", on Four things to bring:
- A few printed pictures of friends and family: so much better than digital images, especially when the power is off and you just need to see a friendly face.
- Multi-plug adaptor: these things are awesome. Even when you prepare with the right type of plug adapter, our globalized world means you might actually need a different one to plug in that Chinese lamp in Sierra Leone.
- Small, portable battery operated radio with a digital tuner: I love the one I have and often bring it with me when traveling upcountry or to another country, filed under, “things that make my life better.”
- Eagle Creek pouches: I used to bring zip lock bags, or buy them at great cost, and then wash them after use but these are better. The best way to keep electronics, cords, personal items dry, clean and organized.
Four things not to bring:
- Power bars: there are very few places in the world where you can’t buy a banana.
- Shampoo: there are very few places in the world where you can’t buy soap.
- Zip off safari pants-to-shorts: you just look stupid. Sorry, this has to be said, and said more often.
- Complicated water filtration and purification systems or tablets: you won’t use them. I promise.
What are some things you think people should bring and not bring when they travel to Africa?
15 Comments
I have never been anywhere in Africa, but when I travel, I bring a flashlight or a candle and matches. And a big silk scarf; they fold up very small but they’re a nice warm layer if it gets cold and will cover your head in a mosque.
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tissage Reply:
August 27th, 2009 at 7:26 PM
@Alanna, I use my phone’s screen as a flashlight, and I agree re. a scarf
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Some small denomination US dollar bills (as in $1′s or $5′s). They’ll be accepted in the most unlikely places. The big notes can be treated with great suspicion; and commonly induce a certain ‘silence’ in the recipient as they teeter on the horns of a dilemma – big money; big forgery
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I’ve been to africa twice. The best advice i can offer is, bring as little as you possibly can, and only what you really need. Less stuff means spending more time focusing on whats around you, less on what you’re carrying around. (and, i suppose that definition changes depending on if its a trip or an extended stay.)
– I suggest a small servicable pocket knife.
– gps
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I’m a bit confused as to why you don’t recommend bring water purification systems – aren’t there a fair amount of parasites in the water?
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You forgot a fanny pack. Don’t bring a silly fanny pack.
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@Alanna, yes, all very good things!
@RunningAnt, I try and avoid handing out money as much as possible, but sometimes, it can’t be avoided. In that case, local currency will usually be fine.
@Jason, if I didn’t think I’d cut off one of my own fingers inadvertently, I’d carry a pocket knife too.
@Christine, while the water isn’t always clean, a complicated filtration system is more likely to weigh you down than help you out. There’s usually bottled water around, and if or when there isn’t, there’s often a good local filtration system.
@Tumwi, damn, what am I going to get you for your birthday now!?!?
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@RunningAnt, I second SL’s advice on foreign currency. Plus anything less than twenty dollar bills is either useless or severely undervalued (different exchange rate for twenties). In certain parts of Mali they wouldn’t even take ten dollar bills. $1? Practically worthless.
On flashlights: bring a headlamp – endlessly more useful than a regular flashlight. Usually you need to be cooking or reading, etc when the electricity goes out (or there just isn’t any). And get a powerful one.
On safari pants: I would surely lose at least one leg if I had zip off pants so luckily I’ve never been tempted, but I have endlessly used my $50 lightweight, quick dry North Face pants that roll up to the knee with a little button. Best clothing purchase ever.
And most importantly – tourist or long term resident – Bring a jacket! It gets cold here!
I do have to defend Power Bars or whatever (I prefer less fancy granola bars), whether you buy them in the US or major city groceries here, they’ve certainly helped keep me satiated on my trips – whether it be long bus rides or stays in a village where, as someone’s house guest I can’t just go out and buy a banana if I don’t like a particular meal (yes I eat what I need to be polite). Bananas don’t keep well in backpacks for very long – I’ve tried, ew.
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Whaaaaaaaat? No powerbars!?!?? I have a hidden stash of granola that is ONLY for travelling (note to long term residents: they’re actually pretty easy to make yourself).
Also, Pepto Bismal, a roll of duct tape, and a Leatherman.
A set of decent clothes for when you get invited to that party/ wedding/ baptism/ etc. Put ‘em in a ziplock bag and shove ‘em in the bottom of your pack. You won’t have any trouble finding find a tailor or seamstress who will iron your clothes for a few cents.
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tissage Reply:
August 27th, 2009 at 7:30 PM
@Theresa Sondjo, hey pocket knife and leatherman people, how do you get those things on the plane, how about “do not bring anything but carry-on luggage”?!
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I like power bars, for all the reasons above. Or just a pack of biscuits.
Also on the small dollar bill front – my father always made me take them, I never used them, and it became a standing joke. Then once I was in Uganda and my car broke down and I didn’t have enough local currency to pay people to fix it (it was the end of a long trip), and dollar bills were handy for freedom of negotiation. Then I went to Congo, where they were essential. Then while in Burundi I needed to change about $3 of leftover Burundian currency and the changer only had $10. Again, useful. My advice would be – they take up practically no room, take them, you won’t use them for ten years, but eventually they’ll save your butt.
Take a sports bra. You might not do any exercise, but it’s handy for long journeys on potholed roads.
And I can’t believe that no-one’s mentioned Cipro!
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re: zip-off pants. They look stupid to who? other judgemental expats? IMHO they are easy to wash and dry, and the best option short of having local pants made while you are there.
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I am totally, absolutely with you on the zip-off pants. It is a pet rant of mine – how ex-pats in Africa seem to think they can dress for meetings in Africa the way they would for hiking in their home countries. The more time I have spent as an adult in Africa, the more I abide by the rule of wearing the same clothes for any given situation as I would in the US (professional clothes for meetings, a nice shirt for an evening out, etc.). For me, the zip-off pants issue is about respect. We need to dress appropriately for the occasion we are attending and the people we will be with, not rely on our ex-pat privilege to make it ok that we are wearing dirty cutoffs and flipflops.
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rachel Reply:
September 2nd, 2009 at 8:16 PM
@amazedlife, haha exactly, I actually dress way better abroad than at home. America is a very casual country and I got tired of looking like a shlump
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Cash. Lots of cash. In post-2006 $100 bills. And some ingenuity. There’s nearly always a local solution somehow, and you can feel good about stimulating the local economy.
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Hand sanitizer! For those days when you’ve shaken numerous hands and used a pit latrine or two before sitting down to eat lunch with your hands.
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Meh — I always use water purifiers. It’s a pain to lug bottled water everywhere & iodine pills are much lighter — I’ve often lived without running water — and it’s not a great idea to drink collected rain water without purifying it, especially when your stove is out of gas.
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More underwear than you think you need. I actually had to buy a few extra pair at Uchumi this summer because I was too cavalier about the whole packing thing. Obama t-shirts went over well, but who knows where we will be a year from now in terms of political street cred. An I-pod loaded with Bruce Springsteen for those trying overland journeys. . .
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