Traveling with no check in luggage - share your experiences

[Jamesc]

On 5/2/2024 at 10:16 AM, therock said:

medications - I’ll put into clear ziplock bags

Medication is the one people should never put in their check in bags.

The other is their conference speech!

So many speakers had to say - I put my conference speech in check in bag and that bag is half way around the world right now!

[Jamesc]

I believe in traveling light. Not only bags but more importantly

the clutter in people's minds!

People's minds are so packed with worries and anxieties and bad past memories and its just so tiring and weighs them down.

People worry about tomorrow what will happen and cannot let go what happened to them yesterday and cannot forget all the bad thing people did to them  . . .

Yesterday has pass and no matter how much you try you cannot go back to yesterday and change anything.

And tomorrow hasn't come yet and worrying and anxiety is not going to make it better.

Pack light but most importantly de clutter the mind and enjoy a clutter free mind.

[Mkl22]

On 5/2/2024 at 9:46 AM, therock said:

@Mkl22

i applied for the apec but I’m not sure if I’ll get it in time 😅 

any tips on getting to the hotels?

grab, taxi or other transportation?

should be four adults including my trainees…

i use grab. but since you are traveling with Kah Kia, having APEC card also no use, unless you as the towkay want to abandon them and go faster on your own. 😁

i assume you will be staying at the conference hotel. so should be ok. Jams are super bad in Manila. make sure you go pee before you leave for any where it will be some distance away.

Edited May 2 by Mkl22

[Jman888]

my wife and i go for many short trip and will not have check-in luggage if travel to tropical places for 4-6 days. This is my trusted Pacsafe backpack that is quite good quality and safe for travelling, bought a few pacsafe produces like backpack, sling bag and wallet.

https://www.lazada.sg/products/pacsafe-vibe-28l-anti-theft-backpack-i811268458-s2700440138.html?from_gmc=1&fl_tag=1&exlaz=d_1:mm_150050845_51350205_2010350205::12:19482288611!!!!!c!!2700440138!241623206&gad_source=4&gclid=Cj0KCQjw0MexBhD3ARIsAEI3WHIkOOJPsruYR1PmjXFEkjgUPn4LdUbC9ac7JLXtlwE6f4SjdnQAmaEaAoMyEALw_wcB

 

[therock]

On 5/2/2024 at 10:56 AM, Mkl22 said:

i use grab. but since you are traveling with Kah Kia, having APEC card also no use, unless you as the towkay want to abandon them and go faster on your own. 😁

i assume you will be staying at the conference hotel. so should be ok. Jams are super bad in Manila. make sure you go pee before you leave for any where it will be some distance away.

Thanks, pee is very very important these days haha

I need a lot of peso?
How much to budget per day? 

[bsswan]

Arriving Manila, I normally jump in a Grab.

For a 4-8day type trip, cabin size case is more than enough (sometimes I even put my backpack inside the case, for daily use) but with SQ I know I get on the plane early enough to grab a slot in the overhead bin. If I have to carry a suit, this works for me also as I tend to roll it, not fold it, then not care about creases. Even then, hanging it in the bathroom when having a shower can help straighten it back. Failing that, just wear the jacket on the plane, maybe let cabin crew hang it up.

For toiletries, I take from the hotel though may just take a small bottle of mouth wash and my toothpaste - the small tubes in the hotel can be chalky and horrible.

The last couple of time I've been, the APEC queue doesn't help as the queues on arrival have not been so bad, and on departures the booth was empty (because also no queues) - even if I am travelling with others, I use the APEC channel since it gives me a formal working visa, not a tourist one. Security on departure is the bigger queue.

I don't know if it's still the case but remember on departure from Manila, you need an additional security check only to enter the building and this can throw timing out by maybe an additional 30min.

[therock]

I googled - no visa and no e forms to fill up to enter Manila ya?

[therock]

Thanks bro Carbon for his pm, I share it here for others to see in a summarised form

- traffic sucks prep 1-2 hours for time to and from Airport

- credit card works for most places unless it's roadside

- mangoes are a good thing to buy back

- I'll stick to fast food and the like for this trip.. nothing too exotic haha

- food is more salty

 

[Jamesc]

Short business trip most people use a 20" cabin trolly bag with the laptop bag on top.

