Five Hand Luggage Essentials for a Long Flight

A long haul flight can sometimes feel a bit like limbo. A whole day suspended in a 200 square foot box surrounded by two inches of aluminium, possibly squashed between two complete strangers. There’s no hopping off to run those forgotten errands, or even, unless you’re travelling wifi-style, answering those beckoning emails! As such, there’s a tendency to pack for every possible kind of boredom or inconvenience that might occur.

Image source

The problem there? You don’t want to exceed your baggage allowance. It’s no fun to reach the departure gate only to be told you have to pay a fortune just to carry your belongings, or worse, that you have to check them in the hold! Nobody expects you just sit there patiently for the entire flight, but it’s important to get real and prioritise when you pack your hand-luggage. Here are a few tips that will hopefully keep you flying in style, without weighing down the plane!

Layer upon Layer

We hear all kinds of myths about the air-conditioning on planes. Sometimes it’s cranked down to Arctic temperatures, and sometimes it’s like a second-hand sauna. Packing easy-to-throw-on layers is a great place to start. Think zippers and breathable fabrics. One top tip is to pack a wide light shawl such as this one. These are perfect for keeping the blast of air-con off your neck, draping over like a blanket, rolling up as a pillow, or tucking neatly back in your bag.

Beauty Basics

When flying, most of us will be happy feeling clean and refreshed, never mind looking like a glamorous jet-setting diva. Toothbrush, wet-wipes, and a small moisturiser are a great place to start. For a little spruce-up during landing, why not also go for lip-balm and some brightening eye drops? Most airlines will only allow liquids in 100ml containers, but luckily nearly all popular beauty products are now available in adorable travel-size bottles!

Power Up!

Whether you survive by watching movies, reading, or listening to album after album, gone are the days of running out of battery mid-flight. Portable chargers are now available for a huge range of devices, to kick-start your entertainment needs. No more pixelated in-flight movies, or a dwindling Kindle just before the last chapter! Another tip is to give your phone a little TLC with an hour of charge before you land. After all, you’ll probably need it once you’ve got signal again!

Image source

No pain. All gain!

If you’re lucky you’ll have a smooth flight, with great service, surrounded by calm, respectful passengers, all trying to get through the next eight hours with some semblance of sanity. If not, you may be suffering a thundering headache from the noise of complaining passengers, or a pain in the back from the kicking toddler behind you. For many reasons, it’s good to keep a packet of painkillers on hand, to soothe your temples, and allow you a decent rest.

Pack those Snacks

Flying isn’t always as convenient as it’s made out to be. When it comes to in-flight meals, you’re very much operating on everyone else’s schedule, and ‘you never know what you’re gonna get’! Sometimes it’s nice to bring a little home comfort of your own: Basics like a bottle of water to keep you hydrated, some fruit to fill you up if you’re meal was less than impressive. Or maybe a sneaky pack of cookies to balance those sugar levels (and well, to treat yourself)! If you are prone to earaches during flights, a pack of chewing gum is also a good call.

Next time you’re thinking of packing the world in your hand-luggage ‘just in case’, take a deep breath, and think of these handy tips. Remember you may have to pay the price at the departure gate! And one last thing: Even if you ignore all the advice above, just don’t forget to pack your passport!

(Contributed by Julie)

Comments

Aspirin for acne-prone skin

Aspirin has been around for a long time and its health benefits are wide and varied. Aspirin , or acetylsalicylic acid is a salicylate drug, often used as an analgesic to relieve minor aches and pains , as an antipyretic to reduce fever , and as an anti-inflammatory medication. Aspirin's greatest benefit is reducing cardiovascular events including heart attacks and strokes. According to the American Heart Assoc. virtually all women are at risk of heart disease and doctors should more strongly consider prescribing a daily aspirin for their female patients. There is growing evidence to suggest regular aspirin use may reduce cancer and dementia as well. Investigators from the Women's Health Study have reported important new findings demonstrating that aspirin reduces the risk of a first stroke in women. When given to someone immediately after a heart attack, aspirin decreases death by 25%.

Kapalabhati Pranayam for wrinkle-free, radiant complexion

Did you know that Kapalabhati Pranayam / kriya can also be used to enhance your beauty and ward off skin aging? Done the right way, Kapalabhati Pranayam can be used as a beauty aid - it can give you a wrinkle-free, luminous forehead and radiant complexion. Kapalabhati For Beauty ‘Kapalabhati’ Pranayam breathing exercise is an excellent way of maintaining good health and fighting diseases. ‘Kapala’ means ‘skull’ (and ‘forehead’ also) and ‘bhati’ means ‘shining’. By doing kapalabhati, the ‘nadis’(nerves) of the brain get good exercise. This is achieved by exercising the diaphragm. There will be a glow on the forehead. After the age of 25, the tell-tale signs of ageing start making their appearance in the form of fine lines on the forehead. A regular practice of Kapalabhati for 10-15 minutes everyday will give you a tight forehead sans wrinkles for many years to come. Avoid Botox, try Kapalabhati Why resort to Botox and other expensive chemical or surgica...

Lemon as a beauty aid

The diminutive lemon is a very versatile beauty-aid and this cheap and golden-coloured fruit has excellent properties for enhancing your looks. Simple lemon-based preparations, you can mix in your own kitchen, will surely bring a dramatic transformation in your beauty regimen.

Aloevera, the wonder herb

Of all the herbs available in the kitchen garden, aloe is perhaps the richest in healing properties and has been rightly named the “first-aid” plant. It has moisturizing and emollient properties and is used in cosmetic creams, sun-lotions, shaving creams and face packs. It can easily be cultivated as a house-plant in a sunny warm spot with good drainage. Cosmetologists mix aloe with several other herbs and draft fancy names for it. Then these “herbal” avatars are sold at exorbitant prices. Growing a plant and using fresh gel is much more effective than bottled gel, simply because it is alive and therefore is more potent. It is the only plant whose extract is applied directly from plant to face in its natural and purest form.

I Tried a Headache Balm and Ended Up with Rashes

I do have this habit of slathering pain balms whenever I have a headache. But never did I get a skin reaction or rashes from it. It so happened that I had an extremely severe headache a few months ago. The pain was so unbearable that I gingerly reached out for a pain balm kept on my bedside table and kept on slathering it repeatedly all over the temples of my forehead. Next morning, after I woke up, I found that the skin on my forehead was peeling off and worse there were red rashes! This was the first time in my life that I was getting rashes from applying a pain balm on my forehead ! I have never had any pain balm allergy or as such! Side-effects due to application of a pain balm was something I've never come across all these years! I usually use pain balms of reputed companies – my usual favourites are Tiger balm, Amrutanjan, Zandu balm and Sloan’s balm. This time I had used Tiger balm. But why did it give me rashes now, when I had used it...