We are so reliant on the internet these days whether it is for keeping in touch, doing research, getting directions or simply entertaining ourselves. Here are the items we bring with us that are MUSTS. I refer to this portion of my luggage as “the Office”

1. The obvious stuff is the adapters and cords for your phones and laptops. My laptop is the ultra ultra light Samsung that uses the same cord as my Google phone, which really helps a lot with weight and chargers.
   
2. Unlimited data plan from Google Fi: It is not perfect and there are other ways to do this like using Google Voice and calling people back with Google Hangouts . Either way you still need the data and we find it’s a lot less hassle to make sure people can reliably call you. Mind you the data portion of the plan only lasts three months before it starts slowing down dramatically and needs to be “rebooted” with a trip back to the US. 
   
3. A phone with a physical removal sim card that you can pick up and swap out in different countries to provide you with data if you don’t go with #1 above (or if you are gone more that three months). If you are an Iphone person, you might consider an inexpensive android burner phone that you can use on the road. Believe it or not, most of the world is not on an Iphone, and getting that phone fixed or replaced is virtually impossible in many places of the world. Additionally, an Iphone is a very tempting target for pickpockets if you are using it for your day to day navigation and surfing. 
   
4. A power bank: There have been many instances where we were without a way to charge our devices due to unexpected travel changes, power outages at our accommodations, or other unforeseen issues. A power bank is invaluable in such situations, allowing us to keep our devices charged, which can be crucial if you’ve missed a flight connection, etc. 
   
5. An HDMI cable: We use it for connecting to screens wherever we stay. It provides us with an extra work screen, or a big screen to watch the sports we stream on our laptop. 
   
6. Memory bank: To hold photographs, videos, and to backup documents on our laptops and phones.
   
7. Digital copy of your passport and any visas or vaccines required for your trip.
   
8. A trackable calendar or phone: My sister has access to my google calendar. She can see where we are traveling, and where we are staying in the unlikely event that some misfortune were to occur and we were not able to contact anyone.