"Road Gladiators don't do packing lists."
I got this answer from 7 people out of 8. Their other options were: (2) Yes, I have a checklist ready for each trip and (3) From time to time. Oh yea, they usually answered with a smug or condescending look.
Okay, so my survey doesn't say much since I only asked 8 people and it does not really cover all the demographics but, hey, it still says a lot. At least, it says a lot about the people I work with. hehe
A lot of road gladiators (based on above survey) think that having traveled often enough means that nothing will be forgotten. It's the "that's never going to happen to me" school of thought.
Personally, I do packing lists from time to time. I will most likely prepare a packing list in advance for trips and deals that are very very important. Because, god knows, I have forgotten some terribly important things during a trip often enough.
Having said that... here is my list of THINGS THAT SHOULD NEVER BE FORGOTTEN WHEN PACKING:
- Extra eyeglasses or contact lenses. Imagine if you have an eyegrade of -6.75 and you lost your contact lenses while you were getting ready for bed... and early the next morning, you have a power point presentation... and all the shops are already closed and won't be open early enough the next day?
Yes, that happened to me. - Travel Documents. Obvious, ain't it?
- Contact details of the person/company you are visiting. Well, you could call the office for information but what if there's a time difference and no one's at the office to let you know where to go for your meeting which will start in less than an hour?
- Enough cash for taxi. You may end up arriving at an airport where there are no cash machines.
In my experience, it does not have to be in the local currency. I have often enough, paid in dollars or euros in countries where the currency is something else.
I have a standard group of items that NEVER get unpacked, so that takes most of the list making out of the equation for me.
The only things that I have to pack are my clothes (geared for the particular events on my trip). For a short trip, I don't use a list. If I'm going for a week, I'll make a clothes list, just to make sure that I'm coordinating enough to avoid over-packing.
Posted by: Mary Jo | September 19, 2006 12:44 PM | Permalink to Comment