Things that I miss before every US trip …

Now a days US trip is a routine for many software engineers. This is a list of few things that I try not to forget.

Important items:
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- Passport and visa, air-ticket.
- Health insurance papers: This is a bit tricky. I have seen some insurance companies have very complex procedure to reimburse your medical expenses and include several clauses. I have spent substantial time researching on this but couldn’t find an insurance plan up to my expectations. I have also seen many agents are either fraud or ignorant and promise things that are contradictory to papers. Make sure you go through your insurance plan and understand each and every clause and its implications. The best plan, obviously, is- where you don’t have to pay any single $ in cash (no reimbursements please) and minimal procedure at the time of deciding your physician/treatment.
- Baggage: Check with your airlines for limitations on number of baggages allowed, their dimensions and weight, etc
- Cash: Carry some emergency cash while traveling. You may end up in situations where you need to pay cash and credit cards are not acceptable. If possible have some quarters, typically useful for public phone calls. I remember a funny incident here. A friend of mine wanted to prepone his return date. The airlines, air-india, asked for extra charges but also denied to accept it by credit card. We could not believe this is happening in California. Air-india cannot be an exception to Indian rules J.
- Invitation letter: Make sure you have invitation letter or copies of necessary documents to justify your trip. In one of my trips I forgot these docs and had to go through a lot of trouble at the port of entry.
- Driving license and IDP: If you are planning to drive four-wheeler in US, carry your Indian driving license and international driving permit (IDP). In many states only driving license is acceptable but some states also insists on IDP. One can check the driving rules for the particular state.
- Car/hotel booking: Oh yeah you got to find some place before you leave! Also plan on commutation.
- Medicines: Have your basic medical checkup done before you leave the country. Also create a medicine kit for common illness symptoms. If you already have such kit don’t forget to replace the expired medicine. If you are undergoing a specific medical treatment don’t forget to carry required medicines and papers for the same. Have them in ample amount. I have also suffered because of less quantity L.
- Don’t forget to inform your itinerary plan to the person who will receieve you at the airport. This is mainly applicable to the first timers.
- Weather check: Check the weather conditions for the place where you are going for the period of your stay. If required carry sweater, jacket(leather jacket is a good protection), woolen headgear, hand gloves, etc. You may need an umbrella in case of rainy weather.
- Other important documents: Visiting cards, I-card/ access card required at the US office,


Other stuff:
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If you have enough space in your bag you may want to consider some items that you get much cheaper in rupees than dollars and hence makes sense to have them in adequate amount. These could be-
- Clothes: shirts, t-shirts, jeans, formals, undergarments, socks, etc. I know I am lazy enough to sustain for 1-2 months without washing my clothes J. So I make sure I carry additional clothes to survive for a month or two without having to worry about washer/dryer.
- Washing powder/soap, brush, etc.
- Tea/coffee powder and filter. I hate that American made tea/coffee except Starbucks.
- Microwave safe utensils and paper dishes: If you are planning to cook. Many hotels do provide the microwave.
- Food material like Maggie, biscuits, ketchup, etc. You can find these items in a good Indian store but still a bit costly.
- Comb, shaving kit, nail cutter, scissor, Toothbrush/paste, slippers, extra pair of shoes, exercise kit, pen, pencil, notebook, cell phone, cell charger, alarm, camera, camera charger, head phones etc
- Collection of favorite movies, songs, books.

Some guidelines:
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- Don’t carry any raw food items to avoid unnecessary complications at the customs.
- Don’t say ‘water without ice’ in any restaurant unless you want to try it. Use ‘water no ice’
- When you order something in a small eating places like McDonalds, Taco bell, starbuck expect a quick question "here to go?". You don't understand their pronunciation making it more confusing. They actually mean do you want 'here or to go'? 'To go' is a commonly used term for parcel.
- Oven is less used than microwave.
- …will add more as and when I remember…