Packing list

I've had my head buried in novels for the past few weeks, when I haven't been at work etc or running around getting the house renovation stuff sorted, but given we will be packing tomorrow, I need to get the packing list sorted. And yes, we're still taking carry-on only.

Clothing

Minimal jewellery for Ab + couple of scarves.
Edited to add: Plus sunhats

Electronica - all fully charged and podcasts/books/movies downloaded/updated as required.
'Wear' means packed into SeV hoodie etc (equiv of handbag)

Toiletries & medical
Liquids bag
 - shampoo, conditioner, cleanser, facial moisturiser, deodorant, toothpaste, sunscreen, lip balms, bite cream, insect repellant, hand cream/body moisturiser, baby wipes, contact lenses, hand sanitiser, lip stick & mascara
Non-liquids bag
 - toothbrushes, dental floss, body soap, laundry soap + universal sink plug, tampons,
Medical
 - prescription medicines (Ab x 3), Symbicort, Ventolin, anti-histamine, analgesics (minimal), bandaids, carry-on compliant nail clippers, tweezers, basic sewing kit

Other
Day bags - Kathmandu fold-up satchel & backpack; handbag for Ab
Packing cubes
Collapsible water bottles
Theraband
Notebook & writing implements
Sunglasses (incl normal & prescription for Ab)
Passports, tickets (electronic copies as well as paper), IDPs & drivers licences
Tissues, mints
Spare shopping bag (one of those ones that folds up to the size of a matchbox)
Coin purse (will hold credit card & drivers licence + local currency; in lieu of normal wallet)


(I'll likely update this through the day as I think of things, but it's a good first pass.)

Links to travel-related lifehack type posts/ideas

Because that way I can find them when I'm looking. Have you got any nifty ideas to add?

"35 Genius Travel Tips That Will Change Your Life Forever" (just a wee bit hyperbolic, ya think?)
"23 Awesome Travel Hacks That Add Fun To Your Trip"
"52 travel tips you really should know"
"Fifty best-ever travel tips"

• Use the USB slot on a TV to charge devices
• Take a USB hub, with power cables pre-plugged in and organised, or a multi-port charger (NB don't work with older Apple devices)
• invest in a battery pack (portable re-charger)
• Scan (rather than photocopy) important documents (eg passports etc) before leaving, then save them to iBooks or similar so you have offline access
• Take a photo of your hire car and its licence plate, in case you can't remember which one is yours. And drop a pin on your phone map app, so you can remember where you parked.
• Sew a washcloth into a pouch for soap, or toothbrush and toothpaste caddy
• When reserving seats for two people, book the aisle and the window - you're more likely to have the middle seat left vacant, else offer to swap with interloper.
• When you're at the airport, add "?.jpg" to the end of any URL to get around the ludicrously expensive WiFi. Or, try sitting right outside an airport club lounge
• Take your own water bottle - just empty it to go through security, fill it up when you get the chance
• Use ATMs to get currency - much better value than forex converters
• Shop for basic groceries when you arrive, not at the hotel, and also for picnic lunches
• download an offline foreign language dictionary app eg Google Translate
• when you start a new SD card on your camera, take a selfie makes it easier to prove it's yours when claiming it from lost&found (or, make the first one a photo of your business card and a request to mail it to that address if found).
• take a travel sized bottle of laundry detergent (and a multi-size sink plug) so you can wash jocks and socks in the hotel sink
• carry baby wipes/face wipes, and a stash of spare ziploc bags in a range of sizes (dirty laundry thru to snacks)
• use a button to keep earrings together
• apparently there's an outdoor rooftop swimming pool at Changi airport!
• a pashmina can double as a blanket; a sarong as a long skirt or a beach towel or a pillow
• take a small electronic luggage scale so you don't get caught out at the airport check-in
• remember to tell your credit card (and mobile phone) provider that you're heading overseas (so they don't cancel your cards due to suspected fraudulent activity)
• always remove all your luggage from the taxi before paying the fare (they can't drive off with it in case of a dispute)
• a bandana soaked in cold water and then tied around your neck will help keep you cool
• pack a skipping rope and a theraband as a mini-gym
• save maps for offline viewing (use 'OK Maps' in Google maps)
• carry enough medicines to cover unforeseen delays (volcanic ash clouds, anyone?)

(or: hide money in a tampon box - also unlikely to be rummaged through)

Packing list - mental notes

There have been a few things buzzing around my head, and know if I write them down then I'll be able to let them out of my head. So, in no particular order ...

