No matter how good you are at packing – and Pork Belly is very, very, good – there are always a few little things you feel you need to squeeze in.
Some people can’t travel anywhere without their own pillow, teabags, favourite snacks or a first aid kit stocked with very specific items.
All very reasonable.
But then there are the things that might raise an eyebrow or two, if you mentioned it outside your immediate circle of family and friends.
We’re not talking about the ‘special occasion’ items – like when Pork Belly smuggled a fully-iced and quite large fruit cake on a road trip to Spain, to surprise me on my birthday.
We mean those things you might not admit to never travelling without.
Here are 9 odd things people have told us they always take when they travel.
Rubber gloves
Nope, don’t see this one at all.
Even when self-catering, and you have a yearning to leave the place even more spotless than when you arrived, I am not going to be wasting precious sightseeing time whipping out the Marigolds (other brands are available) rooting around anywhere that requires an extra layer of protection to scour clean.
Sorry.
Slippers
Flip-flops, sandals and sensible walking shoes, absolutely.
But slippers?
Comfort is everything, but personally, I’m happy to pad about barefoot in most holiday homes or hotels.
Marmite/Bovril
This one divides people at home, let alone when travelling!
I can see that a smear of your favourite piquant spread makes your world go round, but couldn’t you do without it for a week or two?
No?
Okay, just make sure you wrap it up well, and you’re not breaking any rules wherever you’re heading. By the way, although Marmite is allowed, don’t try taking Bovril into the USA in your luggage from the UK – it’s illegal!
Clothes pegs
Useful if you’re planning to take a wash ‘n’ wear capsule wardrobe to save space.
Plus you can peg curtains together if you don’t want to be woken up at sunrise.
Also useful for keeping packets of biscuits from shedding crumbs everywhere. And of course, if you take wooden ones, you could use them as kindling to start a fire if you get stranded on a desert island.
I’m convinced.
Door wedge
For convenience I can see the point of this one.
Assuming your hotel or villa door opens inwards, a wedge certainly makes it easier to load your luggage on arrival and departure.
And if you want to prop it open for a breeze (to save having the aircon full blast) while you’re languishing on your balcony, then yes, okay.
But it’s not taking up room in my bag.
Duct tape and bin bags
After backpacking around the world, Pork Belly won’t budge without either.
Always useful for photography and for sticking things together that have unexpectedly come apart. A bin bag makes a great DIY waterproof jacket and, on the last day, squash all the dirty washing up tightly in one and tape it up, so it leaves room in the suitcase for anything extra you want to bring home.
Cereal bars
This is my ‘never travel without’ item. Don’t eat them at any other time of the year, but always stash a few in my hand luggage.
Train delayed? Have a cereal bar. Airline food not appetising? Take a bite. Overslept and missed the hotel breakfast? You guessed it – nibble on a cereal bar.
Cornflakes
Cereal bars of course – they’re handy, portable, snack food – but you’re really gonna haul a box of your favourite breakfast flakes half way around the world?
Well, apparently the answer is ‘yes’, lots of holiday-makers do just that! I know breakfast is an important meal – and on holiday it’s an absolute luxury – but we’d rather start the day with whatever’s on offer locally. Fresh bread and cakes in France, spicy noodles in Thailand or a Caribbean fresh fruit buffet.
And finally ..
… too many clothes!
This is a constant refrain from our own travels – we once sent back a whole suitcase-full from Hong Kong. We realised within a matter of days that, even though we were going to be away for months, we had simply Brought. Too. Much.
I do try to cut down but always squeeze in a few ‘just in case’ items, which I stubbornly wear on the last day just to prove to Pork Belly I did really need them!
He, on the other hand, usually runs out of stuff and ends up washing his smalls in hotel room sinks.
Ah well, each to their own!
Come clean – what do you take on holiday that everyone else thinks is odd but you’d never do without?
Would love to hear in the comments below.
Where to next?
• Hand luggage only
• Tips for getting the best flight deals
• B*ll*cks to the Bucket List