Saturday November 28, 2009

Travelling light

Navel Gazer
By ALEXANDRA WONG

Our peripatetic columnist — who once survived 10 days in Kuching on a single backpack — tells us how she travels so lightly.

It’s a mystery to me why some travellers lug bulging suitcases as big as houses, even for short weekend getaways. Other than my seven-week trip to the US circa 2005-6, I have never checked in my luggage.

Since my line of work requires me to hop into a bus/train/plane at the drop of a hat, portability is extremely crucial. I reverse-pack: I select a bag that I would be comfortable lugging around, and then decide what I can fit into it. Naturally, I choose the sturdiest, lightest backpack I can get my hands on — one that’s big enough to hold all my valuables, yet does not put undue strain on my shoulders.

You can’t leave home without a sundress. — ONG SOON HIN/The Star

Space being a premium, I absolutely won’t travel without my Five Best Travel Buddies, which serve multiple purposes and, best of all, whose cumulative weight barely exceeds the heaviest item in my backpack — my 1.2kg Sony Vaio.

In no order of importance, they are:

The flirty sundress

Marilyn, I beg to differ, it’s not diamonds, but dresses which are a girl’s best friend.

When you travel, it should not be any ordinary dress, but the all-weather, all-occasion flirty sundress. My personal preferences are the spaghetti-strapped, flower-printed renditions for obvious reasons.

They’re pretty enough to play up your femininity, and yet versatile enough to take you from cocktail party (just add sandals) to a semi-formal dinner (heels and bling) to that shopping spree (flip-flops).

My client summed it up best when I asked her: “Hey, is there any formal occasion in Bangkok?” (The venue for our event)”

“Not that I know of but bring a dress — just in case.”

Useful tip: You can get the functional flirty sundress just about everywhere, but for wallet-friendly options, try Bangkok, Asia’s shopping capital. I got a halter-necked beauty for only RM18, which came with an additional bonus: its unusual empire waist camouflages a thick waistline/bulging tummy/multitude of other sins.

The lowly leggings

Ironic that I’m preaching the gospel of leggings, when I derided the comeback of these abominable, fat-calves-accentuating creations as “the darkest day in couture nation”. My worst nightmare came true when they — gasp! — decided to stick around.

After stoic resistance, curiosity got the better of me and I succumbed to a pair of black stirrup leggings to see what the fuss was all about.

My verdict? Leggings are the new pants.

I like the stretchable ones made of T-shirt material which don’t bunch up or graze the floor, thus saving you potential blushes (read: tripping over overlong hems). Best of all, they can be easily rolled up into a cylinder and crammed into one corner of your bag.

The leg-shortening effect can be easily circumvented with clever accessorising; pair them with heels in a similar tone and voila, mile-long legs!

Useful tip: When travelling, opt for the breathable cotton ones. They may not exude as much attitude as say, the dominatrix latex or glitzy lame affairs, but you don’t want them to double as a sauna when you’re pounding the pavement in 40°C weather.

The plain white singlet

Leggings, jeans, skirt, pants — the monochromatic singlet goes with just about everything. But given a choice between black and white, I’d go for the latter. Why?

Though some might argue it’s more “chic”, black is a super-efficient conductor and absorber of heat; you don’t want your skin to sting while you’re raiding the labyrinthine alleys of Chatuchak Market under the blistering tropical sun.

And, urm, pardon this scatological observation, but guess which colour shows up dandruff instantly?

White it is.

Useful tip: You can get comfy singlets made of a lightweight, quick-dry material for a mere RM5 at the underground connecting alley between Ampang Park and the opposite LRT station on Jalan Ampang. In a recent trip to Bangkok, I wore my white singlet every day. I washed it at the end of each day, hung it under the air-con, and voila! it was dry as a biscuit by the next morning, ready for another sweaty day ahead.

The compressible carry-all

The RM10 I impulsively splashed on an umbrella bag at the weekend bazaar at Jaya One, turned out to be one of my savviest investments ever.

It’s cavernous enough to hold my camera, wallet, makeup pouch, hat, sunglasses, a bottle of mineral water, a spare singlet, packets of tissue and STILL have room to throw in my Adidas kampung (which I will talk about next) if I so choose.

As its name suggests, the bag is made of umbrella material, hence it can be washed and dried in a jiffy. Once you’re done with it, you can fold it into a flat square no bigger than your handphone and even hide it in the back pocket of your jeans.

The sky is the limit, I use mine as a laundry bag, shoe bag, shopping bag, just about everything short of a dinner bag!

Useful tip: I got mine at the weekend bazaar at Jaya One. They’ve got some really chic art deco prints.

Adidas kampung

Scratching your head? So did I, when a Mulu mountain guide told me my mint-new and very expensive pair of hiking boots would not cut it for our caving expedition the following day.

“Use these,” he pointed to a pair of plain black shoes that looked like a rubber version of my school shoes.

Not fully convinced, I tested both pairs of shoes during the recce.

In my RM600 trekking boots, I nearly slid off a rock.

The humble Adidas kampung would eventually power me safely through the wet and slippery Racer Cave, over muddy tracks in the Headhunter’s Trail, and up the dizzying Pinnacles of Gunung Mulu National Park.

The secret: the big knobbly studs on the underside make these babies stick to the ground like a leech. Even better, you can rinse the shoes to rid them of sand and gravel after trudging in them; since they’re made of rubber, they dry instantly and can be worn straight away.

You can walk, shop, climb, trek and yes, do caving in these tough road warriors. Oh yeah, this jaguh kampung rocks.

Useful tip: Not sold widely as far as I know, Adidas kampung are more common in states with lots of jungle terrain. I’ve spotted them variously at a Penan settlement, a sundry shop in Gua Musang, among others.

These multi-purpose, lightweight items don’t just help me to economise on space, but make room for my shopping sprees . . . of course, my financial planner doesn’t have to know that!

Alexandra Wong (bunnysprints.blogspot.com) lives out of a backpack