Travel Essentials | Our trip to Sri Lanka

Nearly time to go!  I am getting excited now.  Seriously, we are going to see elephants in the wild, we are going to get up close and personal with baby elephants, we are going whale watching and seeing the most stunning scenery, we will be experiencing a whole new culture, it is completely different from anything I have ever done before.  If you missed an overview of our itinerary and fundraising details for my daughter's volunteer work then you can take a look here.

I have been reading other blogs, asking for advice, researching our destination and thinking about the type of holiday this is (i.e. not sitting on a beach in a bikini all day) and now have a pretty good idea of my travel essentials and what I need in my suitcase.

Style
First of all I need lots of cotton and linen and outfits that are lose and cool as the temperature will be very hot and very humid.  I have lots of dresses but also trousers, shorts and linen tops - I found Uniqlo the best place for these.  I will always have a scarf/sarong in my bag to cover my shoulders, sit on or protect me from the sun and I have two pretty ones from Sweet Bea online (take a look at my post about bikinis, beach cover-ups and accessories here).  I will also need to be prepared for occasional rain and colder temperatures near the tea plantations and I will pack layers, leggings, and I think my compact ultra light down jacket (again from Uniqlo).

Scroll to bottom for link to a great Hush sale dress!

I've mentioned this before but I love my men's trilby from Marks & Spencer, this dress is last year from Accessorize and this bag is also Accessorize.

Gadgets
​I think I will probably take the big camera, but maybe the smaller lens?  The scenery in Sri Lanka is so stunning it seems a shame not to use the best equipment to capture it.  But I will have my iPhone for the quick snaps.  I will be reading my 'Rough Guide to Sri Lanka' a bit more on the plane and I have made sure I have plenty of travel plugs (for Sri Lanka and Universal) as well as a travel charger for my iPhone and of course my trusty headphones!  And I don't know about you but my specs and sunglasses get filthy!  Carrying around a bottle isn't ideal so I have lots of these spectacle wipes to take with me.

Headphones
Travel charger
Spectacle wipes
The Rough Guide to Sri Lanka

​Relaxation Time
I will however need to fit in sun lounger time and will need some good books, my sarong to protect me a bit from the sun and a quick cover-up, and of course we are taking a lot of sun cream!

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine
Nivea sun cream
​Scarf / Sarong from Sweet Bea

Beauty
I will be taking this fantastic dry skin cream from Gem's Cream, this is a great all-purpose completely natural balm that I can use on lips, feet and hands (anywhere really) and is particularly good for an eczema flare-up.  Of course I will need dry shampoo, the humidity and early morning starts will mean I won't have much time to fuss about my hair, so I suspect it will be tied up a lot, I have just had a keratin blow dry done to help with this!  No glamour this trip!  And I decided on the CC cream from Clinique instead of foundation, I always feel I need a little something but on holiday I don;t wear full make-up, and this one gives me a good SPF too.

Gem's Dry Skin Cream
Batiste Dry Shampoo - travel size
Clinique CC Cream

Preventative Treatments
This Sterimar nasal spray was recommended to my husband a few months back and has proven to be very helpful and we have recommended it to others, great for sinus infections and hayfever, it will form part of our medicine kit.  We have Jungle Formula DEET spray and Bite & Sting Relief as we will need it!  And then anti-bac wipes will be an essential in my bag, and I have a few small packs to take with us.  There will also be essentials like Imodium and Ibuprofen but they didn't seem fun to add to a flatlay!

Sterimar Nasal Spray
Anti-bac wipes
Anti-bac lotion
Jungle Formula

I'm very excited about this little travel pack of essential oils by Doterra from The Rainbow Rooms in Marlow.  I do get a bit anxious with travelling and don;t always sleep well but Michelle has put together some travel essentials for me and I can't wait to use them.

So that's about it, it's a good thing we bought some big lightweight suitcases, I never travel light!  I have bought some of those packing cubes to make finding things a bit easier, I hope, as we will be moving about a bit so won't be unpacking properly.  I also decided on a lightweight backpack, I can't see me dragging a stylish straw tote with me on sightseeing trips!

Scarf/Sarong from Sweet Bea (as above)
Hair ties (tiebandz from Sweet Bea)
Spectacle wipes (as above)

​I will be packing some protein/energy snack bars as well as our Chilly Bottles - these keep water cold for 24 hours and really do work!
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​Have I missed anything that you think I might need?  If you have been to Sri Lanka and can make any suggestions, do let me know.
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And do check my Instagram while we are away as I will be posting or updating stories most days so you can follow what I am up to.

​I'm leaving my son fully in charge of the house while we are away so let's hope I come back to it all being clean and tidy, washing and ironing up to date and the fridge fully stocked!  Well I can dream!  I suspect I will miss him a lot and be continually saying 'oh I wish he could see this / be with us to share this experience'.

Love from
Michelle xx


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Previous posts you might like to read:

Bikini's and packing for Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka Holiday 2018 | An overview of what we have planned

Just a quick extra outfit to share with you, this dress is from Hush and is now reduced in the sale to £45 (all sizes available except an 8) This isn't the clearest photo of it but do follow this link and take a closer look, it is so pretty and it has pockets!
Marina Dress £45 Hush

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