5 ESSENTIAL TRAVELLING GADGETS
As the quarantine here is going on at least for another 2 weeks (like in your place too, I suppose), and therefore not too much is happening I could write about, I decided to pack a few things of wisdom and experience for ya that might help you at some point in the hopefully not too distant future.
While being on the road travelling, there are a few things that can make waiting, a bus ride or a stint at a remote place much more pleasant - or very, very boring if you forgot to pack them! Below I have put together my 5 ESSENTIAL TRAVELLING GADGETS I use almost on a daily basis (and that saved my mood quite a couple of times already)!
If you’re too lazy to read you can also scroll down to the end to watch the whole thing as a video!
5. EARPHONES
This is a no-brainer. No matter if you are on a plane, on a bus or just waiting at a terminal, to kill time by listening music or watching movies, these are essential. They also help you to block annoying fellow passengers or people in your room and they are quite useful to shut down other people when you’re not in the mood for a conversation (sometimes these conversations can be really interesting, however!). I have 2 sets of earphones with me, one with a bluetooth conncetion and another with a 3.5mm stereo jack plug (these are quite handy in planes or on buses where you have your own screen).
I wouldn’t recommend wearing them in public or on the streets, however, as I like to be aware of what happens in my surroundings. Shutting down your hearing can be a risk – especially at night or in places that you don’t know.
4. POWERBANK
Another obvious item that shouldn’t be left out when packing your hand luggage. While I recommend never leaving without all your devices fully charged, this little helper will save you from running out of battery, especially when you won’t be able to plug your stuff for the next hours or days. No matther if camera, phone, speaker – you can charge almost anything. Make sure that you have more than one connection, so you can charge more than one device at a time. Also, a big capacity should be at your attention - and bring the right cables!
3. SPEAKER
Music can change your mood instantly or make a great moment even better, and to me it’s important to have a decent sound around me when the moment is right. No matter if in your room or working outside, chilling at the beach or at a campfire: nothing is more annoying than having to listen to music via the speakers of your phone – or preople that do so publicly.
2. LEATHERMAN / MULTITOOL
This little helper is useful in almost every situation, from repairing things to preparing food or opening a bottles. There are different models with different gadgets, so check the fit for what you carry with you and and what tools would be useful to have on you. Mine (a birthday present from a friend, pure genious – thanks again, Flo!) has helped me several times already and I carry it with me in almost every situation now. Make sure you do not have this in your hand luggage when travelling via plane, as most of them have blades / knives included!
1. MOBILE PHONE
The centre of my almost everything while travelling! Fully charged. Of course, and ideally connected to WiFi, I manage all my stuff here: Movies, music, website, bookings, banking, transfers, news, information of all types – you know yourself.
Really important on the road and without a signal, however, are the all the offline functions of you phone’s apps, especially when it comes to entertainment or naviagtion like searching for special locations near you (Google Maps, maps.me, WAZE, etc.) – make sure you have all this downloaded and offline-ready BEFORE you move on. Also, screenshots of your bookings and photos of your tickets can save your bottom on the road. Without your phone set up and ready to use things will get a lot more difficult.
As you can see, these things are quite logical and should be obvious, but sometimes you realise just how important these little things really are when you can pull them out of your bag!