What I learned about packing for India...?
1. Traveling light is very very good...the lighter the better...when we went to India, I think we all were overpacked...well except Pema Dorje...who I remember thinking was very lucky for not having to haul a ton of "essentials" around (his bags were lost).
2. Wet wipes and dust masks were essential...and very hard to find in India. Toilet paper was valuable but easily found most of the time.
3. Gauze, tea tree oil, tape were the best things for cleaning and dressing owies in India...forget the fancy first aid kits. I still think the Ace bandage and disposable ice packs were a good idea...thankfully we did not need to use them. Pepto bismal for GI stuff was essential...I used my antibiotic that I brought as well. Would have loved to have Vitamin C and Echinacea along for colds as well as over the counter cold tablets. And we learned that there are mosquiotos in India in the winter...so bug spray was good...Pema's purification essential oil spray was very popular. Other essential oil hits were RC, Eucalyptis, and peppermint. I brought Thieves too...but mostly it was too strong to use...
4. Clothes...we all brought too many...they can be washed...Pema's recommendation had been 3 outfits...that was plenty...and take into account buying clothes when you figure that one out. I found that a skirt with long underwear was the most practical and culturally sensitive option. I just about wore out the skirt I brought. I bought a shawl that was a silk wool blend and that was usually warm enough during the day...for early mornings or cooler days I had a light fleece jacket and hat...I didn't wear the hat much though...but I wasn't in Tso Pema either....was colder there.
5. Find a hot water coil as soon as you can once you arrive in India...was well worth the trouble of searching it out...
6. And I learned that you could use just about anything as a meditation cushion...I'm no longer attached to the one I used before India...so just in case you were wondering how to go on pilgrimage without your cushion...
1. Traveling light is very very good...the lighter the better...when we went to India, I think we all were overpacked...well except Pema Dorje...who I remember thinking was very lucky for not having to haul a ton of "essentials" around (his bags were lost).
2. Wet wipes and dust masks were essential...and very hard to find in India. Toilet paper was valuable but easily found most of the time.
3. Gauze, tea tree oil, tape were the best things for cleaning and dressing owies in India...forget the fancy first aid kits. I still think the Ace bandage and disposable ice packs were a good idea...thankfully we did not need to use them. Pepto bismal for GI stuff was essential...I used my antibiotic that I brought as well. Would have loved to have Vitamin C and Echinacea along for colds as well as over the counter cold tablets. And we learned that there are mosquiotos in India in the winter...so bug spray was good...Pema's purification essential oil spray was very popular. Other essential oil hits were RC, Eucalyptis, and peppermint. I brought Thieves too...but mostly it was too strong to use...
4. Clothes...we all brought too many...they can be washed...Pema's recommendation had been 3 outfits...that was plenty...and take into account buying clothes when you figure that one out. I found that a skirt with long underwear was the most practical and culturally sensitive option. I just about wore out the skirt I brought. I bought a shawl that was a silk wool blend and that was usually warm enough during the day...for early mornings or cooler days I had a light fleece jacket and hat...I didn't wear the hat much though...but I wasn't in Tso Pema either....was colder there.
5. Find a hot water coil as soon as you can once you arrive in India...was well worth the trouble of searching it out...
6. And I learned that you could use just about anything as a meditation cushion...I'm no longer attached to the one I used before India...so just in case you were wondering how to go on pilgrimage without your cushion...
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