Travel Warnings for the unwary

As this is the middle of the summer vacation season, here are a few warnings to take into account while you are away.
The BBC put out this warning for tourists going through Thailand: Tourists warned of Thailand airport scam that warns people to be careful when wandering in the dutyfree shopping area and a scam using a the store, the police, and a translator who will try to scam you into paying thousands of dollars to be allowed to leave the country in spite of a suspicion of "shoplifting".

Just the Flight has put together a nice infographic: A pretty useful guide to preserve your money against scam

Move to end Bill Shock: Telecoms Slash Data Roaming

(Cross posted between my travel and telecom blogs)

Over the past 18 months or so the telecom industry has been
slowly going through a subtle change that affects travelers.

Back in December 2012 Telecom [New
Zealand] announced a breakthrough new approach to international data roaming
that will slash costs for travellers when using their
smartphones and other mobile devices overseas.

A feature is a flat daily rate for
data roaming by postpaid customers across major travel markets. Australia
roaming will start at a specially reduced rate of $6 a day (Telecom will review
the rate in mid 2013). Customers will pay just $10 a
day flat rate for data while travelling in the UK, USA, Canada, China, Hong
Kong, Macau, Taiwan, and Saudi Arabia. Telecom’s fair use policy applies to
these rates.

Telecom’s CEO, Simon Moutter, said the flat rate would make it much simpler for
customers to understand data roaming costs and would give them the freedom to
make use of their smartphones in the same way they would at home.

“We know data roaming charges have
been a pain-point for customers – personally, it was a real bugbear of mine as
a customer before I joined Telecom earlier this year. A flat fee provides
certainty and puts an end to concerns about nasty bill shocks on your return
home.

“It’s also much simpler to follow
than any usage-based system – as most customers don’t really know how quickly
their phone apps will chew through 1MB, 10MB or 100MB.”

               

Now other companies have started to follow suit:

On October 20, 2013 “T-Mobile changed
the way you can use your smartphone in more than 100 foreign countries” with
their T-Mobile's
New Global Roaming. While T-Mobile’s Simple
Choice plan allows certain customers to roam in about 116 countries as if
they were at home.

In March 2014 T-Mobile added 7
countries to Simple Choice Global International roaming list so it is now
122 countries.

MTN cuts cost of roaming
across own 'footprint' MTN has introduced its Roam like Home service that
enables all its customers to keep in touch with family and friends at
affordable rates while travelling in any of the 21 countries that it operates in.

Now the EU
parliament votes to abolish roaming end to mobile roaming charges across
the EU by 2016, if it is approved by all the member countries.

So, now with only a few SIM cards you can now have unlimited
calling and flat rate data in 145 countries:

