Packing For Your Trip
As any seasoned traveler will tell you, packing
for your trip is an essential part of the travel experience.
How much and what you pack and don't pack can impact
on how much you actually enjoy that travel experience
Practical Packing
Everyone has their own viewpoint on what to take
on a trip, but there are some basic rules that
are unlikely to put you wrong.
- Pack Lightly - this is the most obvious
but also the most ignored piece of advice. If you
don't need it don't take it Ò there's nothing
worse that dragging surplus to requirements luggage
through crowded airports, on the Tube during a summer
heatwave, and on your rain-affected stopover in
the hills of Thailand. A good way to eliminate those
weighty 'luxuries' and minimize the threat of hefty
excess baggage fees is to lay everything for your
trip out and then discard non-essentials.
Repeat this process with the remaining items. Remember
- if you do leave something behind, it can always
be replaced in the UK.
- Pack Smartly - Minimise wasted space by
taking clothing that can be worn in more than one
environment and by purchasing items such as roll-up
rain coats and travel sleeping bags and towels that
have been specially designed for travelers. A multipurpose
item such as a decent Swiss Army Knife will prove
invaluable on your travels.
- Spread the Risk - If you pack all of your
essentials - toiletries, medicine, money - in one
bag, chances are it will be the one that is lost.
Trying to get an airline representative motivated
to find your lost luggage at 3am at Heathrow is
not a pretty sight, so take copies of important
documents, carry money on you, and utilise a day-pack
with back-up essentials.
- Buy Good Luggage - no, it doesn't have
to be Gucci, but it is amazing how many people spend
thousands of dollars travelling, but insist on using
their parents' old suitcase or backpack from the
summer of '79. Of course these bags do a wonderful
job of disintegrating after a dose of tender love
and care from the airport baggage handlers, springing
a leak so that your stash of condoms falls out as
you queue in customs, or making your carefully packed
suit smell like the dog's blanket.
- Use A Checklist - Who wants to spend a
24 hour flight wondering whether or not they packed
the travellers cheques or if their contact lens
are still in the bathroom unit? The eBigOE
Packing Checklist has been designed to help
you complete this task as painlessly as possible.
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