Holiday and Travel Blog

So what are the essentials you should take when going on that special international holiday?

It obviously depends on how long you are going on holidays and the type of holiday you are going on, my wife and I are about to go on a holiday back to my wife's country, Vietnam, so to kick this blog off I decided to post a list my travel essentials, you might have a slightly different list to me.

• Passport (with Visa) and airline tickets in a travel wallet
• A medical kit that includes, pain killers, Diarrhoea tablets, iodine, tweezers, motion sickness tablets, band aids and anti-malaria tablets if travelling to a malaria area
• Guidebooks, maps, Phrase book, writing pad, pens
• Very Important -  A photocopy of all travel documents (Tickets, passport, visas, travel insurance, Hotel Vouchers, Credit Cards, Every ID Card in your wallet) I also recommend leaving an additional copy with friends or relatives
• Cash (US Dollars and Local currency), Credit/ATM Cards (Cirrus or Maestro), Money Belt,
• TSA Approved travel/padlock
• Additional Passport photos (for that unexpected side trip or local document)
• If doing allot of travel I highly recommend signing up for an Airline Lounge (either OneWorld or StarAlliance), Some airlines allow you to buy a day pass to their lounge, if you're not sure can't hurt to ask at the lounge.
• Good walking shoes, thongs, long sleeve shirt, Jeans, Jumper/Jacket, Evening wear (going out clothes, formal and casual)
• Waterproof bags, rain coat, Hat, sunburn cream, mosquito repellent

Technology based essentials

• Digital Camera, and Digital Video Camera  
• Personally I cannot travel without a Laptop, it great to upload photos and video camera media, also to do internet banking and check/send email when you can find a Wi-Fi hotspot.
• IPod with noise cancelling headphones (these are great for long haul flights, I can now sleep)
• Mobile Phone just buy a phone card in the country you are travelling to (Great as an alarm clock too)
• Rechargeable batteries, Battery charger, Flashlight, spare memory cards, and memory card reader.
• Universal power adaptors (You can normally get these cheaper overseas from previous trips I know they are less than $1 in Vietnam)

Above is a fairly brief list, I will add more to it as I am packing for my trip

Please reply with anything you think I have missed or what you consider to be your travel essentials, I would love to know your thoughts.