Pre-Travel Checklist: Our Packing Checklists And Pre: Fill & Download for Free

One of the mistakes I think a traveler makes is not bringing small bills. Especially in the Philippines, there will be a lot of tipping to the porters in the airports, hotels etc. ( especially if you travel the different islands ) It is not a neccessary but a nice thing to do.Another is not bringing medications familiar to us. An example would be tylenol. Our tylenol here looks different from any other tylenol and sometimes it is just more comfortable to take something you are familiar with. I would always travel with a z pack ( zithromax/ azithromycin ) antibiotic just in case. Just make sure you travel with the prescription in hand as well. ( This is specially true for more “serious” medications )Lastly and most importantly, If you have any medical condition, always bring a small photocopy of your medical abstract, which you can get from the doc or hospital. Example, if you have diabetes and would require insulin, you should have the insulin dosing and frequency written by your doctor and kept in your wallet. Or if you have had a heart angioplasty or bypass. Photocopy to the smallest readable and laminate.Traveling to the Philippines or any other country for a vacation should always be fun, so just pre plan your trip and make a checklist.I make a pre flight checklist ( clothes, medications, devices ) and a last minute reminder checklist ( chargers, socks, shades, jacket ) always. it helps to make every trip pleasant when you are ready.Hope this helps!

And The I’ve been following this question for a while, assuming other people would give most of the same answers that I would, but not really, so here’s my addition. Obviously I could list 1000 things (I’ve literally considered writing a book about this), but here are some of the simplest and most useful tips and tricks. This should be a good complement to the other answers that were mostly about packing and safety.Picking a destination - Venice and Paris and London indeed have a lot of cool stuff to see (otherwise so many people wouldn’t go there), but the world is full of great places to see. We’ve usually had the most fun in lesser-visited countries, and off-the-beaten-track cities and attractions. Plus, you’ll get to actually hang out with locals instead of being washed away in a sea of other tourists. Venice is almost ruined at this point through over-touristing. Leverage social media (photo sites, Pinterest, etc) to find places that are INTERESTING TO YOU, not just the places “everybody” has to see, and then plan a trip around that. We really like those “weirdest places in Europe” kinds of lists for inspiration.BookingSites like Hipmunk and Google Flights make it a lot easier to find decent deals to places. You can even subscribe to searches and they will email you each day as the price goes up and down.No matter how good a deal seems, I’ve almost always had the best luck booking flights and most hotels DIRECTLY and not through a travel agent or discount service. After all the hidden costs (the resellers have to make their money somehow, right? they always find a way) the price is usually about the same, and way less hassle if you need to change, cancel, or get help.Book your hotel for the first city you’re arriving in (some passport control officials require it, and may even ask for the hotel’s address), and also book a hotel close to or at the airport for the last night before you leave —especially for an early flight, so much easier to just stumble out of bed and into the airport. For some destinations you’ll want to book the whole thing in between, but for many, it’s nice to be flexible and book a few days in advance as you go. Who knows where fate will take you. The power of electronic tablets and hotel booking apps make this possible.ItineraryPerhaps it’s my career influence, but we increasingly take an agile/scrum software approach to trip itinerary. Make a checklist of all the things you think you want to see in a basic app that allows dragging and dropping things (Google Keep works pretty good, or IOS reminders — things like that). Also make dividers for the various days, e.g. —-Fri Oct 12—-, —-Sat Oct 13—-. Then as the trip goes on, drag things into place on the day that makes sense. You can constantly adjust your backlog as you go. Don’t forget to make note of special conditions right there in the title (e.g. Uffizi Gallery - CLOSED MON) so you don’t schedule something for a day it’s closed.Similarly, make a map of all the attractions and restaurants you might want to visit on the trip. Especially for food, it’s nice for those days when you’re suddenly starving and you can check your map for a good place from your list nearby, rather than stumbling into