Most useless item to carry around in India ? MUI

whatiyam

in the hot weather, on can use two sets of clothing easily if they are made from microfiber. in hot dry weather, they can dry in 4 hours. and during monsoon they are the only thing that will dry at all. plus they don't absorb sweat so they stay very light in hot weather. my microfiber slacks were the single most useful item i took to india last time. a decent hat is second. pair of teva sandals would be third (couldn't find any sandals there that fit me, was not near a bata store when needed new pair. fourth would be thai deodorant stone, during long hot travel periods, keeps you from feeling and smelling so funky.

thing i had that was useless, was heating water bag to hang as shower. i was and did rough it for quite a while, go in without hot shower for months, but never got around to using it.

things i wished i had taken while i was there -- travel mirror, when i was there i just didn't get around to buying one, and i probably would have had to toss it and get a new one each place.
another thing i wished i had was a decent pillow. now i have a heat sensitive pillow that conforms to shape of head, it is smaller than regular pillow. haven't decided to carry it with me yet. actually i am still considering taking my Teach Yourself Hindi book.

SANJAY_DEL

Most cars do not have lighters or plugs for charging phones etc.
99.99 % taxis will not have a cigarette lighter! Everybody uses a matchbox.
Your battery charger will need an adaptor so you can plug it into an electric socket (220 Volts).

Flyer

Thanks Sanjay. That is the information I needed. Not sure I can bring all those adaptors--might just settle for buying batteries, which I presume are in plenty supply.

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Flyer
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70s-80s overlander

I've wondered about -- and asked about this before -- without any clear answer. Do Indian cars reliably have 12-volt cigarette lighters (DC power outlets)??

capt_mahajan

As sanjay says, Not all. Some higher end ones do, and, in some cases, people have them installed.

mommywizard

For a trip, you might as well buy batteries - they're plentiful and cheap. I brought a battery charger and didn't use it until I settled down in one place a good while, then it was worth it. Not sure what you want the GPRS for unless you're trekking. Be careful with your laptop and only use it with a voltage stabilizer. I and my companions lost 3 laptops in 6 months due to voltage surges above and beyond what the basic surge protectors could handle. Plug in ONLY to charge and then use on battery power.

palerider

the battery charger was the hardest thing to find. I took recharge batteries, thinking it would be a cinch to buy a charger. EEk, no. The batteries cost about what they cost in Oz. And Australia doesn't sell adaptor plugs for India, just every other country on earth.
The MOST useless thing I took with me was a bath towel like the ones the olympians use, those little pieces of nothingness that dry instantly, and take up no space.
They don't dry instantly in 99 percent humidity and you have to lug them around so as to make all your stuff stink in your pack.
A towel costs about three dollars Australian. I just threw caution to the winds and bought a little one each time the old one got unwell.

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Ktwo

Yes excellent list. However a couple of minor suggestions

Swiss Army Knife
Yes - but get a model where the main blade can be locked open (You know it is the only way to keep up you typing speed), get one with scissors and of course the most imortant bottle and cork opener.

Water Bottles
I must admit I prefer Nalgene botttles to Sigg, I like the wider neck, it allows you to put flavour powder in easily, and you can store things inside it when you are not using it for water. The bottle is translucent so you can see how much water you have left, and whether there is any debris in the water, although sometimes you might not want to know.
I also like to be able to use the measure on the side for cooking. In cold tempretures there is not as much chance of the bottle sticking to your lips although this does give people a bit of a laugh at your expense.

Maglite
I always use a Petz LED headtorch.
LED means the batteries last for ever.
Headtorch - you might look a bit of a prat but it frees your hands to read your book, maps, fix cars, look for lost contact lenses, or check how much water is in your nalgene bottle

camelgirl

I really like this thread!

India really keeps you on your toes. I have always brought an "India plug" adapter and used it with no problem, but on our recent trip it didn't fit in any outlets in Delhi or Rajasthan and we had to buy another one which I'd never seen before. The lesson, I guess, is there is no such thing as an India adapter. Same thing happened in Sri Lanka last year. An adapter which seems to be made only for Sri Lanka. So I couldn't use what I'd brought.

I've just discovered (& bought) a really neat new water bottle from Nalgene's website. It's got the same top as the big bottle but the bottle isn't a bottle, it's a heavy plastic that goes flat when empty and is called a canteen http://www.nalgene-outdoor.com/store/detail.aspx?ID=71

I've tried it on a car trip and it was great. It should also be great for serious traveling. But until I use it I won't know if it's one of those "useless" or great items! I've also just bought a steripen, which together with my new "canteen" should provide a prefect travel combo for safe water! I use bottled water in India but would really like to stop adding to plastic waste garbage of India (& the world).

And a on my princeton tech (very small) headlamp and 25 yr. old ever useful Swiss Army knife

04274108

Most useless item to carry around in India ? A "Do Not Disturb" sign.

camelgirl

Nick-H

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Just one member of the IndiaMike Mod Team

featherbrain

I was able to get my camera batteries charged in a film processing shop in Laos. Any chance of this in India?

wichy

Lots of mini-DV cassetes for my video-camera. I nearly didn't have a time to make photos and didn't want to shoot anything - the process takes too much of your attention and you can't simply enjoy you trip - so I used just 2 cassetes for some perfomances we visited.

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Anilk222

Carrying the hammock every weekend while driving from Mubmbai... would never find two trees closeby !!