam corner guards, door knob cover, cord wind-up, sliding door lock, cabinet lock, multi-purpose straps, water thermometer, bandages, forehead thermometer, and “shhh, Travel-Tot sleeping” door hanger.

Why good to have on a trip:
- things happen
- keep all travelers on the go
- quick access and treatment of medical issues
- provide basic medical supplies to treat common ailments
- eliminate the need for trips to a pharmacy
- travel safe

Did You Know?:

Some things to pack in a first aid kit:

• Prescription medications (with labels for use)
• Band-aids
• Antibacterial ointment
• Hand sanitizer
• Anti-diarrhea medicine
• Antihistamine pills (for any allergic reactions)
• Advil (or pain relief of choice)
• Vitamins (you may be subsisting on cereal bars)
• Nasal decongestant (will help relieve nasal pressure during flights)
• Hydro-cortisone cream
• Gauze All Purpose Dressings 
• Scissors 
• Tweezers 
• Water 
• Ice packs 
• Flashlight

Keep on Traveling Safe - Check the app, Pull out a Pen, and Drink Up

To follow up on my earlier post this week, There is a Travel App for That: Can I Drink the Water?, I have came across a very useful travel gadget that would go great with this app. Once you check if the water in the your destination is drinkable, it would be a great idea to have a portable water filter with you. Even if the place checks out for the most part, it is still better to be safe during travel since being far away from home, some things might not be as easily accessible. And eating contaminated food and drinking contaminated water can increase the risk of developing certain infectious diseases caused by germs such as Cryptosporidium, Giardia, Shigella, and norovirus, among others. Additionally, after an emergency, especially after flooding, drinking water may not be available or safe to drink for personal use. Not very fun facts when on vacation. That is why there are technologies that have been developed to more easily filter the water. These gadgets have become small and easy enough to use that they can be taken along on any trip. One of such gadgets is the SteriPEN, which purifies the water using ultraviolet (UV) light to disinfect it. Water filters have been shown to be the most effective interventions amongst all point-of-use water treatment methods. They allow you to clean liters of water to use in bottles or hydration packs. To operate it, simply turn it on, remove the protective cap and place it in a cup or bottle of water. Sensor prongs ensure the UV light won't turn on when the pen is not immersed, protecting your eyes from the UV radiation. While it good at removing harmful bacteria from the water, it is not going to remove any dirt or other small debris.

Why good to have on a trip:
- Get drinkable water no matter which side of the equator you are on
- Together with the Can I Drink the Water? app, keep travel safe
- light, small, easy to use

What others are saying:
Gear Review: SteriPEN Traveler 3-in-1 UV Water Purifier by TravelGearBlog
New SteriPEN Freedom: Smaller and USB Rechargeable! by PracticalTravelGear
Gadling gear review: SteriPen Freedom water purifier

Did You Know?:
Water Disinfection for Travelers Information

Top 15 Holiday Gifts for your Travel Gadget Geek

As holidays fast approaching and we struggle to come up with the perfect gift for everyone on your list, it’s worth considering that traveling is one of the most past times for a lot of folks. And travel accessories might make a great gift. Especially since many travelers have a favorite item or gadget they can’t leave home without. Even if the person on your list is not looking for the latest tech gadget, there are quite a bit of great travel items that would make their day and even year.

Here are some favorites from folks who spend a lot of time away from home, as well as a look at a few new and interesting items:

Tumi Plug Adaptor - This little gadget offers four different plug configurations in one unit, good for 150 countries for powering devices like MP3 players, digital cameras and mobile phones. It comes in a little black case and the prongs can be pushed in and out for easy storage and transport. http://www.tumi.com

Noise-Cancelling headphones - Sometimes all you want is a little peace and quiet, or just tune out all the things going on around you. And that is when noise canceling headphones are life enhancers, if not life saver in some situations. Read more: Noise canceling headphones - life saver for travelers?
Latest headphones for travel that I recently came across are SleepPhones. Unlike earphones that require you to lie in the same rigid position, AcousticSheep SleepPhones are flat, removable speakers built into a soft fleece headband. They let you fall asleep naturally, without popping drugs or jamming in uncomfortable plugs. Available in several colors from Amazon.com: SleepPhones

Travel Size Bottle Kit is a great travel gadget for packing and organizing and, most importantly these days, abiding by the TSA rules. Read more: Travel Bottle Kit - TSA approved, ready to go

Portable chargers —  to provide hours of extra power when the battery runs out on an iPhone, BlackBerry or iPod.
Solio Bolt charger - eco-friendly, versatile and packable. The charger has an on-board battery and rotating solar panels, and it can juice up from the sun, a USB port or the wall to power your phone, MP3 player, e-reader, GPS or camera.