Luggage

We will be travelling with carry-on luggage only (it's a matter of pride as much as one of practicality).

The internal flights (EasyJet, Vueling, Alitalia) allow one smaller cabin bag only, and no additional 'personal bag' (handbag type thing), but with no weight limit. Size restriction is 50cm x 40cm x 20cm to be guaranteed to be in the cabin; slightly larger 56 x 45 x 25cm might have to go in the hold but will not count as stowed luggage (additional charge). You are allowed an overcoat as well, so we'll milk that to its limits.

As I have chosen not to pay extra for any stowed luggage, we'll need to be sure that (a) our main bags meet the size restrictions and (b) our personal bags can be folded up into our main bag.

Emirates Airlines looks like they have similar rules - one piece of carry on luggage only (first and business class get one bag plus and handbag/laptop bag). Weight limit is 7kg. Maximum size is 55cm x 38cm x 20cm. (Serves me right for assuming they allow one personal plus one main cabin bag, which is my experience for every other flight I've been on.) We might need to stow one bag on the way home if we buy much extra stuff while we're away.

Personal bags
The boys will again use their Kathmandu packs, which fold up into themselves to something about the size of a sandwich. I've used this as an excuse to buy a new handbag. JD and I have also each bought a new Scott-E-Vest jacket/vest each of which has two dozen or so pockets. I'll review these separately when they arrive.

Electronica
In addition to power point adaptor(s), we will also take at powerboard. That means we can charge up to four things using one adaptor (this was very useful on the cruise ship (limited power points) and in Japan (limited adaptors)).

WiFi is freely available throughout Europe, so I may not need to take an ethernet-capable netbook. On the other hand, my Asus Transformer gets sucky WiFi signal. The boys have a Samsung Galaxy phone and a 7" mini-tablet respectively, so they're sorted, and JD will have his phone, and will probably take his 7" Nexus too (reading material). I'll take a phone plus one or other of the netbooks.

I need to investigate what mobile phone plan options I have. JD will keep his (work-paid) phone on; I might use my Aldi-plan one, or buy a SIM card over there. International roaming charges in Australia are extortionate, so I'll need to weigh up the cost of doing that vs the pain-in-the-arse-ness of switching numbers.

(EDITED to add: Aldi mobile doesn't do international roaming, so that answers that one. JD will keep his Australian number, I'll get a local SIM over there.)

I've also decided not to take the DSLR - it's just too bulky. I've got a good compact camera which will fit in a small pocket and is WiFi capable to boot.

Clothing
I've tabulated likely weather conditions for each of our locations to help decide the balance of warmer vs cooler weather clothes. We're not particularly fashion conscious, which makes travelling light so much more feasible.

I found a pretty maxi skirt on special which will cover my knees/legs, making it appropriate for entering mosques and churches. Between that, another travel-suitable skirt and/or a summery dress, a pair of knee-length shorts, a pair of jeans and one other pair of long pants, I'm sorted. A selection of short and long sleeved tops to match, a light sweatshirt and a cardigan, plus my Scottevest jacket and I'm all but packed.

One pair of lace up walking shoes and one pair of black comfortable sandals will suffice, together with an appropriate number of socks, jocks and bras. I'll also throw in a silk scarf or two, with which to cover my head in Dubai, and dress up an outfit in Europe (25 ways to wear a scarf, heck, there's even an app for that) . And a pair of togs (swimming costume), and a hat.

JD and the boys will need a similar range of clothes - jeans plus another pair of long pants, two pair of shorts, sandals plus runners/walking shoes, range of t-shirts, light jumper plus softshell jacket, togs, hat, jocks & socks.

Of course, all clothes need to be crush-resistant/not require ironing, lightweight, quick-drying, and dirt-resistant. Not all that difficult in this day and age, thankfully.

Cruisin' - Things to bring

I did some research the night before we packed and picked up some handy hints for things to bring. They included: 

