Traveling Cat

For anyone who’s curious about what I fit into two duffel bags for 18 months abroad, here’s the end product of what my packing list looked like for Africa. Some was unnecessary but fun (hammock, toe nail polish), some was unnecessary and I should’ve skipped (alarm clock, stationary, soap), and some was downright brilliant and oh so nice to have (solar shower sack, scrub brush for fingernails).

Books
Lonely Planet Kenya
Lonely Planet’s Africa on a Shoestring
Simplified Swahili by Peter Wilson (borrowed)
Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook (borrowed)

Paperwork
Passport
International Drivers License ($10 from AAA)
International Student ID card (for discounts)
10+ passport photos (for work permit app, visa extension app, border crossings, etc)
Laminated color copy of passport for everyday use
Contacts for my credit card companies, banks, etc
(Later found out I needed proof of secondary school completion for my work permit)
Credit card note: Hardly anyone in Kenya took credit card (not even travel agents!), but there were ATMs everywhere
Debit card note: Southern and Eastern Africa favored Visa cards over MasterCards (often rejecting debit cards with the MasterCard affiliation)

Gear
Large internal frame pack
Small daypack for work/weekends
Pack safe – heavy-gauge wire mesh bag to enclose packs for security on buses, overnight trains, etc
Sleeping bag –for camping/trips/backpacking
SteriPen UV water purifier – no bad taste and ensures I don’t buy plastic water bottles that’ll end up on the side of the road (did require 4AA batteries)
DEET insect repellent (I rarely used the hard core REI Jungle Juice, but loved the more basic Avon or Off ones that had pump spray bottles)
LED head lamp w/ spare bulbs – an absolute must ($20, REI)
1 liter Nalgene water bottles (wish I’d also brought a smaller one that was a better size for work)

Clothes
1 long sleeve & 1 short sleeve button-down shirts (should’ve brought more… they look decent for work and they line dry so much quicker during the rainy season or on the road backpacking)
3 short sleeve knit shirts
Lightweight cotton long sleeve tee shirt (Patagonia “wick” shirt)
4 long skirts for work
1 pair cotton pants (for cold weather)
1 pair jeans (for weekend trips)
Swimsuit (though I didn’t use it till after my term was over)
Pajamas
7 pairs underwear
4 sports bras (necessary for bumpy bus and car trips)
Bandanna
Sun hat (dorky but useful)
Marmot brand DriClime Windshirt (lightweight fleece that packs down tiny)
Rain poncho (dorky, rarely used)
Photo/Safari vest (REI brand, dorky but nice hidden pockets to reduce chance of mugging, never used)
Chakos/Tevas for muddy dirt roads/hiking (the Chakos were heavy and not good for my feet, wished I’d kept my Tevas)
Sandals (for everyday use)
Tennis shoes (or hiking boots)
3 pairs of socks

Electronic & Photo
I-pod (necessary for me!)
Headphones (Sony, $15) and tiny battery powered travel speakers (Radio Shack, $10, one of the best things ever! we used them at work, at “parties” at our house, while around campfires when traveling, etc)
Laptop (a must for me since my house had electricity but my work didn’t, also good for writing emails and saving to a flash drive for trips into town for internet)
Olympus Stylus Epic – 35mm film camera (film developing is cheap here, but I rarely used it)
Pentax Optio digital camera (small, for everyday use, used it daily)
Cannon digital camera (big zoom, used on safaris)
Battery charger (didn’t work here, had to buy a new one locally for $30 at Nakumatt)
AA rechargeable batteries (camera) and AAA rechargeable batteries (speakers & headlamp)
Plug adapter and voltage converter
Added for backpacking: Jobo GIGAone photo storage device (80 gig, $175 in 2006). A lifesaver. It’s the size of a deck of cards, has slots for different memory cards, and lets you upload directly to it… no need to travel with a laptop or spend time searching for internet cafes that will let you burn CDs that might just get scratched and ruined anyway.

Toiletries
Shampoo (no good shampoo locally, but could get in Nairobi)
Facial cleanser – impossible to find here and we get D I R T Y in this muddy, dusty village
Hairbrush
Deodorant (they mostly sell perfumed, wet roll on kind here)
Lip balm
Tampons (found out we could actually get them in Kakamega or Nairobi)
Keeper (always the environmentalist)
Toe nail polish & remover (gotta make those dirty feet somehow look presentable)
Stiff bristle brush to clean fingernails and pumice stone (discovered both were absolutely necessary in my dirt road, mud hut village)

