Packing List > Paperwork

pen(s), small notebook, glue stick

Most journeys will yield interesting items of information along the way (addresses of people you meet, the locations of hotels, restaurants, and other recommended attractions, a record of photographs taken, even a trip diary); make sure you bring something in which to write them down. It can be as simple as a small coil-bound notebook, or elaborate as a hardcover journal into which you glue the ticket stubs, business cards, and other memorabilia that will recall your adventures in years to come.

personal address book (stamps?)

Don't forget to send postcards to those stuck back home; remember that the stamps from your home country won't work in foreign ones. Some people like to carry pre-addressed envelopes, but I've always preferred buying postcards as I go. Another solution is to bring along pre-printed address labels for all your intended missives, and affix them to cards or envelopes as necessary (this has the added benefit of keeping track of what you have yet to send). Obviously, all of this depends on how much you plan to write.

Even if you're not planning to write to anyone, it's prudent to have telephone numbers (home numbers, if possible) for your doctor and travel agent; they just might help avert a disaster.

And don't neglect to include such information in your backup strategy.

maps, guidebooks, phrase books, Post-it® notes, restaurant lists, membership cards, business/calling cards, telephone access numbers

These can be important, but also a challenge to your "packing light" goal. Don't carry maps that can easily be acquired en route. Instead of the whole guidebook, perhaps you can cut out — or photocopy — only the section(s) pertinent to your needs, discarding no-longer-required portions as you travel. Or simply summarize the pertinent information in your notebook. Consider replacing a collection of foreign phrasebooks with a Kwikpoint International Translator card, containing over 600 universally recognized symbols designed to get your message across. And a pad of the smallest Post-it notes will serve as excellent page markers for your guidebooks.

Another good reason to use local maps in place of those you have brought from home is that the former will have place names in the local languages, rather than "translated" into English. This is particularly important if you are touring by car, as you are unlikely to see Prague, Florence, or Munich on road signs (think Praha, Firenze, & München).

Long distance phone calls can be expensive from foreign countries (for that matter, any phone calls made from a hotel room are likely to be very costly); come prepared with a list of access numbers to reduced cost services. AT&T provides a wallet-sized card listing their own such numbers (in the U.S., call 1-800-331-1140 for a copy, or print one from their Web site). Even better is the use of international phone cards (with Personal Identification Numbers), widely available at newsstands and the like in industrialized countries.

I use resources such as VegDining.com to compile a restaurant list prior to any sojourn into unknown territory, and carry my Ocean Cruising Club card, which gets me into foreign yacht clubs. Business/calling cards are an ideal way to leave your address(es) with newfound friends, and are occasionally useful for impressing local officials. Finally, consider carrying a photo or two of your family & home, and possibly a few postcards of your city; these help establish your identity as a "real person" to those you meet along the way.

reading material

If you're a reader, travel prepared; reasonably priced books in your preferred language are not always easy to come by in foreign countries (you can sometimes get help in this regard via the modest but useful English Language Bookshops database at eslbase.com). Choose paperbacks with dense print, and discard (or trade!) them as you go; many B&Bs and hostels offer small "trading libraries" for this purpose. Some more zealous minimalists tear out and discard book chapters after they've read them!

large envelopes

One way to keep your bag light as you travel (especially on longer trips) is to mail accumulated stuff home; having a few large manila envelopes (or better, those made from Tyvek®) both aids and encourages this.

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The Annotated Packing List

A one-page checklist version is available here.