Luggage to suit your styleWritten by Gareth Powell
Luggage has many schools of thought. Here are but some of them: • Minimalist. Cutting down to bare essentials so that you need only one cabin bag which you can carry on aircraft. My daughter has this down to a fine art and recently toured India for two weeks with one small, leather Gladstone bag that I bought in China many years ago. • The hard case. This refers not to character of traveler but to suitcase used. Almost all flight crews use hard cases. Watch an airline crew collect their baggage from carousel after an international journey and you will see that it is all medium to large-sized, hard-sided suitcases (nearly always gray) with built-in wheels and extendible handles. Sophisticated travelers sneer at this. But who, I ask, would know better? • The suit bag. Many experienced travelers are of opinion that a well-made suit bag will last for many years and carry everything you could possibly need. A suit bag used as cabin baggage on overseas flights will almost certainly carry everything you need. • The enlightened traditionalist. This is a traveler who realizes that suitcase acquired for first Big Trip at age of 21 will not cover all needs, all future travel. So keeps upgrading as time passes. • Horses for courses. Differing bags for different occasions. As a matter of sober truth, I have 32 of damn things. But I was ever profligate. There are, indeed, two main types of baggage. The type that will stand up to rigors of overseas travel, but is so heavy it eats up much of your weight allowance. And that which is light and easy to handle and falls apart at inconvenient moments. There is no such thing as ideal baggage. Only that which can be considered not bad. If you are going on an overseas trip with more than four stopovers, your present baggage probably will not stand up to strain. Get a new case before you go or you, too, will scatter your dirty laundry across departure area of Dom Muang airport to amusement of hordes of Thai travelers. • Do not buy expensive name-brand luggage. They are called 'steal-me' cases on reasoning that if you can afford a genuine Louis Vuitton suitcase you can afford to pack valuables inside. Look instead for something that is anonymous, easily cleaned and light. Don't worry too much about quality. After a trip with four stopovers it will not have a long life expectancy.
| | Relive the Battle of Trafalgar with Superbreak.com!Written by Robin Richmond
Often described as most decisive naval battle in history, 2005 marks 200 year anniversary of The Battle of Trafalgar. The Royal Navy, which has been inspired by events of 200 years ago have been main organisers of Trafalgar 200 program of events. The highlight of bi-centennial year is Battle of Trafalgar Concert at Royal Albert Hall London, which promises to be a massive musical celebration of sea.Although Trafalgar 200 marks events that happened 200 years ago, focus is very much on present day and celebrating important role sea plays in our lives today and many exciting maritime challenges that lie ahead. In addition to concert, navies from some 40 countries across globe are expected at International Fleet Review. The International Festival of Sea will enable people to talk to sailors first hand about life on ocean wave as well chance to see a massive range of vessels including Tall Ships, modern warships and more. Leading providers of short break holidays Superbreak.com have an excellent range of hotel plus ticket packages for Battle of Trafalgar Concert available from their website at http://www.superbreak.com.
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