Whilst traveling to Manchester from London for a long weekend on a cheap Bus ticket, my ipod dies on me leaving me musicless. We must be at least another couple hours from the final destination and to make matters worse, I already finished reading the trashy magazine I brought for the journey. Taking out my earphones, the feeling of dread quickly turns to one of glee as I start to over hear the most juicy x-rated conversations of my life.

“So he starts to run his hand up my leg and whispers in my ear ‘I love the patterns on your stockings, they look like little ladders.’ and so I said “They aint ladders baby, they’re stairways to heaven.”

I thrust my hand into my backpack and scramble around for two things, a pen and a moleskin journal. Small enough to fit in most handbags and backpacks, I never leave home without it. Luckily they come in packs of three too, so you can take them all with you, and keep one for doodles and sketches, one for writing profound travel notes… and the third? Thats for writing down juicy conversations, pet.

 Moleskine Cahier  Pocket Plain Journal Notebook (Set of 3) @ $7.50

The conveyor belt creaks to life and prompts the passengers of QF143 to inch further toward the baggage handling system. Slowly but surely, black bags of roughly the same size and shape burst through the serrated curtain, all littered with various ribbons and tags as a half baked attempts to make their bag stand out from the masses.

Passengers ponder which bags belongs to them, grabbing then replacing as they pull out the wrong bags and eventually grab theirs victoriously, or rather, leave with the wrong bag. Even worse is that all the confusion in the meantime could see your lovely luggage returned back to the airport only to be placed among the ‘unclaimed baggage‘ section.

Short of banning these black rectangular, suitcases with tiny wheels, there seems little else one can do. Many people have begun to flirt with the idea of different coloured and patterned luggage but the majority remain with the conformist black luggage that has started many an airport brawl.

If you’re determined to keep your black case, here’s some ideas on how to accessorize:

Luggage tags - stand out with funky shapes, rich colours and unique patterns. I’m loving these ones by MooMoDumpling

Scarf – Buy a unique patterned scarf from a charity store and tie it around the main handle

Ribbon – a small ribbon at the top just won’t make your bag stand out. Try cutting small lengths of thin ribbon and tying them on every zipper.

Get Crafty – if you’re handy with a needle and thread, cut out a shape of a fabric and sew it on to the front pocket of your bag.

If you think tying one of those hideous multicoloured belts around the middle of your case is going to solve your problem, think again. Unique, funky and stylish travel accessories plus your luggage equals easy to find luggage that no one would get away with ‘accidentally’ stealing!

After twenty minutes of walking, we arrived sweating at the Vatican City wearing our standard sleeveless top and jeans combos. We size up the line of the queue to enter the church with disbelief…

When in Rome…” I say, for the millionth time since arriving in Rome.
“Can you get away with saying that in the Vatican?” Bec replies. I choose not to answer

The line crawls for five minutes before we get to a sign. Women aren’t allowed to wear sleeveless tops or skirts above their knees.

Sounds familiar? It’s something you could come across anywhere in the world, be it at a church, temple, shrine, even just venturing through a city. Some places you need to cover up, be it out of respect for the culture, unexpected temperature drop …or just to get people to stop eye balling you.

This is when the scarf comes in. A rectangular piece of lightweight material that you can fit in your handbag will become a travelling essential time and time again. As I waited in that line for over an hour, I saw many a woman – from teenagers to grandmas turned away for showing too much flesh and thanked my lucky stars that I’d figured out the scarf trick.

They don’t take up much space, nor do they weigh much. As long as it’s big enough to cover your shoulders and any cleavage you may or may not be showing, you’ll get away with doing all the touristy things you need when in a city that might not share your fashion sense. A travel accessory must-have.

Pictured: Flirt For ASOS Heart Wrap Scarf £10

There’s no doubt about it. Social Networking is changing the way we use the internet, and the way we keep in contact with family, friends, and …strangers.

If you’re addicted to facebook, myspace, or one of the million other social networking sites, you’ll be thrilled to know there’s a new network just for travellers. Driftr lets you share your travel experiences - from reviewing a destination, to posting your photos and your experiences.

I’m always skeptical of joining social networks, as there seems to be a new one popping up every five seconds - and lets be honest - there’s a certain ‘time wasting’ element to all of them. But, as a resource for finding great travel destinations and letting friends and family know how your traveling experiences are going, it seems like a pretty good idea to me.

Theres been plenty of discussion online about it, so check out these guys posts if you’re not going to take my word for it!
Somewhat Frank
Earn Blogger
Bloggertrail
DanLin

Fancy Ipod covers

The ipod has become the travellers best friend. MyGloves stunning range of printed leather cases for ipods, mobiles, cameras, laptops and more will be sure to bring a smile to any travellers face.

