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Text by Prime Sarmiento

 

(Note: This is part five of the six-part series on How To Travel Alone As A Woman.The first part discusses travel safety tips for solo female travelers, the second is about how to travel on a budget,  the third part lists down tips on how you can earn money while traveling, the fourth one focuses on health tips for female travelers,)

 

   In my recent week-long business trip to Rio, I only brought two pieces of luggage: a medium-sized suitcase with wheels and expandable zipper;  and a backpack.  And yet, despite such a lean luggage which weighs less than 20 kilograms, I managed to fit in whatever I need when traveling including wrinkle-free clothes, hypo-allergenic toiletries, first aid kit, netbook, adaptors and small packets of sugar, coffee and biscuits.

   My colleague was amazed that I managed to fit everything in such a (relatively] small traveling bag. She said that I’m like Mary Poppins, all I need is to open up that magic bag of mine and it will bring out anything and everything that I might want and need. And to complete the Mary Poppins theme is the fact that I always have an umbrella with me – a turquoise-colored, checkered foldable umbrella – a cute way to tread the streets of Ipanema on a rainy day.
          
   As I’m a female traveler who often travel on my own – I have always been obsessed with traveling light and smart. I have no one to rely on but myself – so if I forgot something, I need to buy it or just live without it. If I overpack, I have no choice but to carry everything (never mind of my back or (flat feet are in pain and spend for the excess luggage.

   But after years of experimenting, I managed to come up and abide by my own packing light guideline.  So if you always find yourself either underpacking or overpacking, these packing tips might help:

 

1. Know where you’re going and pack accordingly:

   Google is every solo female traveler’s BFF. I never travel without first googling anything and everything about the place I’ll be visiting. I always check for the following:

a. Weather :

   Should I bring my shorts or down jacket? I can get away traveling around Southeast Asia with just walking shorts, sandals and t-shirts. But if I’m going to North America, during fall or winter, I needed my winter attire – jackets, clothes for layering, gloves and thick scarves.

b. Culture: 

   A culturally-sensitive female traveler is not only respectful but also keeps herself safe.  In more conservative societies like in the Middle East, better bring modest attire like long pants and blouses with sleeves.

c. Standard of living:  

  I can get away with traveling light because I sometimes just resort to buying things as I go. I often travel in  key urban areas anyway, so I just buy some things that I need like ointment, a pair of scissors, laundry soap and even a whole set of summer attire. This is what I did when I visited Perth in the summer and I made the mistake of bringing coats and warm, black tops thinking that it’s colder there than tropical Southeast Asia).

   That is,  provided that these items are affordable in the country that I’m visiting.  I will think twice – thrice even – before buying items in expensive cities. My lil sis, for instance, swears she will never buy socks in Germany as it's very espensive to shop there.

2. Bring multi-purpose items: 

 

   This will lighten your load as you don’t have to bring to much stuff.

   I always bring sarongs since I can use them as shawl, towel, skirt, bed cover, improvised bag, blanket, or even give them as gifts. 

   Other multi-purpose items fit for female travelers include: a bottle of tea tree oil (great as a disinfectant and pimple remover), scarf (can function as a fashion accessory, hanky or torniquet), ziplock bags ( perfect  water-proof containers for all types of stuff including toiletries, make up kit, tea bags, cookies and sugar packets, prescription medicine, powdered detergent etc.) and canvas bag  (I use it as a hand bag, shoe bag and eco-friendly shopping bag).

3. Simplify your wardrobe:

   Whether it’s a business or leisure trip, I follow this rule of thumb: If I can’t use it at least twice, I have to leave it. I always bring wrinkle free and clothes in neutral tones so I can wash and wear them. I rely on accessories to update my clothes, I often bring two to three pairs of earrings, bead necklaces and crystal bracelets.

   For footwear, I only bring two pairs – dressy shoes and sneakers. Sometimes, I don't even bother with the dressy shoes.

 

4. Keep them digitized:

   Thank goddess for gadgets! I can bring all my guide books*,  meditation kits* , my yoga video, music and movies and they will all fit in my hand carry bag.  I read books in my Kindle *, listen to music from my iPod*,  take photos and video using my Panasonic Lumix camera* and check emails, surf and call friends/family via my Samsung smartphone*. If I’m traveling to cover an international conference, I bring my digital recorder* and my netbook.*

   

   Lastly, always reserve enough space in your bag for all the souvenirs and gifts that you’re buying. It will be best if you can keep then small  and/or portable or better yet help you to travel light. After all, I for one, bought multi-purpose items via inflight shopping – a universal adaptor and a compact make-up kit which, togethet with facial wipes,  never fails to freshen me up after a long haul flight.

 

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Resources:

Want to know more how to travel alone as a woman?   The Art of Solo Travel: A Girls’ Guide*  by Stephanie Lee is ideal for the woman traveling alone for the first time but has no idea how to go about it.  The guide answers all the questions that you have on traveling alone as a woman – from saving money for your travels, to advice on relationships and health on the road and even advice on how to deal with dream crushers.  Get it now and start crafting your own journeys!

 

 

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Credit:

Creative commons image by: Sweet Carolina Design & Photo