Carry-On Bag
In January 2014, a suspected outbreak of norovirus caused the illness of nearly seven hundred crew and passengers aboard a Royal Caribbean cruise ship. Many people were confined to their cabins, sick with gastroenteritis, which can cause vomiting and diarrhea.
Unfortunately, this isn’t the only incidence of widespread illness on a cruise ship. You need to be prepared should you fall ill while traveling. A week of anticipated fun can quickly turn bad when living in close quarters with hundreds of people, or eating food and consuming drinks your body is not accustomed to. Amenities we take for granted like clean running water and food that is safe to eat and fully cooked are not always available in other countries.
You need to study and prepare for where you are going to travel so you don’t fall ill or get lost in a city or foreign country. You also need to review some of the local customs and how your hosts live. The survival kit will provide you with all the items you need to safely return from vacation, even when difficult situations arise.
Carry-On Bag
When prepping your vacation survival kit, it’s important to consider which items you can pack in your carry-on bag or luggage and get through security. The vacation survival kit covered in this chapter will work for carry-on luggage and checked bags.
This is a pricey piece of gear, but well worth it. The emergency beacon has a transponder signal that links to satellites. When the device is activated, search parties are notified and can find your location anywhere in the world. You can be in the middle of the ocean, desert, or jungle and a rescue party will locate you.
Make sure you start your travel with it fully charged and you have your charger with you. If you are traveling to an area that does not support a 120-volt outlet, bring an outlet converter. Keep your phone in a waterproof bag if you are in and around water and keep a protective case on your phone. Your phone can obviously be used to call for help if you have a satellite signal. You might not always have a signal, but if you move into the range of one, you want your phone charged and working so you can call for help.
Assume that any water in a third-world country is tainted and not safe to drink. Make sure you are only drinking bottled water and use the bottled water to brush your teeth and wash any local fruits and vegetables you eat. If you have to drink from a faucet, use your water purification drops, tablets, or drinking tube before drinking the water. Likewise, if you are on a cruise ship and the water on the ship is deemed unsafe to drink, you need to be able to purify the water so it’s safe to consume. If you wind up out in the ocean, remember these items will not filter out the salt. You will have to acquire water by other means, for instance, by collecting rainwater with your water bottle or another container. Nalgene bottles are excellent water bottles to have in your kit. They are a bit large, but you can carry them on a plane. Just fill them up with water once you get through security. You could also pack a water bladder like a Platypus in your kit. You could fill this with water from water bottles or a water fountain. Do you need to purify rainwater in order to drink it? No, you do not. You can capture it in a container and drink it. You could route water with your poncho into the large mouth of a Nalgene bottle and have water to drink.
Water Purification Supplies
If you are taking any prescription medications, get them filled before you leave for the trip and make sure you have more than enough should your trip be extended for any reason. Take all medication with you in your carry-on luggage. Also bring the following: aspirin for headaches, pain, and altitude sickness; Benadryl for any allergic reactions; acetaminophen or Ibuprofen for pain caused by pulls, strains, sprains, or more severe injuries; antinausea medication to help with motion sickness or food you may eat that does not agree with you. Store these medications in small, labeled plastic storage bags. You can put the meds in little plastic storage bags that are 3" × 2" (8cm x 5cm), then put all of the individually stored medicines in a large resealable sandwich bag. Storing your medication this way will keep it waterproof when you need it.
Have a small tube of sunblock in your kit. Getting a sunburn is not only painful, it can be dangerous. Select a sunblock with at least an SPF of 30 that includes UVA/UVB protection. Ideally, you want your sunblock to be both waterproof and sweatproof. When water is a limited resource, you want to keep your skin covered and protected as much as possible to prevent further fluid loss and dehydration. Make sure you have enough to reapply as needed. Also, don’t forget about your lips. Pack a lip balm that has some sunscreen in it, preferably a minimum SPF of 15.
Since space is likely at a premium in your carry-on bag, select a small compass. Better yet, wear a wrist compass and use that limited carry-on space for something else. You could also consider including a button compass, which is a clip-on compass with a little hook that you can attach to your pack/bag or belt. It is always better to have more than one of the things that are in your kit.
If you are checking a bag, you will have room for some additional items that will be available to you in an emergency situation.
Have a duplicate set of the gear you have in your carry-on bag in your checked bag. Building redundancy into your survival gear will help you stay safe. If you can afford it, this also includes a personal locator beacon. If owning two beacons exceeds your budget, keep the one you have in your carry-on bag. Other items to include in your checked bag include:
Spanish-English Dictionary
Phone-Number List
As previously mentioned, you should do a map study of where you are traveling and where you plan on going when you get there. You should also study local customs before you get to a foreign land. A basic understanding and appreciation for these differences can lead to being accepted into a different culture and can also lead to a more rewarding vacation. Do your research on where you are going. A great place to start is The World Factbook page, found on the CIA’s webpage at www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html. This site can give you great information on most countries, including political information, geographic data, the state of the economy, and more. This is a valuable tool to use to get you ready for your trip abroad.
CIA’s World Factbook Webpage
All items in this survival kit should easily get through security and will lend you a peace of mind. You can add to this list, but remember, most airlines are charging more for checked bags. Even though the survival kit is small, compact, and lightweight, you will still need to be prepared in case disaster strikes. In addition to your gear, as mentioned, study the area you are traveling to and see what additional vaccinations you might need and what medication you might need to take. For example, you should take malaria medicine when traveling to a mosquito-infested area. Make sure you practice good hygiene by washing your hands, eating food that is thoroughly cooked, and only drinking bottled water. Learn about the customs of your destination so you are better prepared and you can have a safe, enjoyable trip.