.FLYINGHEAD TRAVEL TRICKS
.TITLE Heather in Kuwait: what gadgets to bring on a long trip
.AUTHOR Heather Wardell
.SUMMARY Intrepid Computing Unplugged Contributing Editor Heather Wardell is in Kuwait. As she soon found out, there’s more to traveling with electronics than figuring out how to stuff them all into your luggage.
.OTHER
I am writing this article from Kuwait, on a two-week visit to a friend who’s been working here for four years. As a technology-obsessed traveler, I spent ages trying to decide which devices to bring on the trip. So many wanted to travel with me: Palm Treo, laptop, GPS watch since my friend and I will be running a race in Dubai, camera, iPod shuffle… the list was extensive.
Too extensive, as I’ll mention later, but for now just know that I didn’t want to be absent any of the electronic comforts of home.
.CALLOUT There’s more to traveling with electronics than figuring out how to stuff them all into your luggage.
But there’s no point in taking electronics on a trip unless you’ll be able to charge them as needed, and as I soon found out, there’s more to traveling with electronics than figuring out how to stuff them all into your luggage.
.TEASER Tap here to read the full article
.H1 Know your plugs and power
You need to check out the plug shape and the voltage used in the places you’ll be visiting. The [[http://www.kropla.com/electric2.htm|Electricity Around the World]] Web site showed me that Kuwait’s power outlets supply 240 volts at a frequency of 50 Hertz, and that the outlet shape is very different from my Canadian outlets, which supply 120 volts at a frequency of 60 Hertz. I obviously needed a plug adaptor, and I’ll talk about those in a minute, but to my surprise I didn’t need any voltage converters.
Figure A shows the power cable from my Palm Treo. The important section is circled in red. As you can see, this particular plug can handle anything from 100 to 240 volts, at frequencies from 50 to 60 Hertz. As it turned out, all of my electronics had this same ability to convert the voltage themselves, and so I didn’t need to bring along a transformer. It’s vital to check this, though, as the wrong voltage will not do your devices any favors. Can you say "sizzle"?
.FIGPAIR A Check your devices to ensure they can handle the destination’s voltage and frequency.
Once you’ve either determined that your electronics can handle the voltage or acquired a transforming device (available from any electronics store) to make them handle it, it’s time to deal with the plug shape. The Electronics Around the World site also provides that information, and I suggest that you get an adaptor for each outlet type it says can be found in the places you’ll be visiting.
You can buy adaptors singly, again at most electronic stores, or as a combination piece that lets you pull out the plug you need then change it to a different one for another country. From my research, the combination pieces tend to have more difficulties than the straight-forward adaptors, so unless you are planning to travel the world I suggest getting only the adaptors you actually need.
Figure B shows the adaptor I needed for Kuwait. Single adaptors like this one are available for all types of plugs. The female side can handle both two- and three-prong plugs of varying shapes.
.FIGPAIR B Plug adaptors are portable and fairly inexpensive.
The three-prong plug is of particular issue. My laptop is the only device that has one, and I was concerned because a lot of adaptors don’t have a space for that third, grounding, prong. Of course, since many countries don’t use a grounding prong, it won’t actually be grounding the device while in the adaptor, but I did want to make sure the prong was actually hidden inside. If you have three-prong devices, check carefully that your chosen adaptor can handle them.
.H1 Be selective
Once you have all of your devices receiving the right electricity through the right plugs, what’s next?
Leave half of them at home.
Figure C shows everything I brought with me, including all their power cables. Granted, I will be here for two weeks, and my flights (not including a five-hour layover in Germany) total thirteen hours in each direction and I was afraid to be bored, but I still brought far too much equipment. An iPod full of music and a Palm with the same? A GPS watch for the three runs we planned to do (or for the two it looks like we’ll actually accomplish)?
.FIGPAIR C Bring as little as you can, unlike me.
At least those devices didn’t take up a lot of space. The laptop/netbook, honestly, was my biggest mistake. Fortunately it’s incredibly light, but it and its power cable still took up a good chunk of my carry-on bag. I am using it to write this article, but my friend has two laptops I could have used instead.
.CALLOUT Be ruthless, with your electronics and with packing in general.
And, yes, she told me that before I came, but I wanted the comfort of my familiar devices. Five hours of hauling them around the airport in Germany made them seem significantly less comfortable, I must say. I’d expected to use the laptop to watch movies on the planes but instead found myself feeling more like reading the one paper novel I’d brought. So much for all my gadgets!
I should have brought the Palm and the camera, as both have had a lot of use. The GPS watch makes me feel comfortable on training runs, and it doesn’t take up a lot of space, so bringing it was all right too. But the laptop and the iPod and the separate battery to charge my USB devices that I haven’t used once? They could certainly have stayed at home.
Be ruthless, with your electronics and with packing in general. The wonderful [[http://www.onebag.com/|One Bag]] Web site will help you figure out what you truly do need. (I, not surprisingly, brought more than I needed, but not as much more as I often do, which is thanks to the site.)
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If you frequently visit other countries, consider your electronics purchases for their travel suitability. For example, my new camera’s battery can only be charged in its own charger. If I had bought a camera that could be charged via USB, I’d have needed only a short USB cable instead of the bulky charger.
A little time spent planning, preparing, and then purging your list of things to bring will make your trip comfortable and relaxing.
.BEGIN_SIDEBAR
.H1 Product availability and resources
Visit [[http://www.kropla.com/electric2.htm|Electricity Around the World]].
Visit [[http://www.onebag.com/|One Bag]].
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