Some of these tips are straightforward, others are a little weird. All of them have saved us one time or another.
Enjoy and happy travels.
NO.1
Photograph your passport and credit cards
We know, this is probably the most boring, nerdy thing in the world. However, in the more-likely-than-you-think scenario where you’ve had your passport or wallet stolen, having something, anything, on hand that proves you’re you will save you hours and days of embassy/bank time. Just scan, print and leave it in your suitcase. Or if you’re feeling confident, just take a picture with your phone.
NO. 2
Mark bags as ‘Fragile’
Luggage handlers give approximately zero f… cares about your bags. Truth. Their jobs are to get your case from A to B and that’s about it. And bless them, most of the time they do a stellar job at that. No complaints. But what we’re saying is, they’ve got little to no time for TLC when it comes to your cases.
So if you want to keep your luggage from getting thrown into the plane with the reckless abandon of a drunken Shane Warne, we’ve found that you can appeal to their sense of fear of reproval by marking your case as ‘fragile’.
Don’t use your own sticker, that’s almost like offering them a challenge. Instead, ask your check-in assistant for one of the official ‘fragile’ tags of the airline and feel safe knowing that a big corporate logo is your bags best defense against a handler having a bad day.
NO. 3
Keep your sunglasses handy
You might think sunglasses indoors serve absolutely no purpose except to look mysterious/douchey. This is less about trying to look cool and all about the sweet sweet comfort of entertainment.
If you’re not keen on shelling out extra cash for an in-flight entertainment system (as a lot of cheaper airlines don’t offer TV as standard anymore), simply download your favourite shows and movies onto your iPhone. The once you’re seated comfortably, open the tray table, grab your sunnies, fold them and flip them upside down and use them as a quick and easy holder for your phone screen.
One of these things exists purely for aesthetics only. (IMAGE CREDIT: Stocksnap)
NO. 4
Keep an extra outfit in your carry-on
Another one from the boring but oh-so-sensible just-in-case book. Before you zip up your suitcase, imagine what items of clothes you would consider essential if your luggage was to go amiss and put them into your hand luggage.
Things like spare underwear and a change of top. This has happened to so many people we know, we’re surprised we haven’t experienced the special pain of knowing our bags are out there, lost and lonely on a carousel in furthest Mongolia.
Knowing Murphy’s Law though, the one time we get complacent and forget to prepare for this rare but real occasion is when we will be stuck, clothless in a hot and sweaty city. God can be cruel.
NO. 5
Sign up for a jet-lag tour
Jet lag is like the family Christmas of travel. There is no avoiding it, there is no easy fix, and you can only manage it as best you can. Although we swear by staying up as late as possible the night you arrive will do wonders to shorten the length and severity.
We’ve signed up for random pub crawls, haunted city tours, anything that’ll keep us from going to bed in order to beat 5pm pass out. People don’t judge you for being a bit delirious if they’re about 4 pints in.
NO. 6
Leave your TV on when you leave your room
Story time. One time in the UK we stayed in a hotel that was a little rough around the edges but it had a bed, a shower, and some sachets of instant coffee so things were okay.
Returning late one night we discovered that what we thought was our room was actually someone else’s and we only gained access because our key randomly opened the door to every room in the hotel (we didn’t check every single lock but after a few tries we just assumed it was a free for all).
The moral of this tale is: 1. You have no idea who can gain access to your things when you’re out and about. And 2. Scotland has some very weird hotels.
Leaving the TV on and loud when you leave let’s any would-be thieves believe you’re sticking around all day nursing the hangover from Hell.
If you really want to freak them out, leave on FOX News. (IMAGE CREDIT: Stocksnap)
NO. 7
Bring a power board
We travel with two laptops, a camera battery charger, two phones and sometimes an iPad as well. It can get pretty heated when it comes to sharing a single power outlet. The instant fix for this is to just bring along a powerboard. You can plug everything in and nobody has to arm wrestle over whose turn it is to charge their phone.
NO. 8
Once again, TV can solve your problems
If you’ve forgotten for smartphone charger adaptor (that thing that plugs your USB into the wall and makes the life-giving electricity flow), fear not. Grab your cord and and plug it straight into the USB drive on your hotel TV. This hack is just one of the many bonuses of living in the modern age.
NO. 9
Keep a tiny bottle of hand sanitiser and use liberally
We don’t get around with hand sanitiser in real life. Mostly because it makes you look like a bit of a jerk every time you shake someones hand. And also because on a regular day you’re just not hanging out in strange places. You’re most likely going between home, the office, dinner and back to home again. You’re probably already immune to the germs in your own hood.
Not so when travelling, which not only opens your horizons but also a whole slew of new and exciting bacterial possibilities as you pass through airports, markets, hotels and sketchy Berlin nightclubs.
Carry a bottle of sanitiser with you and slather it on like your life depended on it and we promise you won’t regret it. The entire cruise ship industry swears by this.
Walking around like this won’t save you. (IMAGE CREDIT: Stocksnap)
NO. 10
Armaforce
Less of a hack and more of a necessity in the same vein as the sanitiser. Lots of people contract ‘holiday flu’ right before or just after they land. Experts theorise that it’s the body’s response to coming down from the stress of work, making it easier for little bugs to attack your immune system. We’ve tried vitamin C and fizzy vitamin B drinks (you know the brand) but nothing works as well as Armaforce.
You can only get it across the counter at the pharmacy because this is where they keep the heavy duty, never-say-die, Stallone of vitamins. We don’t know the voodoo behind it but it works every time as a cure and protector.
100% this is not an ad. We’re not even sure which company owns it, or even if some mystical gypsy woman just handed it out to us in some back alley. This is just two often flu-stricken travellers to another.