• Over the door hooks, for extra hanging space (I had a set of four I’d picked up from Aldi a couple of weeks ago)
• Extra coathangers, critical if you don’t bring extra hooks
• Plastic bags for storing wet clothes/shoes/etc
• Additional carry bag for bringing home purchases (important if you’re the type to buy lots of souvenirs)
• Febreze for freshening up worn clothes if they’re not dirty enough to require washing
• Crease release (Coles has travel sized bottles) to reduce ironing
• Sunscreen, hats, sunglasses – although the ozone layer is thicker nearer the equator, the pollution is far less. And you’re spending time laying around in the sun because you can.
•  Imodium/Gastro-Stop, analgesics, bandaids, anti-histamines etc, because a trip to the on-board shop (let alone on-board doc) is expensive
• A selection of dressy cardigans etc – it gets cool at night, and that’s when the dress code tends to apply.
• A day bag each, for port calls. We had these anyway (our ‘handbags’ on the plane), but a larger one capable of holding four towels plus gumf would have been useful.
• Bottled water. We don’t drink bottled water as a rule, but some of the ports may not have potable water. I had meant to bring an empty water bottle or two, but forgot.
• A power board – the room has only two accessible points, and we have around nearly a dozen devices potentially needing charging at the same time. A four point power board, plus double USB chargers help stop squabbles.
• A champagne stopper – if you choose to buy a whole bottle, you don’t have to worry about leftovers going flat. (This has had a bit of use.)

Things I really should have brought but no-one mentioned it:

• A lanyard for each person – your room key/charge card/identity pass needs to be with you at all times, even when you haven’t got pockets. And they’re $8 each on-board.
• Power point adaptors – the rooms have Australian-compatible power points, but outside the rooms they’re either UK or US style. If you’re battery runs out, you’re confined to your room if you want to keep typing/reading/using electronic devices.
• More than one book. JD and I both finished our fluffy holiday reading by day 3 (newest Janet Evanovich for me, World War Z for JD, Zombie Survival Guide for Jos). JD and Jos have since switched books; I’m stalling starting my next (Running with Scissors).
•  Reef shoes/crocs/similar – slip on shoes/sandals are very useful on board, and even more so when at port – you can walk on sand and in the water (coral, sea urchins, sea snakes and other prickly things abound)
• Although you give the kids a packing list, and they are generally pretty good about packing what’s on the list, it might be worth checking they’ve actually packed what’s on the list (see also: hats, sunglasses, sandals).
• Consider changing currency in Australia – the onboard rates are appalling (20% arbitrage), and they charge a hefty commission. And if you do, change only a little – both places we stopped at took Australian currency, and often at a better rate than the ship offered.

Other things of note:

• If possible, book a port-side room rather than starboard. Port side you get to see the port when at dock (kinda makes sense), but also it’s the non-smoking side of the ship. While I can sit on my smoke-free balcony, it’s directly below the smoking section of the main top deck.
•  On this ship there’s no choice for the four-berth balcony rooms, but if you can, don’t pick a room immediately below the dancefloor, especially if you’re an early-to-bed type person. I nearly broke out the earplugs the other night.
•  It’s not so much a floating shopping mall, but a floating hotel/resort (dur), and a bit Hotel California – they encourage you to check out any time you like, but you can never leave (except port days, and only then for a few hours). For more adventurous travellers, it’s a bit restrictive.
• That said, we all enjoyed it – you really can do nothing but sit around, eat, drink, sleep, read utterly guilt-free. If you want to do more, there are plenty of activities with varying levels of kitsch/cheese. If you’re an extrovert, there are plenty of new people to talk to.

If we were to do another one (in a few years time), I think we’d fly somewhere interesting and stay for a week, and then take a cruise back home. That way you get the exploring, challenging, exciting, new cultures stuff, and then get the week-long chill-out holiday to recover from the adventurous holiday. Best of both worlds!

Packing notes

It's time to start thinking about what we're going to pack.

This time is a little different in that (a) we will be dealing with multiple climates (total fire ban-hot Melbourne, tropical Singapore, chilly Tokyo, and snowy mountains), and (b) we will be taking some stowed luggage. Although stowed luggage goes against every grain of my travelling soul, we can't take local wines with us unless they're stowed.

Upside: we don't have to be so economical with our packing. Downside: we don't have to be so thoughtful about our packing. But I'm still preparing a rough list to make sure nothing critical gets left behind, and that we're not taking more than actually need (we're expecting to come back with at least one extra stowed bag).

Carry-on bags will still have enough to get us through at least the first day in each new location, in case bags don't make it onto the same flight for whatever reason. That means at least one full change of clothes, basic toiletries, essential medicines, inflight entertainment, and anything we cannot risk losing (camera SD cards etc).

Stowed luggage can have the snow gear, gifts, parcel Em bought online but accidentally had sent to her folks place in Oz, extra pair of shoes, extra toiletries and the like. If we plan it well, we won't even have to open this bag while we're in Singapore.

In the meantime, we need to get everything we want to take with us laundered, tidy up the house, see whether the boys still remotely fit their snow gear (and obtain replacements if required), charge all the electronic devices, load podcasts and movies onto said devices, tee up the house sitter/supervisor, source the hostess gifts, find a phrase book, and squeeze in another full day's work/school. Easy. Heh.

