• Remember to carry a voltage converter so that all your electrical gadgets are compatible with electrical outlets in foreign destinations.

• Equip yourself with a Swiss knife or a penknife. A watertight wallet is a good idea if you’re travelling to the sea - side.

• Instead of carrying an iron that takes up a lot of place in your suitcase, carry a spray for your business suits and evening dresses. You’ll find it in most travel shops. You can also avoid wrinkling your clothes if you roll and pack them.
  
  
• Most hotels frown on guests doing their own laundry in the bathrooms, but if you do need to wash some smalls, carry a length of nylon twine to improvise a clothesline.
  
  
• On long-haul trips, stick to lightweight, drip-dry garments that require little ironing and maintenance.
  
  
• When choosing your travel wardrobe, remember that dirt doesn't show up as easily on busy prints, dark colours and polyester fabrics, so prefer these to light-coloured solids unless you're planning to do a lot of laundry!
  
  

• Pack a small first – aid kit of over the counter medicines equipped to deal with small health hazards. A tube of antiseptic, bandaids, pills for migraines, headaches and stomach upsets are essential.
  
  
• Carry a medical prescription if you suffer from any chronic illness. make sure that you have the generic name of the drug, as brand names differ in countries.
  
  
• If you’re allergic to a particular drug, it’s advisable to keep a note in your wallet.

• Carry water purifying pills if you’re planning to travel into rural areas where you might not get bottled or purified water. Just drop one into the water and that will ensure that you’re stomach stays fine.

• Contact lenses: carry an extra pair of prescription glasses plus a copy of your lens prescription. Carrying a torch makes those floor crawling search exercises easier. If you are on the floor looking for your contact lenses with a torch, remember to keep the beam parallel to the ground.

 Bags & Baggage

• Tie a coloured ribbon or a luggage belt around your suitcase so you can easily identify it on the conveyor belt.
  
• Travelling light is a boon especially if you have a long wait at the airport between flights. You are less likely to set down light baggage and leave it unattended while you browse through an airport shop or use the toilet.
  
• Planning to shop on your travels? Just flatten an empty airbag at the bottom of your suitcase. Use this to stuff dirty linen at the end of your trip, and voila! You have an extra bag! Make sure the bag has double zip pulls for a padlock.