Pack up!

                               Carrying a “things to do” diary is one of my habits which I am very proud of. It keeps you organised and helps you prioritize your duties and chores. A very similar practise is making check lists before travelling. I save the list as a digital note and refer to to it as and when there is a trip coming up. I often share it with my friends who hate packing before travel, you know, the ones who always knock on your door for tissues and hair brush as they conveniently forget theirs.

I strongly believe in the travel ‘light’ concept. It is quite contrary to the concept of “women take the world in their suitcase”. Sometimes heavy baggage can come at a price, and not just literally. You may not always be able to charm a security officer at the airport to give you a hand with your luggage or imagine trying to handle a broken wheel of your heavy suitcase all by yourself.

Clothes:

 

These take up to 60 percent of your suitcase. Depending on the number of days, you may consider taking at least one ensemble each day and add a few extra tops which can be repeated with your bottom wear. On a holiday one hardly spends time at the hotel so you may carry night clothes for every second day that you are away.

Neat folding and optimum utilization of space also play an important role in packing.

Tips:

-    If you choose dresses over tops and denims you’ll carrying one piece of clothing for one day instead of two.

-    Choose tops which can be repeated with bottom wear(a denim/skirt) with a scarf or a jacket.

-    You could also repeat your dresses with a jacket or overcoat.

-    Undergarments should be carried in excess as you’ll most likely not be doing laundry on holiday. Even if you are willing, it’s definitely not a pleasant sight hanging underwear above the bathtub or hanger rods and shower curtains.

-    Neatly pack undergarments in lingerie bags (Imagine the embarrassment when a pink bra pops right out as soon as your bag is being opened!)

Accessories:

Accessorize well. I have read somewhere that accessories to clothing is what punctuation is to a sentence.

Carry earrings, neck pieces, trinkets - In a small box saving it from tangling, dents and shock of being thrown around at airports. Hair bands, clips, pins and other hair accessories can be clubbed with this. When it comes to belts, always carry a neutral color or something to go with your shoes.

Make-up:

A compact, blush on, applicator brushes, eyeliner, eye shadow palette, mascara, lip liner and lip stick. A couple of shades of lip sticks can be dropped in to the kit. Ensure that this is in a “compact” pouch/kit.

Toiletries:

Shampoo, Conditioner, Toothpaste, Brush, Body lotion, Face wash, Face Creams, Body Wash, Combs and Hair Brushes are what you need. You may pour out smaller quantities of the mentioned liquids into little bottles to reduce the weight.

Note: Most of the hotels have samplers hence do not carry large bottles of body washes and shampoos unless your hair doesn’t respond well to a new shampoo.

Footwear:

Women can never carry enough footwear.

While airline and baggage restrictions will never align with the array of footwear you want to carry on your trip; a comfortable pair of everyday shoes or moccasins, one pair of flip-flops and one fancy set of stilettos for that inevitable fancy dinner are all you really need.

Electronics:

Phone -  Mostly used as a camera, so remember to keep the memory of the phone empty for the thousands of pictures to be taken!

Electric adaptor - Do a ground check on which one you’ll use at the country you’re visiting.

Power bank - These are simply a must considering smartphone batteries nowadays.

SLR -  If you still want to click good pictures.

Chargers - For your phone, for batteries if you use recharge batteries for your camera.

Extra memory - USB drives, memory cards for your SLR.

iPad or other tablet - Loaded with movies if you do not get sleep in hotel rooms. Also assuming that the flights may not have inflight entertainment.

Note: Do not carry hair-dryers as they are available in almost all hotels but you could consider taking a curling iron or straightener.

Handbag:

Choose the handbag for the trip wisely. It will house your most important things like your passport and wallet. Carry a medium to large sized tote.

Things that should be packed into the handbag:

-    A pen+notepad - I usually keep my details and important addresses in this notepad. I also use it as reference for my details instead of looking at the passport each time to fill out immigration forms.

-    Hand sanitizer.

-    Chewing gums unless there is a ban in the country you are visiting.

-    Wet tissues, tissue papers must always have a place.

Note: Do not carry liquids in your handbag, if they leak, it can get really messy.

Everything Else:

Various situations may arise like drawstring of your pants deciding not to co-operate, sole of your shoes licking your toes, half eaten chocolate boxes which did not survive your temptations, bad hair day. The answer to those situations is this “everything else” section.

-    Fasteners are things I have seen people run around looking for during their holidays - slides, safety pins, small tubes of glue, cellophane tapes.

-    Ear buds are such things too. If you get back from the swimming session it is a must to have ear buds. I carry my own even if the hotel provides it. I am obsessively worried if the hotel staff poked his nose with it and felt their tongue just out of frustration of a bad day at work.

-    Garbage bags - Always carry extra garbage bags to bring wet swim wear, towels. Also you may require if you want to dispose trash while you are outside sightseeing.

  

Precautions:

-    For avid readers, carry the thinnest of books and ensure it is light reading. It should elevate your mood.

-    Ensure all bookings are confirmed with print-outs in place.

-    First aid kit apart from your day to day routine medicines for diabetes, blood pressure or thyroid(if any) do carry medicines for cold, cough, stomach upset, indigestion, gastritis, band aids, muscle relaxants, bandages, cotton, disinfectant like ‘Dettol’(non-spill bottle).

-    Carry spectacles and sunglasses in a protective case.

-    Locks for your suitcases and hand carriages are mandatory.

-    Invest in a good luggage tag rather than depending on fluorescent pink ribbons to identify your luggage on the conveyor belt.

Enjoy and Happy Travelling!