Travel Journal

A travel journal can be anything from a beautiful leather bound book with recycled paper, to a slick notepad to a .. well.. travel journal. Paper is always necessary when your travelling and a great gift. Why? every time they pull it out of their bag no matter what city they’re in, they’ll be thinking of you. Aaawwwww..

Feet Treat

Travelling involves walking, walking involves feet, hence something for the feet is always good. Be it a pair of super thick thermal socks for someone venturing to colder climates, or a pair of Birkenstock sandels for the sun seeking traveller, having comfortable feet makes the world of difference to the traveller.

Stunning Luggage

Whether you’re backpacking in economy or holidaying in business class, it’s always nice to have one nice peice of luggage, be it your main suitcase or something nice to carry on. Check out Samsonites black label luggage. Beautifully made, the range features luggage designed by Alexander McQueen in glorious patterns and colours.

Travel Essentials

Get creative and make your favourite traveller a collection of essential travelling goodies, all inside a lovely (and useful) zip up bag they can use for cosmetics after. Some ideas on what to fill it with:

• Compact mirror
• Sewing kit
• Travel alarm clock
• Nail polish remover pads
• Sachets of face masks & small pampering products

The list could go on and on, but I’ve got my christmas shopping to do.. So best of luck - and Happy Holidays!

Need a mini sewing kit to take away with you? How ’bout making your own from a sexy matchbox? I saw this real simple contraption on… umm… Real Simple site and thought it was a small stroke of genius.

Just take your standard match box, or the slimline type given away by the more fashionable type bars, add a couple of needles, thread, safety pins and buttons and hey presto - instant travel sewing kit.

Definitely something I’ll be trying next time I travel!

It’s not often you find a corkscrew with a 10 year warranty. It’s also not often you find a corkscrew for $125, which is exactly how much a VIP Rabbit will set you back.

A corkscrew has definitely made my list of travel essentials. Sure, they are fairly cheap to buy any the same the world over, but anyone who has tried to purchase a wine or bottle opener late at night in a non-english-speaking foreign country and attempted to mime the action of a corkscrew to confused locals will know: it’s easier just to take one with you.

I don’t know about you, but when I hear the words corkscrew and Rabbit in the same sentence, I don’t immediately think of opening bottles of wine… but maybe thats just me.

Regardless of whether you drop a hundred bucks on this ergonomically designed beauty that opens a bottle in 3 seconds flat, or pick up an el-cheapo from a 99 cent store, a corkscrew is an essential for all travelling nomads.

VIP Rabbit Corkscrew $124.99 @ Metrokane

As a bit of an *ahem* writer and jewellery lover, I’m slightly excited by any fashion accessories inspired by the font world.

Created by Ward Wallau, this wood and sterling silver stunner is available in all 26 letters of the alphabet as well as number 1-9, and even a couple of your favourite punctuations. And yes, these are pieces from an original printing press.

Now you may be thinking, “what does this have to do with travelling?” and the answer is not much.. but gosh, it’s lovely.

If you’re watching, Santa, I’ve been good all year…

Personalized Letter Press Necklace $62  @ Uncommon Goods

Things aren’t looking too good in the English winter and my traveling feet are itching! But, seeing as there’s no chance in me having a holiday, I thought I’d find the most amazing destination drool to make myself go green with envy. Tiamo Resort is not only a beautiful, eco-friendly collection of bunglows, it’s also located on the breathtaking South Andros island in the Bahamas.

Featured on Mr & Mrs Smith, this gorgeous beach escape is just the ticket to get rid of those winter blues! Now, if only someone would fly me over there to give them a first hand review!

The details:

How much is it?

$630-$890, including all meals, snacks and soft drinks.

What can I do there?

Have an adventure on a trimaran boat, get snorkelling in the crystal clear water, go kayaking, or simply indulge and relax with great food and therapeutic massages.

What makes it special?

Apart from the idyllic setting, the beautiful eco-friendly resort is completely run by solar power and has no phones, internet or TVs in rooms. Now that’s a resort that can truly offer you an escape from the daily grind!

If you’re going to have to nap on a plane, nap in style. Whilst fellow travelers choose to have their sleeping eye lids naked or covered by a free eye mask from the in flight goody bag, I simply prefer cashmere, dahhhhling!

Grey is huge this season and the pink trim is an elegant detail. Because it’s cashmere its super soft on your eyes and as the strap is cashmere as well, they’ll be no irritating ‘hair lines’ left behind like the elasticated straps on most eye masks tend to do.

It’s got my thumbs up for luxe travel accessories - how about yours?

Eye Mask, £14 @ Oliver Bonas