Contents of your Baggage

Continuing the Insurance series on from my last post, in which we spoke extensively about comparing and choosing the correct Insurance cover for your Vacation and  Business Trip.The short Business trip for a day or two will require a medium sized bag packed with 2-3 sets of clothes to change and a few toiletries for the 2-day trip.This will be supported with a hand bag and/or a Laptop bag .The hand bag may be packed with your travel documents and papers,files concerning the Business to be conducted at the destination. A family holiday will have more bags with ofcourse lots of essential items in each of the bag.Irrespective of the purpose of your trip-Business or Holiday, your baggage also travels through various pairs of hands right from the time of your arrival at the airport till you receive it at the Destination in the same condition as you had checked it in.First it is the cab driver,then the airline executives,hotel staff,bus staff and many more such people along the way.Given that the airline transports your baggage through to your Destination in one piece and in a good condition but you still need to safeguard your baggage at every juncture of your journey because there are plenty of chances that it can still be stolen after you have arrived at the destination-from the baggage hold of a taxi,car or a bus to the hotel room you are staying in also cannot be ruled out.

I sincerely pray that anybody encounters any of the above situation.It is certainly not an ideal scene when you are in a city thousands of miles away from home.The last thing one wants to do in that all important Business trip or a Vacation Holiday is to deal with lost or stolen baggage or may be the theft of one or many items from their bags,but this hazard cannot be eliminated completely.One has to be ready for such situations when travelling.You can minimize the ordeal by proactively taking some safe measures.This will help the process of making a detailed report tad easier if you capture pictures of all the contents you intend to pack in your bags before you finally take it along with you.

∇ Unlike olden days technology has improved by leaps and bounds.Back then there were no means of clicking the pictures and storing and accessing them immediately.We could ofcourse use the camera to click snaps but the pictures had to be developed in a studio and hard copies of the pictures to be kept on oneself all the time.In today’s times there are multiple electronic devices,digital cameras and smartphones available in plenty.These are very suitable to click and store the photos or shoot and record a  video of the baggage contents.Smart cell phones can take clear and descriptive photos and they can be on you all the time so make the best use of your cell phone camera which you will be taking with you.

∇ To start with click a good picture of each of your bag and the suitcase length and breath and different angles.This really helps when a part or whole of your bag is damaged or is missing.[here the travel insurance baggage coverage will help compensate the damage and in some case will also replace the bag].

∇ The airport is a place with an ocean of bags.It is only bags,bags and bags as fare your sight can travel. Big,small,compact,wide practically of all sizes and shapes.And many of the same colour to add to your worries!!! So how do you make your bag stand out in an ocean of bags ??? Chill…There are countless ways and ideas to decorate your Baggage.You can use a external luggage tag of an unique colour put your email address, first name and last name as well as a phone number at which you can be reached during your travel.You could even paint your name and address,contact number and place some special identifications or have a unique coloured bag.This helps you to identify your bag and retrieve it from the baggage belt or counter at the Destination from that huge ocean of bags. Use a unique colour and design for each bag.If after all this you still feel that your bag will still resemble the fellow traveller’s bag then make it stand out with fancy laminated baggage tags,fancy ribbons or multicolored ribbons and luggage belts.The internet is abuzz with ideas and unique ways to make your baggage identification easy

∇ Along with the pictures of the bags and baggage items it is always prudent to keep photocopies of your passport.Before leaving for an International trip always make atleast two sets of photocopies of the Passport.The first page which has all your bio details and the last page.Keep one copy back home with a trustworthy person whom you know well and keep one copy along with the pictures

∇ Arrange all the stuff and items-everything that you will pack into each suitcase next to each other,side by side on an even surface like the top of a table or on the bed or floor.Click a few pictures of the items from different angles

∇ With the latest technology at your fingertips,you can go first step ahead and perform a video recording of all the items repeating the names of all the items in the list.This will facilitate the identification of your things in the event of the bag being misplaced and found back.It will also surely help even in the event of the bag being damaged.Photos and videos come in very handy and act as solid evidence at the time of completing the forms for the Misplaced or Damaged Baggage report and while interacting with the Airline for the recovery of your Baggage

∇ Stock and save the pictures and video in a safe handy place and where you can access them easily when required during your journey.

∇ Also consider the option of printing a copy of the pictures of the bags and their items. A digital camera is very suitable to print a copy or copies. If you are filing a complaint for missing baggage then it is advisable to hand over one printed copy of the items and baggage along with the completed claim form to the Airline or the Police as the case may be and keep one for your reference.

Travel and Adventure is very exciting and it should remain that way.However there is a flipside to every coin and here it is the uncertainties or the adversities that arise due to a lost,mishandled or damaged bag which houses the most important stuff you require for the exciting adventure.None of us want to look at this flipside when we are busy enjoying the excitement,but we have to take measures to keep this flipside at bay by all means possible