More Preparations

Documents

• Passport - make sure it is "valid for at least 3 months after the end of your stay," per the Festival's General Info page
• Airplane tickets
• Festival confirmation letter
• Hotel reservations
• Transportation details, maps, guidebooks, etc.

Pets

• If you have a pet, arrange for their care.

Communications

• Unless you've arranged a house-sitter, stop the mail at the Post Office's online Hold Mail Service.
• Make sure you have contact info for key people (family & friends at home).
• Send contact information to a family member or friend, so that they can get hold of you in case of an emergency. The Festival doesn't yet have a number to contact.
• Ask a trusted neighbor to keep an eye on the house and give them your travel dates.
• Consider setting vacation notice on email if you're not going to be checking it regularly.

Financial

• Gather phone numbers for credit cards you're taking with you, so that you can contact your bank in case they're lost or stolen.
• Call your credit card companies to tell them you're traveling overseas. This is standard travel advice you will read in many places, but if you forget it probably won't be an issue, especially if you bring more than one credit card. Your karma may vary ; )

Flight

• If you want a vegetarian meal or need a wheelchair, contact your airline.
• Double-check your airplane seats and see if you can get better ones. For a long trip, it's worth doing, even if you have to ask again when you check in.
• Make sure your airline has your frequent-flier #. If you're not a member of their program or an alliance, it's probably worthwhile to sign up for their program because you'll accumulate so many miles on this long trip.
• Label all your bags. I use an initial for my first name for a bit of security.

Right before you leave, don't forget to turn over the offering bowls on your shrine.