Travel Essentials: iPad

This is the first part of a series of posts detailing items on the Travel Essentials list.

Everyone knows to pack a set of clothes and some basic toiletries in their carry on, but this list of Travel Essentials will make your travel experience easier.  If you don't travel that frequently or for long periods of time, not all items on the JetLogger Travel Essentials list are "must-haves," but for any traveler who expects to take several trips should strongly consider investing in the following:

1. iPad.  An iPad is expensive, but well worth the investment as a portable library, DVD collection, jukebox, and computer rolled into a light and easily transportable package.  The battery life is sufficient for any long flight (just be sure to adhere to tips to maximize battery life) and your iPad can be loaded with many helpful apps to make your travel more efficient.  Its also much easier to handle in a busy airport terminal or cramped seat on the plane.  Listed below are some of my travel-essential apps:

iBooks loaded with your favorite books.  You can download bestsellers for about the price of a paperback or pick from Project Gutenberg's library of over 39,000 classics for free.

Newsstand is similar to iBooks, but can be filled with your favorite newspapers and magazines - for a price.

Videos will enable you to watch full-length HD quality movies and TV shows from your iPad.  Prices are less than purchasing a DVD, but be sure you plan ahead and download what you want to watch in advance.

Music links up with your iTunes account and puts your favorite jams or podcasts in your seatback pocket.

Games will enable you to sharpen your chess skills, practice your Blackjack strategy en route to Vegas, or fight your enemies in Command & Conquer.  Thousands of other games are available for download.

Intellicast HD will allow you to monitor the weather at your destination before departure and while you're there (as long as you have an internet connection).

Flight Track is one of the most critical apps for the frequent traveler.  Load your flight in advance and use the airport's wi-fi to keep tabs on the scheduled takeoff, scheduled arrival, gate and baggage claim information, to find alternate flights in the event of a cancellation, and even check out the embedded "Seat Guru" information to find out whether or not you have a power outlet at your seat in case your battery runs low and you remembered to pack your iPad car charger.

And if you needed any more evidence, my iPad truly does travel with me everywhere I go; pictured below is a snapshot of my personal quarters in Kabul, Afghanistan - iPad and all.

The Kabul Quarters

I've been in Kabul now for a little over a week.  I have to admit that it is not at all what I was expecting.  The security environment is much more permissive than what I had been told (we are still vigilant), the work is nothing like that for which I've spent weeks preparing, but the living quarters are far better than I expected.

Below are a few pictures of our living/work areas:

 A view of Kabul (the domed building is a mosque).

My bedroom - one of several bedrooms in our guest house.  Bathrooms, living rooms, dining rooms, and the kitchens are shared by all of the residents.

One of the (almost) daily incoming dust storms.

 Nikki - one of the guard dogs.  

My office. 

Kabul's "TV Hill."  If you look closely, you can see the hundreds of adobe-type houses built on the hill and the many broadcasting antennas perched on top. 

Decadence in the Desert - Dubai

I am off to another adventure.  Despite the excitement, anticipation, and a bit of apprehension, I pushed into the chaos of the giant queue for United Airline’s international flight check-in at Dulles International Airport, just outside of our nation’s capital.  After weeks of preparation, training, and mounds of paperwork, I finally cleared security and eventually made it to my flight.

As I settled into my seat – one of United’s "Economy Plus" seats offering an extra 4-inches of leg room for about 150 bucks – I thought of only two things: 1. How much I would miss my girlfriend, family, and friends back home, and 2. How glad I was that I coughed up 150 bucks for the extra space during the 13-hour flight to Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

The food (some sort of beef curry for dinner and a poor excuse for a turkey sandwich at lunch) was barely edible, but the one Bloody Mary (yes, just one) I had was sufficient to help a couple of melatonin caplets put me into a somewhat restful snooze.  Upon finally fully waking a few hours later and after passing the time with United’s personal in-flight entertainment, we touched down in Dubai – a shimmering city in the desert (airport terminal pictured below left).

 

Unlike its slightly less commercial sister city and seat of government Abu Dhabi, Dubai is the Middle East’s answer to New York, Las Vegas, and the Bahamas rolled into one.  Home to massive shopping malls (one of which hosts an indoor ski resort), the world’s tallest building – the Burj Khalifa (pictured above - not an original pic - copyright unknown), and the world’s only 7-star hotel, Dubai’s luxuriousness and opulence is only amplified by the countless royal palaces, the super-exclusive Palm Island, and plans for the world’s first underwater hotel.

Although I wasn’t able to explore much of the city before queuing up for my flight to Kabul, the little taste I experienced has put this man-made oasis at the top of my Desired Destinations list; however, I think I'll pass on an evening at the 7-star hotel...I don't think I'll be coughing up $1,000/night for a room.  I'll just stay at the Hilton.