Flying home (or why I will never unintentionally fly Jetstar again)

We flew Qantas home, at least on paper - QF3954 DEL to SIN, then QF 292 SIN to MEL. Qantas is the national carrier, and is a reasonably good, full-service airline (recent industrial disputes notwithstanding).

However, we didn't actually fly Qantas, because both legs were codeshares - the first leg by Jet Airways (India), the excellent Indian airline, and the second by JetStar, the low-cost sister of Qantas.

We've flown Jetstar before, when nipping over the Tasman to NZ, mainly because they're the only ones that offer direct flights to Christchurch at vaguely reasonable hours. When you book Jetstar, you know it's a cheapie short flight (around 3hrs), and you plan accordingly. You pack snacks, make sure your iPad, iPhones and iPods are all fully charged and loaded, and you have at least one book each with a few hours reading left. And you only ever do carry-on luggage.

However, when you book Qantas but get Jetstar instead, you feel like you got bait-and-switched.

Home, sweet home.

(Image pinched from here)

We made it back, with almost all our luggage, and are pleased to report that the house neither burnt down nor was pilfered in our absence. In fact, thanks to our wonderful cleaner and the exceptionally fantastic woman who looks after the boys after school, who brought in the washing and the mail and kept an eye on the place generally, the house was looking even better than when we left it.

I currently have my netbook hooked up to our network, downloading the 4000-odd photos and videos we took to the NAS. I did say there would be weeks if not months of new posts!

Next up, I'll create a survey so you can tell me what things you'd most like me to talk about, given there's rather a lot available.

An inauspicious start

The second leg of our flight, KUL to MAA, was suitably uneventful.  Another full plane, but not freezing cold this time. We got through immigration and quarantine very quickly, and K&G's bag was the first one off the plane (yay!).  We left the airport, and hit the humidity of post-Cyclone Thane Chennai. Our greeter from the tour company readily spotted us (group of six white people in a sea of brown), and we loaded into our new, air-conditioned van and were on our way.

We were advised that we could go directly to Pondicherry (~3 hours) or take a detour to a very famous temple precinct which would add two hours or so travelling time, plus visiting time. We discussed the pros (very famous, K&G regretted not seeing it last time) and cons (temples generally shut 12:30pm to 4:30pm, although being NYDay, it would probably be open; as a tourist destination, it has a large number of aggressive touts/beggars/etc, we'd get to Pondicherry too late to do much exploring). In the end we decided to skip it and go direct to Pondicherry.

And then the plan fell apart.

India - time to pack!

Mum and Dad have already determined that they will be stowing a bag (Mum can't quite get under 5kg). Therefore, we will probably do the same, which relieves a lot of pressure to pare back everything.  Nevertheless we will be packing fairly minimally.

Clothing
The trick to packing light is to wear your heaviest clothes on the plane, without sacrificing comfort. It is possible to change out of heavier, less comfortable clothes once on the plane if absolutely critical. Your PITA factor may vary.

On the plane	To pack
1 pr long pants (heaviest, eg jeans?)	2 pr long pants 1 pr shorts
1 long sleeve shirt	1-2 long sleeve shirt 1-2 short sleeve shirt (total 3)
Shoes	Sandals
Socks	3 pr socks, incl one pr Heater
Undies/jocks; (bra)	3 pr undies/jocks; (1 bra)
Soft shell jacket or Microfleece jumper	Thermal underwear (optional)
	Sarong
	Swimwear, possibly goggles
	Sun hat

HTML Tables

Electronica and Entertainment
Because it's a damn long flight, and because you want to document it.

• Aus/India adaptor, Aus double adaptor (decided we won't need a powerboard)
• DSLR camera, standard lens, charger, spare memory card(s)
• Compact digital camera, spare memory cards, spare batteries, case
• Video camera, charger, case
• Netbook, charger, ethernet cable, mouse
• iPad, iPhone, iPod, charger, earbuds for same (& double adaptor jack)
• Kindle & connector cord (Jos), novel/crossword book (the rest)
• Notebook, couple pens/pencils
• Normally, I'd consider taking a travel guide, but (a) my parents are taking one, and (b) we might put one on Jos's kindle.

These will be packed into a selection of handbag equivalents - the camera bag, a new messenger-style laptop bag (pictured), and a backpack or similar for each of the boys.

Toiletries, medicines and miscellanea

Those in the first section should come into the cabin with you, not least to cope with the possibility of the airline, ah, delaying the arrival of your luggage. The latter are more easily replaced, or coped without for a period, if necessary.