Country	Telecom NZ SIM	T-Mobile USA Simple Choice SIM	Any MTN SIM	Any EU Carrier
Afghanistan		T-Mobile	as Investcom
Aland Islands		T-Mobile
Anguilla		T-Mobile
Antigua and Barbuda		T-Mobile
Argentina		T-Mobile
Armenia		T-Mobile
Aruba		T-Mobile
Australia		T-Mobile
Austria		T-Mobile		in 2016
Bahrain		T-Mobile
Barbados		T-Mobile
Belgium		T-Mobile		in 2016
Benin			as Investcom
Bermuda		T-Mobile
Bolivia		T-Mobile
Bonaire		T-Mobile
Botswana			as Botswana Mascom
Brazil		T-Mobile
British Virgin Islands		T-Mobile
Bulgaria		T-Mobile		in 2016
Cambodia		T-Mobile
Cameroon			as MTN Cameroon
Canada	Telecom NZ	T-Mobile
Canary Islands		T-Mobile
Cayman Islands		T-Mobile
Chile		T-Mobile
China	Telecom NZ	T-Mobile
Christmas Island		T-Mobile
Colombia		T-Mobile
Costa Rica		T-Mobile
Cote d'Ivoire			as MTN Cote d'Ivoire
Croatia				in 2016
Curacao (Netherlands/Dutch Antilles)		T-Mobile
Cyprus		T-Mobile	as MTN Cyprus	in 2016
Czech Republic		T-Mobile		in 2016
Denmark		T-Mobile		in 2016
Dominica		T-Mobile
Dominican Republic		T-Mobile
Easter Island		T-Mobile
Ecuador		T-Mobile
Egypt		T-Mobile
El Salvador		T-Mobile
Estonia		T-Mobile		in 2016
Faeroe Islands		T-Mobile
Finland		T-Mobile		in 2016
France		T-Mobile		in 2016
French Guiana		T-Mobile
Germany		T-Mobile		in 2016
Ghana		T-Mobile	as Investcom, MTN Ghana
Greece		T-Mobile		in 2016
Grenada		T-Mobile
Guadeloupe		T-Mobile
Guam		T-Mobile
Guatemala		T-Mobile
Guinea Bissau			as Investcom
Guyana		T-Mobile
Honduras		T-Mobile
Hong Kong	Telecom NZ	T-Mobile
Hungary		T-Mobile		in 2016
Iceland		T-Mobile
India		T-Mobile
Indonesia		T-Mobile
Iran			as MTN Irancell
Iraq		T-Mobile
Ireland		T-Mobile		in 2016
Israel		T-Mobile
Italy		T-Mobile		in 2016
Jamaica		T-Mobile
Japan		T-Mobile
Kenya		T-Mobile
Kuwait		T-Mobile
Latvia		T-Mobile		in 2016
Liberia			as Lonestar Cell
Lithuania		T-Mobile		in 2016
Luxembourg		T-Mobile		in 2016
Macau	Telecom NZ	T-Mobile
Malaysia		T-Mobile
Malta		T-Mobile		in 2016
Martinique		T-Mobile
Mexico		T-Mobile
Moldova		T-Mobile
Montserrat		T-Mobile
Netherlands		T-Mobile		in 2016
Netherlands Antilles		T-Mobile
New Zealand	Telecom NZ	T-Mobile
Nicaragua		T-Mobile
Nigeria			as MTN Nigeria
North America & Caribbean		T-Mobile
Northern Ireland		T-Mobile
Norway		T-Mobile
Pakistan		T-Mobile
Panama		T-Mobile
Peru		T-Mobile
Philippines		T-Mobile
Poland		T-Mobile		in 2016
Portugal		T-Mobile		in 2016
Qatar		T-Mobile
Republic of Congo			as MTN Congo SA
Republic of Guinea			as Investcom
Romania		T-Mobile		in 2016
Russia		T-Mobile
Rwanda			as MTN Rwanda
San Marino		T-Mobile
Saudi Arabia	Telecom NZ	T-Mobile
Scotland		T-Mobile
Singapore		T-Mobile
Sint Maarten		T-Mobile
Slovakia		T-Mobile		in 2016
Slovenia				in 2016
South Africa		T-Mobile	as MTN South Africa
South Korea		T-Mobile
South Sudan			as Investcom
Spain		T-Mobile		in 2016
Sri Lanka		T-Mobile
St. Barthelemy		T-Mobile
St. Kitts and Nevis		T-Mobile
St. Lucia		T-Mobile
St. Martin		T-Mobile
St. Vincent and the Grenadines		T-Mobile
Sudan			as Investcom
Suriname		T-Mobile
Svalbard		T-Mobile
Swaziland			as MTN Swaziland
Sweden		T-Mobile		in 2016
Switzerland		T-Mobile
Syria			as Investcom
Taiwan	Telecom NZ	T-Mobile
Thailand		T-Mobile
Trinidad and Tobago		T-Mobile
Turkey		T-Mobile
Turkmenistan (No Data network)		T-Mobile
Turks and Caicos Islands		T-Mobile
Uganda		T-Mobile	as MTN Uganda
UK	Telecom NZ	T-Mobile		in 2016
Ukraine		T-Mobile
United Arab Emirates		T-Mobile
Uruguay		T-Mobile
USA	Telecom NZ	T-Mobile
Vatican City		T-Mobile
Venezuela		T-Mobile
Vietnam		T-Mobile
Wales		T-Mobile
Yemen			as Investcom
Zambia		T-Mobile	as MTN Zambia

Making your vacation a winetastic time

On most international tours you are taken to historic places, museums, or cultural sites where everyone is taken.

But on several of my or my friends trips we  have gotten to go on more interesting tours. Some of the most interesting are to local wineries or breweries.

