What am I bringing with me on this trip? I normally travel a couple hours to the same office locations inside the United States, so this is a big jump for me. I like to travel light, but when planning for a couple weeks in another country, it seems like I should spend a little effort on this!
First, I think I should list out some of the things that I have read that concern me:
- Food – The food there will be different from what I normally eat, and there could be some “issues” according to some travelers. I am adventurous and like different types of food, but I also have to be presentable and productive in an office environment, so some caution might be wise.
- My solution:
- I will eat locally at reputable-looking busy restaurants, and I will bring a few items from home to make sure I have some familiar and soothing things in case I need to dial-back my food adventures for a day or two during the trip. Instant oatmeal packs are light, cheap and easy to prepare, so I will bring some of those to keep a morning routine that is familiar most days.
- I will bring some protein bars which will give me something mellow but nourishing if I need to not eat local for a day or so. I am confident that I can find a banana or similar items locally to supplement these backup plans.
- Water: Drink bottled water brands I know, purchased from reputable places, like my hotel.
- I will carry some Pepto type tablets to soothe stomach issues, just in case.
- My solution:
- Clothing –
- For working days, I will be in a business environment, so I am guessing that my normal office clothes will be OK.
- For weekend and sight seeing, I think casual pants will be fine but not shorts to avoid mosquito bites. Still, I might opt to not wear blue jeans and sneakers, in a hope to blend in a bit with locals. I am thinking cotton or linen pants, maybe some light weight chinos for non-working days.
- I am not going to bring that much with me. I like to travel light, and I can buy clothes if I see something I like, or I can get clothes laundered at hotel.
- Security –
- I will be accompanied most of the time by team mates from the company that is hosting me in India, so not much to worry about generally.
- Still, some precautions might be good. I will probably lock my passport in the hotel safe if it looks sturdy to me. If not, I will carry on my person in a deep pocket or hidden neck pouch perhaps, under my shirt.
- Electronics-
- Cell phone will be set for roaming, so that should be good…hopefully it works well.
- Work laptop – I need this, for obvious reasons.
- Personal devices – I am always doing things online, and I have a great MacBook Pro that I use daily. I would be very sad to have replace such an expensive device if damaged or stolen during the trip, so I am leaving it at home. I should do more looking around in person than online while in India, still I cannot quite cut the cord. So I acquired a very nice little ChromeBook in case I need to do something. I have found this beautiful little device will let me go online, terminal into a server if needed, and even access a MySQL database if an issue pops up that I need to address. All for under $200 and about 2 hours of setup time to find all the tools I might need, and set them up! If it gets damaged, I could replace it cheaply.
I think that is enough planning for now…please check back for updates and the next chapter!