I can't claim to be the most stylish person to ever hit the road. There was that first summer of backpacking in Europe, when I brought along just one pair of trousers. There was also a sarong and clogs combo that I wore to an Easter church service in Birmingham. And the two - count em, TWO - bright orange cotton T-shirts I brought along to Malawi that I am convinced played a role in attracting a higher than normal level of mosquitoes. But I'm slowly growing up and my travels are evolving to include more business and formal occasions -but I still love my bare bones, carry on luggage. So exactly what am I wearing on my feet for special occasions?

At first glance, it may sound a bit silly to take a towel with you when you travel. After all, what kind of hotel wouldn't provide towels?! It turns out that there's actually a wide range of accommodations for whom towels are a luxury, not a standard amenity. Places like hostels and campgrounds usually require you to bring your own towel, along with some cottage rentals, university dorm accommodations, couch surfing, and even convent stays.

Even if you are staying in quality hotels with guaranteed clean towels, you still might want something with you to freshen up on overnight trains, buses, and flights. Lightweight travel towels are also helpful for drying your hand-washed laundry. So what's the best solution that balances comfort with practicality? 

Not once, not twice, but FOUR times this month readers have asked me about luggage tags. Do you really need to use them? What kind of luggage tags should you get? Where should you put them? And who, exactly, cares about this stuff? Um, that would be me - and you!

Let's pause for a minute and say a very special hello to all the folks reading TurnipseedTravel for the first time. This is one of our most popular posts for new readers and we're thrilled that you've found us and started here! Please stick around and tell us what you thought of this post at the end.

So why do luggage tags matter? I believe that it's often the little things that can make a big difference in travel. And while I wouldn't go so far to say that good luggage tags can make or break a trip, having reliable gear that makes your journey easier goes a long way in guaranteeing a great vacation.

​As always, I'm happy to do my very best and try to get to the bottom of things. Any info that makes your air travel smoother is good in my books! So let's dig deep into luggage tag rules, what to do about luggage tags at the airport, and more.

Playing around with the contents of my backpack is a well known favourite hobby of mine. Show me a 3-1-1 kit that needs reorganizing and I'll show you a rockin' Friday night! But not everyone feels the same way - in fact, most people hate packing! While I'd like to say they don't know how much fun they're missing, the truth is that there are a lot of seriously un-fun things about packing. Strict rules, tight restrictions, so many packing "gadgets" that don't actually work, and so many challenging destinations - no wonder people hate packing! 

Travel bloggers are no exception to packing frustrations, but fortunately their pain and past experience is your gain! I asked 8 travel bloggers to share their best packing tips, accumulated over years of experience.  So if you are driving from London to Mongolia, packing a carry on bag for Antarctica, smuggling a bicycle half way around the world, trying to look fancy on a cruise or backpacking bar, or just trying to keep organized, their stories are sure to help. 

Packing obsessed? Who, me? Maybe just a little! I'm constantly in search of the perfect bag and, at one point, I thought I had found it. In a previous post, I wrote that I was thrilled to have discovered the Osprey Porter 46 - but now that I've traveled with it for over a year, how do I feel? ​

The Osprey Porter 46  is the absolute lightest pack I've found. It weighs about 1.2 kilograms, much less than traditional backpacks and significantly less than conventional carry on suitcases. A big travel pet peeve of mine is "ultra light" carry on bags that actually weigh closer to 10 lbs! Carry on weight restrictions are increasingly enforced and this bag's tiny weight is a huge asset.

Can there be anything less glamorous and more uncomfortable than spending 14 hours in an airline economy seat? Maybe 20 hours on the world's worst train! Long haul travel, especially overnight trips, can be a challenge to dress and pack for and readers have been asking what I wear on my most tiring flights. 

With a dozen flights and an equal number of bus, boat, and train rides, our round the world trip meant packing clothing that was heavy on comfort and versatility and light on haute couture and accessories. Everything we wore and carried had to do double, if not triple, duty as we circled the globe, dashed through different climate zones, and tried to look reasonably pulled together. And I think nothing challenged my packing skills more than trying to figure out what to wear on all those extensive overnight flights. 

On my first trip to Italy, I had booked myself a hostel bed in the village of Finale Ligure. Up, up, up I climbed, hundreds of steps, until I came to the hostel's door at the top of the hill. Of course, it was closed for a mid-day cleaning! So down, down, down I went to kill some time at the beach. A whipping wind coated my sunscreen-clad body in a thick layer of sand. After a few hours, it was time to haul myself back up the hill. That was one well deserved shower! The effort it took to scrub off all the sweat, sunscreen, and embedded sand left me with remarkably smooth skin. Talk about a backpacker's spa treatment!

There's no denying that traveling can leave you gritty, grimy, and in need of a good scrub but I prefer to use something other than sand these day! Alas, not all skin treatments are so cheap and so travel-friendly. And ​I know I'm not the only traveler carting along bath scrubs and bath salts and trying to fit everything into my toiletry bag and 3-1-1 kit.  Now readers want to know if any of these products are carry-on friendly. That's a great question! So let's talk about exfoliating body scrubs and relaxing bath salts. Are they liquids? Can they have a spot in your toiletry kit?

It wasn't that long ago that backpacking and hosteling were synonymous with wholesome youths trekking between Alpine villages, porting external frame packs with large rolled sleeping bags strapped on top, using sleeping bags in hostels. Looking at old travel guides makes me think that every traveler was an aspiring mountain climber!

Times have certainly changed, both for budget travelers and for the sleeping bag, once a ubiquitous travel staple! The sleeping bag's role in travel isn't quite as clear cut anymore. Readers have been asking sleeping bag related questions and I'm happy to help. 

I love everything about packing. From the challenge of making my bag as small as possible to the excitement and anticipation, I feel like the fun of packing is an extension of the fun of travel. Even though I'm determined to pack as little as possible, I always make room for a few treats.  

Looking at it all written down, it seems like an extensive list of "treats", especially considering that I rarely wear any make up at home. But most of these items are tiny travel sizes or samples and, for the most part, they are very inexpensive. Together, these products will take me anywhere I need to go. Deep pink lipstick, dark lashes, and a smoky eye in Paris. Some bronze highlighting and shine buster in the Sydney sun. Glossy nails and polished, light eyes and lips for a Brussels hotel review. Rosy cheeks and pinned back hair to combat jetlag in San Francisco. The possibilities are endless! Here's what I'm packing in my make-up bag for our round-the-world trip: