Hello again and welcome back to Lulu's happy hour.
As summer goes on, it's simply getting too hot to work or study. If you are still students then you are in lucky because you are just about to start your precious summer holiday.
Would you have a plan for the summer? Are you also getting itchy feet or wanderlust. Don't you just wanna get out of your everyday life and see the world?
Well, it is the high season for travelling. Nowadays it's very easy to book your transport, your accommodation even your personal guide online if you want to travel.
But say you have got all of these sorted, everything is ready. Today before your travel, is there one major headache to deal with, packing.
Personally, I am not great when it comes to packing but I have researched the topic, so in today's happy hour, Lulu will share with you some of the useful tips on making a full packing list: how to pack efficiently and also some tips on having a more comfortable flight. Of course there are so many useful and practical vocabulary and expressions we are going to pick up on the way.
So on with the show. Vacations are lots of fun to go on but to make the most out of your trip, you have to pack right items. Sometimes packing can be a bore or simply confusing if you have no idea what to bring. But the best way to organize your thoughts and remove the drama from packing is to make yourself a packing list.
But if you are like me, you properly just write down some random items in your list but then your list will be really messy.
Go and see how to make a more organized packing list.
First of all, of course you need to make sure you know where you are going, how long you'll be gone and what the weather will be like and also how you're getting there, what kind of transport. Packing list can start with clothing, the first category is clothing items. If you are going to be gone for 1 to 7 nights so within a week, you may want to consider bringing 1 shirt, 1 pair of pants, 1 pair of underwear, a pair of socks, and for women, also a bra, for each night you are staying. It sounds a bit excessive but it's really helpful if you don't have time to wash your clothes. One thing people sometimes forget is sleepwear, so don't forget your pajamas or whatever you are sleeping in, and of course, if you are washing your clothes, you can pack less. If your trip is longer than a week, maybe consider packing 1 outfit for every 3 or 4 days, this is assuming you are going to be washing your clothes. Depending on the weather or specific activities you are going to take part in, remember to take swimming suits, cover ups, extra pairs of shoes, scarves, coats, gloves and other items to keep you comfortable depending on if you are climbing the mountains or going for a beach holiday.

After packing your clothes, you can move on to bathroom Items. Usually the accommodation you are staying in will provide some toiletries, your shampoo, conditioner, shower gel. However, if you are travelling to other countries, you have to remember, unlike in China, smaller hotels in many countries may not provide toothbrush and toothpaste, so you might need to pack your own. This has been a headache for me a couple of times. After the bathroom items, now you can write down some 'gadgets' you need to take. Your smart phones, tablets, kindle, laptops they can all go in this category. Remember portable charger and charger cable. If you are travelling internationally, it might be a good idea to check the plugs（插头） used in the destination country, because different counties, they have different plugs and sockets. So you will know if you need to pack a travel adaptor（插头转换器）.
After that, write down some financial or identification items. For most People, this should be your wallet, your purse, your credit cards, a passport if you are leaving your country. During my trips, I always find it quite useful to keep a budget in my notebook or on my phone. A budget is a money plan so I have a clear idea of how much I have spent and how much I have plan to spend. It is also fun to look back at these notes later on to remind myself of the trip. One little tip might be to do your budget in the local currency instead of RMB, because it gives you less stress and spares you the trouble of converting between two currencies.
With your clothes, your toiletries, your gadgets and your financial and ID packed, now you can start writing down medications and other items for your health. This is usually something people ignore because when we think of travel, we think of good things. But if you have any pills you have to take, write these down. Make sure to take bandages, painkillers, motion sickness remedies（晕车药）, and this is very important for people who suffer from motion sickness. Motion sickness medicine, insect repellant if there are mosquitoes or bugs and sleep medications if you have trouble sleeping in new places and of course sunblock if you are going somewhere with strong UV. We just talked about this in the previous episode. Wet wipes(湿纸巾) can always come in handy during any travelling, they are much more useful than simple tissue paper. One tip here though, be careful with your medical kit, because some medicine you want to take might be illegal in certain countries. So you might wanna check that out.
So now you have got your perfect packing list. It's time to do some real packing. We all want to travel light but how to pack efficiently. First of all, when it comes to clothes, pack clothes that go well together; choose neutral shades中性颜色: brown, black, cream, white, and gray, that will allow you to mix them with any other items. For men, basic button-up shirts in neutral colors are a versatile item（百搭款）. For women, pack a simple black dress that you can dress up for formal occasion or dress down for casually occasion.
Tip 2: Travel-size toiletries are the way to go and you can always buy a travel-size shampoo, conditioner and a lot, if you can't find your travel-size option for something, buy a small, refillable travel bottle and fill it with the product you want to take with you and I'm sure a lot of girls are already doing this for your skin care products.
When you actually do pack, roll your clothes instead of folding them. You have to iron them anyway. Rolling your clothes will save you more space. You can even use rubber bands or hair ties to keep rolled clothes tight in your bag. This is extremely useful if you are trying to fit a lot into a smaller bag.
Tip 4: Use the inside of your shoes as storage space. I learned that from one of my friends who is very good at packing. So you stuff your socks or even your underwear in your shoes. And also perhaps small, fragile things or souvenirs you want to take with you because the shoes will offer extra padding and safety.
And the last one, you can use packing cubes. These are smaller bags that you use to organize your suitcase. They will make sure everything fits together. Now we are all set to go, but hang on, one last preparation, if you are travelling far, you are most likely taking a flight and you are gonna be flying. Let's face it, nobody likes long flying and not all of us can afford the comfort of business or even first class, but how to maximize your comfort. Here are a few of my tips, you can prepare a pillow, one of those blow-up pillows that won't take up a lot of place, but it will provide more comfort.
You will need Noise-cancelling headphone降噪耳机 or earplugs. I also take an eye mask, because sometimes you want to sleep but it's too bright and wet wipes again. And don't forget inside plane, it gets really dry, so if you are wearing contact lenses, eye drops are very useful. And of course our skin gets very dry as well, so for girls out there, moisturizer or moisturizing facial mask, they can also come in handy. You can also pack travel toothbrush or toothpaste or if you think that's too much trouble at least prepare a chewing gum to avoid bad breath.
In the end, don't forget to wear comfortable clothes. This should be soft and generally loose fitting. So right, are we all set for our trips? By the way, I'm by no means an expert in travelling, but after years of travelling to different countries, I have been learning from my mistakes. So hopefully you'll find some of these tips useful. I'm actually starting my holiday trip this evening going to the Caucasus高加索地区, Georgia and Armenia 格鲁吉亚 亚美尼亚, a lesser travel part of the world, a place I have never been before, so getting really excited now. So do you have any summer trips planned? Let us know your plan in the comment section or simply share with us some of your own tips. Remember it's a learning communication and we are all learning from each other. So I will see you next time.

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