As you all know, or if you don't know, last year I went to America by myself for around 4 months. I had an amazing time, and definitely learnt a lot about travelling, especially travelling by myself.
This was my first time out of New Zealand on my own, having to organise flights, accommodation, and transport, all by myself.
I'm going to do a few posts about the things that I have learnt during my travels, and as always, these tips of mine will change as I travel more.
Today I am going to talk about my carry on that I had with me, which consisted of a backpack and my satchel.
Obviously since I was away for so long, I had a suitcase with me, but there was a point, when I first got to JFK, that I wasn't sure my bag was going to arrive. I was exhausted, and everyone else's bags were coming around on the carousel, but mine was nowhere to be seen.
After about an hour and a half of freaking out and wondering how I was going to get my bag, it finally showed up, but it definitely reinforced the
1. Make sure you pack at least 1 or 2 changes of clothes in your carry on
If in the event of a suitcase not turning up, having a spare change of clothes or two in your carry on is good because it gives you at least a change of clothes to use so that you don't have to rush to a store right away to buy more to cover you until you either get your bag or your travel insurance kicks in {if you have it of course} and you can get a whole lot more.
This tip also came in handy for me on my main flight. I had three flights in total to take, the longest being between Sydney and Los Angeles. That particular flight was strangely warm on board. I had a pair of yoga pants in my bag as well as some shorts so I changed as soon as I could.
2. Pack something to nibble on
I packed nuts in my bag. It was good to have something to nibble on between the meals. Even though I knew I could have gotten a snack from the flight crew, it was nice to have my own snack packed so that I wouldn't have to bother anybody.
3. If you know you will need something in-flight, make sure it's on the top
I can't stress this enough! I was in the middle seat of three, so when I wanted something from my backpack, I had to annoy the girl next to me and both of us had to get out of our seats. It's much quicker and less messy if what you need is sitting near the top of your bag so you don't have to dig around and hold people up.
4. Have a book, or something else, and definitely a pen or two
Yes, yes, there are screens for television and you can heaps of movies or shows, or listen to music, but if you're like me and you get bored of sitting for hours on end watching shows, you will love having something else to do. This is great if you can't sleep too.
The pens are handy for filling in the customs forms.
5. Keep charging cords in your bags
They will be life savers on the layovers if you have any. Nothing is worse than your phone or tablet dying on you when you can't do anything else because you're waiting for your next flight.
This is a picture of my satchel. I made sure I had my passport in a separate wallet from my money as it was easier and I didn't have to worry about my money falling out on accident if I got flustered {which let's be honest, happens a bit}.
I made sure to have some panadol in there as well, because I can get headaches from flying.
My biggest tip to myself for next time, is so take some tissues in my bag. As I mentioned earlier, the flight was very warm and stuffy, and mixing that with the altitude gave me a blood nose, which I used to get all the time in summer from the heat. Luckily the girl next to me was able to give me a tissue to use until I got to the bathroom. That was not fun.
I can't wait for my next trip, I'm hoping it will be next year sometime, so I need to start saving!
What are some of your carry on tips for travelling?
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