just anyplace and being disappointed. Ditto for attractions you’re not 100% sure you want to see, but if you’re in the neighbourhood you might as well wander by. Google Maps has some cool features for creating custom maps.Eat breakfast in your room. Travelling breakfasts are expensive and time-consuming. It’s usually best to stop by a market and buy some food that will keep well (pastries, bread, cheese, fruit, etc) that you can snack on first thing in the morning and then head straight out for that first thing to see. Plus, grocery shopping in foreign countries is a blast.For major cities, do some research to see if it’s worth buying a transit pass and/or one of those attraction passes. Sometimes it is, and sometimes it’s not, but don’t make assumptions. Some are a great deal, some are a total waste of money, and some would be a great deal if only you were staying twice as long.Preparation - In this digital age, here are the things I do that help with planning.Maps - Download an offline version of the Google Maps for the areas you’re visiting. This way you can navigate even without roaming or a phone signal at all.Itinerary - Build your itinerary backlog and map like I mentioned before so you’ve got a rich list of pre-researched things to choose from without having to plan out every single day.Wifi - Download an app like Wifi Maps Pro (there are several) that will help you find free wifi locations. Before you leave the airport or your hotel each day, use their wifi to download the local maps etc.Language - Learn a few key phrases in the language. You don’t need much: Hello. Thank you. Bill please? Toilet? . . . But those will help you a ton. Also, in the Google Translate app, you can download the whole target language for offline use, and that’s handy. You can even look up key phrases and foods and save them in your history for quick reference. We’ve literally shown our phone to people sometimes when communication fails. “где туалет?”Food - Make a list of all the most well known dishes in the places you’re visiting. This accomplishes two things: 1) a checklist of what to try (or avoid, if you have restrictions or allergies), and 2) reduces the need for translation when ordering, because you’ll recognize some things on every menu.Products - There’s a whole industry of travel products. You don’t need most of them. Here are the things I swear by:A few SMALL power converters that specifically fit my phone/tablet charger. Avoid those gigantic things that work for every country in the world, because you’re not visiting every country in the world.Similarly, having a power backup battery is really useful.Those packing cubes where you can put all your socks into a little nylon bag and then compress it are really nice. Keeps your suitcase nice and tidy too, and also helps to shield breakable souvenirs for the trip home (encase it in the middle of your sock bag or whatever).Having some lightweight, easy to wash clothes can be handy. There are extra special and expensive travel underwears and things out there, but it’s mostly about just thinking about lightweight, wrinkle-free stuff when you’re buying regular clothes. Including a warm yet lightweight jacket.

Long Haul Pilots are creatures of long standing bad habits which might appear as highly strange to the layman. Habits only they understand fully as only individual bodies understand these habits. The Clock and the hours of day has no meaning for them other than to inform them when to wake, when to sleep, when to eat….etcI have been a long haul pilot for longer years than I care to remember, so I guess I can answer this question with some honesty and clarity.First of all one must understand the definition of long haul flights.Long haul flights is defined as Flying longer than 8 hours in a continuous stretch over one or two sectors ( a sector is a takeoff and landing) AND crossing a time zone period of more than two hours, from the departure station.On the other hand, flying on a continuous duty of eight or more hours over multiple sectors, within a time zone less than two hours, is not considered long haul flying, Its called short or medium haul flying with typically long or short duty times. Like spending eight hours or more in an Office environment within the same City or travelling to a nearby City for work and return home.Nevertheless, the Fatigue involved in both kinds of flying are ever present. In this answer I will describe how a typical long haul duty day or days starting from home Base.The time of departure from home station influences the start of a day’s routine. If the departure is in the day time hours, say from 6 am to 12 noon, it is a day time departure and the preparation would start the night before. If it is a evening or night time departure, the preparation could start in the early part of the day. Such as the endless packing and unpacking of bags. Is it a winter destination I am going to, or a summer destination ? Am I going to need a winter overcoat or a light jacket ?Toothbrush-CheckToothpaste-Check … heck I need a new tubeShampoo - CheckShaving razor -CheckClean Socks ?