Here are a few examples that you may want to consider on your next trip:

• Take an organized tour of several wineries I have done this in Australia and Israel and can recommend that you take a look at:

Israel

Israel Wine Tours for personalized tours of the various regions where wine is made in Israel:

Judean Hills Wine Tours

Sample Itinerary : Drive towards the biblical Wine Country of Judean Hills and disscuss the wine history of the are with a Wine Expert. Begin the tour at a nicely preserved off the beaten path 2,100 year old Wine Press.

Continue to Tzuba Boutique Winery, where we will meet Wine Maker Paul Dubb, tour the winery and hear about the wine making process. End by tasting 4-5 of Tzuba’s outstanding wines. Next we will continue to the Agur Boutique winery to meet up with Shuki Yashuv (owner and winemaker.) Shuki is a master Blender of wines and a very colorful person, guaranteeing an unforgettable tasting experience. Lunch

Our next stop will be Tzora Winery, considered one of the “top 8” wineries in Israel. Taste 3-4 excellent wines that often include a dessert wine that ranked 92 points with Robert Parker!
We then Travel through one of the most beautiful roads in Israel ending up at an off the beaten path “Tuscany In Judean Hills” vista point.

Carmel Region Wine Tours

Sample Itinerary: Head north towards the Carmel Region. On route our Wine Expert will discuss the wine history of the land of Israel and how it evolved through the years. What makes a wine Kosher ? wine politics in Israel Etc.

Drive to the boutique winery Tulip located in Kfar Tikva – Village of Hope ;  This is an excellent winery and probably the only winery in the world that employs people with special needs. Taste 4-6 wines,  and and meet the employees of the winery.

We than proceed to the beautiful town Zichron Ya’akov – a quaint Carmel Mountain town and the home of Carmel Winery where we will Visit Somek Winery, a small estate winery owned by a fifth generation vintner.  At  Somek, all wines are handmade using old world techniques to produce their critically acclaimed wines. Meet the winemaker and taste 3- 4 wines
We will then Stroll the beautiful Zichron Ya’akov promenade and enjoy lunch at one of the terrific restaurants there.

After lunch , we will Visit Ramat Hanadiv, The Rotshield Estate Botanical Garden
Drive north to Kerem-Maharl home of the Makura organic farm and Amphorae Winery. Amphorae is one of the most beautiful Wineries in Israel. Designed by an Italian architect and built in 2005, the winery is a large Tuscan style winery and employes the world famous winemaker Michel Rolland as an adviser. Tour the facilities and taste Amphorae’s award winning wine.

 Israel Microbrewery Tour

Small independent and traditional, the Israeli craft beer industry is going through a renaissance period in recent years. In the Judean Hills alone, there are a dozen Microbreweries in various sizes and styles. Haifa and the Carmel region are no different. Much like a wine tour, we will select three breweries, throw in incredible vista points and top it all off with gourmet dining. Microbreweries that we frequent include:
Shapiro
Pavo
Butterfly
Peppo
Jem’s
Malka
Srigim
Abeer Haela
Shimshon
Hanegev
Buster’s Cider
Salara
Gal’s
Golda
Laughing Buddah

Australia

While visiting Sydney we went on Gray Line Tours Hunter Valley Gardens tour:

World acclaimed Australian wines from the vineyards of the rolling hills and valleys of the Hunter region, delight both the palate and the eye in this green and fertile land dotted with villages and over fifty wineries. The Hunter Valley is Australia's oldest commercial wine producing district with over 7000 acres under vine. Famous wine styles include semillon, shiraz, chardonnay, gewurztraminer, cabernet sauvignon and earthy pinot noirs

Inclusions:

• Three Wine Tastings
• Winery Tour
• Two Course Lunch

Also, while visiting Kobe Japan I was able to visit the KOBE SHU-SHIN-KAN BREWERY

The KOBE SHU-SHIN-KAN BREWERY, established in 1751, is located in the "NADA" district of Kobe, Japan, an area which has been acknowledged for centuries as the best for the production of Japanese sake. The quality of the locally grown Japanese rice and the purity of the water filtered from streams high in the Rokko Mountains; these are special blessings as they are essential to the brewing of sake. The cold winds which blow across the Rokko Mountains are also helpful.

Friends have done part of the Whisky Trail in Scotland others have gone to Guinness brewery in Ireland.

I have gone to wineries in the USA (Bully Hill), Israel (see above), Australia (also see above), Italy (that is another blog post), and intend to continue when the opportunity presents itself. I suggest that you keep your eyes open for similar interesting opportunities.

