Later this month I’ll be taking an extended trip to Kazakhstan and I’ve already started packing.
You see, we won’t be checking any bags (for fear of losing them to flight connections) and that means we’ll need to be more selective while packing. Gadgets tend to add bulk, so these especially have been parsed down to only the essentials.
That being said, I’ll likely need a few more gadgets than the average non-business traveler since I’ll be co-teaching a class of Kazak journalists (as part of the iMedia Project). Now — without further ado — I give you the list:
Headphones
Noise-canceling headphones are probably the best to bring, especially on long flights, but I’m opting to take my backup pair on this trip. Why? Because I won’t be sad if they’re lost or stolen and they take up very little room.
This MyCharge brick is a little more power than I hope to need, but I’ve been known to run down my battery pretty quickly while in airports (listening to music, using Wi-Fi and/or playing a game).
I actually have most of what I need on either Dropbox or Google Drive, but if our Internet turns out to be sketchy this 16GB flash drive will have a backup of everything I need to teach. Pretty sure this flash drive isn’t being made anymore — but these things go on sale all the time.
This is just one of many currency convert apps out there. I chose this one because the user interface isn’t busy, the app stays up-to-date and it’s extremely easy to use. This app also happens to be ad-supported, so there will be the occasional pop up.
Hopefully Google has a language pack for where ever you’re going (assuming you’re headed overseas). If it does, you’ll get to use the image translate feature!
In my case I needed a Type C adapter; by getting these online (ahead of time) I saved some money. Most stores I checked out sold one adapter for the same price as this three-pack.
Chargers
Only two chargers will make the cut for this trip: My phone and laptop chargers. I’m leaving most single-use devices at home on purpose and you probably can too. Especially because most phones fulfill so many roles (camera, camcorder, etc).
Video adapter
To connect my roughly 5-year-old Macbook Pro to a projector, I know I’ll need this mini displayport to HDMI dongle. I only know this HDMI connector will work because I was told ahead of time that it would. So, you might need to call ahead to see what you’ll need.
I need my not-so-light laptop to teach. If I didn’t I might be packing a lighter Chromebook instead. If you’re not presenting anything, something like a Kindle or a small tablet would probably be nice for entertainment on the plane or in the airport.
Obviously, any phone will do. I’ll be relying on Wi-Fi while I’m in Kazakhstan rather than purchasing an international data plan. Luckily, I’ll still be able to receive iMessages and hangout chats. Though, there are a ton of other messaging apps that can be used to get messages over Wi-Fi while you’re traveling.
This is my backup for presenting (should my HDMI adapter not work) but it doubles as a way to grab a Wi-Fi signal and stream TV in the hotel. I don’t expect to do this often, but Chromecasts are small and having the to option to stream to a larger screen will be nice.
I tend to listen to music on planes and Spotify is my music streaming app of choice. So by the time we fly out, I’ll have my favorite playlists saved to my phone. Maybe audiobooks or podcasts are more your speed? There are services that’ll let you save those audio files locally, too.
It’s just a dumb watch, but it still tells time! And I’d never leave for a trip of this magnitude without it. I’ll be rocking a Momentum M50-DSS; it can stand up to a lot of abuse, it’s waterproof up to 500 meters and it doesn’t require charging overnight.
I’d still like to get some health data while I’m there, though. For that I’ll be using a Misfit Ray (fingers crossed that it arrives in time for my departure). Ray tracks steps, sleep and can alert me to emails and messages when they come in on my phone — plus, it’s water resistant up to 50 meters. In the event that it doesn’t get here in time, I’ll be taking a Fitbit Zip instead.
And that’s it, at least as far as technology goes. Check back here sometime in April for my review of the new Misfit Ray fitness tracker.
(Main image by GotCredit / CC BY 2.0)
