So I guess today is the right time to do so, as yesterday night (almost midnight) I just returned from an overseas trip, and my bag (and its contents) has not been changed. It was a short trip and during the whole two days I was always on the move and ran errands. So I needed a good bag companion which is big, easy to handle, not heavy and secured enough to keep my valuable belongings (like passport, etc).
I chose to bring my python hobo bag in 'unbleached' grey colour from pla. The python skin is finished as unbleached so the python patterns/spots/marks (those in darker grey colour) remains on it. Else a fully bleached python bag will have the same colourtone all over it). The bag is BIG, which is perfect for the purpose of this trip.
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The bag has a detachable pocket (also made from real python skin) which I like!
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And inside of this big python hobo is my many cluttered things which I tried to organize into several small pouches. I used to like a bag ornanizer but now I much prefer to use small pouches as most of the times I can find my stuffs easily (without peeking into the bag) by touching and instantly recognizing the 'shape' of the pouch. It may sound odd but it works well for me :p Ooh, one thing missing from my bag in this pic is an iPad, as sometimes I asked my husband to carry it in his handbag ;)
See, I carried quite a lot of stuffs, right :p
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Ok, let me 'break down' those clutters inside my bag;)
A Prada wallet that contained only the foreign currency in small denomination and coins which must be sufficient enough to pay for meals, taxi and tips. Note that I did not (and never) keep any atm or credit cards inside this Prada wallet.
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A Tulisan money pouch where I keep the foreign currency in big denomination. No coins or small notes or atm/credit cards inside!
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A small pouch from Seabreeze Studio @Etsy which is nicely designed and very good for travelling. It has 2 zip pockets, 1 open pocket and lobster clasp. I like it so much! This small pouch has the local currencies, overseas SIM cards (for mobile phone and iPad to avoid any unnecessary roaming :P) and a paper clip. The paper clip is intended to open the iPad's sim card holder and to replace its sim card.
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A Bottega Veneta card case in steel colour is to keep my atm cards, credit cards, ID card and driving licence.
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In conclusion, I had intentionally organized the money and cards into 4 different wallets/pouches.
The reason behind it is simple, because I remember very well an idimoatic phrase of "Do not put all your eggs in one basket". I could not imagine if I put all my resources into one wallet and it got stollen wheile I am abroad. It will be a nightmare for me!!! So this system always works well for me whenever I had an overseas trip.
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My passport with Coach leather passport cover. I adore its green colour on this passport cover. And it is very durable as I have had it for more than 5 years and never had a thought to replace it.
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A blue pouch from Auntie Betsie where I kept brochures, leaflats, maps, receipts, hotel bill, etc..... The size is small so most of those papers had to be folded into it.
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A small fuchsia Moleskine notebook where I normally write down things I have to do and to visit during the trip. I also wrote down stuffs like hotel name, address, phone number in this notebook (this may become handy when talking to the taxi driver) and tried to record the shopping expenses as well (but most of the time I was lazy on this expense things) hehehe:P
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A pencil case from Jim Thompson that I bought almost 7 years ago during Thailand trip. Inside the case I had a pencil, pencil eraser, 2 black pens and small post-it.
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A matching pocket mirror from Jim Thompson which was also bought almost 7 years ago in Bangkok.
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A three-fold business card with keyfob from Cassy Lain Totes @Etsy where I kept the undergound/mrt card and its small folded network map. It is bright and can easily be found inside the bag. So I can grab it fast and tap it on the machine to get in and out of the station's platform.
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A make-up pouch from Tulisan. The pouch has the following contents: (1) MAC pressed compact powder, (2) Shu Uemure blush on, (3) MAC lipstick, (4) Shu Uemura retractable brush (for blush on), (5) mouth refresher spray, (6) foldable comb (I have a very short hair so I do not to carry/have a hair brush :p ), (7) tooth picks (I wear braces so these things are very important), (8) Japanese green tea sachet (it is good to bring and enjoy my favourite tea flavour in the morning as I can have the feeling of having breakfast at home), (9) bandaid (also very important as I walked a lot during the trip and sometimes foot blisters happened). Oh, I still have 2 sanitary napkins inside the pouch as a spare for those 'rainy days' (but not shown on the pic *too embarrassed*).
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A multifunction soft pouch from Auntie Betsie. I like to use this pouch to keep my shawl or thin cardigan or extra t-shirt. This pouch is good to keep clothes as it does not have a zipper so the clothes/shawl will not get stuck on the zipper and get ripped, and its shape is very flexible. Note that I always avoid to throw my shawl inside my bag 'uncovered' or 'unprotected' as I treasure my shawl ;)
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And lastly, my batik shawl that I kept inside the above pouch. It is handwoven and handpainted and made from silk. Very beautiful when it is worn over the neck and very very soft. Look at those details, dots and strokes which was handdrawn, handpainted (by using wax) and handcoloured. This piece of batik fabrics has undergone several manual colouring processes. It is truly a work of art and I am proud of wearing it.
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