- Don’t pack clothes in plastic or garbage bags inside suitcases. I’ve personally experienced: suitcases sitting on the tarmac in driving rains; opened a bag only to find something leaked all over my clothes while in the cargo hold; and, had smelly, dusty everything from dust thrown up while jolting in cars over incredibly bad roads (the dust also turned my dark hair a muddy shade of brown). If you trek, all good tour operators will tell you to pack in garbage bags since your duffel will either be on a llama, horse, mule or back of a Sherpa.

- Don’t carry warm clothes in backpacks while day hiking. Mountains make their own weather and we’ve begun day hikes in 80+ degrees, that progressed to rain, and turned into snow towards the top of the mountain. It may sound laughable, but these articles are always in our backpacks when hiking. Goretex or rain pants, Goretex or rain jacket, warm hat and gloves. Unprepared hikers have frozen to death or become hypothermic from not carrying proper clothing with them.

dusty roads in Ethiopia 

duffels on donkey transport in Turkey
- Don’t tell anyone, at the hotel front desk or a friend, what your plans are for the day. A person can vanish, get injured, develop amnesia, who knows. And who will alert the proper authorities if you don’t return since no one knew your intended whereabouts.

- Don’t pack for the unexpected. A few articles of warm clothes may be indispensable even heading to warm weather destinations. Laos had an unusually cold winter a few years ago and most of our group was unprepared for frigid, early morning temperatures. ex-Marine (husband, Steve) and I flew in from a Chicago winter…that says it all, but I would have killed for a pair of lightweight long underwear to sleep in.

Mr. Sa freezing on the Nan Po in Laos
We also carry a medical kit with pain relievers, antibiotics, antiseptic, cough medicine and so many other items that have been added over the years. There’s nothing, for example, like getting sick to your stomach, diarrhea, or a coughing spell during the middle of the night to convince you to carry all of this. It’s either that or wait until morning to find a pharmacy IF there is a pharmacy in town.

- Don’t bring ear plugs. The little, smooshy, disposable ear plugs are so easy to carry and even in the best hotels, there have been instances where I’ve needed them and so will you. Five-star is not a synonym for quiet unless you are on a deserted island and even then the crickets may drive you nuts. I’ve used them on trains, a boat heading upriver in Kalimantan/Borneo (the motor was inches away from my ears), and wished they were with me in a Chinese airport when boarding announcements were screamed out every two secconds.

- Don’t bring a flashlight. Outages are extremely common throughout the world. Power goes out in New York, Los Angeles. You never know and a small flashlight also comes in handy while sightseeing in caves or dimly lit areas. Take the batteries out after the trip and check before using again.
…and Number 7…

Don’t look in both directions before crossing a street! Many countries around the world drive on the left-hand side of the street, something we United States residents aren’t accustomed to. It is way too common for tourists to accidently step out looking the wrong way right into the path of a car, motorcycle or truck. There’s a reason London has arrows showing which way to look painted on the streets at crosswalks. We were constantly reminding each other…”look right…look right”…to avoid becoming a statistic.