Philippines Friday: Gadgets & Gear

I've been in the planning stages of my epic Philippines trip for several months now. Aside from research about the places you will be traveling through and visiting, one of the most important things to do in advance is to make sure you have all the important items you will need to take with you well in advance.

There's nothing worse than bad surprises at the last minute; realizing you forgot something you needed or didn't even know you needed a particular thing.

I found Pinterest really helpful in the research stages. It gave me lots of links to travel blogs and others articles that were really helpful for budgeting and determining what sorts of gear were really important to bring. 

We did not have passports so we applied for those back in February and received them in March. We received our passports within 2-3 weeks, but you generally want to apply for them at least 4-6 weeks before an international trip. Our generous friend booked our airline tickets back in May, so that important step was also taken early on.

Then I went on to make a weekly "ordering schedule" to spread items out that we would need for the trip so we didn't have a large expense and hassle of buying a bunch of things right before we left. Plus if you research and order in advance you can compare prices online and read reviews to get the best items for the price. What travel items a person will need for a trip is determined by many factors, such as climate, duration of trip and the activities you will be doing while traveling. Some items are necessary or helpful for any trip and others are more situation specific. The following is a list of items I didn't already have that I thought would be necessary and helpful for our Philippines trip. I hope you find this list interesting and helpful!

1) Money Scarf

I decided I do not want to be carrying a bulky wallet or purse on my trip. I will only be bringing the essential documents such as ID, passport, credit/debits card and cash. Both to be lightweight and secure, I decided to order this cute infinity scarf  with a hidden zippered money pocket from Amazon for $9. I'm very exciting about it; this way important items will always be concealed yet close at hand.

Money belts have also been common for travelers for a while, and I also considered hidden pocket bras or yoga shorts but decided the scarf would fit my purposes best.

All of my husband's pants and shorts have cargo pockets that zip or velcro closed, so he won't need a money storage device.

2) Luggage Scale

Luggage will be a very important and pricey purchase for any trip. Fortunately we were gifted a luggage set as a wedding gift and it has served us well over the years. We have never flown before so we needed a scale to make sure our baggage would meet those pesky airline weight requirements. I got this scale from Amazon for under $4 and it's supposed to be good for up to 88lbs.

3) Microfiber Towels

This is something I probably wouldn't have thought of on my own, but virtually every travel blog I read highly recommended bringing a microfiber towel as they are quick drying, light weight and useful in many situations. We will be staying in hotels that I'm sure will have towels and linens, but when it comes to the beach about day hikes these towels will be easy to throw in a backpack and go. I got a two pack with their own drawstring bag from Amazon for $12.97.

4) Headphones 

I imagine these will be a godsend on a 15+ hour flight to drown out snoring passengers and screaming babies. Most people already have headphones they like so this will probably not be a necessary pre-trip purchase for most, but I cannot stand the earbuds that come with Apple devices. They are super uncomfortable to me and do not stay in my ears well at all. I've always enjoyed the earphones that rest on top of the ear with a hook, but my ancient pair was falling apart so I ordered some new ones from Amazon for about $5.

5) Neck Pillow and Eye Mask

I went a little cutesy and whimsical on these; for a coat bucks nothing could be more fun than a cat themed pillow and  mask. These seem to be pretty good quality for some inexpensive Chinese merchandise from wish.com. The pillow is a little small, but still seems like it would be comfortable. I look forward to seeing if anyone on the plane gets a kick out of my cat gear.

6) First Aid Case

I wanted a portable, easily identifiable case to keep in a backpack in case we get cuts, bugbites, etc. while out and about. This is just a case; we will purchase necessary items before we leave and put together a customized first aid kit rather than buying a generic pre made one.

7) Dry Bag

Since we plan to go on a lot of water related adventures during our travels, a nylon dry bag to keep important items in seemed important. We also already had waterproof phone cases which saved us a hefty purchase.

8) Luggage Locks

Generally you can use any small padlock or combination lock that you might have already to secure your luggage, but we didn't really have any. I got these carribeaner type clip locks because not only can they secure a bag, but they also can clip exactly items onto the outside of your bags such as water bottles and hand sanitizer. We do also already have filtered water bottles that are easy to pick up at almost any store, and we also plan to bring some Life Straws that we already had which filter out bacteria, just in case we ever don't have bottled water available. Super important for any foreign travel.

9) Compression Socks

My husband has a problem with swelling in his feet, and that can be aggravated by flying, so I'm going to try to get him to wear compression socks on the plane. Shhh... don't tell him they were modeled on ladies.😂

10) Knee Brace

I have pains that come and go in my left knee, nothing super serious but I know it can become sore after activity so I decided to get some supportive knee braces just in case. I don't want to be limping around while sightseeing. Make sure to get any medical prescriptions filled before you learn and secure any necessary medical equipment you will need to bring with you. Make sure to visit the websites of the specific airlines you will be flying and airports you will be traveling through as some may require doctor's notes and/or forms for electric medical equipment and liquid medicines.

Those are the main items we needed to purchase, but there are several others that everyone should consider whether they need to purchase. Such items include:

Plug Adapters/Power Converters

Portable Battery Packs for powering phones and other devices on the go.

Selfie Stick or Camera Tripod

Clear Quart Bags and Travel Tubes for toiletries on the plane

I hope you enjoyed this list and in future posts I will be sharing things such as helpful travel apps, a sample itinerary, a sample packing list, and what important things to do before you leave on your adventure. Thanks for reading and check back next week for another Philippines Friday!