As you may well know myself and B recently took a trip to Tokyo for 10 days. A lot of us travel and it seems like the time may be correct for a quick primer on what to take and not take on vacation. This doesn't cover everything like making sure your passport is up to date or anything. This is primarily a gear primer.

1. Laptop. Duh, it’s too useful to mention everything here but I'll list the basics. A lot of places have free wifi, so it may be useful to have for internet access. Most hotels have some form of high speed internet but these may cost a premium. We had to spend around 20 a day to access it in one of the places we stayed. Also do not neglect to bring some form of wired networking card. Not all hotels have wireless and you may have to resort to plugging into a wall. Remember to bring a short Cat5 cable too, not everyone supplies them. If they do you may have to pay for it.

   Laptops are also handy for reviewing your Digital Photos. Also storing them off your memory card and even burning them to CD. Various different countries have differing strengths of X-ray machines and though it's rare memory cards can and do occasionally get jacked by these machines.

   They are also handy for keeping in contact. Skype can be incredibly handy if you’re in a place where your phone won't work. We are both subscribers of a cell phone network that isn't GSM. Sprint and Verizon both use CDMA technology rather than GSM which is the world wide standard.
   

2. GSM Phone. This is an obvious choice but one we both neglected to bring. If you are a subscriber to either Sprint or Verizon your phone won't work. That’s it. You can buy a cheap triband GSM phone on eBay that’s either unlocked or easily unlocked. You have 2 options for service. You can either pay outrageous roaming fees, or if your phone is unlocked, simply purchase or rent a sim or disposable prepaid sim when you get there.
   

3. Digital Camera. If you’re spending a pile of money to go somewhere exotic, you may as well have nice photos. Regular cameras work fine, but digital allows you to preview the picture right after you take it. Plus the screen is handy to frame the photo. Also film can be affected by x-rays. Not to mention the cost of developing when they get back.

   We both brought our digital cameras with us and took over 700 shots combined. Now had we 35mm cameras we would have been much stingier on what we shot. On top of that it woulda pissed me off to have taken rolls of film, only to find out they didn't turn out, or the film had been damaged once we got all the way back to the states. There's also the matter of film speeds, exposure times etc. With a digital it’s usually a flip of a knob or pressing a button to switch from Daytime optimized shooting to Night time optimized shooting, or even from color to black and white.

   Another handy reason for a digital camera is most if not all take video also. This eliminates the need to bring a camcorder with you if you want to capture your friend's face when he's accosted by a guy dressed in red spandex from the top of his head to the tip of his toes. Chances are your camera is handy and a quick flip of a switch and boom, you have captured the blackmail video you'll hang over his/her head for years.
   

4. Memory cards. Bring extra for your camera. You don't want to be taking shots of a gorgeous waterfall or cityscape and realize your out of space, then have to decide if you want to delete that funny vid of the toilet you took earlier or quit shooting. Videos take up a bit of space also so if you plan on taking a lot of video it’s a worthwhile investment to have a spare or 2 with you.
   

5. Blank optical media. Having some blank CD's is handy for backing up your photo's and video that you have taken. Like I mentioned before memory cards do get zapped occasionally so having a place to store them safely is a must.
   

6. Bring your PMP. The trouble in foreign countries is it's not always easy to hear the music you are familiar with there. So bringing your Zune or iPod is a plus. That way you don't have to be musically assaulted by music you don't like/understand. Depending on your capacity it's another nice place to be able to store the photos you took.
   

7. Power adapter. If you’re traveling around the US this is a non issue. But if you’re going out of the country it’s a good idea to do the research on the power that’s native there. The US is 120 volt 60 Hz. Japan is 110 50 Hz. All of our equipment was capable of using that and in the hotels they even had us style outlets. However a lot of countries have radically different power specifications. Buy a travel power adapter. Check your gear to make sure it can take the juice supplied where your going, if it can then a travel power adapter isn't necessary simply a plug adapter is.
   

8. External travel USB HD/Thumb drive. This can store your files (duh), music, photos and videos you've taken, and even movies or TV shows you may have recorded or downloaded. Trips on a place can be boring so your Zune or iPod loaded up with shows or a portable hard drive loaded with shows to watch on your laptop is useful to have also. In the event you have a laptop with limited storage like the EEE PC, external storage is a must for offloading your photos and video.
   

9. Bag lock/laptop security lock. If you leave your laptop in your room and it isn't equipped with a safe that can fit it, and laptop lock will help ensure peace of mind when you go out on the town. A bag lock is handy too, though it won't everything, it does help to deter the casual thief.
   

10. Small mobile tripod. This is handy as hell for getting the perfect night shots. Handy for setting your camera up so you can be in the photo, etc. I used mine quite a bit for taking panoramas. Panoramas require photos to be taken from one point and a tripod is handy to have with you. You won't always use it but it if you need it and don't have it you'll be annoyed. Plus they're cheap and small. An interesting option is a Gorillapod, it’s a tripod with flexible legs so ever if the ground isn't flat or a tripod is impractical, you can still wrap the legs of the Gorillapod around a fence post of tree branch and get that perfect photo.
    

11. Batteries and Chargers. You'd be surprised how much of a hassle it is when you forget to bring your charger for your phone, camera, laptop, Zune or iPod with you. It can also be a pain if your batteries die. Imagine being somewhere they don't speak English and trying to get across what a charger is or the crazy battery type your camera might take. It's easier to just take extras, and then you won’t have any hassles.
    

12. FRMS or GMRS radios. If you don't have cell phones, these walkie talkies are incredibly handy to have to get a hold of your offspring or buddies. They have a 1-2 mile range (based on line of sight) and can be handy for keeping in touch when someone wanders off.
    

13. GPS Unit. Very handy if not for getting places then at least it’s handy for getting back to your hotel. Just make sure to set the way point for the hotel before you go anywhere or you now have a paper weight in your bag.
    

I hope this is helpful for you. We brought most of these items with us on our trip with a few exceptions for our personal style of gear, but this is a handy list. It's probably more comprehensive than you'll need for a one or two day trip but for a week or two you may want to consider bringing most of the things on this list.

If you have any comments or suggestions please let me know and maybe I'll add it to this list.