Ludicrous Luggage

22/09/2009

We’ve all got back from our holidays. We’ve showed our friends the snaps. We’ve revelled in the envious looks of those without such a wonderful tan. And we’ve already started thinking about our next trip. But as well as thinking about where to go, here at Remember Kingston we’ve been thinking about what to take and what to leave at home when packing… Something we learnt for ourselves when returning from our summer hols this year!

Now let’s get the obvious over with. Shoes: a contentious issue ever since footwear was invented. Next time you go away ask yourself or the lady on the trip: “How many pairs of shoes do you need?” If the answer is greater than 10, suggest dozens of pairs of sparkly flip flops: pretty, practical and (more importantly), light and compact to pack. There you go. An age old argument, solved. That wasn’t so hard, was it? (Note to all men: if you’re packing sandals, do not pack socks).

Now we’ve tackled the sensitive issue of shoes, we can move on to clothing. When we went away for our holiday we forgot one thing: we were not in England. This meant that we didn’t have to pack t-shirts and jumpers, sunglasses and woolly hats. When abroad we can believe the weather forecasts and expect the… well, expected. We’ll try to remember that next time.

This is where packing tasks got a bit strange for us. Someone here packed a travel iron. A travel iron, seriously? We can’t begin to formulate a list of all things wrong with travel irons. Does it really matter if your beach towel gets creased? Are there really going to be no hangers in the whole of Jamaica? Our advice? It’s an IRON… it’s heavy… don’t pack it!

Now, onto hair-dryers. This, like shoes, is a sore topic. If, like me, you are prone to humidity afros, packing a hair-dryer would not have been a regret… if there wasn’t already one in the hotel room. So, instead of packing one “just in case”, along with all of the plug converters, why not check the room details to see if one is provided?

A true essential for any person, no matter what their natural skin tone, is sun cream. However, every year we seem to pack vast quantities of the stuff, in different factors, usually left over from previous holidays. But if you’re running out of room in the suitcase, it’s a pretty safe bet that if you’re on holiday, there’ll be sun cream on sale in abundance. But remember, if you’re taking kids on holiday with you, make sure you buy a high factor cream for them.

And finally, don’t forget to bring your digital camera to preserve the memories from your summer holidays. Believe it or not, a recent survey revealed that 72% of consumers^* still archive all their photos and then delete them from their camera. However, when on holiday people do not tend to have access to their computer, hence can not download photos. For this reason ensure you have the capacity on your camera to take the pictures that you want without having to delete any. The higher the capacity of your card, the more high quality photos and videos you can store in your camera without having to transfer or delete any. It is better to be safe than sorry when it comes to your holiday photos as you don’t want to be left choosing between your holiday memories!

Here is a short list of small memory accessories for your camera, they are very light and won’t take up any space in your luggage:

Memory cards for your phone or digital cameras (SD cards)

These will ensure that any photos, video clips and recordings from your holiday that are made on your mobile phone are stored safely and can be uploaded to your PC when you get home. You no longer have to choose what photos to delete as you can store them all on your memory card.

Memory cards for your camcorder (SDHC cards)

These cards can be used in many of today’s digital camcorders, ensuring that your trips, nights out and special sights are all recorded in high definition (HD) and ready for you to watch in years to come.

Media readers

These little devices will ensure that you can transfer your photos, videos and other data straight onto your laptop, PC, mobile phone wirelessly without any cables, which tend to get lost and also take a lot of space. Simply put your memory card in the media reader and connect this to any PC/laptop or mobile phone. This way you can easily send your holiday memories to friends or families back at home.

And there you have it. Follow this guide, and next year you’ll have a wonderful, argument free holiday, full of (enough) shoes for the women, Hawaiian shorts for the men and won’t have to delete any picture or video from your digital camera…plus your luggage won’t break your back… perfect!

Let us know what ludicrous luggage you took with you on holiday in the comments below!

^*Based on a survey of 500 consumers in March 2009