Travel Tips for Packing Luggage
Here are some travel tips for packing luggage specifically for India. It’s not always easy to know in advance what you’ll need to take and what you can easily pick up when you’re there...
Travel Tips for Packing Luggage #1 - No Flashy Luggage
Well of course that depends on what kind of traveler you (and your companions) are. If you absolutely have to show off your current season Yves St. Laurent luggage, then by all means do, but you will risk becoming targeted by thieves, so make sure you’ve got adequate travel insurance! In any case being a foreign tourist marks you as a likely source of cash, but outward signs of wealth confirm this. That’s not to say you have to do the shaggy backpacker look, but I would suggest not taking overtly flashy luggage. Which leads me to the next tip:
Travel Tips for Packing Luggage #2 - Soft not Hard LuggageYou never know when your luggage might need to go on the back of an elephant or on a coolie’s head. I recommend taking good quality soft luggage rather than hard luggage, as it’s easier to fit in awkward spaces like underneath train berths in sleeper carriages or in the back of auto-rickshaws. If your hard luggage doesn’t fit under the berth in a train carriage for instance, then no-one gets any leg room which can be a bit annoying.Travel Tips for Packing Luggage #3 - Go Decent rather than ‘El Cheapo’Luggage in India can take quite a beating, so a decent quality denier (fabric thickness) would be a good investment, either a backpack, or those new backpacks on wheels work well. I would advise against taking luggage you can’t carry easily yourself, there are many times I’ve been glad I could throw my backpack on my back rather than wheel it through pot holes filled with water or mud and rubbish.The first seven or so times I went to India, I used the same backpack as it was a good quality, though not terribly expensive (bought on sale) purchase from an adventure store. Then the next time, I used department store wheelie duffel bag, about half the price, and it was ripped after the first trip and one of the wheels fell off, so you do mostly get what you pay for. I’ve since bought a decent Antler roller-backpack which works well.
Travel Tips for Packing Luggage #4 - Lavender Essential OilEssential oils punch above their size and weight in usefulness when traveling. Lavender can be used for so many things. I sprinkle it on any bedding I sleep on, it keeps away bedbugs, it’s soothing so it can help you sleep, you can put it on your temples if you have a headache (note—it won’t cure a caffeine-withdrawal headache, nothing will except caffeine or detoxing). Lavender is antiseptic, antibacterial, antifungal etc, so it’s great to put on any cuts or grazes etc. I keep finding new things it’s good for. The day I figured out about the anti-bed-bug effect, I was overjoyed, as Kara and I had been staying at some reasonably low-budget hotels and hostels, so we never knew how many ferals had slept there before us. At least after a sprinkle of lavender, it smelt clean and I woke to clear skin (yey!). There's some in the shop but a drugstore/chemist or health food shop may also stock it.Travel Tips for Packing Luggage #5 - Lemon Essential OilThis is good for people who suffer from unsettled stomachs. I don’t always take it, but one drop in a water bottle can help you adjust to the different diet when you first arrive. Also, as it smells so fresh, it can be sprinkled around any room that doesn’t pass the sniff test, like the time I booked a dodgy fleapit in Calcutta (as the pictures on the internet didn’t look anything like the hotel itself!)Again, there's some in the shop but a drugstore/chemist or health food shop may also stock it. Don't drink it straight up--just put maybe one drop in a bottle of water. I promise you'll taste it.Travel Tips for Packing Luggage #6 - Resealable Plastic BagsResealable plastic bags (snack or sandwich bags with the resealable strips, they come in several different sizes) are really handy for all sorts of things, for example your passport in case you’re caught in a monsoonal storm. This happened to me recently in Singapore and because photos are printed in passports now rather than pasted in, the color has run in the photo! If I’d had it in plastic, that wouldn’t have happened. They’re also useful for keeping basic medicines like paracetamol tablets etc and I even use them to keep my soap inside your toiletries bag. Lighter and smaller than a hard plastic case, but does the same job. I put some in the shop for you, along with the:Bonus Travel Packing Tip: A Torch Necklace! This is sooooo handy and has saved me many times. There is a lot of electricity theft in India, with people wiring up their places illegally. This increased load on the system means there is are a LOT of power outages and it seems to get worse if it rains. So in the evenings, you can often find yourself suddenly in the dark. Having a very small torch you wear around your neck (but that's bright enough for you to get around with) is so important. Oh, and it's great to read with if you're one of those people like me who read before they go to sleep. But wait, there's more
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