I've previously outlined my personal packing tips, some are reiterated here in Travelista's Tips for Packing Light:
http://travelista.com/packing/how-to-pack-light/
http://travelista.com/packing/12-travelista-packing-tips/
I like her suggestion of trying on outfits before you leave, as you may not have access to a full length mirror on the road. Wearing bulky items on travel days is akin to my theory that "you can weight 130Ibs or 220Ibs and still get on the plane, but your suitcase cannot" So layer it up, airlines don't separate whether your body weight comes from fat or fabric ;)
Travelista and I don't seem to favour the same colour palette, however, depending on your destination, her subtle neutrals might be a wise idea so as to call less attention to yourself. I fully intend to rock colour denim and clashing solids in NYC, but will tone it down in some other destinations where I already look like a tourist even without the garish wardrobe.
She has also written an informative blog about doing laundry during your travels:
http://travelista.com/packing/how-to-do-laundry-when-traveling/
Let's face it, I avoid laundry like the plague when I'm at home, that goes double when I'm on vaca. However there are times when it is the wise thing to do to keep your suitcase light and odour-free.
(Sidenote: to keep things largely odour-free I always make a point to bag my dirty clothes in separate plastic bags and travel-sized spray bottle filled with Febreeze with me. Dryer sheets are said to work well too)
I have done the foreign laundromat thing, this is where I got my idea to open up a laundromat/internet cafe. In 2004 I wasted a bit of time staring at a row or washers and dryers in Madrid, all the while thinking, I sure wish they had a computer or two in here. Of course in this day and age everyone has wifi devices, so perhaps a laundromat with a small fee for wifi will suffice. Anyway, I digress... When a full load of laundry is what you need to do, then do it. But if your stops are brief and trip not very long, it's a bit of a waste of time.
Laundry service is a good idea if you can afford it. In some countries it's very cheap to send you laundry out (Hong Kong comes to mind) and they do a great job. I wouldn't hand over anything that I'd be devastated to lose though (actually I wouldn't bring anything I'd be devastated to lose in the first place).
Hotel sink/tub laundry is the default and something I try to avoid, but I'm starting to change my attitude about this. I did a little laundry when I rented a private flat on a previous trip, it was one of the reasons I mixed it up booking hotels in some cities and private apartments in others. I've never used detergent sheets before but am interested in getting some. I bring a quick dry towel for my hair, but can easily tuck in another (or a ShamWow haha) in my suitcase. As for a clothesline, for a few pairs of socks and undies, I'm sure you'd be able to drape them on a hanger. If you're staying somewhere that might not have hangers, it's pretty easy to toss about couple wire ones (save the ones you get back from your drycleaners at home) in the bottom of your suitcase (then throw them out when you no longer need them). Tide pens are pretty crucial to have in everyday life (at least they are if you're klutzy like me), on the road should be no different.
If you want to further lighten your load/pack more efficiently, many travellers recommend rolling your clothes instead of folding them to take up less space. I plan to start doing this. My favourite way to pack less is to wear sandals whenever possible, I hate closed-toe shoes and this way I don't have to pack as many socks :) You might also consider an old tee/pj's that you won't hesitate to toss out if your travel purchases have your suitcase bulging at the end of the trip.
Hopefully when combined, these tips will keep you looking fabulous. It's one thing to break your wallet, but you don't want to break your back.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Monday, March 12, 2012
Book Here, Not There...
That's right, my first (and hopefully not last) international trip this year will be to Moscow and St Petersburg! I've heard some mixed reviews about women traveling to Russia, but ultimately the beautiful architecture, palaces and promises of all-night arts festivals won me over. As an advocate of public transit and art lover, the idea of subway stations that look like museums has me excitedly planning a day of exclusively exploring underground.
I've been checking plane ticket prices to Moscow (which is a more common route for us in North America) for months now, investigating possible sales (the conclusion is that there are very few sales on flights to Russia), flight routes (there are many, but few are direct) and times. Though I've been told time and again to shop around, even amongst online booking sites, I typically favour expedia.ca. They usually have the lowest fares and are completely reliable for flight and hotel bookings 100% of the time. I'd been eyeing a flight on their site for a few weeks, the price held steady at just under $1300 (most flights are between $1400-$1500), but much to my disappointment it started to go up 2 days before I was ready to book. You may have read on other sites that airfare sales typically begin on Tuesday afternoons, and by Wednesday, competitors of the airline may also drop their prices to match. This is your best window as a lot of sales end on Thursday. My "special fare" (as it was called on Expedia) had held steady for a few weeks so I was hoping it'd go on for another week, but by Thursday (while it was still listed as "special fare") the price was over $1300 and on Friday it was closer to $1400 with ridiculously early departure times. Early departures are usually cheapest; it's understandable that to save a buck you need to make some sacrifices, but sometimes it's near impossible to get to an airport for 4am in a foreign country. Not to mention a bit unsafe.
While mulling over what to do next, I decided to click on one of the advertised links, which took me one of those sites that search a bunch of travel booking engines simultaneously. I decided to give it a shot and see what options came up, one of the tabs was for CheapOAir, which I've used before to fly to Italy. At the time they were a U.S.-based site, but have now expanded to include a .ca site as well. The CheapOAir.com site pulled up a flight for $1133! To double check I opened a new window and went directly to the CheapOAir site to try the search again. Unbeknownst to me, it defaulted me to the Canadian CheapOAir.ca site, where the prices were on average $100 higher. Perplexed, I eyed the page from different angles until I noticed it wasn't the US site.
The only difference between booking on the US site vs the Canadian site is that you're charged in US dollars. With the dollar pretty much at par last week, it was quite the savings. Guess what the experts have been saying are true, from now on I will search more extensively instead of just booking anything that "looks reasonable" from my default travel site.
(Caveats: My flight was $1133 US, likely a bit over $1200 from CheapOAir.ca and not available through expedia.ca. It is Toronto via NYC to Moscow. On the way back I actually have to change airports. Flight from Moscow lands in JFK but my flight home to Toronto will leave from LaGuardia after a 4.5 hr layover. I'm pretty familiar with NYC and feel confident I can make my way to over in time to catch my flight home. Also it's the last leg going home so there's less on the line for me to mess up, absolute worse case scenario I miss my flight and they won't rebook me, alternate flights home are relatively cheap or I can even resort to a bus if I have to.)
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