With a few more hours to go before we leave for Langkawi, most of our preparations have now been done.

I would take this opportunity to share with you what are some of the essential things that we are bringing with us along for this trip:

Photography Tools

We will be bringing two cameras along, one acting as a backup.

Pansasonic Lumix GF1: We will be bringing the camera pouch containing the camera and its two lens plus a mini-tripod. We will also be bringing a normal-sized tripod for family, landscape and night shots. It’s important not to forget its battery charger too, as we currently do not have any spare batteries for the camera. We are using a 8Gb memory card which can take over 1000+ photos, so we should have more than enough space for these three days.

Canon IXUS 860IS: Acting as a backup, mainly for video filming in case our 8Gb memory card of the GF1 becomes full (though quite unlikely) or touch wood, the GF1 fails to work properly all of a sudden. We won’t be bringing a charger for this camera however, since it’s just acting as a backup camera which we might not get to use at all.

Swimming/Beach Gear

One of our main activities whenever we go resorts will be swimming.

Besides our own swimming gear (swim wear, goggles, UV protection), additional items need to be prepared for Darius too.

Swim diapers are a necessity, in case he decides to ‘pool-poo’ while swimming. UV protection is also a must for him, since toddlers of his age still have very delicate skin, vulnerable to the UV rays from the sun.

He has already outgrown his previous one-piece swim wear (see Darius’ First Swim at a Pool) so Catherine and I went out to buy a new set for him on Thursday. We are sticking to the same Bright Tots brand, though time time round, we are buying him a two-piece swim wear. Though it’s more expensive than the one-piece version, we thought it would be more flexible as when we decide in the near future that he does not need to wear the top piece (e.g. environment is not cold or there’s minimal UV rays), we can just let him wear the lower piece.

We have also bought a simple air pump to inflate a mushroom-shaped floating cushion we had bought some time back.

Last but not least, we will also be bringing a beach play set where Darius can play with the sand and water from the beach using these tools.

Feeding Items

Milk powder is a must for Darius’ milk feeds and breakfast cereals. To minimise space and weight, we have bought the 400g tin (normal is 900g or 1.8kg tins). Catherine is also bringing some dried berries/raisins to be added to the cereals for flavour and nutrients.

As for his other meals, we are not planning to prepare them ourselves, unlike our last trip, where we brought along a slow cooker and rice to cook his porridge. We are planning to feed him food bought at the eateries during the trip, after ascertaining that he was able to eat rice from our recent food tasting with him (see Food Tasting for Darius).

We will also be bringing his MagMag cup with straw for water drinking, his small spoon, small bowl, cup, bibs, dish washing detergent and cleaning brushes.

Entertainment

While on the move, especially during our flights, we need to keep Darius entertained so that he won’t get too restless. Catherine has recently bought an iPod Touch and copied songs onto it, so that they can be played to him when he was bored. Since Darius loves music, this should help keep him occupied for some time. We have also copied his favourite Dolphin media DVD stories where he could listen and watch them at the same time.

The iPod Touch will also be useful during his sleeping time, to play familiar lullabies to him and help him sleep better.

With its Wifi capabilities, we can also use it to surf the Web, especially after Darius has fallen asleep after nightfall and we don’t feel like sleeping yet. According to the resort’s website, wireless networks should be available at our room.

Traveling

Though we have thought of getting a buggy (aka a smaller and lighter stroller) for convenience during this trip, we were unable to find a suitable one. So we will still be sticking with our current stroller.

Also, as we will be in close proximity with the tropical rainforest, insect repellents (both sticky pad and apply-on types) are essential too, to minimise discomfort from the bites and also cut down risks of contracting Malaria.

Chargers

Unlike the Genting trip, we won’t be carrying that many bulky chargers this time round, thanks to this USB charger we bought recently due to the iPod Touch.

Using this device, we can conveniently charge any gadgets that can be charged with their USB cables, such as our mobile phones and iPod Touch. As such, we only need to bring along their USB cables instead of their bulky adapters. The only exception is our Lumix GF1 camera, where the battery could only be charged using a stand-alone charger.

Misecellaneous

Besides the above-mentioned, there are of course some of the usual stuff like clothings, tidbits and instant coffee/Milo sachets that we will be bringing along too.

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Phew! That is a quite a long list of items to bring, despite us trying our best to minimise our luggage. We are glad we have finally finished packing and could now have a good night’s rest before our three-day trip ahead.

Let’s hope everything along our journey will go smoothly. Be seeing you again soon! ^^

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