If you come back to Changi on a Friday night you will see almost everyone queuing for a taxi with this standard arrangement.

[Ray7456]

On 5/2/2024 at 12:07 PM, therock said:

I googled - no visa and no e forms to fill up to enter Manila ya?

Travelled in October last year. They require this to be completed though i was never asked by immigration officer. At the end of registration, you get your name, passport number, a QR code and a reference number as acknowledgement. Not sure if they require it now.

https://etravel.gov.ph/

[Tohto]

On 5/2/2024 at 12:39 PM, therock said:

Thanks bro Carbon for his pm, I share it here for others to see in a summarised form

- traffic sucks prep 1-2 hours for time to and from Airport

- credit card works for most places unless it's roadside

- mangoes are a good thing to buy back

- I'll stick to fast food and the like for this trip.. nothing too exotic haha

- food is more salty

 

Their food not only salty, also very sweet. 

A simple stir fried vegetables can be very sweet.

Thailand and Vietnam food are many times better.

Edited May 2 by Tohto

[Jamesc]

No need check in bags, no need 20" trolly bags also.

My Korean colleague just carries his laptop bag.

People ask me doesn't he change his clothes every day?

Well my company agreement with the hotel no need to give us a discount but we get 3 pieces of laundry free a day.

So night time the laundry pick up will knock on his door and he will open just a bit and stick his hand around the door with the laundry bag.

3 pieces free means he can have a clean pair of socks, clean underwear and a clean shirt the next day.

If he went commando like me he could even have a clean pair of pressed trousers like me.

Travel light, travel smart.

[bsswan]

On 5/2/2024 at 12:39 PM, therock said:

Thanks bro Carbon for his pm, I share it here for others to see in a summarised form

- traffic sucks prep 1-2 hours for time to and from Airport

- credit card works for most places unless it's roadside

- mangoes are a good thing to buy back

- I'll stick to fast food and the like for this trip.. nothing too exotic haha

- food is more salty

 

Getting to/from the Mall of Asia isn't so bad. Can be done in 30min from T3 and even 20min from T1 outside of rush hour but I've noticed traffic along Roxas is better now than before COVID - don't know why but I seem to recall new MRT lines and a couple of highways.

Across the road from the mall, on the waterfront, some good food and bars with your choice of live music.

[therock]

On 5/2/2024 at 1:23 PM, Ray7456 said:

Travelled in October last year. They require this to be completed though i was never asked by immigration officer. At the end of registration, you get your name, passport number, a QR code and a reference number as acknowledgement. Not sure if they require it now.

https://etravel.gov.ph/

Thanks 🙏 

any other bros had to face this registration?

 

[Tohto]

On 5/3/2024 at 7:36 AM, therock said:

Thanks 🙏 

any other bros had to face this registration?

 

Don't remember I did this.... but that is pre Covid. 

[Lala81]

On 5/2/2024 at 2:14 PM, Tohto said:

Their food not only salty, also very sweet. 

A simple stir fried vegetables can be very sweet.

Thailand and Vietnam food are many times better.

The poor is really eat like mostly rice to survive one. Just some veggie and little bit of meat. 
So their food is very zhong kou wei type. Cos they just eat a bit to pei fan. And culturally and maybe their harvest crops, think they don't have much access to chilli? So their cuisine not the same as rest of SEA. 

was watching some CNA video on inflation in SEA. 

Edited May 3 by Lala81

[Tohto]

On 5/3/2024 at 12:23 PM, Lala81 said:

The poor is really eat like mostly rice to survive one. Just some veggie and little bit of meat. 
So their food is very zhong kou wei type. Cos they just eat a bit to pei fan. And culturally and maybe their harvest crops, think they don't have much access to chilli? So their cuisine not the same as rest of SEA. 

was watching some CNA video on inflation in SEA. 

They grow a lot of sugar. Maybe that's why all food add so many sugar.

[therock]

In Cambodia everything was covered in fish sauce 

the war killed so many talented people that their cuisine suffered badly