Traveling in Thailand - Thoughts about Travel Gear

My first thought about travel gear occurred as I checked in for the flight from San Francisco to Hong Kong. We were flying Singapore Airlines. The beautiful and smiling young woman behind the counter checked our passports, issued our boarding passes and asked about checking luggage. "We're carrying everything on," I said. I had my 20 inch Tarmac and a daypack. I have always carried these two bags on. I have traveled the world carrying these bags on. "OK, weigh please," (smiling beautifully). I put my roll-aboard on the scale. "Sorry, too heavy for carry-on." She grabbed it, tagged it and off it went as checked luggage. This reinforced the advice I always give customers. There is no universal standard for carry-on luggage. Every airline has their own rules. Check with your airline and be prepared for the fact that the person at check-in or at the gate is going to make the decision. The whole situation was a little frustrating once I was on board and saw several people carrying-on bags larger and heavier than the one that was taken from me. So it goes.

Thought two about gear also had to do with my main bag. I hadn't traveled in Thailand before but found making my way around Chiang Mai, Tha Ton and Chiang Rai with a rolling bag to be very difficult. There are many places where there are no sidewalks and the sidewalks that do exist are full of obstacles. I would have preferred a travel pack for this trip. Even at my ... ah ... "advanced" age. I wish I had taken that Explorer LT Women's Fit I carried to the bottom of the Grand Canyon (twice :-)

Third thought about my traveling stuff was that I wish I had brought my Black Diamond Headlamp. The rooms have all had poor lighting and it has been nearly impossible to read after dark. We also found ourselves walking back to the hotel in the dark, one night, in Tha Ton. It's a small town and there were no street lights. We had a small flashlight but the headlamp would have been the perfect solution to both dilemmas.

OK, number four. I'm nearly done. I should have brought the entire Plug Adaptor Set with me. I took out the ones I didn't think I would need but found an instance where one of them would have been a help (long but boring story). Anyhow, from now on I take the whole set with me. Interestingly, nearly all the outlets I have seen in Thailand will accept either US or European style plugs.

Finally, I LOVE MY CONTOURWEAR SKIRT! It is the best piece of travel clothing I have ever owned. I zipped off the bottom section for running around during the hot and muggy day in Chiang Mai but put it back on, lengthening the skirt, when we visited a temple. It packs down to almost nothing, doesn't wrinkle, dries in a night and looks cute ... if I do say so myself.

I learn something about packing and travel gear on every trip I take. As usual, I have things with me I won't use and, as I said, there are things I wish I had packed. One of these times I'm going to get it just right.