If I was travelling in true vintage style I'd be carrying pre-war luggage and a copy of S Reuben's 1939 Travellers In India*, the essential guide to the subcontinent written during the Days of the Raj. With the book's help we'd be able to find a suitable Europeans-only club, hire a man with a horse-drawn carriage and avoid any petty hotel run by Hindus and Mohammedans. We'd be embarking on a four month voyage by sea with a chance we'd succumb to cholera on the way.
*Courtesy of dear friends, Lynn & the Welder.
*Courtesy of dear friends, Lynn & the Welder.
While the luggage isn't half as attractive, the guide is a lot more PC. The flight takes 9.5 hours and the worst ailment we're likely to suffer is a stiff back and swollen ankles. Fully packed, my bag weighs in at 12kg (and Jon's at 10 kg) so a simple tuk tuk should suffice.
So what's in my bag?
|Buddha print vest, butterfly top; vintage zig-zag halter; cotton bustier; Rajasthani mirror work top; gypsy top made from silk sari; 1970s Falmer waistcoat; black printed 1970s tunic - all bought secondhand (except the vest)|
If you're wondering, the mysterious eBay buy was the vintage denim waistcoat. My trusty original, despite being patched last year, was still more hole than denim. I'm tempted to burnt it and scatter the ashes in India.
|Four maxi skirts: Cotton Cottage block-print wraparound (bought new in India last year), black cotton gypsy skirt; Vintage Chelsea Girl block print wraparound; 1970s Dollyrockers skirt|
I've knocked the vintage maxi dresses on the head, I wear separates more. These cotton jersey dresses are easy and lightweight and perfect for slinging on for our early morning beach walk.
|Bikinis: Fringed blue (bought from eBay in 2014), Top Shop Peace bandeau (car boot sale), heidi klein (freebie, 2013)|
|Birkenstocks, Indian rose gold chappals, Charity shopped Converse (with gel insoles, they're utter bastards for people with dodgy joints)|
This Rajasthani fringed beast will be my carry-on bag, the Jaipuri leather cross-body bag used for day trips and nights out and the huge tote (I made from a vintage curtain) is for the beach and shopping.
A pile of sarongs (which we use as everything from a cover-up, a makeshift beach shelter, curtain or towel), a couple of block-printed silk scarves and an oversized, foldable straw hat.
Bags that can hung up are a must when you're staying in teeny tiny rooms and beach huts and I always buy them if I see them going cheap. This spotty one stores my jewellery, make-up and hair bands. I carry two pairs of sunglasses in my hand luggage as it's inevitable I'll break one.
Beauty stuff: I only bother with make-up at night and even then its kept to the bare minimum, creme blusher & black kohl. The lipstick is just in case, I rarely bother but this Barry M one is quite sheer and makes me feel a bit more "dressed up" just in case we have a night out in a city and dine somewhere fancy. When we're away I only paint my toenails, which I'll touch up if it chips. I do my own lash extensions and pack a few spares if and when they fall out.
Jewellery : You've already seen what I'm wearing to travel in, this is the rest of it and trust me, this is the least I've ever taken. Four pairs of earrings, tribal anklets and an armlet, a coin belt, 10 silver bangles, a couple of toe rings, three rings (I'm wearing the other three to travel in) and four necklaces. I know you can buy silver in Goa but over the years the prices have rocketed and, as we're not in the touristy North, the choice in the Southern villages isn't usually great.
Another bag that can be hung up and my groovy holy cow bag. What's inside?
Other than sun protection and the solid Lush Karma shampoo (brilliant for washing not only my hair & body but also our clothes) & Jungle conditioner (which doubles up as an ace shaving cream when I do my legs) we never buy toiletries specifically for our travels, we take what we've got and replace them when we run out. Most major brands are available in India for a fraction of the price we pay at home and we're doing our bit to support the local economy.
We use once a day sun cream. It costs more but you can pack less so its ideal if, like us, you travel around a lot. Calypso is a British budget brand and, unlike a lot of the costlier stuff, it passed all the British Standard tests for sun protection. We've used it for years, even in the blistering heat of pre-monsoon Goa and never burnt. (Wilkos seems to be the cheapest stockist). My face used to get horribly spotty in the sun until I tried this Once sun cream. I found a new, still sealed tube on eBay for £5, half the price it retails for in Boots. We usually buy our Aloe Vera after sun in India but this was leftover from the Summer.
First Aid & Essentials: Plasters, painkillers (just one strip, Indian pharmacies are cheap as chips), after bite cream, a nail kit & sewing kit, sink plug (pretty much non-existent in India, even in posh hotels) and a nail brush. In my hand luggage I'll carry the anti-bacterial hand gel and the almost empty Odomos mossie repellent as we land at the peak biting time (we'll buy more when we run out.). The tissues are another hand luggage essential, the toilet attendants at Goa's Dabolim airport are notorious for hiding the loo roll and demanding cash before they'll hand over a few sheets. Best to be prepared and beat them at their own game.
Block print bedspread we'll as a beach blanket, a silk double sleeping bag (a welcome luxury in our £5 a night budget rooms), a journal and pen, an up-to-date Rough Guide, camera and my (new to me but secondhand) E reader plus chargers. I've downloaded over 200 free eBooks so I should be okay.
Packed - but not snapped - mosquito net, torch, travel kettle, travel plug, enamel camping mugs, a set of fold-away vintage travel hangers and a cheap mobile phone (with an Indian sim card) so we can call and book rooms in advance. We don't travel with Smartphones, laptops and the like, if on the rare occasion that we need the World Wide Web, we go to an Internet cafe. We've also got multiple copies of our travel insurance documents, passports and tourist visas.As always we split our clothes between our two bags. That way, if a bag goes missing, we've got something to wear.
So what are our plans for the next month? Absolutely none. Tropical beaches, bustling cities, ancient monuments, vibrant markets, trains, Ambassador taxis, tuk tuks, boats and buses.....four weeks of adventure await!