First Aid kit
Every size and shape bandage (discovered I could’ve gotten locally in chemists)
Ace bandage (could’ve gotten locally in chemists)
Bandage tape (could’ve gotten locally in chemists)
Thermometer
Neosporin cream (antibiotic ointment)
Imodium AD (diarrhea relief, not available locally)
Pepto Bismal (upset stomach, not available locally)
Benadryl pills (allergy medicine, not available locally)
Melatonin (sleeping pills – super handy for loud, bumpy overnight bus trips, harder to get locally)
Tylenol
Dayquil & Nyquil (cold medicine)
Multi-vitamin (fights malnutrition, limited veggies selection available in the village)
Tweezers
Safety pins
Dental floss
Nail clippers
Sunblock SPF 30 or 45 (super expensive locally if you can find it at all)
Hand sanitizing lotion
N/B: I didn’t bring malaria pills since I can buy Artenum or Doxy cheaply locally

Household Items
Leatherman tool
Hand crank shortwave radio (great for BBC news, but didn’t get much reception)
Travel hammock (unnecessary but fun)
Flat sink plug (for laundry in hostels/hotels)
Super-absorbent pack towel (for weekend trips, backpacking)
Solar shower sack ($20 from REI, great for hot showers in the dry season, not so helpful in the cloudy rainy season)
Journal
Pens and Sharpie markers
Good small scissors (used daily on projects, work, cooking, haircuts, etc)
Nice set of 3 knives (knives were locally available but really, really low quality. we cooked every meal from scratch, no processed foods in the village, and knives make it all easier)
Address book (had to copy from gmail onto paper)
Plastic ziploc bags (all sizes)

Miscellaneous Safety/Travel
Money belt – good for trips to Kisumu, Nairobi, backpacking
Whistle – good idea for security (never used)
Inflatable u-shaped travel pillow – used all time, perfect for for long bus trips or camping
Earplugs – necessary for bus trips or hotels with street noise
Eyeshades – for overnight bus trips (can usually get free ones on international flights)

Things I WISH I’d brought
Duct tape
Carabineers
Small stapler
Insulated mug
Rubber cement
More decent button up shirts or wick shirts (I loved the weekly second hand clothes market, but decent quality wasn’t always available)
Shout stain remover wipes
Pepper spray (did I mention safety concerns?)
Gortex hooded jacket or umbrella (for the rainy seasons, should’ve brought instead of the ponch, eventually found one at the second hand clothes market)
US postage stamps (to cheaply send letters with visitors who come from the States)
ThermaRest sleep mattress (would’ve been nice for backpacking after my year was up)
1 pair REI Convertible pants/shorts that zip off legs (dorky but useful, regretted leaving them behind)
Stretchy clothes line w/ hooks (would’ve been great for traveling)

Items I brought but should have SKIPPED
Skirts – can buy tons from the second hand Friday market for $0.25 each
Books for leisure reading – ended up borrowing from the Sisters’ large collection and trading at hostels
Stationary – cheap/easy to find in towns (since Africa still relies on pen and paper)
Travel alarm clock – always used my cell phone alarm
Permethrin tick & mosquito repellant for use on clothing/mosquito net (never used)
Potable Aqua water purification tables – always used SteriPen to avoid bad taste
Soap – cheap/easy to find here
Woolite packages – laundry soap is cheap locally
Toothbrush and toothpaste – cheap/easy to find here
Powdered drink mixes (like Crystal Light) – syrupy juice mix is available here, but is super sugary
Laptop locking cable – if we get robbed, a cable’s not going to stop thugs
Hand crank flashlight – I should have tested to see if it worked better before I left

Items I debated but eventually decided NOT to bring
SLR film camera (too big/intrusive for candid photos)
Compass
Sportsman’s Goop (for boot/Teva sole repair)
Waterproof seam sealer
City shoes
2 pair sock liners
Velcro straps
Silk sleep sheet
Scarf (temps are pretty mild/warm)
Long sleeve dress shirt
Long johns bottom (I don’t get that cold, but my roomie here does)
Pillow – provided, easy to find locally
Sheets – provided, easy to find locally
Blanket – provided, easy to find locally
Rubber bands
Small calculator
Door jam alarm (security’s a definite concern, but ended up skipping)
Re-hydration salts – “Ceralyte 70″ brand from REI (I just made my own salt/sugar mixture when needed)
Steri-Strip skin closures
Splint
Knee brace
Anbesol (oral anesthetic)
Rhuligel (bug bite relief)
Dramamine (motion sickness)
Dulcolax (laxative)
Tums (antacid)
Benadryl lotion (calms skin rashes)
Larium (malaria pills that make you crazy, I decided not to go for that)
Levaquin (general purpose antibiotic)
Diamox (altitude sickness)
Antifungal cream
Tinactin (foot fungus cream)
Gold Bond powder (clears prickly heat)
Diflucan (cures yeast infection)
Vitamin-E (accelerates wound/burn healing)
Reflective tape
Iodine & alcohol swabs

Many thanks to world travelers extraordinaire Maggie & Jim who helped shape parts of my initial list!