Everyday Entertaining

Life in the Fast Lane at 120 mph

For someone who travels constantly (when last I checked I was on the road almost 250 days this year), I have the system down to a science when it comes to racing across the globe navigating a hectic travel schedule. It all starts with the packing. What to bring and what not to bring aren’t dilemmas specific to me; we all go through the same process of pulling out clothes, editing what makes it on the trip and what gets put back in the closet. Most times I try to take carry-on luggage only. With my outfits laid out in advance, I make sure I have just enough clothing to look chic and pull it all together. It saves so much time on both ends of the trip. No need to deal with the lines at check-in or the wait at the carousel at my destination hoping my luggage actually made it on the flight. If I can’t do carry-on, my first choice is to FedEx my luggage ahead. Not to jinx myself, but I’ve never had a problem with FedEx; something I definitely can't claim about the airlines!

In deciding what to bring, I’ve become incredibly resourceful when it comes to mixing and matching outfits that reinvent my look with the limited contents of my carry-on luggage. As a male with a size 10.5 shoe, I usually only pack one pair of dress shoes as they take up a lot of space. In winter and fall I go either brown or black and in spring and summer I wear cream and white with a few colored items thrown in. I always bring several belts and sunglasses. Accessories help reinvent a look easily. An orderly bag is efficient, and if someone looks inside, it certainly makes a great impression. For exercise, which is critical to mental and physical well-being (mine and my fellow travelers), I pack the Nike 5.0 running shoe; it packs flat in the bottom of my suitcase and takes up very little room. All my clothes are packed in these amazing envelopes that come in small, medium and large sizes with trousers in one, shirts in another, jackets in a third, and socks and underwear in the smaller ones. The envelopes are a great packing system that allows me to pack and unpack in a moment's notice. I rarely unpack my clothes from the envelopes to put them in the hotel’s drawers. Instead, I put the filled envelope in the drawer and take out exactly what I want to wear when needed. By keeping everything in the envelopes, my clothing stays in better shape and doesn’t crease that much either. If you pack the more conventional way and just stack clothing on top of one another, and want to pull a shirt from the bottom, you end up creasing the one below it and the one above it, not to mention making a mess of everything in between.

My favorite carry-on piece for personal items is by Louis Vuitton. It’s on wheels and just the right size to hold my dob kit. A smaller Prada zip bag holds my liquids in 3-oz containers and I use another small Prada zip bag for my pills and medications. A leather pouch does for a couple of watches, cufflinks, and jewelry, and a small black zip bag with all my electronic cables, adaptors, and a battery pack for my iPhone, which always seems to run out of juice. I also keep a small hand sanitizer in my dob kit for travel (you can never be too careful) and a couple of protein bars so I am able to avoid the food they punish us with at 38,000 feet. And of course, I never travel without my laptop and some reading material, which I fit together like a puzzle with everything else.

In the outside pouch I have a plastic envelope with two copies of my detailed itinerary. I also make sure I have the name and number of the car service in my phone, so I can either text or call the moment I land to touch base with the driver. This saves time and I’m assured that by the time I get off the plane, he is looking for and expecting me. And, I never leave home without a stack of $5 bills for tipping, a stack of business cards, and some of my personalized stationery so I can write thank-you notes immediately along the way. There’s nothing better than a timely, hand-written thank-you note in today’s age -– you get 10 points!!! And if the General Manager of the hotel graciously gets me upgraded, my hand-written thank-you note paves the way for my next stay and my next upgrade.

I believe in tipping generously. I like good service and I’m happy to pay for it. A small token of thanks goes a long way. I’ve definitely noticed that if you are a regular at a hotel and known as a big tipper, you get great service. A stack of $5 bills come in handy as everyone who helps me in and out of the hotel should be tipped. If you carry $20s dispensed by the cash machine, you’ll be giving out $20s and going through money quickly. The bellman, the concierge, housekeeping, and even the delivery person who brings a FedEx to the room gets a tip. If I need something and call downstairs (toothpaste is often a request), I give a tip to the deliverer as well. And I never forget the person who presses my shirts and cleans my shoes, usually another last-minute rush request.

Comfort is critical, so dress casually but elegantly. I travel in a pressed pair of jeans, either blue or black, a cotton T-shirt with a cashmere sweater and a blazer or jacket. Slip on shoes with socks are a must for going through security easily, and if I can help it, no belt so I don’t have the hassle of having to undress and redress along with everything else. I always take a cashmere scarf with me, and if I’m traveling within the States, I have a small tempurpedic pillow. If it’s a quick trip and I don’t want to bring my pillow, I’ll use my scarf as a blanket or roll it up and use it to support my neck. As a rule, don’t use the airline pillows or blankets unless they are in sealed plastic bags and you break the seal. Half the time they don’t clean them and recycle them for the next user, to save costs.

Speaking of clean, have you ever noticed how many people put their luggage on the bed in their hotel room after it has been in the plane, in the back of a cab, and dragged along the sidewalk? By the time it reaches the destination and traversed across the elements, it's filthy, and putting it on the bed where you’ll be sleeping isn’t very hygienic. If you don’t have access to a luggage rack, use a couple of bathmats or a towel that can be placed on the bed and then place the luggage on top. On the subject of cleanliness, my biggest pet peeve is seeing people go to the bathroom on the plane in their socks or no shoes at all. Not every man aims straight. Can you begin to imagine what’s on those floors!!! Okay, so you are probably thinking that I am a bit of a germophobe, which I will admit to, but with the winter season and nasty flu in the air, you can never be too careful. As a rule, I immediately wash my hands with soap and water every time I get to my room, back to my home, or into my office.

And finally, when you’re rushing in and out of airports or catching trains to get here and there, so many things can and do go wrong that are totally out of our control. I used to get all worked up and found myself frustrated and aggravated every time I traveled. One day I decided to just surrender. Surrender to the day and go with the flow. I refuse to be one of those people yelling over the counter at a gate agent who has nothing to do with faulty equipment, weather or luggage problems. Instead, I take a deep breath and hope for the best.

Bon Voyage!

As always, there's more to come!