Letter 22

Today I am going to be sharing with you some of the things I think are essential to pack for a long trip. There will be a couple of letters coming which will be about my backpack, clothing I take and how I actually pack it all!

1. Document wallet: a simple lightweight folder to keep all important documents in one place.
2. Travel towel: I always buy a microfibre one, this one being from Mountain Warehouse. They dry really quickly, fold up small and are very light. If I was going to be one beaches I would also take one as a beach towel.
3. Combination locks: so you don’t have to carry a key. I only really lock my bag when I’m travelling place to place – airplanes for example.
4. Flight socks: for long haul flights (anything over 4 hours I would say) these are essential.
5. Water bottle: I got this one from primark and it has a bit in it which you freeze and it keeps your water cold. I always take a water bottle with me – save money and the environment on buying trow away ones.
6. Adapter: Depending on where you go you’ll need an appropriate plug adapter.
7. Purse: obvious reasons.
8. Luggage tag: distinguishes your bag and it’s more likely to get back to you if it is lost. I don’t put my address, instead I put my name, number and mum’s number.
9. Kindle reading light: my kindle is very very essential to me and I need to be able to read in all lights so a clip on like this is perfect!
10. Toiletries bag: I got this from primark for £5 – bit steep but I love it. The middle bit detaches which is very useful. I like to have lots of pockets to separate things, and these pockets are spill proof. The bag also features a useful hook.
11. Cap: you may prefer a floaty pretty hat but for what I will be doing this is more practical. Either way – protect your head!

All of these essentials have a combined cost of about £30.

TOILETRIES

1. Sun cream: the single most important thing. I take as much as I can because I know it is cheaper here than anywhere I visit. I also am picky and like to have ‘once-a-day’ sun cream because I feel these offer more protection. My favourites are P20 (very pricey) and Soltan Once from boots. I also but a separate Soltan Once for the face. I love this and use it as my moisturizer as well.
2. After sun: moisturizes your skin after being roasted and also helps with burns. I buy Soltan from boots because it contains insect repellent.
3. Mozzy spray: I don’t know if these work – I still get bitten to pieces – but it’s a good idea to take some. I bought the expensive jungle formula, I hope it works.
4. Travel Wash: you will need to wash clothes on a long trip! These travel washes are really concentrated so they last a while.
5. Shampoo bar: I use the bars from lush because they last ages and are far lighter than a bottle of shampoo. They do good things to my hair too.
6. Toothpaste: I like to only take a small toothpaste because it’s cheap to replenish on the road so why make my bag heavier?

PACKING CUBES

Oh my life these are wonderful. I bought a set of 7 from amazon – link – for £9.99. Bargin! It includes 3 packing cubes, different sizes, 3 ‘laundry bags’ (although I doubt I will use these solely for laundry) and a shoe bag which I thought was a great idea! I think they are great and will definitely help keep my bag organised. Stay tuned for another letter coming soon about how I will pack my bag using these babies!

I hope that might help and maybe give some inspiration of what to take away with you!

Happy travels!

From Lou

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