Since I just returned from India and had some think time on the plane I thought of what will I do differently the next time that I travel to India to make my trip a bit more smoother.
So here is a list of things to make the trip to India optimized. Feel free to add your own.
1) Write down passport numbers, expiry dates, issue dates, issue place of all passports in your travel team. Do the same for your VISA, PIO / OCI Card also. Having all these details on a single piece of paper will mean that you don’t have to remove the passports of everyone traveling with you while filling out immigration and customs forms.
2) Ditch the T-shirt and Wear a shirt with pockets Or a jacket with pockets on a plane. A shirt pocket comes in very handy to keep various little things like passports, boarding passes, mini-snacks, tissues, ipod, etc. There are so many places that you have to show your passport that you are never sure when is a good time to keep it away in the bag permanently. A pocket ensures your passport is safe while going thru security checks , etc.
Looking at the number of times that we have to show the passport now, it becomes a hassle to handle the passport in one hand, the bags in another and manage the kids too. I am almost tempted to carry a flat pouch over my neck (like a necklace) which will hold the passports while proceeding thru various checks to the boarding gate.
3) Go in for a smaller carry on bag. A smaller carry on bag will fit in multiple places rather than a big one.
Will update as I think of more things.
I agree Prashant, a Shirt with many pockets but with zippers will be very helpful. I think there is a market for these types of shirts…Any KV designer wants to take up the challenge or do we need to contact Manish Malhotra 🙂
No velcro shirts 🙂
Last few times we always made a bag pack of toys(books/crayons/puzzles) only for the kids, which stayed near the seat so that handy to remove their toys.
Sorry I have not been to India for almost 4 years so NO COMMENTS.
When I first travelled to US alone, my FIL wrote all the info that Prashant mentioned in point no. 1 in a small diary with other important phone nos. and addresses.
For US Citizens – It is a good idea while traveling out of US – to register on the travel.state.gov website – there is a form you need to fill up – that you will be travelling to what destinations / dates, etc. This is helpful if you need help from the US consulate in case of US passport getting lost, etc or any other help needed from US consulate.
For US Citizen, the US consulates worldwide help US Citizens in case of emergency, evacuation, etc. Have known a case where a person who was duped in property related issue in Banglore and was successful in getting the money back via US Consulate who complained to home ministry of india who in turn put pressure on the state police to get the builder to return the money.
– A photographer’s vest will provide you enough pockets to keep your documents and other handy stuff. of course, with so many pockets you will need to organize
– less and smaller carry on item is always better. the new guidelines prohibit more than 1 carry on bag
– BhaveshG has a good suggestion for making your tax dollars to work for you
Nimit writes about “How to get an Exit Seat on a plane” in his blog and probably a good addition to this discussion. 🙂
http://blog.nimit.maru.us/2010/01/how-to-always-get-an-exit-row-seat-with-emirates-or-any-other-airline-2/