Travelling light

Never mind what to take on holiday; here's what you should leave behind 

Whenever the summer holidays roll along , magazines and newspapers are quick to run the now almost-mandatory pieces about what you should pack when you head out on vacation. 

Well, this week I am taking a very different tack to that. I am going to make a list of all the things you definitely do not need to pack when you are heading out for a summer holiday, based on the many packing mistakes I have made over the years. So here’s a short list of all the stuff you definitely need to leave behind when you head out to have a good time. 

• You absolutely do not need two coats/jackets even if you are heading to a cold climate. Just pick one that can do double duty for both day and night (black, red or any neutral shade will do). And if you can carry it along with you on the plane you can save precious space in your suitcase. 

• I have been guilty of this on many an occasion but believe me you do not need to carry your entire hair paraphernalia with you on vacation. Your hair will benefit from using a different shampoo and conditioner (it prevents build-up of product on your hair) and a good hotel will provide a hairdryer as well. Just carry your mousse/spray and you are all set (see what I did there?).

• Wear your bulkiest pair of shoes/boots while travelling (another great space-saving trick) and pack your evening sandals/heels. But only one pair, mind you. You don’t need anything more than that no matter how many fancy dinners you have booked. 

• You may absolutely love a certain top or pair of trousers but unless you can mix and match them with several other pieces in your packing list then you must harden your heart and leave them behind. Every outfit in your suitcase absolutely has to earn its place. 

• Are you thinking that your vacation would be the perfect time to read that big fat book that has been languishing on your nightstand for months? Maybe it will. But the odds are that you will be having too much fun to even open it. Much better to leave that weighty tome behind and load whatever you want to read on your Kindle instead. 

• Even if you are the most finicky of dressers, you really don’t need to cart a portable iron or steamer along with you. Most hotels have an ironing board and iron in the room — or available on demand; as are steamers. Though in my experience if you unpack as soon you arrive and hang up all your clothes in the wardrobe the creases will have miraculously fallen away by the time you are ready to get dressed the next morning. 

• And ladies, last but not least, it is not necessary to carry your entire make-up kit and face care potions along. Pare it down to one or two lipsticks, one moisturising foundation, one blusher, an eye pencil or eyeliner, mascara and a nourishing night cream. Just add a bottle of SPF 50 sunscreen and you are good to go. Happy holidays everyone!

Phone down!

A digital detox is the need of the hour

What is the first thing you do when you get up in the morning? If you are anything like me you reach out for your phone to put off the alarm. And then, instead of putting it straight back down and heading for the bathroom to brush your teeth, you start scrolling. 

You take a look at X — what we still think of as Twitter — to see what news has broken overnight. You check into Instagram to see how many likes your post has garnered. You take a quick peek at your favourite news sites. You open your mail to see if anything needs replying urgently. And only then do you start your morning routine. 

Well, for me at least, this is going to change from this week forward. I have been convinced for a while that I need to reduce my dependence on my phone and conduct some sort of digital detox. I need to control my phone usage before my phone starts controlling me. And these are just some of the measures I intend to take. 

• No scrolling on the phone for at least an hour after I wake up. I will still use the phone alarm. But once I have put it off I will put the phone down and not pick it up again until I have finished my breakfast. Instead, I will read the newspapers, chat with my husband, and think about the day ahead without any digital distraction. 

• Leaving my phone behind when I head out for my daily walk. Instead of listening to music, podcasts or audiobooks, I will focus on my surroundings instead. Listening to birdsong, appreciating the beauty of spring flowers, watching peacocks frolic in the shade, eavesdropping on interesting conversations taking place around me. That sounds like a good plan to me. 

• A phone detox also means getting over my compulsive need to photograph everything that strikes me as unusual, beautiful or interesting. Instead of photographing every sunset, clicking every meal that I have ever eaten, chronicling every amazing view I see on my travels, I will focus on being present in the moment. Savouring the experience in real time makes more sense than recording it in your photo gallery, which you will probably never look at later. 

• Resisting the impulse to respond to every WhatsApp message and reply to every email the moment they pop up on my phone. Instead, I will carve out an hour every morning and evening to respond to messages. And refuse to engage with anyone digitally outside of that time period. 

• Move to reading physical books to put myself to sleep rather than rely on the Kindle app on my phone. While I enjoy reading e-books (none of that physical-books-only snobbery for me) the temptation to skip out of the app and check out social media sites on my phone is often too strong to resist. So, it’s best to let it rest on the nightstand while I lose myself in the pages of a ‘real’ book. Wish me luck!