Editorial Note: In April, I took a month off in Medellin. For me, this meant an interesting and diverting month. For you, this means 30 days of posts about my vacation. I’ll try to make them somewhat amusing.
Here’s my recommended packing list for a month’s stay in Medellin. This is long and (probably too) detailed, but I looked at a lot of lists like this when deciding what to bring. So: Clip-n-Save!
Incidentally, I fit all this stuff into one carry-on and one “personal item”, i.e. a laptop backpack. The carry-on is a biggish duffel bag that exceeds the allowable template, but which fits nicely lengthwise (perpendicular to the plane’s aisle) into an overhead bin, and which I’ve never been hassled about.
Small Bottles
Okay, let’s begin with the little baggie of permissible liquids and medicines:
- 1 Qt. ziplock bag: Holds the other stuff, required by TSA
- < 3.4oz bottle of shampoo: You’ll buy more there, but want to be sure to have some on arrival
- < 3.4oz bottle of Peridex: This is a special tooth-cleaning solution that I use. You can ignore this, or substitute your own special stuff.
- < 3.4oz tube of toothpaste: You’ll buy more there, but want to be sure to have some on arrival
- Anti-diarrhetic: I didn’t need it, but it is a travel risk
- Emergency antibiotics: As prescribed by travel medicine clinic
Repair Kit
You should also bring some stuff to patch yourself up in the case of minor injury:
- Alcohol swabs
- Gauze
- Tape
- Band-aids
- Latex gloves
Maintenance
Of course, you’ll need miscellaneous items for personal maintenance:
- Razor: I use an electric, and forgot the cord – don’t forget yours
- Tooth care: I use a brush, gum stimulator, floss, and picks
- Deodorant
- Comb
- Travel mirror
- Mints
- Glass case + extra glasses
- Glass cleaners
Oddities
Weird, but useful stuff:
- Compass: This comes in much handier than you’d think in a strange city when trying to read a map
- Flashlight: It gets dark at night (plus even a mini-maglite is perfect for breaking someone’s nose)
- Soap: You’ll buy more there, but want to be sure to have some on arrival
- Toilet Paper: You’ll buy more there, but want to be sure to have some on arrival
- Earplugs
- Notebook and pen: Aside from everything else, this gives you another shot at communicating with people when they can’t understand your accent
- Microfibre towel: I didn’t really need this, but wanted to uphold my image as a hoopy frood
- Laundry bag: I liberated this from a Four Seasons some years ago, and it’s served me faithfully since — it’s just a thin, durable, drawstring plastic bag
Clothes
You’ll need something to conceal your hideous carcass:
- 7 pairs u/w
- 7 pairs socks: I prefer hiking socks
- 2 pairs cargo pants: I don’t care how they look; I use all the pockets
- 4 nice shirts
- 5 casual shirts / T-shirts
- 1 pair boots: Comfortable and practical
- 1 pair sandals: For the shower
- 1 pullover
- 1 pair pajama pants
- 1 belt
Electronics
Ah, the consumer electronics without which life has no meaning:
- iPod Touch (or other, losable PDA of your choice for daily carry)
- iPhone (or other, useful-only-in-the-US phone of your choice)
- Earbuds: I prefer proper headphones, but the small size and weight of the iPhone’s pack-in earbuds and mic were irresistible for this trip.
- MacBook Pro (or other laptop of your choice)
- Full-size trackball: I hate hate hate trackpads; if you don’t then this is obviously optional
- Laptop power adapter: Don’t forget this
- Docking cable for Phone/PDA: The USB plug that Apple provides is also nice to have
- Thumb drive
- Camera: If your PDA has a good camera, this may be optional — the iPod Touch camera is crap
- Multi-card reader for flash media
- Translator/dictionary program for your PDA
- DVDs for your entertainment
Documents
Travel involves a surprisingly large number of bits of paper:
- Passport (and copy)
- Int’l Driving Permit (and copy)
- Yellow (immunization) card (and copy)
- Itinerary
- Glass prescription
- Medical insurance information
- 2 debit cards: Each card should be linked to its own account, and you should use these cards and accounts only for travel
- Driver’s license (and copy)
- Cash: A few hundred for emergencies
- The minimum number of keys you’ll need on your return
Me-Specific
This is some stuff that I brought along just for me:
- Fish refrigerator magnets
- Spanish textbook
- Travel medicine booklet
- Watchmen (reading material for the plane)
- Password information
- Business cards
- The 4.2 and 4.3 iOS SDKs on DVD
Regrets (Omission)
I should have brought this stuff:
- Umbrella: You need one during the rainy season, and they’re surprisingly hard to find — it’s like Jimmy Stewart’s line in “Rear Window”: “Well, try and find a raincoat in Brazil, even when it isn’t raining.”
- Map: I never did find a good map of Medellin here, and have been making do with Google maps printouts
Regrets (Commission)
I also brought a bunch of stuff that I didn’t need:
- 7 undershirts: Medellin is too humid, and I walk too much, for the layered look to work — I abandoned undershirts while here
- 1 pair jeans: I carried too much stuff to use these
- 1 jacket: A nice North Face shell that keeps the rain out, but isn’t suited to humid climates
- 1 sportcoat: See previous remarks about humidity and layers — if I took cabs more, I’d have worn it more
- 1 nice sweater: See above
- 1 hat: Mandatory in the dry season, useless in the wet
- 2 extra belts: With only one pair of shoes, I don’t know what I was thinking
Possible Additions
Finally, here’s some stuff you might consider adding:
- More nice shirts
- Swim trunks
- Nice shoes
- Watch
- Body armor, M4, USP45, M67s, etc. (I kid because I love)
