Pack Rat

Jordan and I have long talked about going to Asia. Over the past two weeks we finally made that dream come true, traveling to Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia. It was a celebration of sorts; me finishing my two months of grueling overnight work in the ICU and our six month wedding anniversary. We obviously told everyone on our trip it was our honeymoon, which unfortunately did not yield any freebies except several flower bouquets and one bottle of champagne. Uh, room upgrade please?

Packing has always been difficult for me, especially on a multi-week trip with varying climates and activities. I definitely come from the mindset of more is more. For example, for most warm trips I end up packing multiple sets of shorts even though I absolutely hate shorts and have never worn a pair past the age of 20. How about if I finally get over my distaste for shorts and become obsessed with them on this trip? I will obviously need to be prepared with several pairs.

In order to make packing more attractive, I decided to finally invest in good luggage. Having nice luggage encouraged me to rethink my packing game and try to match the inside of my suitcase to the elegant, put-together outside. Here are some travel essentials that I adopted for our recent trip.

1.  We legitimately got three compliments from airport and hotel employees about how attractive our luggage was. And I mean, they see a lot of luggage.

2.  Bring samples!  This is my favorite time to try out new beauty products with little commitment and basically no space allotment.

3.  Jordan recently got me a pair of noise cancelling headphones to help drown out the background noise on flights. At first I wasn’t too sure, but now I am a true believer.

4.  In tropical climates, be prepared for rain regardless of the weather report.  Jordan learned this the hard way during our Hanoi food tour. Check out his one dollar electric yellow poncho in the opening pic. I, however, was prepared with my trusty Patagonia shell.

5.  Leave your heels at home, ladies. There is no reason to travel with them unless you have an event to attend that requires them. I usually try to make my vacations flats friendly.

6.  Ask at the airline counter about seat upgrades. They are often heavily discounted at check-in. We were able to secure premium economy seats for our 15-hour flight and it was well worth it! Hot towel ma’am? Yes please.

7.  Bring a small pharmacy, especially if you are planning on trying new foods. I wish I didn’t pack that Imodium, said no one ever.

8.   Leggings are a girl’s best friend. I really put mine to the test this trip. Jordan even surprised me with my first pair of Lululemons, knowing that I would never purchase them myself. All I can now say is, believe the hype.

9.  I recently purchased this Land by Land travel candle and seriously used it several times on this trip. It truly does add instant atmosphere.

10.  Bring tons of shorts.