Pictured below are the contents of my coat and jeans pockets spread out on a table following my arrival in Amsterdam. Looking at these I realize that aside from my iPhone (not pictured since I used it to take the photo) it’s pretty much all (and perhaps more than) I really need for international travel and a seven-hour transatlantic flight.

The contents include, clockwise from top-left: Ray-Ban folding sunglasses, Property Of leather wallet, passport, Moleskine soft-cover notebook with Micron felt pen tucked inside, ear plugs (I lost one on the plane), dental floss, iPhone USB charger, cash (U.S. and Euro coins and bills leftover from last trip to Europe), lip balm, earbuds, Orbit chewing gum, a banana (leftover from breakfast on the plane),  silk cloth for cleaning my eyewear and devices screens.

Or course, I’ve got a Porter carry-on bag with a lot more stuff that makes a long flight bearable, and in this bag usually bring along useful stuff, such as my Apple Macbook Air, external hard drives, HD cam, snacks, eyemask, eyeglasses, a change of clothes (in case we get stuck somewhere due to flight delay/cancellation), multi-country electrical adaptor, a few toiletries for freshening up, etc.