• Passports (with visas), eTickets, boarding passes
• Currency, in the form of a travel card, plus some cash (all in USD - widely convertible in India)
• Sunglasses, mints, lip balm
• Daily medicines (Singulair, BCP, A/D, and anti-malaria pills)
• Toothbrushes & toothpaste, floss
• Emergency medicines (Ventolin, Symbicort, analgesics, Imodium, antihistamines, bandaids, tweezers)
• Essential toiletries not provided by hotels (cleanser, face moisturiser, soap-free soap, anti-dandruff shampoo)
• Spectacles, spare pair of contacts, single use solution 5mlx5, lens case


• Hand moisturiser, emery board, nail clippers, 
• Travel washing lines, pack towel (for squeezing out moisture from sink-washed clothes)
• Cream-based insect repellant, sunscreens
• Additional capacity - light fold-up bag to accommodate purchases (optional)

I'm sure there are a few other things that will occur to me tomorrow when we actually pack, and I may get around to updating this list.

In the meantime, I need to make sure all electronic items are fully charged and loaded (eg movies on iPad, podcasts on iPhone, books onto kindle)

Can't do carry on only?

As you may know by now, I strongly prefer carry-on luggage only. Seven kg (including bag weight) plus a handbag is usually plenty, even for three weeks in a variety of climates. However, we're flying Malaysia Airlines on the way over, and their cabin baggage limit is five (5!) kg. Given most bags weigh nearly 2kg, that doesn't leave much for clothes, toiletries, cameras, essential electronica and other stuff.

We'll do an experimental pack, but we might have to have a stowed bag going over. (I always expected to stow luggage on the way back, even if my purchases are fairly modest.) My parents, who are flying with us, will have stowed luggage, partly due to the Malaysia Airlines unreasonable weight limits, but also because they'll be going onto much colder altitudes (7000ft, in winter, in the Himalayas). So they need tropical south, desert northwest and mountainous northeast. And if they have stowed luggage, there's less disadvantage if we do too (lost luggage notwithstanding).

So Lucy L, you might win that bet - we may have checked luggage. But our collective luggage weight would likely be fine on most other airlines.

Brilliantly simple, simply brilliant

A couple of Facebook friends posted a link to an article called "25 clever ideas to make life easier". Usually the ideas in these kinds of things are pretty inane, but the friends whose intellect I trust were delighted with it.

As a soon-to-be-traveller, I was particularly tickled by this idea: Store shoes inside shower caps to stop dirty soles rubbing on your clothes.

Like most simple, elegant solutions, it is obvious once you've seen it and you wonder why you never thought of it before. (JD's sandals will still have to go in a sealed bag - for whatever reason, they're remarkably whiffy.)


The other idea that I really like is the gutter garden. Again, brilliantly simple once you've seen it.

Ab on the road (but not abroad)

Tomorrow morning we set off obscenely bright and early to drive to Canberra. O'dark thirty is not my preferred time of day - I am a confirmed night owl. Nonetheless, we need to leave early so we don't get up there too late, and also to beat the morning peak hour in Melbourne.  It's around an eight hour drive (730km), plus stops.

So right now, I'm stocking up on Apps and podcasts and audiobooks and the like. Next, I'll be stocking up on things to feed the kids (and us) to help keep us sane. Later, I'll need to think about packing. Given we're not travelling by air, weight is not an issue for packing, but volume is: much of the boot* will be taken up with the humongous bag which holds our TKD gear.

Because, dear reader, we are going to Canberra to fight.  JD and I are competing this weekend in the Taekwondo Australia National Championships and Australian Open. (The kids are coming too, but not competing this year - they've both expressed interest for next year, though.)

This is JD (in blue) at the Victorian State Sparring Championships. There are no pictures of me, because I didn't get to compete (I was one of only two female Masters competitors).

In this picture, you can see his dobok (uniform), headguard, shield/chest guard, foot guards, and hand guards.  You can't see his shin guards, forearm guards, groin guard or mouthguard. And I have a similar set of gear (no groin guard). And that's why the bag to hold all the gear (plus strapping tape, instant ice packs, Deep Heat, Deep Heat Ice Gel, ankle braces, water bottles, sweat towels, and other crap) is so humongous.

[Edited to add picture of said humongous bag - the dining table is 3'6" wide.]