….etc etcPacking bags has become a refined art for me.Whatever, the long haul pilots most important equipment is the watch or home clock ! I wear a watch 24/7, 365. A minute is a looooong time for me, in which I can accomplish much.On most of my rostered flights, the journeys or flights are longer than ten hours and requires us to operate with either a two set crew or a three man crew. A two set crew will consist of two captains and two first officers and a three set crew would consist of two captains and one first officer or two first officers and a captain, depending on the airline agreed duty schedules.That aside, long haul flights and crew complements are governed by a strict sets of Official Rules simply called “Flight Time Limitations” or FTL. All Airline Operations are governed by State Regulated FTLs , which are strictly and fastidiously required to be complied with, and monitored. Records are kept and it is not left to individual imaginations or wily- nilly interpretation. If the FTL is not followed, or busted intentionally or unintentionally, reports have to be filed and investigated. This is to prevent crews from flying in a state of ‘fatigue’, compromising the safety of the passengers, crew and equipment.OK, let me take you an long haul flight starting at my home Base. The time of departure is at 11 pm ( 2300hrs Local) with an expected flight time of 14 hrs and 30 minutes to destination X. The time difference between departure station and destination is six hours. Definitely a long haul of unholy proportions.Humans have been categorised as Larks ( early awakers) or Owls ( wide awake at night characters). Each Type operates best in his/her own time zone. I am most certainly an Owl, not a Lark, so I usually wake up well past 11 am at home Base. I can keep awake for long hours at night like an owl ( as I am doing now, at 3 am, writing this answer !)Since I am an Owl, and I have a long haul Flight starting at night…….I Rejoice. I will go to bed the previous night at something like 3 or 4 am and wake up at midday. On the other hand if I have long haul flight commencing at say 8 am Local time, I will try to go to bed as early as possible, like 7 pm not that an owl can sleep that early at night. I will toss and turn, unable to go into deep sleep, like an owl forced to sleep at night, but the enforced rest in bed for an early awakening is most helpful.For my long haul flight with scheduled off time of 11 pm ( 2300) tonight, I will have to report for duty at Crew Briefing ninety minutes ( or one and half hours) BEFORE the departure time ie 9.30 pm. I choose to report two hours before departure time. ie at 9 pm for a leisurely preparation for flight, with a cup of Earl grey tea with milk, no sugar.My day starting around midday, will have me typically preparing for the night long haul Flight as follows :Leisurely brunch or lunch around 1pm ( 1300), packing the Bags, checking Company mails and updating my Electronic manuals ( on the I-Pad), not forgetting to polishing the Company issue shoes ! Catching a late afternoon nap for like three hours from say 3 pm to six pm is the next thing I would do and up at 6 or 6.30 pm to begin my owlish ‘day’………..actually I’ve found that with this routine, I can actually stay awake right up to dawn the next day !One hour to get the three S’s done, will have me calling in a Taxi at 7.00 pm and I stroll into the briefing Center,bright eyed and bushy tailed like the proverbial Owl starting his ‘day’ , at 8 pm, with the flight plan already loaded on my I-pad. The other crews would roll in anytime from now to the official reporting time of 9.30. The Larks in the crew may be looking a little ragged as Larks do after sunset. But the owls in the crew will either be chatty or moan, depending on their crew positions.ALL the crews ie the Cockpit crew, will be present for the briefing at which the appointed Pilot In Command will hold court with the rest of the crew. An explanation of the crew complement and disposition for the flight is in order.On this 14.30 flight, requiring two sets of cockpit crews as mentioned above, we will be divided into Team A and Team B. Team A will consist of the Captain and First Officer who will command and operate this flight, who will do both the takeoff and landing at the destination. Team B also consisting of two pilots will be the ‘relief crew’ ie relieving the Team A in flight.The Crew briefing with the Cabin