Electronic allowed on flights - wait the rules differ by airline and plane type

We have recently see the good news that  use from gate to gate as published: FAA to Allow Airlines to Expand Use of Personal Electronics 

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Administrator Michael Huerta today announced that the FAA has determined that airlines can safely expand passenger use of Portable Electronic Devices (PEDs) during all phases of flight, and is immediately providing the airlines with implementation guidance. 

In general this means

The new rules generally add the ability for passengers to use their smartphones, e-readers, electronic games and tablets during taxi, takeoff and landing as long as they have the device in airplane mode with cellular service disabled. Voice calls will still be prohibited and laptops will still need to be stowed for taxi, takeoff and landing.

But, as an article on Yahoo FAA ruling on personal devices in flight leaves troubling safety questions points out:

Each airline will have to consult the FAA on tolerance testing, so eventually, regulations may vary not only by airline but by airplane type. Some devices will be allowed, but cell phones and other PEDs will not; some at certain phases of flight, but not at others; some modes may not be acceptable at all. Confused yet?

Trying to make this easier, NBC published this article Which airlines now allow electronic devices? showing the current status on American based airlines. But a quick look shows that the Yahoo article is correct it is still a bit confusing. Takeing a selection from the NBC article shows

• will now be permitted to use small PEDs during all phases of flight
• new rules on all domestic mainline flights arriving or departing within the 50 states
• portable electronic devices below 10,000 feet on mainline U.S. domestic flights

But in all cases regional airlines that provide branded service to the major ones are still on a case by case bases. So do not presume that because you could use your device on one segment of your trip that you will be able to on other segments.

More innovation in in-flight safety videos

Virgin America has come up with their own way to get people to pay attention to the in-flight safety video.

Nice to see some innovation happening

Surviving a Plane Crash - hints from the sea

ABC world has a serious story  about How to Survive a Plane Crash based on

The impact of an airplane crash into the sea today on the Indonesian resort island of Bali snapped the jet into two pieces, but somehow all 108 people on board survived and had no serious injuries, according to a hospital official.  Watch the video at ABC

Now the story goes on to describe something that sounds like it should have been done by the MythBusters, but was actually done by its sister show Curiosity. Wikipedia describes the test:

On April 27, 2012, a team of scientists staged an airplane crash near Mexicali, Mexico. An unmanned Boeing 727-200, fitted with numerous cameras, crash-test dummies and other scientific instruments, was flown into the ground. The exercise was filmed for television. 

ABC describes the test as:

Discovery TV had a Boeing 727 equipped with more than a half a million dollars worth of crash test dummies, 38 specialized cameras and sensors, and a crew of incredibly daring pilots. The pilots, who'd donned parachutes, bailed out of a hatch in the back of the aircraft minutes before the huge jetliner careered into the ground in a horrific crash that tore the plane apart.

The photos from that test are at: http://dsc.discovery.com/tv-shows/curiosity/topics/plane-crash-pictures.htm  and they include this one:

Now this makes me realize that most of us do not actually watch or listen to the safety announcements on flights. This prompted Air New Zealand to put out this unique safety video

But after seeing the results of this Bali crash I think I will watch them a little more closely in the future.

Airline Seats: Priced per pound

In the past people complained at the idea that Ryanair passangers would have to pay to use the bathrooms on an airplane, and again when airlines reduced allowed checked luggage, charged for food/snacks on short flights.

Now we have a new twist in the "make the passenger pay" business model of airelines. It seems that Samoa Airlines is now not only charging passengers bast on the weight of their luggage but of themselves.

 

As shown in this article from the originally reported in The Sydney Morning Herald 

Airline to charge overweight passengers more 

"This is the fairest way of travelling," chief executive of Samoa Air, Chris Langton, told ABC Radio. "There are no extra fees in terms of excess baggage or anything – it is just a kilo is a kilo is a kilo."

Under the new system, Samoa Air passengers must type in their weight and the weight of their baggage into the online booking section of the airline's website. The rates vary depending on the distance flown: from $1 per kilogram on the airline's shortest domestic route to about $4.16 per kilogram for travel between Samoa and American Samoa. Passengers are then weighed again on scales at the airport, to check that they weren't fibbing online.