At least at the Nationals, we both get a fight. JD will fight the same bloke he fought at the Vic Champs, the only other competitor in his belt/age/weight category. I was originally uncontested, but another competitor is willing to go up an age group and weight group so we'd both get a fight (she was also uncontested). On the upside, all four of us (JD, me, and our respective opponents) are each guaranteed at least a silver medal!

Having my first fight ever at the National Champs is far from idea, but the reality is that there are very few 40+ women who compete: the entries for the Nationals show only four other women in that age group, all of whom are black belts (I'm a lowly blue belt). Oh, and they're all 10-15kg lighter than me. Even if my body can withstand the injuries from training, and I'm still competing when I'm a black belt, I will probably still be uncontested as there's no way I am willing (let alone able) to get below 62 kg to fight lightweight! Eh, I'll cross that bridge if/when I get to it.



* trunk, for my American readers.

The snow is falling! Time to pack.

Most of the NZ fields have opened for the season, but are currently closed due to heavy snow/drifts/high winds. Conditions are supposed to improve through the week, so we should certainly be en piste by Thursday (but hopefully Wednesday).

Given we'll need to be packed by tomorrow night (we leave home around 5:45am Tuesday morning), it's time to draw up a packing list. Our flights are super-cheapie, no stowed luggage allowance, so we each get 7kg cabin bag plus a handbag-equivalent. The issue this time is more likely to be volume than weight, as the ski gear is bulky but not heavy.  Because we'll mainly be skiing and catching up with family, we don't have to take dressy clothes which simplifies things a lot. It's also easier now because the boys are big enough to tow their own bag and carry a small bag for their on-board entertainment.

I expect to do a single load of washing half-way through our stay for socks/jocks/polyprop's to minimise the number of underwear items we need to take (and the stink).

I might also pick up a light day-pack for taking up to the fields, to carry snacks, sunscreen, clothes etc to save trips to the carpark during the day. JD could use this as his handbag-equivalent. For example, this one from Kathmandu holds 15 litres, weighs 200g, and folds into something not much bigger than a large fist.

Homeward Bound (or why I prefer carry-on only)

My UA flight was scheduled to leave New York at 6:05pm, although I was told at check-in around 3:30pm that (a) the flight was delayed until 8pm, and (b) that I would still make my connecting flight. Around 5:10pm, I went over to the UA gate desk to confirm the flight delay, and point out that the two hour delay exceeded my layover in LAX. David, the exceptionally helpful chap at that gate, immediately arranged for me to be transferred to the QF flight, scheduled to leave shortly after UA25 was supposed to leave.

The tricky part was getting my bag off the UA cargo load and onto the QF load. After getting a detailed description from me (I couldn't get the internet back up to show him a picture from my blog), he then contacted the baggage people to have my bag put onto carousel 5 (where the luggage for the flight that had just come off the plane I would soon be boarding). I knew I had to have my bag rechecked by 6.03pm, when the flight closed for luggage.

Let's just say that was one of the most fraught half hours I've had for some time. If my bag didn't come through in time, I wouldn't be able to board the QF108 flight to LAX, and I'd miss my connecting flight home. The idea of being another day away from JD and the boys had me reduced to quiet tears. The luggage for the passengers seemed to take forever (a number of the passengers were getting rather stroppy), but still my bag wasn't appearing. At ten to six, I went to the United Airlines desk through the "No Re-entry" doors, and was assured that David had been in constant communication with the baggage people for the past ten minutes, and that my bag had just been delivered to the carousel.

It turns out there is a door to get back into the baggage area, and I was very relieved to see my bag on the carousel. I dashed back out, asked that the UA staff pass on my thanks to David, and went out and back up again, to the Qantas desk. They had a baggage tag waiting for me, and escorted me to the front of the now very long line to go through security. (So I became one of those line pusher-ins that I bitched about last time I was in LAX.)

In the end the flight was slightly delayed, and I had time to get a final frappucino, to hydrate, caffeinate, and calm down. The flight was uneventful, as one always hopes it will be, and I am now waiting at the gate lounge for my flight to Melbourne, and boarding has just started.

Local time: 10:45pm Mon, body clock time: 1:45am Tue, time at home: 3:45pm Tue.

LAX sucks. Big hairy ugly things.

Man, LAX sucks. Big hairy ugly things.

Pretty much every day, four or five big planes land at LAX at around 7:30am-ish local time. This fact should not take them by surprise. And yet they are manifestly ill-prepared to deal with 1500 people arriving at once. They have dozens upon dozens of customs officer booths, yet only have ten of them manned, and even then, the shift seems to start at 8am.