crew takes about ten minutes, with the Cabin’s chief purser introducing the cabin crew complement. Each crew member is introduced by name and where each will be positioned and their duties. The Chief Purser organizes chores from the front of the cabin, while the second in charge, will organize the rest of the crews and activities from the rear cabin.One of the most important aspects of the briefing is the security briefing which all Airlines these days take very seriously. Who is on board, what is on board, Company threat and security assessments for the day,’ suitable’ enroute stations for diversions, emergency response codes etc. No more can be said, sorry.The Captain then takes the lead to first of all introduce the Flight Deck crew. The second Captain is automatically the Second in Command for the Flight. The route and weather en-route is discussed with emphasis on possible areas of weather and turbulence which gives the cabin crews a heads up on suitable periods to conduct their services in the cabin. At the end of it the Captain dismisses the briefing with a nice cheery smile, wink and wave, sniffing the scent of glamorous women in the air, emulating Al Pacino …and off we go to the crew bus or Terminal to board our airplane.We will have about forty five minutes to an hour or slightly more from arrival at the aircraft to get under way, with passengers boarding as soon as we are ready.The pre flight preparation in the flight deck is intense and concentrated, not forgetting to synchronize the old Rolex to GPS derived time to the exact second. ( a long standing personal habit, which was done to the BBC radio time hack in the past ) . The cabin preparations can only be described as a frenzy. Catering to three hundred passengers and loading their needs is an intense, focused choreography of frenzied activity.Fifteen minutes to go, we are ready on the flight deck and you will hear the Captain, welcoming his guests on board, a disembodied voice, with his ass pointing at them. Where else do you hear a speech with the speaker pointing his behind at you ?Schedule time off minus five minutes and hopefully everything ready, a call is made to Air Traffic Control, advising them of our readiness. These days that can be made by Data Link, followed by a short call to a chattering ground frequency. Brevity on radio calls is appreciated and accepted these days.Like all good Pilots everywhere, one minute to schedule off time, I give the order to weigh anchor.The Tug Men, call “Release the brakes Captain”The Start up and Taxi out to take off is conducted in quiet concentration.As I lift off with a huge load of fuel and people into the night sky, and shortly thereafter engage the Autopilot, a wave of relief washes over, as we begin to relax…just a little. The activity up to now, has been intense, concentrated.The heart rate begins its slow climb down.When we reach an initial cruising altitude, appropriate for our heavy weight, usually in the low thirties, another flight deck briefing is carried out with a discussion on what we would do in the next hour in the event of a ‘situation’ developing. The situations include but are not limited to, engine failures or shut downs, pressurization failures or emergency ‘escape routes’ if we are flying over mountainous terrain. Or a badly needed diversion for ‘medical evacuation’ to suitable airports enroute. We re-brief every hour or so throughout the flight to keep everyone in the loop and ‘situationally aware’.We give the Sterile Cockpit ‘over’ Signal to the Cabin get confirmation informing us that everything is under control and that services are about to begin. And we could have our drinks…on the house !For me it is another Earl Grey, while others would have their coffees or other preferred beverages.The shoulder harnesses and ties come off, comfy slip on shoes or loafers are donned, sweaters or jumpers thrown over and the communications go on speakers, as we settle down for the night.The last hour or so from push back to start, take off to climb to altitude had been an intense period of continuous activity on the flight deck, with no room for errors, or frivolous small talk.Everyone was all eyes, and ears, mind only on the Job, the glamorous scents remembered at briefing forgotten.Now the banter begins.Everything from moaning about the Rosters to the scent recognised and plans laid for the layover. Certain scents remembered at the briefing may now be recalled and plans laid for the upcoming layover !Now, coming on midnight, the owl in me comes alive, night eyes and senses fully awake, focused and alive. The tea is stimulating.I’m ready for the long night haul.An intricate calculation now takes place on the flight deck. Usually the two co pilots are engaged in this complicated