I obsessively make packing lists for every trip we take. Acquaintances joke that I share way too much information about what goes into our suitcases, but I remind them that in our nomadic paperless lifestyle, this blog is both my diary AND my record of travel resources. Old packing lists come in really handy when we revisit locations.
I start my lists almost as soon as a trip is verified (read: “paid for”), and when I have nothing better to do I update them based on new purchases (there are always new purchases – just ask Ted!) that replace things I’ve donated to charity. I also modify them based on travel blogs I’ve read, conversations with friends who’ve visited the destinations we have planned, and – honestly – the whims of the moment.
This time, my very preliminary packing process involves my new best on-line A.I. friend, Copilot.
The best thing about virtual friends is they’re never too busy with their own lives to drop everything and pretend to be happy to hear from you.
The key piece for me here is the ability for Copilot to consolidate information about weather, trip duration, and luggage capacity in one place.
I actually asked how it does in seconds what it would take me hours of sitting on my backside tapping questions on my iPad.
I like the fact that for factual queries I can ask for sources to be cited, but that’s not something I feel I need for packing lists.
Back to Copilot’s suggestions:
There’s nothing particularly revolutionary about the packing suggestions that I couldn’t determine on my own by looking back at my own packing lists for our two World Cruises (Episode 140 and Episode 568) – although cruises are a much different animal than this trip will be – or our three months travelling carryon in Europe in 2022 (Episode 278) but it’s a real kick having my very own personal assistant/valet!
To make things even more fun, Copilot volunteered suggestions for using the items in the packing list to create outfits. Obviously, I wouldn’t be wearing the same thing on the streets of very casual Adelaide Australia as I would in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia (the tank top and shorts in Oz would become a short-sleeved top and lightweight palazzos in KL), but the basic idea is there.
Copilot even offered a “matrix” that is EXACTLY like what I use when I create a “packing table” in my Notes app!
I got a kick out of the fact that when I “signed off” I got some extra advice.
I’m not really heading straight to my closer to pack for next January to June’s Round-The-World adventure, because our next trip is to Europe in September, on a river cruise from Bucharest to Vienna.
I’ve already got Copilot working on what the stylish Romanian woman is wearing this season.
That means more time for enjoying the summer and reading novels now that my PA is on the job!
Rose and Ted’s Excellent Adventure 
Rose, you are always an inspiration! I must learn better organizational skills. Sounds like a lot of fun working with Co-pilot.
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Like you, I keep spreadsheets on what I packed from every trip and I travel with a carryon. I never thought of asking an AI for help. I generally merge a spreadsheet from my last trip with a previous trip that is most like the next trip. I was impressed with Copilot’s help. My next big trip is not until Nov. but I might ask it to see what it comes up with. It should be interesting as it starts in Spain, then a cruise from Barcelona to Miami with 10 days in the Caribbean. Cool to hot and humid with lots of days on a ship.
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Gotta say it’s fun playing around with it,even if just to see whether it creates things similar to what I’d do on my own
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If you’re going to be gone for five months on a cruise where you typically don’t have to drag your own bags or unpack frequently, I’m puzzled as to why you want to stick with a carryon and a duffle. Why not take your largest checkable suitcase?
Also, why a THIRD world tour? Does this one go where the other two did not?
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Not another cruise. This time it’s 5 months of land travel, connected by the Star Alliance network of RTW (Round the world) flights, and train/bis travel in each country.
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Ah, now that makes sense. I wouldn’t want to lug a suitcase on such a trip either. Thanks for explaining.
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Our itinerary is 4 blog episodes back…,
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It’s interesting that you didn’t specify the wardrobe was for a woman, but the AI knew you by name so it probably already knows you’re female. Also, no mention of age-appropriate clothing, but it was still accurate. Maybe it knows everything about you.
Also, thanks for another book recommendation. I’ve added Under the Tamarind Tree to my “want to read” list. Sounds like something I could recommend to my book club, if I enjoy it.
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I read that book almost exactly a year ago. Having so enjoyed Black Cake, that book’s author’s endorsement of Under the Tamarind Tree, by Nigar Alam, convinced me to read it next. The story moves between 1964 – 17 years after the Partition of the British Raj that arbitrarily defined the borders of India and Pakistan – and 2019, when events resulting peripherally from that separation continue to haunt future generations. As was the case in Black Cake, secrets thought long buried resurface and must be confronted, and things are not always ways what they seem. I’m continuing to enjoy novels that combine historical events with personal stories, especially when they also give some insight into cultures that we may never get to experience firsthand.
As for the knowing my gender for the wardrobe, I had prefaced my query with a discussion about what “adult women” in Crete were wearing this year, so it may also have extrapolated from that.
But I’m pretty sure it can “see” my (public) blog and probably facebook profile too….
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