Packing and Travel Tips: For What It's Worth

As I've been preparing for my upcoming trip, I've been thinking about what tips and tricks I have learned throughout the years, and I thought I would share some with you, and if you have any helpful tips as well, please do tell.

So for packing: this is something that I really think I am quite proficient at. I mentioned it before, but I am definitely an over-packer, so I have learned how to make the most out of my space.

The biggest one is to make sure you pack for a trip not by specific outfit, but by several pieces of coordinating colors and styles so you can mix and match to make multiple outfits. My color scheme for this trip is pretty obvious. I'm very much obsessed with coral and navy blue right now, so it seemed like an obvious choice.

My second biggest tip that I do is roll all of my clothes--except for jackets and stuff. That I just fold up and lay on top of the rolled clothes. It's very space efficient. So all of my stuff goes from looking like this

To this:

With all that extra space, hopefully I can pack an extra dress or something.

Also, for packing to come home, use your clothes as padding for the breakable souvenirs you buy. I have bought A LOT of breakable stuff on my travels, and I am proud to say that I have never had a broken object with this method. Just wrap the object with your clothes, and make sure the object is surrounded by other clothes as well.

My other tip that I recommend is regarding pajamas. If you're never traveling on overnight trains or buses, then don't worry about this. But if you are, then this is for you. A lot of times you're leaving or arriving late at night or early in the morning, and sometimes it's very inconvenient to change in and out of your pajamas. So I recommend making sure you bring a pair of work out pants, or pants that are comfortable to sleep in, as well as socially acceptable to walk around in public.

For example, I would love to pack these comfy leopard pajama pants, but it is NOT cool to wear them from the train station to your hotel at any time of day. So instead, I'm packing these running capris, which are comfortable to sleep in, as well as acceptable to wear in public, if absolutely necessary. If you don't care about people thinking you look ridiculous, then disregard this advice.

Okay, now to some other stuff. One thing that I learned early on in traveling is that this item is a waste of money:

The money pouch. I love how this picture makes it look so sleek and attractive. The fact is, nothing gives you away as a tourist than digging under your clothes to find your money. I had one of these, but I ended up just using it as a purse (an ugly one), like so:

All you need is a purse that zips up, with no open pockets, and just be smart about it. Meaning, always make sure that it's zipped up at all times, and make sure you keep the purse right in front of you around crowds. I had a close call in Romania, but luckily nothing got stolen, but unfortunately, I witnessed one of my friends get pick pocketed in China because of the whole zip up thing, and that definitely wasn't fun, was it Holli? Luckily it all worked out in the end, and I bet she never thinks about it anymore! :)

Anyway, that's about it for now. I think all travel tips can just be summed up in some advice my mom gave me about traveling: just be aware of your surroundings, and if you see anything sketchy going on, like people eyeing you, don't pretend you don't see them. Show them that you know they are there. It may seem obvious, but it's sound advice. Thanks, Mom!

So any other tips or tricks I should know?? Did I mention I'm excited?
Well, that's all for now!