Flying to Shanghai: Travel Gadgets

February 19, 2010 12:00 PM PST

by Heather Hopkins Clement

So far, so good.  The lines at the ticket counter and security for LAX were not that long but they were slow moving.  We departed a little later than the planned 9:24 AM departure, and I had to change planes in San Francisco before embarking on the long flight across the Pacific.

My general strategy for dealing with jet lag (going west) is to try to get on the new time schedule as quickly as possible.  Getting only 45 minutes of sleep the night before insured that I was good and tired.  As soon as I got onboard the plane in San Francisco, I took a melatonin and proceeded to sleep for the next 7-8 hours while we crossed over the Pacific.  I woke up about 10:30 AM (Shanghai time) well rested and well on my way to acclimating to the new time zone. 

I am enjoying trying out some of my new travel gadgets.  I decided to purchase a 3-piece set of Landor & Hawa’s Sub-0-G luggage.  It is some of the lightest luggage on the market weighing less than half the average bag.  (I can pick up the largest bag with one finger when empty.)  This gave me a nice cushion to insure my bags are under 50 lbs; no more redistributing articles from one bag to the next at the airport to make everything balance out or get stuck paying extra fees.  I used my new hand-held digital luggage scale to confirm that all was well before I left home.  It was nice to have that peace of mind before I got to the ticket counter—for a change.

For past cruises (2-3 weeks long), I have been able to keep my luggage to one check-in and one carry-on.  However, for this 4 week+ journey, I had to break down and add a second check-in bag.  I’m not looking forward to the luggage transfers, but I do feel like I’ve prepared most everything I need.  I have been honing a very specific packing list for these cruise voyages which I will share online soon.  So far, the only thing I think I forgot was to put my earrings on; so, I guess I will be getting a new pair of all-purpose gold earrings on this trip. I really try to be as prepared as possible, because purchasing all those incidentals along the way can nickel and dime you to death. 

I am still evaluating some of my other new gadgets—weighing the pros and cons.  I purchased some “travel tow” luggage handles.  You attach them to your luggage with Velcro straps, and the handles rotate in any direction for ease of movement which was nice.  However, you have to remove the handles before checking your bags in (to avoid any damage), and the handles are a bit on the bulky side.  They take up more space than I would like in my carry-on.

Speaking of taking up space in my carry-on, that is a major downside with my new “slanket”—not to be confused with a “snuggie” which seems to be regarded as the inferior of the two from what I read online.  The slanket is a good-sized fleece blanket with sleeves.  After I took my melatonin, I snuggled up in it for a warm, cozy sleep.  It is much more substantial than the standard issue airline blanket in terms of overall size and thickness which makes it much more comfortable.  However, it is quite bulky, so I am not pleased that I had to allocate so much space in my carry-on for this one item.  It’ll have to prove itself of additional benefit on other aspects of my trip, or I may have to reconsider bringing it the next time.

More on packing and travel gadgets later.  I have enough time to get in a movie and meal now before we land in Shanghai.  While I have been to Shanghai before, this will be my first time to fly into Pudong International and take the mag lev train into the city.  That should be fun will all three of my bags (and purse and coat).  Stay tuned . . .