(I presume that these are AU$:  Today (3 April 2013) $US1 equals 0.95 Australian Dollars)


Or reported in the NY Daily News where I saw it:

Samoan airline to start charging fat people more to fly: report 

Samoa Air, which flies small planes, will begin charging passengers based on weight. 'This is the fairest way of traveling,' the airline's chief says.

As if to confirm this Samoa Airlines website says:

Samoa Air, Introducing a world first:

'Pay only for what you weigh'!

We at Samoa Air are keeping airfares fair, by charging our passengers only for what they weigh. You are the master of your Air'fair', you decide how much (or little) your ticket will cost. No more exorbitant excess baggage fees, or being charged for baggage you may not carry. Your weight plus your baggage items, is what you pay for. Simple.

The Sky's the Limit!

Additional reporting:

•  Reuters reports that Samoan airline says pay by weight plan fairest way to fly
•  While Sky News reports thatSamoan Airline Defends Pay-As-You-Weigh Fares

 Think  of this as another incentive to get down to that "beach ware" body before traveling to the South Pacific.

Why didn't you post pictures on...

I recently got back from a trip to Spain, and the first two things my coworkers asked me was "How was it? Why didn't you post pictures on x?" Where x is their favorite social network. It usually is Facebook, but I have heard Google Plus, and Twitter.

Now, although I am involved with security (see my other blog about Telecom Fraud and Technologies if you are interested in that kind of thing) I am not really worried that someone will see that I am away and rob my house. So far I have yet to hear anyone admitting that "yes your honor, I robbed their house because I saw on Facebook that they were on vacation." If you have any documented (no anecdotal) cases I would like to hear about them.

While on travel I tend to be quite busy. Working for a small company travel is a big expense, so we try to cram as much work into a trip as possible. At conferences I am working from 8 in the morning until well after 11 at night, most of which is spent on my feet. When on vacation, I am paying for it so time spent in the hotel is time taken from fun and adventures (more on Spain adventures in future post - with pictures and clips).

Truth be told, although I take a lot of photos on most trips, I do not have time to get onto social media to post them. On this last trip my wife and I took in excess of 16 gigabytes of photos and short videos. So as you can imagine we were out having fun rather than sitting inside (even when it was pouring - don't believe the clip below from My Fair Lady, the Rains in Spain do NOT stay mainly on the plain, we got wet everywhere).

Now you can imagine that after 2 weeks away, and 16+ gigs of photos taken it will be a few more days before I have deleted, sorted, cleaned, cropped, etc. enough of them to start sharing. But I promise that once I do I will post them here in the blog, in my Facebook account, Google Plus account, and links in my Twitter account.

But until then, when I travel I will probably not be posting as I will be out doing.

When your airline declares bankruptcy

Be careful when there are warnings that an airline may be going out of business.

A coworker of mine, +Leonid Notik, is currently stuck in the Ukraine trying to get home from Odessa, because “Aerosvit” apparently is in bankruptcy. Here is his story so far:

I needed to land Odessa we circled 5 times and then they would not approve our landing so the airline then flew us to Kiev (which is a distance of 900 km away). They left us at the airport and said “You will have to continue on your own.” We made a fuss and then they tried to fly us to Odessa once more failed so again we returned to Kiev.

Then they told us that they did not have an airplane that to land in weather conditions like these. So we were organized into a vehicle to travel 10 hours, at a cost of $40 each.

So we had a night without any sleep yesterday. Two days ago I saw that the flight board said the flight was okay so we rented an apartment for the day in Odessa. When checking with my travel agent she told us that everything is fine, but in the evening, when we were already in Odessa (and I suppose to leave the other day) I called her once more (having been taught by bitter experience) to check that everything was still fine and the answer she gave me was that “the flight is canceled”, and that we must to arrive to the airport to see how can they help us.

When we got to the airport yesterday they told us that they won't have an airplane this week and we have to fly to Kiev.

I checked and there were no seats on the bus to Kiev on the necessary dates and there are not places on the train in the necessary dates , by close to miracle we paid extra to a friend of my fiancé's father (he is a bus driver) and the friend canceled the ticket of one of passengers and accepted mine :)

So take the time to check out that your airline is not in trouble before flying, and if you used a travel agent ask them for help should something go wrong.

Photo by Leonid Notik, used with permission.

