53
it’s inthe bag
Asa journalistwhohasbeentravelingtoandcoveringcitiesall
overAsiafor25years,MargaOrtigashaspackingdownpat.
Learnathingortwofromhertechnique
pack like apro
howto...
Nomatter howmuch
I have tried tomake it
otherwise, the living room
inmyflat looks likea
baggage companyhas
exploded in it. Thereare
always several bags, in
various sizes, left open
on thefloor— contents
turned topsy-turvy, clearly
rummaged through in
ahurry. Therenever
seems tobeenough time
WHERE’SMARGANOW?
MARGA ISASENIOR
CORRESPONDENTFORALJAZEERA. FOLLOW
@MARGAORTIGASONTWITTER.
@
between trips toput things
awayproperly. So thebags
havebecomepart of the
living roomdecor.
I have threepieces
of bags I takewithme
onwork trips.One is a
sophisticated, hardcase
luggage. I usuallyuse it
for trips of oneweek, or
longer, to cover political
or economic stories in
cities likeTokyo, Seoul or
HongKong. It has two
compartments—onewill
neatlyhold suit jackets in
varying shades of brown,
and theotherwill be
crammedwitheverything
else: trousers, inner shirts,
andpossiblyeven jeans
on the chance that Imight
get sent somewhere
more ruggedwhileon this
particular assignment.
If theassignment is
rugged tobeginwith, I use
a sturdier,more sportybag.
It’sbright orange (so it can
be spotted straightaway),
haswheels (just in case I
findmyself inaplacewhere
I canactually roll it), and
will holdall-terrain/outdoor
shoes, raingear, waders,
bug spray, etc. It’smeant
for ruggeddestinations
like the rural areas of
Cambodia, or Laos, or
the less urban corners of
China. I use it for trips to
cover theaftermathof
earthquakes, typhoons,
floods or evendisease
outbreaks.
And then there’s the
small black rucksack— for
immediate, quick trips of
three to four days toplaces
that have suddenlybecome
disaster zones. It canhold
a changeof clothing, a few
toiletries, apair of slippers
andnotmuchelse.
Knowingwhichbag
a tripwill entailmakes
packingalmost automatic.
After nearly25 years as a
traveling journalist, I have
learnedwhat is neededand
what isn’t.As ageneral rule,
I onlybring items that can
be recycled, and recycled
quickly. Sohere’swhat goes
intomybags:
1
SOLID-COLORED
TOPS
Every top that goes intoa
bagwillmatcheverypair of
bottoms. Forme, itmeans
lots of browns, blues and
greens, all in solids. These
few items can createa
varietyof different outfits.
2
LOW-
MAINTENANCE
CLOTHES
I onlybring things that don’t
need tobe ironed. I prefer
clothes I canwashandwear,
or air andwear.
3
APAIROFSHOES
I packonepair of shoes.
I haveadarkbrownpair of
formal flat shoes togowith
the suits inmy suitcase. For
theorangebag trips, I pack
rubber boots.
4
THENECESSITIES
Nomatterwhichbag
I take, I will always have
a stickof deodorant, a
toothbrushand toothpaste,
wetwipes andabottleof
baby colognewithme.
Three bags,
three types
of trips