With six carousels all in use, the bags from some of the smaller flights are to be collected from the floor between carousels. (Let's not mention that if they processed people through customs a touch more efficiently, they wouldn't end up with such a hideous backlog in baggage collection.)

Then, once you've collected your luggage (or not, in my case), you then queue again to get through their perfunctory quarantine processing. And, by then you've used up half of the hour-and-a-half changeover time.

But then the fun really begins. You make your way up to the connecting passengers area, get your name ticked off, assure them that you don't need to check your luggage, and make your way up two floors, and into the cavernous departures hall of LAX international.

Foolishly (in hindsight) I went to the first security screening gate. Like everyone else. Now you recall that I exited a secure area only three minutes earlier, two floors down. But rather than take advantage of that simple fact, we have to go all the way out so we can go all the way back in.

First you queue up and wait to be assessed by the first dude (trying too hard to be avuncular, but hey, he at least smiles at you). Then, in the tiny space available, you have to queue to go through the xray screening. Australia is quite happy for you to show your liquids bag, and walk through the metal detector. As is almost everywhere else I've been to that isn't LAX.

No. Here you have to take off your shoes and your belt and your watch and your necklace. You have to put your laptop/iPad/Kindle in it's own tray. You, of course, need to put out your dinky little bag of liquids, plus empty water bottle (which three different people will shake to check it's empty).

And then you wait while four other people and their four trays each are pushed through in front of you. Then you feed your bag and four trays into the machine, before going into the rude-bits-photo-booth. And you try not to bitch and moan too loudly so as to avoid drawing unnecessary attention to yourself. So that process takes another half hour.

So you now have five minutes to walk the length of the departure gate corridors, as your plane is scheduled to leave in ten. And while I was pretty confident they'd hold the plane, (and I knew there were others behind me, and some who looked at the customs guy funny and got sixteen additional questions, and so on), I didn't really want to risk it.

And yes they did hold the plane. And yes we're leaving twenty minutes late.

On the other hand, New York, here I come!

Packing list (kids' version)

While I'm off enjoying the sights of New York, my boys (8 & 10yo) will be having a ten-day adventure with their grandparents in Tasmania. They depart the evening of the same day I leave for New York.

Starting off with the overnight ferry , the four of them will then go zip-lining, convict settlement visiting, bushwalking, rock climbing, chocolate factory touring and a bunch of other stuff. (I think Dad rather enjoyed having an excuse to go do all this kind of stuff again, given his daughters are now all grown).

At the moment, JD and Dad are negotiating the hand over of the kids on Wednesday. I'll be on a plane, so not much use to anyone. JD was planning to take that day off, but he has an important meeting in the middle of the day. Eh, they'll sort that out.

What I can do is make sure their bags are packed the night before, reducing the likelihood of things being forgotten. And being the good little list-maker that I am, I have prepared a list. In the boys' cases, it's not so much checking that everything co-ordinates, rather I need to be sure the clothes they take are clean enough, big enough, and have as few holes as possible.

So what clothes are needed by pre-teen boys for ten days, bookended by overnight ferry trips, with the extra bonus of sharing a room with my loudly snoring father? Tasmania's weather is not dissimilar to Melbourne's, but it does tend to be a little cooler and windier on average, and a lot colder on occasion (snow on Mt Wellington on Christmas Day (ie early summer) is not unheard of). They're taking the 4WD over (Pajero, I think), so weight and volume of luggage is not an issue from the transport point of view. On the other hand, the boys need to be able to easily carry/move/load their own bags.  They each have a cabin-baggage sized wheelie bag which will easily take the listed items.

CLOTHING

• day of departure (24°C/75°F): jeans, s/s t-shirt, sneakers, socks, plus jumper
• bottoms: 2nd pair jeans, plus 2pr tracky pants, plus 1 pair shorts
• tops: two more s/s t-shirts, two l/s t's, another jumper
• ski jacket and beanie (for wind/weather/warmth)
• pyjamas (the boys normally sleep in jocks only, but pj's for the ferry at least are a good idea)
• singlets, socks and jocks - sufficient for six days (they'll do at least one load of washing)
• footwear: a pair of sandals/jandals/thongs/etc
• sunwear: broad-brimmed sunhat (ie their school hats), sunnies (if we can find them)
• togs and goggles (not likely to be used, but important to have anyway)

ELECTRONICA/ENTERTAINMENT

• DS/iPod touch/JD's old iPod and their chargers (fully charged), plus earphones/earbuds
• couple of books each (?more for Jos)
• old digital camera, plus charger (fully charged, check card empty)
• scrapbook and pencil case of pencils/textas etc (they've rarely used them on previous trips, but who knows)