EBook readers are becoming more and more popular since you can carry with you an entire library for the size of just one paperback. And with with the low price of eBooks and newer and cooler versions of readers coming up, such as Kindle Fire, they area great gift for a person on the go.

GPS - an essential gadget when traveling. One of the most annoying things about going on vacation is getting lost. This tech gadgets will keep you on track in the car, on a boat, or if just walking around town


Smartphone - A smart phone lets you access travel tools such as emails, maps, GPS, compass, check the Internet for hotel reviews etc. For holiday commuting or standing in line, there is no better gadget. Check out our weekly post: "There is a Travel App for That" for some useful travel apps.

Digital Camera - You can't go on a holiday without a camera. A digital camera is probably the most essential travel tool so make sure you have a good one ready for the "Kodak moments". We love our Canon Powershot SX

A Watter Bottle is not only a great accessory to have on a trip but it can also save money and protect your health and invigorate. Instead of purchasing multiple water bottles or drinking from street fountains, a waterbottle would provide clean drinking water that you can fill up from a water filter or at a rest stop. Drinking water is very important. It is even more so on trips when you spend a long time in between stops and walking

Digital Luggage Scale - Take the guesswork out of packing and avoid paying extra fees by finding out luggage weight before check-in.

Venturesafe 200 bag - a small daypack with a lot of security measures. First of, the shoulder strap is slash-proof and snatch-proof. A thief can’t quickly cut through it with a knife because there is wire mesh inside. The same wire mesh goes through the whole bag as well, so the old trick of slashing the bottom of a pack and taking what’s inside won’t work either. The extra-strong zippers tuck into little pockets so they are hard to reach. This bag has essential compartments for several gadgets, keys, and headphones. Read more: Top 5 ways to keep you and your gadgets safe while traveling

SteriPen - small, light and now rechargeable UV water purifier. Its UV light destroys over 99.9% of bacteria, viruses and protozoa such as giardia and cryptosporidium that might be found in some water traveling abroad. The Pen recharges via a micro USB B port using a computer, AC outlet or compatible solar charge. Other versions use batteries, lithium type are strongly recommended.

Digital Travel Clock & Photo Frame - "Love the Digital Travel Clock and it comes with a photo frame. Perfect gift indeed for those people who travels a lot."

Amazon Gift Cards - something for everyone. Never expire.

Swiss Army knife - its a classic multi-tool. Everything you need and more within one device.




Did You Know?:
How to Avoid Paying Retail for Christmas Gifts
Airplane travel gadgets to keep you moving

California Tripping

Late September, I and my wife took the first trip to California for for both of us.
We kicked it off by landing in San Francisco and touring most of the city. It was a lot of walking and up and down the hills. Next, we went North to Napa and Sonoma valleys to check out the vineyards and the wines. Afterwards, we passed through SF once again crossing over the Golden Bridge on the way to Monterey. We made an overnight pit stop in Solvang. A little town on a way to Santa Barbara, which was gorgeous with Dutch style houses and community and also great Dutch style food. Then onto Santa Barbara, where the weather was great and we had a hotel a few steps away from the ocean. Though it was a bit on a chilly side in the evenings as well as the water. We next made a stop at Venice Beach, it was a sight to see and experience. And our final destination was Los Angeles where we spent 2.5 days touring the city and all of the touristy sights we avoided elsewhere during most of the trip.

Here, in more or less order of appearance, are some of the travel gadgets we had along with us:

Space Bags - Before even getting to the airport my wife worked her magic, together with SpaceBags to pack all the cloth and travel accessories for a week and a half trip into only 2 carry-ons! That is right, on the way to Cali we had no bags to check-in. This meant that we saved money on airline fees and also hassle and time of picking it up after the flight. We did however have one to check-in on the way back filled with wine bottles and other goodies.

