Happy New Year’s Day! And think of me right now, rolling along the streets of Bengalaru with my carryon suitcase.
Hopefully, all that I’ve crammed into the hardshell for a 2-week trip will actually get worn. Packing is an acquired wisdom, and every trip I take teaches me something. The white lace blouse that summons fantasies of sweet lime drinks on the veranda never left the hanger. The flat, platinum-colored leatherTaos sandals—oh, my gosh, yes, tromping everywhere from fancy restaurants to the museum and beach.
The most useful travel wardrobes are not organized at the last minute; it's a matter of laying clothes out and writing it down, to see redundancies and omissions. A lot like editing a book, isn't it? But the reality is that as much as I enjoy packing, I still sometimes don't wear one or two items and yearn for something left at home. What will I really use over 14 days that when I’m in city and country, cool hill stations and hot beaches, churches and restaurants, unpaved village roads and Apollo Bunder in Mumbai?
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| The Bangalore Palace |
Over the next two weeks I’ll arrive in Bengaluru, once known as Bangalore. After a couple of days' acclimation, we will take a car ride through Karnataka to the old royal enclave of Mysore, and then climb into a misty cool hill station named Coorg.
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| Coorg Wilderness Resort Hotel |
Then it's back in the car to the Bengaluru Airport to fly to Mumbai, where it's two nights of research and visiting friends before taking a train to Goa for almost a week's stay. On day 14 we fly Goa-Bengalaru-Washington DC.
The trip was originally intended for some India train research, including a 5-night ride on the Golden Chariot, a tourist train with overnight compartments. However, this plan derailed (haha!) due to a low number of reservations. Because Indian Railways was the one that cancelled, I got the deposit back and had to figure out another way to use my scheduled time in India.
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| Silva Heritage, a Goa 300-year-old dwelling turned hotel |
I’ been reading Around India in 80 Trains, a delightful travel memoir by Monisha Rajesh. Through the many train rides Monisha describes, I got the idea of taking a regular train from Mumbai to Goa, which is a particularly scenic route. There’s an express train taking this route with a special passenger car that has all-glass walls and ceiling, for maximum viewing of the Konkan coast. So the Vistadome car will be the first train ride of this trip. I’m hoping for a few more excursions on regular trains once we reach Goa.
I try to travel to India every 10-15 months., and typically I’ve used a larger checked suitcase because I’m carrying about 10 books as gifts. This year, I didn’t have a new book to carry—so that means less weight and room to worry about. Also fueling the bring-less mindset were a few videos on YouTube about a so-called “three-day-method” and “5-4-3-2-1 method” that encourage people to really pare down their clothing choices. That’s the way I’m going: with one carry-on and a personal item. Here's what I'm bringing in terms of tech, clothing, and extras.
TECH PLAN: Hooray! The personal item tote-bag will be a lot lighter on my shoulder because I’m not bringing a laptop. I’d like to be more unplugged and thus am bringing an iPhone and charger only (my husband will have an iPad he promises to share). My phone carrier, ATT, charges $10 a day to use my phone abroad. This might seem pricey, but I’ve had really bad experiences over the last 20 years spending hours and days trying to buy local phones in India that inevitably are very hard to use. The other thing I've tried was bringing one of my old cell phones and buying a SIM card at the airport that turns out to work very poorly if at all. So, I'm sticking to ATT. This will be the third time I’m using my phone this way, and I've found the trick to it working seamlessly is to go to settings and set the roaming feature to default to the strongest network, which for me has been JIO. if you don’t set a default, phone will keep scanning for random networks. Be sure your number is shared with your India contacts through Whats App, so they can call you without incurring charges.
Charging phones and tech is also tricky because of India’s 230 voltage versus USA's 110. Supposedly Apple devices have universal plugs, but I’ve had a MacAir laptop motherboard fried and needing a full replacement in India. My husband and I have also blown out the circuits at multiple hotel rooms trying to charge laptops and iPads. If anything bad happens to your Apple tech, don’t attempt a repair without going to an Apple Store to keep your repair warranty safe. However, this process could take days, as authorized Apple retailers even in locations like Mumbai may need to get the part sent from Delhi. To avoid emergencies like this, use converter plugs meant for India’s current AND charge your power bank on these plugs, so the risk of something adverse is limited. You can safely charge your electronic items using powerbanks only. I’ve been OK charging my phones straight into the converter (fingers crossed, always). Finally, you might want to add a VPN app to your phone to protect your data from being swiped. Tony and I are sharing a VPN for one months's time that covers 5 devices for just $15 total.
