What's Wrong With This Picture?
| THE PACKING ISSUE |
Sunday, November 5, 2006; Page P01
Don't avert your eyes.
You're looking at a packing nightmare. And you may recognize the scene from your duvet the night before your last trip.
  (Julia Ewan) |
We want you to study this photo, pore over it, examine every detail. Then grab a pencil and start listing the things that are wrong with it. By our count, there are at least 15 problems with the way this person packed his/her/its bag. For the answers to our quiz, click here.
But don't stop there. With the holidays approaching, we've compiled a guide to packing that will get you to Grandmother's house and back -- and through security as well. Lines at checkpoints and baggage carousels are growing longer by the day (the new regulations on gels and liquids aren't helping), so more than ever, travelers need to be cautious about how, and what, they pack.
Want to know the best way to prep your Samsonite? Check out our five-step plan (Tip No. 1: Lay out everything you want to take, then put away half of it) and an accompanying list of book and Web resources. See how one inveterate light packer was able to visit Thailand for two weeks -- two weeks -- and live out of a single carry-on. And if you're thinking of doing a little shopping, we've vetted some of the packing-made-easier products on the market (disposable underarm patch, anyone?). Plus we've tracked down the latest trends in luggage, from four-wheeled wonders to solar-powered backpacks.
Click here for a Web Extra in which Travel section staffers share their secrets about the impractical things they can't leave home without -- then add your own.
Everyone has a little dirty laundry, after all. You just have to know how to pack it.
