I’m packing again. Another day, another suitcase.I love it and I hate it. Love it because it means I’m off somewhere. Hate it because there is just not enough room in there for everything I might need. How can I predict what mood I might be in on any given day and what I might want to wear?
You see, I am not one of those people who can dress sensibly. I am led into everyday on a whim. Call it shallow, some have called it eccentric; I prefer to call it free - a little like an Italian taxi driver once described his driving… which was scary in the middle of a roundabout in Rome. I admit, sometimes so are my fashion choices. Although I have resisted the lure of the Austrian travelling clothes a la the Von Trapp family, I did once succumb to a red nurses’ cape.
Packing Tips: Overweight is good
Unsurprisingly, I always travel with an overweight suitcase, especially in winter. And so far, I have only had to pay excess baggage once, in Amsterdam. I think the airlines are often more lenient than they want us to believe. And I guess a lot of people travel under their weight allowance so it all evens out. When I take my small suitcase (the weekend / one week case, as opposed to the two weeks / one month case or the mega-over-a-month whopper), I usually can’t stuff it fuller than about 14 kilos (30 lbs) even with lots of books and computer cords, so I make up for all those 27-kilo journeys.
You do have to be careful because most airlines now won’t let any individual bag weigh over about 32 kilos (70 lbs) for health and safety reasons. This is particularly relevant for those lucky enough to be in business class and allowed to take at least this much. A good rule of thumb is, if you can’t lift it, they won’t!
Packing Tips: Roll it, decant it, but don’t shoebox it
So, the way I get all that stuff in there is rolling. Some people claim that laying clothes flat fits just as much but I have to say since I started rolling things I have many more wardrobe choice on the road. I don’t understand the laws of physics that make it true (is it physics?) but it works for me.
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| She did not take Philippa’s advice… |
I used to always carry my toiletries in hand luggage because they were heavy and take up space. Not possible anymore. So, it’s into the case for longer trips, or decanted into 100 ml plastic bottles for shorter ones. Although you can still be hassled at security if you have lots of little bottles in your required Ziplock plastic bag.
The big mistake I made once was buying 200ml of something duty free, then, on the return trip, I decanted half into a 100 ml bottle and took the rest in the original bottle. Portuguese security stopped me. Even though the bottle was half full, it said 200ml on it so they would not let me carry it on the plane. I think telling them that the rest was in the other bottle only made it worse; I really did have 200ml of one substance, and man, that bubble bath could have really caused fragrant mayhem on the plane. I was sent back to check-in my hand luggage.
The most amazing piece of packing I’ve ever seen was a friend travelling Europe for a few weeks with the biggest, heaviest suitcase ever – now, she really was a fashion victim carrying all those shoes and bags. But when she opened the case, I could not believe my eyes: it was full of shoe boxes. Not, thankfully, full of shoes but full of everything and anything. She had decided that the best way to find things was have them in little compartments. But what a packing nightmare she had created for herself. I do not recommend this.
Packing Tips: No shoes, no shirt - welcome aboard!
Depending where you’re going – or how much you have annoyed the check-in staff – there is always the fear that check-in luggage may not meet you at the other end. In Russia, they have such rampant theft that when you take your bag off the carousel, someone checks your ID against your baggage ticket against the bag before you are allowed to leave. Comforting and yet…
Baggage handlers do have a reputation for stealing. The funniest thing I ever heard, actually I think I read it in a book, was about someone checking through a camel suit (don’t ask) and then seeing one of the baggage guys on the tarmac running around the plane wearing it.
Some airports are eccentric. For example, at Zagreb airport in Croatia, they will sometimes ask if you have anything with batteries in your check through luggage. My Dad likes to carry a clock, a torch etc – he had to unpack and remove all the batteries and repack them separately. This is the airport where they made me take off a suit jacket that had metal jewellery on it – luckily I was wearing a camisole that day. But, of course, as soon as you are wearing only underwear, the line stops while someone in front of you has his or her bag searched… Really luckily it was quite a pretty camisole.
Other airports enjoy making you take your shoes off. Some English airports now have a two-stop system: your bags are checked then you go through another security barrier where you take off your shoes and they are checked. Always, always wear socks or stockings without holes when flying.
Packing Tips: Things you really need
One essential I always travel with is a universal adapter. I have computer leads and camera and phone chargers and they all end up with different outlet points. But they can be heavy. A small sewing kit is also good to have (although make sure scissors and needles are checked through). Some people carry a Swiss army knife – I was given one but have never used it. Let’s face it: the modern city is a jungle, but not that kind of jungle.
Then there’s the guidebook. Could they make them any heavier? I definitely do not advocate ripping up books, barbaric, but guidebooks are more tools than literature so I have got into the habit of ripping out the section for the place I’m going, then throwing it in the bin as I leave.
Packing Tips: Don’t look stupid
Why can’t you still be You when you’re on the road? I see whole families of travelling clones wearing the same sensible clothes, bought specially for the trip (and adding significantly to the cost of the trip, by the way), and they might as well have on T-shirts that say “Pick My Pocket, I Am A Tourist”. Especially when it comes to pulling out the money belt full of cash – this is just a green light to a scammer. Carry your wallet, like always, just be sensible and don’t put it in your back pocket, which is good advice anywhere. And don’t carry every card and piece of ID you own in it, also good advice anywhere. Why is it that people who live in popular tourist cities don’t get pickpocketed as often as tourists? They still pass through all the popular crowded places everyday. I say it’s the clothes, and the attitude.
Instead of spending that extra cash on Gore-Tex clothes, spend it on your suitcase. Buy a really good, lightweight one. My whopper case weighs seven kilos empty! Crazy. So I figure that I do only pack 20 kilos of stuff and maybe the airlines understand that. But maybe it is time to update to a better case.
And, never never go with the backpack option – unless you are going hiking of course. You might think it looks intrepid and retro but when your back is breaking and you can’t find that last pair of clean socks which is hiding right down the bottom, the wheelie suitcase is going to start looking pretty attractive.
Okay, back to my packing. Although no need to panic because I have a theory that packing takes as long as you’ve got. My sister calls my suitcase The Tardis (a la Doctor Who) because I pull so many different outfits out of it. Now, where is that purple ribbon to tie on its outside? I don’t want a repeat of the ugly incident when the English cricket fan took my case and I got his… That did no wardrobe favours for either of us.
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