Scanner bag - These travel tag size bags are made and distributed by the same company as the Knee Defender, which I wrote about in "Airplane travel gadgets to keep you moving." I bought 3 of them not too long ago and got to try them first hand on this trip. These bags are great. Once at the security check point, I loaded the bag up with our wallets, keys, phones and so on. Zipped it up and it was ready to go through the scanner together with the carry-on. There were no coins to dig up from plastic container afterwards or having to try to stuff things in your pockets as more and more bags and people are coming through. We pulled off to the side, got everything back in its places, folded the bags up and were quickly on our way to the gate.

Headphones - I have wrote quite a bit about a lot of benefits of having headphones with you on a trip. Well, for this trip, I actually totally forgot to bring them. And how did I miss them! I especially kicked myself for not taken them when on the plane. They had headphones for sale, and I would have even got those plastic ones, but they only had the large, bring back the '80s, type. I managed through the flight, though it seems now I am making up for that brain gap as I have a pair of earphones in just about everywhere.

Kindle - My wife had hers with her for the flight. She rarely goes anywhere without it. I went low tech for my reading material and had a magazine with me.

Joby Gorillapod - it was great to have this gadget along as we were able to get some shots of both of us in the picture while on hikes and less crowded, touristy, areas. Here are some samples where we used it:
 - on hike through the Muir Woods
 - hike up Lincoln Blvd towards Golden Gate bridge and walk through SF park
 - secluded pier with barely anyone around, but with ridiculously great view of the bridge from a different angle than any of the tourist attraction spots.
We had it wrapped on railing in one of the shots, then mounted on top of a pier poll and spread out on a rock in others

Of course we had along our Cannon Powershot SI120 for those type of shots. I didn't get a Joby for SLR as previous versions were not rated well to handle those type of cameras. The newer generations might have improved on this.
(By the way, if interested in more information about photography, check out a great blog - Digital Photography School)

Rechargeable Batteries - The batteries from the "Rechargeable batteries charger - saves money saves planet" post fame, are still running great. Same four batteries were reused through out the trip with the charger, which is light and small, and recharges the batteries quickly and with plenty of juice to last through thousands of pictures. - not actually exaggerating here, as per final count, we ended up taking close to 3000 photos on the trip.

GPS - was also with us on a trip as we did a road trip from SF to LA after renting a car. We saved probably around $200 bringing our own. And it saved us time since I was already used to operating our Garmin and following its directions. It also came in handy in finding streets once we left the car in a parking lot and went wondering around town.

Our San Francisco excursions/tours

 Did You Know?:
- Virgin America has electrical outlets at each seat. These include a regular outlet and a USB one. They also have free wi-fi on board.

What do you take with you on a long trip? Leave a Comment

Travel Bottle Kit - TSA approved, ready to go

Travel Bottle Kit is a great travel gadget for packing and organizing and, most importantly these days, abiding by the TSA rules. (TSA regulations) It is also great for health and for the environment since these are made from food grade material and resuable again and again.
A kit consists of leak-proof and break-resistant travel bottles that can be filled with shampoo, lotion, body wash, vitamins, and other travel essentials. In the eBags 3-1-1 Nalgene Travel Bottle Kit, the bottles also have different color tops for easy identification and they come in different sizes as well, ranging from 2oz down to 0.5oz. These bottles easily fit into a 1-quart zip-top bag.
Travel kits help reduce the amount of space in your suitcase when packing up various personal and hygiene products Since you can take only so much with you on the trip, its a great idea to not drag a full size shampoo bottle or lotion with you. Most bottles can provide sufficient volume to hold enough shampoo/conditioner/shower gel for a week trip. This way can pack more of other essentials and pack less in your suitcases. Or, as we have done on our trip, not take suitcase along at all, by packing everything tightly in small containers and Space Bags. Save on airline fees and your health.

Why good to have on a trip:
- easy to pack and carry
- portable and convenient
- leak-proof and break-resistant
- get past security without a problem

What do you pack for air travel? Leave a Comment