BATHROOM/MEDICINAL

• toothbrush, toothpaste, floss
• asthma meds (Jos) - Singulair, puffer and spacer
• antihistamine, children's paracetamol (my parent's won't think to pack any), plus small first aid kit
• travel size shampoo/soap
• sunscreen
• earplugs (to try to mitigate Gopa's snoring - good luck with that kids!)
• water bottle

The carry-on bag

The carry-on bag is not quite as critical as the day bag, as it's effectively only used when packing and transiting. You don't care what your bag is doing while you're in-flight/on the train/at your destination. You do care when you're trying to dash for the terminal at the far end of the airport because your plane was late getting in, or when you're trying to pack to meet the weight restrictions, or when the zips break.

Must haves:

• Must not exceed international carry-on baggage limits, that is must not exceed 115cm (45"), and preferably less than 105cm (41"). (56cm L+ 36cm H + 23cm D = 115cm total)
• Fully packed, must weigh not more than 7kg (15 lb). However, note that while wheeled bags are often check-weighed, backpacks are much less likely to be. Therefore a bag that can be worn like a pack may be able to tip the scales at little over 7kg
• Must be easy to carry/move over long distances, which means either a backpack or wheels (or both), as well as handles so it can be carried like a suitcase

Strongly preferreds:

• Empty bag should weigh as little as practical, preferably less than 2kg. Even at 2kg, that's more than 28% of your luggage allowance used up with packaging.
• Should open fully with zips (not a top-fill, like a traditional bushwalking pack)
• Should not be too tightly packed, so there is room for purchases (it can be checked for the return trip, so weight is not so much of an issue for the inbound journey).
• Bonus points if it doesn't scream "tourist!"

I have three bags around the house that potentially meet the requirements. We'll need bags for all four of us for the India trip, so I can reasonably justify buying another if necessary. Comparisons of the options are after the jump.

The day bag - the choice

Truthfully, I didn't set about finding a day bag with quite such methodical rigour. Rather, I was home with an injured boy, putzing around on Amazon, looking for a new camera bag (due to the afore-mentioned pain-in-the-arse-ness of the current one). But the post-facto justification looks good!

My starting point was looking for a camera bag which could do a lot more than simply hold a camera. It also had to hold all the other gumf I would need, otherwise the camera would get left behind. And given that I've got a fabulous DSLR, the last thing I want is to resort to a point-and-shoot. But I don't need a full-on camera bag capable of holding three lenses and two flashes and a tripod and sixteen filters and all the rest of it.

Amazon had two sling style bags that looked like likely candidates: the Caselogic sling bag and the Lowepro Passport Sling.

The day bag - the requirements

This is the tourist's version of a handbag.  It will be your constant companion from before you board the plane, till after you get back.

On the plane, it needs to be fully zip-up-able, so you can toss it under the seat in front of you without being remotely worried about anything falling out. It needs to be small enough to count as a handbag, so you can still have a full 7kg carry-on luggage. It needs to be secure enough that, when juggling your carry-on and the duty free booze and your passport and customs forms, you're not worried about it falling off your shoulder.

The stuff I will need on the plane

• Passport, tickets, boarding pass, with absolutely no risk of falling out
• Wallet, phone, change purse (for switching between currencies en route)
• iPad (note that bluetooth devices, like a keyboard, can't be used in-flight)
• Light reading material (no electronic devices during take-off and landing) and crossword book
• Couple of pens (not gel - they don't cope with the low atmospheric pressure on board), notebook
• Earplugs, earphones, inflatable travel pillow
• Daily medicines (it's a bloody long flight), antihistamines, eyedrops
• Water bottle, lip balm, tissues, mints

While out and about each day, it needs to do much the same as a handbag, but also carry a camera and feel secure when wandering around crowded streets in an unfamiliar town. It should not make it toooo easy for pickpockets.
The stuff I expect to need each day in NYC:

• Camera - I bought a lovely DSLR on my last trip to the States, but the camera bag I got is a bloody pain in the arse, which means it doesn't get used very much.  This bag will have to carry the camera assembled (I'll likely only carry the standard lens) and protected, but accessible
• Wallet, phone and keys - inside a zippered compartment, but without having to rummage to find them
• Guide book (maybe) and map
• Water bottle, lip balm, tissues, mints
• Pen, small notebook
• One of those doovy spork things (see Shopping list)
• Room to carry smaller purchases made through the day

So it's not really that much to ask of a bag, is it?