task, which I find mind boggling, so I refrain from getting involved. Except to arbitrate if necessary.The time of take off to the Top of Climb has been recorded. This is then subtracted from the total flight time and a further hour added. the remaining time is now divided in two and voila, the result gives us the exact time for the relief crew to spend in the bunks…..in flight relief and rest time.Add that time to current time on the clock and off they go into the bunks.I find this hilarious, as the crews sometimes get into little arguments about three minutes on the calculation and knot themselves up in their knickers, trying to get the numbers right.Some crews actually have an App to calculate all this using their phones. Zulu times, converting to local times if necessary. Alarms are then set on these times for the changing of guard on the Flight Deck.Three hours into the Flight…Probably 0200 home time. The Lark on board, if unfortunately having the right seat today, is beginning to look a little woozy. The Owl is fully awake, so we can decide on a ‘rest at station’. A power nap of no more than forty minutes at a time to give the lark time to recover.And so it goes, Communications watch, changing frequencies and making contact with various ATC Units as we cross borders. Weather watch and evaluation. Weather radar sweeping ahead at various ranges to check for rocks ahead. Time and fuel burns are recorded fastidiously at reporting points as the journey progresses through the night.Sometimes the cabin crews will come in and spend time with us, keeping us company.If there is a moon about, it gives a surreal light inside the cockpit and over the terrain if it is not covered in cloud. or reflects off the clouds. One of the most magical moments of flying I have experienced is over the Himalayas or Greenland on a moonlit night.Five Hours…Just maybe, if we are heading East, a perceptible lightening of the horizon ahead awakes the Lark, while the Owl now blinks, and blinks again.Night Passeth into dayIf we are heading west the night is continuous.The heart rate has wound right down and the biorhythm effects of late night takes over. One can alternate between periods of complete wake fullness, to a kind of woozy wake fullness, alert still, but disembodied.The first long haul pilot in history, Charles Lindbergh, described this ghostly feeling of disembodiment when he flew alone at night for hours over the Atlantic Ocean on his historic flight from New York to Paris, in his Ryan NYP, The Spirit of St Louis. He described seeing ghostly figures urging him on, or lulling him into sleep, which would have plunged him right into the cold dark Atlantic, never to be heard of again.Getting up and stretching or taking little walks helps restore the circulation or wake fullness. Poor Lindy didn’t have that luxury as he sat cramped behind that early bird, without the benefit of an autopilot, inspiring all of us to this day.The conversations on the flight deck, animated in the earlier hours, has died down to essentials, while we get regular calls from the cabin a requirement to check whether we are awake ! . The unthinkable has happened before. More cups of tea, coffee or light meals are ordered and consumed. Some can down a fully loaded steak sandwich at 0400. For me the best bet is apples or other fruits. Regular Hydration becomes very important in the now dry cabin and flight deck, so water replaces the tea or coffee now. Just water is best.If the sun is coming up, the horizon turns light ‘as night passeth into day, with nary a word said’ The ever changing colors of a new day dawning going from a faint streak of light purple, glowing lilac, orange and into day break, with the sun peeping over the horizon never fails to impress, however many times one has experienced it.Six Plus hours……First shades of a new dayAs Night passeth into dayThe Owl is blinking harder now and has almost had it. Changing of the guard is eagerly awaited.They come in on the dot at the appointed hour, to the minute. Three minutes of additional rest does make a difference to some.A thorough briefing to the incoming cruise relief crew is performed by the outgoing Team A. It follows a prescribed checklist of items, starting with ‘Aircraft status’ ending with ‘Cabin Condition’…..a brief if anything amiss has taken place in the cabin, such as an on board illness or other trouble.The inbound crew are in their comfy clothes, like track pants and sweaters and loafers etc, and usually continue in them rather than changing back into dress uniforms. A sensible choice.Within minutes, the two members of Team A will be on their way out to the bunks.Personally, I stay an additional few minutes on the deck to chat with Team B. ‘Sleep Inertia’ when a woozy brain