Friday, July 8, 2011

Mother Packer

According to the latest statistics, almost 90% of travelers worldwide hate packing. They say it’s pretty stressful when it comes to deciding which clothes to bring or what shoes to wear. Okay, I admit it. The statistical data was all made up, but you get my point. Everyone hates packing, especially these days when budget airlines only allow hand carried bags with a maximum weight of 7 kilograms. If the passenger wants to have his baggage checked in, he shall pay an additional fee starting at Php 250. I surmise that it’s one of the budget airline’s marketing strategies to maintain its profit. But I realize that this might help travelers on packing their things properly. Today, I will share some tips on how to pack wisely.





One. ‘Light’ Fashion. I am not a fashion guru but I will teach you on what type of clothes to bring on your trip. Basically, we choose that are, well, trendy and at the same time, light. It is unwise to dump all of your closet’s contents in your luggage for a three day trip! Remember, you only need to bring enough clothes for your trip but in case of emergency, bring at least two to three extra shirts.

Also I prefer wearing shorts than jeans whenever I travel. Aside from flaunting my hairy legs and my *ehem* prominent soleus muscle, shorts basically eat up less space than jeans. Furthermore, shorts are more comfortable especially when you’re visiting a tropical city or country.

When it comes to footwear, I prefer wearing slip-on (Toms and Sanük are my favorite slip-on brands) than shoes-that-requires-you-to-tie-its-shoelaces. This is very important especially when you go through the airport’s check-in procedures which I will explain later.

Slip-on or a heavy-duty boots?IMG_0111
Shorts, white polo shirt and Toms
*The black cardigan is optional, but yeah, these kind of clothes are trendy and at the same time, don’t eat much of your luggage’s space*


Two. Check-in blues. It is always an SOP to arrive at the airport two hours before your flight (3 hours if you’re taking an international flight). But sometimes, we can’t avoid certain circumstances like traffic jams or road accidents which causes unexpected delays. If it gets worse, you may not make it to your flight. Some airlines, particularly Cebu Pacific Air strictly closes its check-in counters 45 minutes before the estimated time of departure. Sometimes, they even close earlier than the ETD! Moreover, security personnel won’t allow you to skip the x-ray machines (duh). To avoid these unnecessary delays, I suggest to wear slip-on – easy to wear, easy to remove. Also, before arriving at the airport, make sure that all of your valuable things are secured inside your bag (watch, cellphone, iPod, camera, coin purse and belt). Through this, there’s no need of putting all of it on a tray which is a time consuming activity. Speaking of belts, I highly discourage you of wearing it inside the terminal, unless if you’re a big fan of wearing loose elephant pants (by the way, who wears elephant pants these days?!). I assure you that these smart moves will help you save more time and have a bigger chance to catch up with your flight.


Three. OMG my clothes are getting fatter, they aren’t kasya na! Almost all travelers face this predicament every time they pack their things before going home. It’s always a mystery as to why all clothes magically fit inside the luggage prior the trip but ridiculously don’t fit before going home. It seems like the clothes get fatter as days go by. Whether the ‘fat clothes’ mystery exists or not, there’s one possible way to solve this problem. Just take a look on these pictures.

From this: Burara method.


IMG_0119


To this: Rolling In The Deep method.




IMG_0120


The pictures say it all. Problem solved. Presto.


Four. Gadgets. Follow this simple golden rule: Charge before you leave, whether if it’s your camera, iPod or PSP. You might also bring your favorite book and I strongly suggest to just bring one. You don’t need to bring the whole Twilight series, duh! You just have to grab it in case you get bored inside the predeparture area of the airport or inside the plane, especially if you’re taking a long-haul flight.


IMG_0123




Five. The last but not the least, the right package. There is a plethora of choices on choosing the right backpack. The North Face bags are durable but it’s a bit pricey. If you’re on a tight budget, try browsing some laptop backpacks at Hawk. Mine’s costs two thousand bucks and it has lots of compartments. I’ve been using it for two years already but it’s still in good shape. Bags with fewer compartments offer less space and tend to be more chaotic especially when sorting your things.


IMG_0126


Always remember when traveling, you don’t need to overpack. You just have to pack enough things for your trip. Through this, your bag would be less chaotic, more organized and there’s no need of paying additional fees to the check-in counter.

Don’t forget what Antoine St. Exupery’s told us about traveling - He who would travel happily must travel light.

12 comments:

  1. Thank you for the very informative read. I always find packing a big problem when traveling. I can't tell whether I've packed to much or too little. At least now I can look forward to trying out your tips next time I pack.

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  2. Well, I've applied what I learned from my friends and professors who always travel. :) Tune in for my travel tips! :D

    Thanks for reading my blog entry, bro :D

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  3. wala ka pa ring kupas mag PS love the header and layout!

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  4. @IamDP

    Kuya Ian, maraming salamat! :)

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  5. I guess I'm one of the 10%
    I LOVE PACKING!!! pack lang ng pack! hahahaha

    you're such a fashionable geek! ;-)

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  6. Hello Ron! Natawa naman ako sa fashionable geek :) Yan ang usual kong sinusuot nung nasa UP pa ako. :)

    You love 'packing'? Talaga? Intense packer ka pala! Hehehe.

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  7. napadaan lng from travelblog.ph. :D hehehe.. at napa comment, kasi idol mo din si Dr. Sheldon Cooper. :D hahahaha :D

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  9. Bookmarked! This will be very helpful, I'll be doing a lot of travelling this sembreak :)

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  10. Singapore, Davao and probably Boracay. I'm taking advantage of my free flights :)

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  11. ganito talaga dapat hehe.. but I guess, trendy and fashionista women will have a problem with this.. they just wanted to bring their entire wardrobe and vanity with them hehe..

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