CLOTHING
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| A favorite airy travel top from Ritu Kumar |
Clothes are certainly not as complicated to plan as tech. My mantra is to always be yourself and stay comfortable. That said: unless you're an Indian male, if you wear a backpack, a ballcap and athletic shoes on the streets, you'll likely be identified as an American or British tourist and receive a particular kind of attention. I don't like having an entourage so I dress as well traveling as I would at home. For instance, I always wear loose blouses, skirts and trousers out in town, although I’m very comfortable in shorts and a bathing suit at the hotel (with a cover-up over the bathing suit when not in the water or the pool chair).
While saris have made a comeback with some fashionistas, typically Indian women wear flowing trousers with longer tops, or skirts and dresses made in India from beautiful silks, cottons, and next-level synthetic textiles. To buy something while there, look at stores like Fab India, Cottons or Ritu Kumar. Every city will have a few boutiques like this and big malls have better quality options than street stalls. Many of these garments are embroidered and stitched by textile artists in villages, so you can be fashionable and local at the same time.
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| salwar kameez in Kolkata years ago |
Years ago, I wore salwar kameez (tunic, stole and pajama trousers) outfits quite a lot in India. But street style has changed and these days, I keep traditional ensembles for important social events. I’ll always bring a beautiful long silk dupatta to work as an outfit accessory, providing extra style as well as comfort in air-conditioned places. Aside from this, my general choices are wide-legged pants, whether cotton from India or quality denim from the US; loose fitting tops that aren’t low cut, and skirts that cover the knee. I bring one pair of clean, colorful sneakers for travel, fitness walking and sightseeing, but a pair of worn-in Taos flat sandals in a metallic leather works just as well.
Please do wear jewelry in India; I’ve made the mistake of forgetting to pack any earrings and necklaces and felt like I was partly dressed in comparison to local women who always have something pretty at the neck, ears, wrist, and sometimes the nose. Jewelry and scarves are wonderful things to buy in India; I particularly recommend going to cottage industry stores representing the state you visit, and the reasonably priced modern fine jewelry chain store called Tanishq. I’ve even impulsively bought fine jewelry at the airport shops on my way out of India. You should not leave India without buying at least a little jewelry!
For the plane I’m wearing the same outfit I usually bring for a winter trip to India: my red Taos Carousel canvas sneakers, Anthropologie’s Maeve wide-leg jeans, a long sleeve red-coral-white silk blouse from Johnny Was, and a gray cashmere ruana from Quince to also serve as a blanket.
Here is the rest of my packing list. I really did get all of this into a small carryon because I use compression cubes (hardshell carryon case and compression cubes from Quince, if you are the market for something new). Almost all the tops and bottoms can be mixed.
Loose cream straight-leg polyester pleated pants
Grey cotton capri pants
Brown tech poly jogger pants
Black-white patterned shorts
Ankle-grazing dark blue-print polyester skirt
Blue and coral printed wrap skirt, knee-length
Mid-calf burgundy silk skirt
Casual Blue cotton gauze dress/swimwear coverup
White crinkle poly blouse, sleeveless
White button-down shirt, sleeveless
Black T-shirt (borrowed from spouse)
Coral cotton broadcloth button up blouse with mid-length sleeves
Navy blue silk short-sleeved top
Navy blue cardigan
1 Bathing Suit
Underwear for 6 days (will use laundry and detergent packages) 3 pairs socks
Flat packing hat
Two scarves: one short chiffon square, one very long rectangular dupatta
Coach Whitley Mary Janes
Taos Trophy sandal
Toiletries galore, small sizes in a waterproof carrying case! Be sure to include mosquito repellant wipes
EXTRAS SUCH AS GIFTS
If you’re going to someone’s home or meeting someone professionally, it’s very nice to bring them a gift from the U.S. Signed books by you or others are enthusiastically received. Other items I’ve liked to bring are packaged nonperishables from Trader Joe’s or similar yummy specialty stores. Warning: chocolate always seems to melt. This year I’m bringing a special American biscuit baking mix, two candles, and some specialty nuts. Just three gift books will be making the journey…and because of my packed carry-on, I’ll have to ask my husband to be responsible for them.
May the new year bring everyone happiness, and perhaps a special trip! If the packing's done over the course of three days, the hardest part of leaving will be saying goodbye to your pet.
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