Bed bag best bet

By LARRY BLEIBERG

Here's a hint: don't forget your bed bag on your next trip. That's what Heloise Cruse always has tucked into her suitcase.

"You know, your bed bag," she says - "the bag you always keep by your bed, with flashlight, alarm clock, ear plugs, eye mask and clothes peg."

If you don't travel with such accessories, you should heed the words of Cruse, a folksy newspaper columnist and one of America's most popular advice-givers.

Cruse is a frequent traveller, but you won't find her packing the standard black suitcase - she has a purple bag, to stand out on the luggage carousel.

Also, write your name on the handle with red nail polish, or tie something distinctive to it.

Travel is an area given to hints, and Cruse dishes them out.

Take her hotel room. The first thing she does is lock and bolt the entrance. "You're not the only one who has a key." Then she throws her key on the ground in front of the door.

That way you avoid the annoying search for the key. Plus it's right there if you have to leave in an emergency.

Cruse's father was an Air Force pilot. He showed his family how to travel.

"Pilots have a checklist - in writing," says Cruse. Travellers should have one, too.

She suggests packing everything in clear bags. If you're searched at the airport, people won't paw through your clothes. Plus, it's easy to see that you have everything when packing to leave. She also marks possessions with return-address labels. She once left an electronic charger in a hotel and had it returned.

But even Cruse can learn a new tip. She was surprised when one travel writer suggested taking transparent tape to India. It's necessary to repair money: torn notes are often given in change in that country, but merchants do not accept them.

Cruse says tape is also great for emergency hems, and for closing that annoying gap in hotel curtains. That's also why she packs a clothes peg in her bed bag. In one exasperated bid for sleep, she used the hotel sewing kit to stitch the curtains shut.

But Cruse's best travel tip is to adopt the proper attitude. If there's a problem with her flight, she'll talk to the airline representative.

"I say, 'I know you're doing your job and I know this is not your fault, but I hope you can help me'."

It's polite, respectful and effective, Cruse says. "And guess who gets on the plane?"

- NZPA