after sleep taking longer to register, is a real problem, so staying for a few minutes to engage them in conversation, while they settle down to the task, is helpful.We will come on board ninety minutes to one hour before landing. For now Team B, with the relief Captain in command will take the airplane towards the destination. On the way back I will act as Team B, relieving the Team A in the cruise.A passing shipTeam B has the airplane…For now, I have six hours, three and half minutes to shut eye and recover from the long night I’ve had. I crawl into the bunk and within minutes I am counting prancing lambs. I have an alarm to wake me up precisely one and half hours before landing.Ninety Minutes to destination…I come awake on the alarm in a dark bunk, disoriented.Always the same feeling of disorientation. Its got to do with the upset rhythm over time zones. Some get up and out fast. I need at least ten minutes to get going.The worst problem is getting to the toilets. By now, the final service prior to arrival at destination is under way in the cabin and it is rush hour at the johns.Don’t laugh, I have had a go into empty water bottles in sheer desperation.Changing now into uniforms as we are landing, I make my way to the flight deck. Team B is fully awake and there is a lot of radio chatter going on as we approach destination. I sit on the jump seat taking in the chatter and outside scene as we prepare the change of guard..Call it paranoia, but the first thing I look at is the fuel state, ie the arrival fuel.Next thing I scrutinise is the arrival weather forecast or latest ATIS report, which Team B will have ready, printed sitting on the stand.These two items are of great initial interest, as they will determine the pucker factor for me as we proceed to destination.Coming into Chicago O’ Hare, on a snowy winter morning, with limited cleared runways and / or minimum fuel, is not a happy start. Both have happened in the past, so that is the first thing on the list to look at.So let’s say today everything appears Kosher, I can expect a relaxed sphincter, as we make our way inbound to destination.Team B gives us a thorough briefing of the situation, recent past and present, before the captain vacates his seat and I slide in.The First Officer also slides in and we go into action.First we do a thorough briefing between ourselves as we check everything on the airplane, fuel state, calculate landing performance, set up the approaches and charts etc.Briefing complete, the next ‘to do’ item is the PA to the people. The most important thing is to get the local time right. Damn, I have said Nine PM arrival time, instead of AM ! Sleep Inertia. That taken care of, we are now fully ready to commence our descent and approach to land.When the weather is nice, we will actually enjoy the view, as we make our way inbound to land.The transition from landing to maneuvering on the ground, to the parking gate, after a long haul flight is the hardest part for me, especially if we are going into a seldom flown to airport. Paris De Gaulle is one. The French English, the strange taxiway markings, get me. So I deliberately slow down to a crawl, as we transition from air mode to ground mode to give my brains time to adjust to the new environment, as I transition from Cloud Dancer to land lubber. Its doubly worse if it is a night arrival, as the eyes get adjusted to the myriad night lights lighting up an airport.The engines shut down at the Gate, Technical Log Books signed off and the guests out of the airplane, we are ready for the next long haul…….ride the bus to the hotel or take the Taxi home, which always feels longer than the flight, as we fight an overpowering desire to fall asleep in the bus or taxi.There will be a short de briefing with the cabin crew outside the aircraft, this time the scent of women absent or forgotten. The smiles are wan or forced.On reaching the Hotel and Check In, we wont hear from each other as both the Larks and the Owls would have had it by now, and crash into their soft beds, not coming up for air until hours later. It takes me a minimum of ten hours to recover.If I head to my current lonely apartment, I get myself a drink, sit at my writing bunker and punch out Quora to see who is asking what !Trust this gives Readers an idea as to the wonders of Long Haul Airline flying.Edit 1In a Blog I write here in Quora, I described another long haul Flight from Tokyo to the Middle East. It is in three parts with a detailed description of the process to get our Dreamliner over the length and breadth of China over the the Himalayas in an eleven hour night flight.Follow it here if it interests you :A Winter Odyssey…….across ChinaA Winter Odyssey across China….. ETOPSCrossing the Himalayas in the Dreamliner…..