Hi folks, I know you’ve all been wondering why I’ve been missing from the blog radar for sometime. Truth be told that I’ve been madly busy with a huge change in my career and will be heading to one of the world’s leading fashion capital…. London and home of Sir Paul Smith, my fav designer. Anyways, I going to work for long term so its good to know what to pack for the occasion and I going to share with you some tips from my travel experience round the world (plus some blunders).
Travel in Style
Quite frankly … men in general are lost when it comes to packing their bags for long trips, simply we don’t give much after though when it comes to packing and rely on everything to fall into place once we reach our destination. Sorry guys, have to tell ya it doesn’t work that way in real life. So my advice here will at least foolproof your travel plans so that you’ll arrive your destination with peace of mind and not left your underwear at home like the last time.
1. Always travel light! You’ll avoid back pain, quicker checkin/out by not putting it in the cargo hold, and you can bring back more loot from your travels.
2. Get luggages / bags with WHEELS. Huge plus when your bag is overloaded make mobility way easier rather than lugging it around. If you have fragile items, get a hard shell suitcase to minimize bumping when your luggage gets thrown around during transfer. Remember you are only allowed one checkin luggage and one hand carry on Economy so make it count.
Wheels please.....
3. Bring the essentials if you working abroad long term: work shirts, work pants, tie, suit / sports coat, undershirts and underwear, socks, belt, a pair of jeans.
4. For cold weather countries, bring along sweaters / cardigan, scarf, overcoat / duffle coat / trench coat / parka. Thermal underwear helps is you are heading way up north or south.
5. Practically for travel bring 2 pair of shoes, one for work and the other semi-formal like loafers so you could use it alternately in the workplace (provided its not too formal) and the for the casual weekend. Always pack the smaller pair into your luggage and wear the other one. To save space and keep your shoes in shape, stuff your socks into your shoes and wrap it up in shoe bags to keep it clean.
5. Pick your clothes within 2 or 3 colour/pattern themes that you’ll use more than once. This will make it easier to mix and match.
6. Bring more tops (shirts, cardigans / sweaters or jackets) than bottoms. People rarely notice what pants you are wearing if you keep it plain and simple, minus the obvious food stain. Also pack a pair of pajama’s bottoms, sleeping in your underwear is not fun with freezing night weather.
7. Have a packing strategy, lay out all your clothes onto your bed so you have a birds eye view of your inventory…. and take half the amount of each. Frankly you don’t need much stuff and if you do need more you can buy it at the place of your destination.
7. Bring at least 2 of each item so you can rotate and use while the other item goes for drying cleaning/washing. The exception will be your undershirts/wear and socks which ideally you should have a weeks worth since you’ll be washing those frequently.
Been traveling around lately?
8. In cold weathered countries, you’ll rarely perspire so hang your clothes immediately when you are back home to avoid further creasing and reuse it for an alternate day (and minimize your laundry bill). If there is creases, hang them in the bathroom while you shower. The steam from the hot shower would ease the creasing.
9. Bring some spare buttons and a mini sewing kit, you’ll never know when you’ll get some loose ends.
10. Make sure your washbag have the essentials: toothbrush, toothpaste, small bottle of mouthwash, small bar of soap and shampoo, nail clipper, small torchlight, swiss army knife, Panadol, food supplements like Vitamin C and B12 complex, hair care product, spare glasses / contact lenses, bandages. Remember airport restrictions allow only limited liquids in your hand carry bag so place these into your check in luggage.
11. Pack a small foldable umbrella and hat in your hand carry bag, you may never know what crazy weather ahead.
12. Get a travel charger for the country you are going so that you can use your electrical appliances such as laptop, phone and camera.
13. Download and print maps of the country you are going and survey the places you are going to travel in advance using Google Maps. If you have an iPhone, you can easily download maps/travel apps such as Lonely Planet and get the information right on your fingertips.
14. Important: Make sure your travel documents are up to date and if you plan to drive and your driving license is not in English, get it translated and authorized.
15. Once landed at your destination, get a local SIM card for your mobile phone and a travel card like Oyster (London) or Octopus (Hong Kong). Save you heaps on phone calls by dialing local.
Lastly, there a great site called Ask Andy About Clothes that have great tips on how to pack and a method to fold your suit jacket to save space in your luggage and I highly recommend it here.
Happy travels and remember to send a digital postcard back!
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
yo bro, i m gonna miss u big time !! but i think u r more than happy to move there “temporary”, and how u wish that Sir P.Smith’s shop is just a walk across the street from where u stay. try not to bring the whole shop back ya !!