It’s just after midnight in Ghana and I’m being considered for a new club. Though I’m here for over a week and Accra’s relatively conservative cultural norms are the kind that require fabric flows modestly well beyond the booty, I leave Kotoka International Airport carrying just one bag.
Heading to Phuket last October for 10 days, I was just as smug. Somewhere between a handsome man from the Canary Islands offering to help me carry my mountains of luggage to a bus in Bangkok and the witching hour in West Africa, I’ve become a bit of a professional packer.
I pack light, I gather everything I’ll need fast and I do my homework.
Travel has some pretty exclusive clubs – some are mile high, others require a gold card but perhaps the hardest to get into is the Carry-Ons. Those self-satisfied and infuriating people who live a life without lost luggage, baggage carousels or wincing at the weigh in.
With one bag weighing just 10.2kgs heading to amazing Accra, I can finally join their ranks. I can stow my luggage above my head, I can smack it down on scales with confidence and I can breeze into my hotel without needing to tip a porter.
Here are my tips on how to make it happen:
Do Your Homework
Winter where you are, doesn’t mean thermal underwear somewhere else. A week or two before you set out, make sure to research the season and average daily temperature of the place you will be visiting and pack accordingly. Checking this out a few weeks before allows you to purchase any odds and ends you may need before arriving at your desired destination. If you’re the kind of traveller who respects the host country’s cultural norms, look these up too and, if necessary, throw in things that are long but light to adhere to standards of modesty without burning to a crisp. Knowing what you will need and how to dress in a specific place makes it easier to pack just the appropriate, gorgeous essentials.
Roll Your Wardrobe
The flat packing vs rolling debate is a hot one but, personally, I’m a roller. I iron my clothes out with my fingers, roll them into tight little tubes and then layer them along the bottom of my bag. Though it seems a little counter-intuitive, this method has always served me well. So roll or either pack clothing that doesn’t wrinkle or make sure your accommodation has an iron to avoid looking like you’ve just been through the most.
1 Item, 3 Different Ways
If you really want to lighten your load, pack clothing that can be worn more than one way. Got a cute kimono? Pack a belt to cinch it at the waist to create a dress. Have a button down dress? Loosen the buttons to make a kimono. Whether you have harem pants you can pull up over your chest to make a jumpsuit, swimsuits doubling as sexy bodysuits or long tank tops you can pull over your butt and “Voila!” dress, think versatility. Shoes that go with various outfits, a belt that can remix a dress and scarves that double as head or leg coverings for temples, sarongs for the beach and even a cheeky top. The more you can get out of an outfit, the better. Wearing clothes more than once isn’t a crime. It saves space and it’s fun to see how creative you can be during a sartorial drought.
Decant Your Toiletries and Cosmetics
Toiletries will ruin your one bag life. Big, bulky and hardly worth packing in full for a couple of days, decanting your pretty potions into less than 100ml containers are the way to go if you can’t find or afford the travel-sized versions.
Ziploc…Everything
From your passport to your cosmetics, Ziploc bags are everything. Not only do they keep similar items together or buffer your passport from ink stains, they also ensure that, in case of air pressure bursts, the explosion of lotion is contained in the bag and not all over your wonderfully rolled outfits. Ziploc your jewellery, your cosmetics, your yellow fever certificate and your life and thank me later.
Freelance arts, entertainment, travel writer and columnist, Martha Mukaiwa is currently in Accra, Ghana where she’s walking around in belted kimonos with sufficient, shoes, clothes and cosmetics all in one bag.
Read more from her at marthamukaiwa.com and follow her travels on:
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