The Packing List

I must confess to a little addiction of mine, ok more like a BIG addiction…travel accessories! I am like a kid in a candy store when shopping for travel pillows, luggage and passport holders. The other night, while surfing the web, I discovered a great site called Jet-Setter and before I knew it 2 hours of life were gone. With preparations well under way for my upcoming trip to Ghana, I have started my master packing list. I am no stranger to roughing it in Ghana - on my first trip I lived at an orphanage for 2 weeks sharing a room with a rat, used a toilet cut from plywood and ‘showered’ outdoors with a bucket of river water…oddly this was one of my best experiences and I genuinely appreciated what I had as opposed to dwelling on what I didn’t have. Every visit there has been learning and growing experience in terms of how to best live. Given this will be a long term stay I have put some thought into what items are the essentials, which ones will be handy to have and I’ve also searched for a few comforts from home that I will call my travel treats.

Please note: I have no affiliation with any of the products or suppliers I am mentioning, these are just things I have discovered on my own over the years.

My top 10 list of things to take to Ghana:

The Essentials

Mosquito net (The Travel Tent) LINK – For anyone who has tried to set up a standard mosquito net you appreciate the challenges. On my first trip to Ghana I had a typical net that hangs from the ceiling. The problem: often there was nowhere to hang the net from, or the ceiling was just so high it couldn’t be reached. On this trip with my sister, we got very creative using my crutch as our central pole. In essence, we made a mosquito net tent with the strings on each corner tied to various pieces of furniture around the room. Brilliant! Well, that is until I got up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom and almost clotheslined myself. The eventual collapse of our masterpiece was only inevitable so in sheer frustration, we ended up covering ourselves with the bloody thing. After that debacle, I found a great popup net that is completely free standing. I upgraded for this coming trip and got one that also has a base so it is completely sealed. No worries about visits from any unwanted critters in the middle of the night.

Universal Adapter Travel Converter LINK – There never seems to be enough outlets in rooms especially when traveling with more than one person and everyone needing to charge their phones, cameras and other gadgets all at the same time. I found this adapter on Amazon which is more like a power bar with multiple plugs as well as USB outlets. This will come in very handy!

Battery Powered Tap Light LINK – With power outages being quite common in Africa flashlights are a must. One year I also took battery operated halogen tap lights from Ikea and they worked great. I placed them around the room and with one quick tap there was light. I now bring them along everywhere I travel. I can’t find them on the Ikea site anymore but you can get something similar at most hardware stores.

Handy to Have

Packing cubes LINK changed my life! Seriously. A couple of years ago a friend introduced me to the wonderful world of packing with cubes. Gone are the days of arriving at your destination only to have the first thing you need out of your bag buried ‘somewhere’ at the bottom. Within seconds it looks like a bomb has gone off in your bag. I have the Heys cubes but there are a million options out there now. Keeps everything neat and tidy and in place!

Hand Soap sheets LINK – I always travel with hand sanitizer and liquid soap, so I haven’t tried these yet, but the concept sounds great. Soap in the form of a dry sheet that lathers when wet. No need to carry around heavy liquids or bars of soap that just end up messy and goopy. And you can even carry them around in your purse. They also have shaving cream and shampoo.

GoGirl LINK – I had an internal debate with myself on whether or not to include this one … bordering on TMI…but I’m doing my best to keep it real. The bathroom situation can be a little sketchy in Ghana, especially in my case where squatting is not really possible. Sometimes you just gotta go and not always at the most opportune time! And that is all I will say about this. :-)

Mini Max fan LINK – Back to the outages, a little backup for those nights when it is sweltering is not a bad idea. I am not really a fan of air-conditioning but to have even just a little air flow does wonders at night. I have never traveled with a portable fan but I have experienced on a number of occasions waking up literally in a puddle of sweat because of an unexpected outage overnight. I figure I might as well give this mini max a go.

Travel pocket towel LINK – This one is a bit of a no brainer but for whatever reason I have never purchased a travel towel in all my years of travelling. I end up taking along normal towel that pretty much fills half the suitcase. With all this space I will save, I can now bring more than one towel.

Travel Treats

Travel sheets LINK – I love having my own sheets, regardless of where I am travelling! For this trip I have decided to splurge a bit and get a higher end cotton/silk blend. I am not a great sleeper at the best of times. With the heat and extra-long - and sometimes trying - days, getting a good night’s sleep can be a challenge so I figure a little extra comfort can only help.

Quick Cafe II Travel Coffee Maker LINK – Anyone who knows me knows of my love for coffee … it’s my addiction number two. Real brewed coffee in Ghana for the most part is non-existent. Instant coffee is the norm so I generally travel with my own instant packets and a kettle. I’ve also tried going the French press route; however, it just gets messy and is just not the same as brewed. This year I have actually found a travel coffee maker! The thought of real brewed coffee to start my days has me more excited than you could ever know!

So there you have it, my top 10 ten list. If any of you travel enthusiasts have discovered any other gems that I should know about please share!

Happy packing :-)