Traveling with electronics-part 2: Security

Several years  ago my wife ran a conference of Immunologists. One of the visitors was on her way from her lab in the UK and she was stopped at UK boarder control. Seems her laptop tested positive for nitrates (they use them in the lab) even though she had been real careful to keep this laptop out of the lab so it would be clean. They wanted to hold her laptop and send it to her, but as it was to be a short trip she told them to hold it for her return. Then came the clincher, she had to tell them that they could not look at the data as it had confidential patient data protected under UK law.
Now the rest of us are not protected under such laws, and need to worry what happens if a boarder agent demands your password to check your device (phone, laptop, etc.)

 Violet Blue for Zero Day has a nice article on ZDnet with the title If security wants your password: Privacy for travelers with digital devices

In it she points out that:

Anyone who travels with laptops, phones and tablets should know what to do if security asks for their password, an agent asks to see what's on their phone, and how to protect sensitive or private information if their gadget gets out of their hands.

 She references material from the EFF that everyone should read about basic precautions, how the government searches devices, how (and when) to protect your data, encryption and good passwords, border agent demands, and more.

On the EFF's Travel Screening page, they cover the basics on border search, and travel 'blacklists' such as the Department of Homeland Security's Automated Targeting System.

•  See also: Defending Privacy at the Israeli Border: Information for Travelers Carrying Digital Devices (eff.org)

•   Supplemental, regarding American police and digital devices: Know Your Rights (eff.org)

 Post image: "I do not consent to the search of this device" sticker, from the EFF shop. A great stocking stuffer!

New (Zealand) take on those boring safety films

Anyone that has flown knows that they always give a safety briefing at the beginning of the flight. Now I have always figured that the timing is a bit off for some of it, like after they come and check that everyone has their seat belt on they demonstrate how the seat belt works.

I have even seen cases where the video presented was not the one for the plane I was on, but a sister model or older interior. In one case I had to point out that the video said that lights and call button were on the ceiling, but they were on the seat back  monitor.

But the people at Air New Zealand - the official airline of Middle Earth, mind you - has released a new Hobbit-themed in-flight safety video.

Thanks to neatorama for pointing it out at http://www.neatorama.com/2012/10/31/The-Hobbit-In-Flight-Safety-Video/

Preparing to travel – Electronics

As I am mentally getting ready for another trip, I have started to think about the various electricity using items I will be bringing and how to work them out.

Now I don’t know what you carry on your travels but I find that there are a lot of items that need electricity.

• Laptop and/or tablet
• Cellphone (sometimes 2 different models/brands)
• Camera with rechargeable batteries
• Electric razor

Each of these has a power cord, and thus needs to be plugged in to charge if not to be used. 

Now a little background, I live in a county where the voltage is 220v and this trip is to the USA, where the voltage is 110v. There are many different outlet styles too. So this means adapters or converters if the devices are not able to support both voltages. (Check what each country you will visit uses in terms of voltage and plug here.)

Given that list, I should need 3 – 4 adapters (the camera uses a US plug so I use an adapter at home). So, I cheat. Rather than take enough adapters for every device or power pack, I take a 4 or 5 outlet power strip and 1 adapter for all the devices I use in my hotel room (phone charger, shaver, etc.). 

I also carry a computer electronics kit with:

• Retractable Ethernet cable
• USB hub
• Travel mouse
• Computer lock

Now you may ask why in this day and age of Wi-Fi I need an Ethernet cable. To be honest I almost never need it, but I have gone to a few hotels (mostly in USA or Japan) where there is no free Wi-Fi in the rooms but they do have free Ethernet. Not sure why, but it is easy enough to carry the retractable cable just in case.

Other things to consider, some devices use batteries. Do you need special ones (like my camera) or can you just buy a standard pack of AA or AAA for your mouse or camera when they die? Some people use rechargeable AA or AAA batteries, and I strongly approve. But I have had some problems when changing voltage with the standard recharger. So either bring enough for your trip or be prepared to buy a set of replacements.

Additional items that some people carry that you may want to consider:

• Video adapter – usually needed to connect tablet or Mac laptop to projector
• Wi-Fi / MiFi hub to share connection between devices
• Laser Pointer for presentations (I carry an old fashion retractable one just in case)

Regardless of what you bring, keep security in mind. There have been recent reports of theft of items from checked luggage. So I try to keep anything valuable, or that I cannot work without, in my carry-on bag. Thus power strip gets checked but chargers get carried.