It's the June school holidays! Whether you are travelling to somewhere with or without your kids, let this list of travelling essentials help you. Put aside whatever tensions that you may have for the length of your trip. The most important thing now is to enjoy the trip with your loved ones or fully enjoy your own company :)
For Adults:
Personal Essentials
- ID with photo, name, birthdate and preferably address, blood type, etc.
- Passport [validity - not expiring within 3 to 6 months. Check with destination airport].
- Air tickets, visa, hotel booking vouchers, tour tickets.
- Doctor's letter, especially if one is carrying medicine or is an expectant mother. Do check out the restrictions on flying with the respective airlines. Also, be sure to know the restrictions on tobacco, alcohol, other taxable/restricted/prohibited goods and cash/cheque at the airport customs. You may need to declare them or be taxed for them.
- Wallet [with ID, credit cards, adequate foreign currency and local currency when you are back].
- Personal gadgets and their respective chargers. Good to bring a universal adapter. Gadgets include: Handphone, tablets, music player, earpiece/speakers, calculator, camera, camera stand/stick/memory cards/batteries, etc.
- Personal accessories: Watch, sunglasses, scarf, hat/cap, earings, necklace, hair band/clip, etc.
- Personal medications/first aid: Panadol, aspirin, asthma-related meds, band-aid, medicated oil, essential oil, eczema cream, insect repellant, etc. Please remember your doctor's prescription letter.
- Others: Books, magazine, umbrella, water bottle, journal and pen, favourite instant coffee/tea, wet wipes, tissue, hand sanitizer.
Toiletries
- Toothbrush, toothpaste, dental floss, tongue cleaner, mouthwash.
- Shampoo/conditioner, body wash, facial wash.
- Comb, hair gel, facial tissue, pimple cream, lip balm, moisturizer, sunblock, tweezers, shaver, shaving cream, sanitary pad/panty liner, deodorant/perfume, cosmetics and skincare products [e.g. mask, bodyscrub].
Clothing
- Sets of clothing [one for each day]
- Sets of underwear, bra, socks [one for each day]
- Sets of jacket/winter wear [gloves, ear muffs, etc, as needed]
- Sets of pyjamas [one for each night]
- Swimming costumes/trunks, beach towels, beachball, surfing board
- Sets of shoes, heels, slippers [as needed]
* Bring a few big plastic bags to house worn/dirty clothes.
* Put each individual's clothing into one plastic bag for easy retrieval [with each day's set of clothings/underwear folded together as a bundle].
For Children/Babies:
Personal Essentials
- Wallet and ID [if any] with photo, name, birthdate and preferably address, blood type, etc.
- Passport [check validity: not expiring within six months].
- Air tickets, visa, hotel booking vouchers, tour tickets.
- Doctor's letter, especially if child is carrying medicine.
- Adequate diapers with wet wipes, tissue, nappy cream, changing mat and hand sanitizer.
- Water bottle, packets of milk, milk powder/bottle/stirrer, soap and sponge to wash milk bottles [usually, passenger is allowed to bring baby liquid milk just enough for the length of flight. Please check with respective airline/airport].
- Favourite toy/book/gadgets with chargers/batteries.
- Watch, sunglasses, scarf, hat/cap, hair band/clip, medicine [if any].
Toiletries
- Toothbrush, toothpaste, dental floss, tongue cleaner, mouthwash.
- Shampoo/conditioner, body wash, facial wash [For babies, it's best to bring just one no-tears head-to-toe wash].
- Comb, hair gel, facial tissue, moisturizer and sunblock.
Clothing (same as adults)
- Sets of clothing [one for each day]
- Sets of underwear, bra, socks [one for each day]
- Sets of jacket/winter wear [gloves, ear muffs, etc, as needed]
- Sets of pyjamas [one for each night]
- Swimming costumes/trunks, beach towels, beachball, surfing board
- Sets of shoes and slippers [as needed]
#For babies, bring mittens, booties, onesies, beanie, sleeping wraps, pacifiers, toys, strollers, baby carrier and all essential baby stuff as needed. Bring cotton swaps to clean baby's eyes and face and bring a small cotton handkerchief to clean teeth and mouth.
* Bring a few big plastic bags to house worn/dirty clothes.
* Put each individual's clothing into one plastic bag for easy retrieval [with each day's set of clothings/underwear folded together as a bundle].
Extra tips:
- Make sure you did not exceed the maximum allowable dimensions and weight for both check-in and hand-carry luggage.
- Check which items are prohibited e.g. liquid items in equal or less than 100ml containers and up to a total of 1 litre of liquid is allowed in each hand-carry luggage. Also, check rules on baby milk and food.
- Arrive and check in at least 2 hours before flight. Check the boarding gate and time properly. Sometimes, you'll need to walk a sizeable distance to reach the gate. This can easily take you 15-30 minutes, perhaps even more if you are unfamiliar with the airport. Most airlines close the gates on time!
- Make sure there are enough memory cards to take photos and videos on your camera. It's good to clear disk space a few days before departure.
- Bring clothings that you have been meaning to discard e.g. the totally worn out shirt/underwear can be worn [as your PJ, perhaps] for the final time before discarding it.
- Inform family, relatives, or neighbours about trip and get help to collect mail/milk/morning papers/deliveries, water plants, look after pets, etc., if required.
- Clear your fridge of perishable items [fruits, vegetables, unfrozen meat, milk, opened packages, eggs, yogurt].
Leaving-home tips:
- Remove all batteries from remote controllers to prevent batteries damaging the controllers if they leak/corrode.
- Check online for any flight delays or cancellations.
- Switch off all gas-related inlets and power to all electrical appliances [e.g. boiler or hotpot], electronic gadgets [TV, hi-fi systems, internet, even if they are on stand-by mode. But do not off power sources to home alarm systems or surveillance cameras], and off the power to your aircon's main switch [aircon units could be turned on automatically if there is an interruption/surge of the electrical supply e.g. a lightning strike. It happened to me].
- To burglar-proof your home, switch off the ringer of your house phone [a constantly ringing phone with no one picking up indicates that no one is at home]. And also, lock your windows and draw your curtains so that the burglar cannot make sure that no one is at home and thus, cannot carry out his breaking in.
- Close all toilet seats, check pipings for water leakage and drain away all stagnant water to prevent mosquito breeding.