I was thinking about traveling in general and in particular the habits I've developed (or not) when I travel.
First, if I am traveling for pleasure, solo, I pretty much NEVER READ ABOUT THE PLACE IN ADVANCE to which I am going. Oh, I do buy several of the books on the list that the tour organizer sends, or I search on the internet for articles. I take this material with me. I read it while I am on the trip. And I leave it behind. In many of the places that I travel to, reading material in general and books in specific are hard to come by. The folks in those countries are always happy to have them.
There are several reasons not to do too much reading in advance, but for me the most compelling one is that it puts you in someone else's frame of mind. I'd rather make my own observations. Even history books can be distorted; it's often more instructive to ask the folks who live in the country what really happened.
Secondly, I don't go anywhere without a FULL APOTHECARY. And I mean anywhere...right now I am packing to go to Sacramento for a wine industry 3-day show. Because, when you get sick, it is always on the weekend or the middle of the night, and an emergency room in the USA is the best place I know to go to if you want to get sicker. I won't even talk about emergency rooms in developing countries (although the story of the 7 veiled women doctors in the hospital in Algers is a classic...)
What's in that bag of goodies? I always have my Z-pak (zithromycin), Cipro, 800 mg motrin, allergy medicine, throat lozenges, antihistamines for colds, diarrhea meds, lots of alcohol wipes, bandaids, neosporin, caladryl, A&D ointment, baby powder, steroid cream for really bad itches, and tamiflu. Good tweezers. And my regular meds. I used to travel with lice shampoo, but I've eliminated that and instead travel with a silk scarf to put over airplane seatbacks.
Recently I got an Air Ambulance membership. Just in case. No, I am not a hypochondriac. I am a realist. I should have airlifted myself out of Algers instead of walking through Algeria and Tunisia on a split ACL in my right knee for 3 weeks in 2006, but who knew that the best hospital in the capitol city didn't have any soft tissue/MRI machines? "Walk", the veiled lady doctors said. "No cane allowed. It's not broken". And you wonder why there are so many cripples in other countries?
Lastly, I always take ONE LUXURY ITEM. Something I really don't need, but which, at the end of a rough day makes me feel terrific. The current choice is "Angel" shower gel. (The real choice is a sexy cowboy, but those are difficult to pack.)
Just in case you ever wonder what to get me as a bon-voyage gift...
