Dave Sabol

There is an obvious gap between when I last posted and now. I can rationalize why in two broad strokes. The first was travel time. I left Hong Kong on Monday, 26 January 2007 at 10:00 PM (local time) or Monday, 26 January 2007 at 9:00 AM (EST). I touched down at SFO (San Francisco International Airport) at approximately Monday, 26 January 2007 at 6:00 PM (PST) or Monday, 26 January 2007 at 9:00 PM (EST). Despite the outward appearance that I was time-travelling, the flight across the ocean was still 12 hours long. Then after a couple hour layover in San Francisco, I boarded another “redeye” flight for Philadelphia and got in around 6:00 AM on Tuesday, 27 January 2007.

For me it was an exhausting trip home because I couldn’t sleep on the flights. Don’t get me wrong, I tried, but I guess I couldn’t get comfortable enough to actually sleep more than a few hours at a time. The flight was quite full, so there wasn’t any additional room to try and get more comfortable. Add to the lack of space the turbulence that we encountered as we crossed the Pacific and you can understand why it was tough to get some sleep.

I won’t let the less than ideal flight home tarnish what was the trip of a lifetime. I really felt like I worked hard and played hard and had the opportunity to not only represent my organization to the best of my ability but also learn and grow, personally and professionally, as I experienced Hong Kong for the first time. I can’t say that I got the chance to see everything that I wanted but afterall, it was a business trip and I was being paid to work, not sightsee. Additionally, I saw enough to know it is someplace that I would love to visit again and take Laura and Andrew along.

Having had some time to reflect on the experience, I know I have a long way to go before I become a seasoned international traveller. I have to learn how to pack for maximum scenariors with a minimal amount of extra gear. No matter how organized I am or how much planning I do, I still overpack. I have become a big follower of theOne Bag website and all of the advice and resources he offers. If you are planning a short or long trip that requires some smart planning, I highly recommend you visit this website.

Part of my packing issues revolve around my lack of good luggage. Sure I have some really nice general use luggage, but none that I would want to lug around if I had to. I really paid attention to what foks were using and think I need to do some research into something that will work for me. So many options, so little time. I also struggle with the fact that much of the work I do revolves around technology and I need to transport key pieces of technology with me (digital recorder, digital camera, web cam, adapters, flash drive, laptop, etc.) that I am unwilling to send along ahead of time. As such I carry a decent size wheeled laptop bag. It’s not giant, but it is one more piece of luggage that I have to deal with. When you take into account my primary piece of luggage, perhaps a garment bag for my suits (a man has got to look good when he is presenting), a laptop bag for all of my gear and then a backpack for reading materials, incidentals, passport, tickets, jacket, etc. and you can see where I am running into problems.

My goal prior to leaving for my next trip is to assemble the right kind of luggage to cut my needs down to 3 bags total, that means I have to think about what I really need to take versus what I am impulsively taking because it would be nice to have.

Other lessons learned…never underestimate the amount of time you need at the airport for check-in. If you think you need 2 hours plan for 3. Sure you may end up having way to much time but it’s far better than having to rush or missing your flight. Skype is also a godsend. I used it extensively during my trip to keep touch with my office and my family at home. If you are so inclined you can also use a webcam at both ends to do video calls, which was really nice because I did miss seeing Laura and Andrew. Finally, I think it’s tremendously important to have at least a basic understanding of where you are going. You really should do your homework as no two places are the same and it helps you meld into and respect the culture of the place you are visiting.

I’m sure there is plenty more that I learned, but for now I will leave it at that. My next trip isn’t too far away, so I have plenty of preparation to do to get ready. Until then, all I can say is that it’s great to have the opportunity to travel and see the world, but at the end of the day, there is no place like home.