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I Wish I Knew How to Pack Light for a Conference

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I’m attending the Women in Travel Summit (WITS) in Québec City! It’s taken me more time than I care to admit to pack my suitcase and carry-on back for the conference. I really wanted to pack light for a conference and travel carry-on only, but my personal item (a camera backpack) is too long, unfortunately.

I Wish I Knew How to Pack Light for a Conference

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Reasons why I Feel Like I Have no Idea how to Pack Light for a Conference

  1. There will be a variety of activities over the 11 day trip. For instance, there will be outdoor excursions planned during a 3-day press trip I’m going on to the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean area. I will also be indoors for two full days in a hotel during the conference. I know indoor air conditioning is often set pretty high (which means that I’ve planned to wear cardigans layered over a light dress or blouse for those days). For the rest of the days I’ll be either flying to or from Québec City for most of the two days, or walking around the city with tour guides.
  2. I’m admittedly indecisive. I keep going back and forth with the items that I’ve picked out to bring. Will I look too casual? Should I bring more blouses?

I’ve only been to one conference (Alt Summit during June in Salt Lake City, Utah) prior to going to WITS (Women in Travel Summit), so learning how to pack light for a conference will be a work in progress for a while.

For Alt Summit I didn’t have money to purchase items of clothing specifically for the conference and I also really don’t like wearing hot weather clothing (shorts, short skirts, tank tops). I feel like I have plenty of clothing options for WITS, but still feel unprepared.

What to Pack for a Conference

There are a few pieces of luggage/accessories that I wish I owned. I keep hearing about packing cubes. Packing cubes are soft mesh cubes that hold and organize clothing. I have some mesh laundry-style cubes I’ll be using until I can get my hands on these:

packing cubes

I have a camera/laptop backpack but wish I had something else for my carry-on luggage, since the backpack doesn’t fit clothing or much else. There are SO MANY laptop backpacks out there and I have found so many on the eBags website. This Browning Jackson Carry-On Backpack below looks promising, though:

pack for a conferenceWhat do you pack when you’re going to a conference? Once I’ve been to a few more and feel more confident, I’ll share what I bring with me.

How to Leave Room for Spontaneous Travel in your Plans

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You can call it FOMO (fear of missing out), with a dash of “don’t tell me what to do” rebellion,  but I like to have some say in how my time in spent when I travel. Spontaneous travel can work on its own or mixed in with activities you’ve planned.

I generally want to have some ideas for what to do and where to spend my time, but I don’t want to follow a rigid schedule. What if I’m checking out a cool museum, or heading to a restaurant and see an interesting looking street with lots of great-looking shops down it? I’d want to have the flexibility in my day to be able to wander around for a bit.

for Spontaneous Travel in your Plans

Even booked tours leave a little room for taking in other sites, or doing whatever you want. Yet, when I come across people who plan out every single thing they’re doing, they seem overwhelmed, exhausted, and generally seem like they’re not having any fun on their vacations.

Plans for Spontaneity

I think there definitely has to be a balance when it comes to making travel plans. [Read more…]

5 Dates that Don’t Involve the Indoors

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Feeling adventurous? Don’t let the weather keep you and your date from exploring winter on the West Coast.

Snowshoe for Two: Lace up at Sea to Sky Gondola and choose any one of five trails to explore on snowshoes. Take advantage of après in the Summit Lodge afterwards with a festive beverage.

 Outdoor dates: 5 Dates that Don’t Involve the Indoors: Sea to sky gondola

(Photo Credit: Paul Bride, Sea to Sky Gondola)

Mountaintop Ice Skating: Take in the views of downtown Vancouver from the top of Grouse Mountain, while gliding across an outdoor rink. Warm up in the Peak Chalet or catch a Christmas classic in the Theatre in the Sky.

5 Dates that Don’t Involve the Indoors Outdoor dates

Bright Nights (Photo credit: Bright Nights in Stanley Park Facebook)

Christmas Light Maze: Explore Enchant, the world’s largest Christmas Light Maze with over 55,000 square feet of illuminated sculptures. After completing the maze, check out the Christmas market that’s complete with food trucks and a licensed area with holiday drinks.

VanDusen Festival of Lights: VanDusen Garden will once again transform into a winter wonderland. Cozy up on the newly built carousel or take a selfie under the dazzling lights of the “Eiffel Tower” while snacking on roasted chestnuts.

Stanley Park Train Ride: A long-time classic is back for yet another year. Hop on the Bright Nights Train and prepare to be dazzled by three million lights and live performers along the way.

Britannia Mine Museum: Vancouver Excursion

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Sometimes, I really want to get out of the city, but still stay relatively close to home. The Britannia Mine Museum is beautifully situated on the Sea-to-Sky Highway just before Squamish. It’s about a 45 minute drive from Vancouver on a very pleasant stretch of road.

I’d driven past it many times before, not sure exactly what the giant structure jutting out from the side of the mountain was. Upon closer inspection, I realized that it was a a mine – no longer operational – turned in to a museum. Most people who drive the Sea-to-Sky Highway north from Vancouver are heading to Whistler.

Britannia Mine Museum: Vancouver Excursion [Read more…]

Celebrate Canada’s 150th Birthday with a Parks Canada Discovery Pass #Canada150

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Where will your Parks Canada Discovery Pass take you this year? 

This year, to celebrate Canada’s 150th birthday, Discovery Passes, which grant free access to Canada’s national parks, historic sites, and marine conservation areas for you and your family, are free! With almost 200 locations throughout Canada, there’s sure to be a few nearby that you can visit this year.

This Parks Canada Discovery Pass is only the second one I’ve owned. When I moved back to my hometown of Calgary, Alberta with my best friend for (what turned out to be) 10 months, we wanted to make the most of our time near the Canadian Rockies with a Discovery Pass. There are at least a dozen Parks Canada sites/parks within a few hours drive of Calgary. I’ll be checking out at least a few of them this summer when I go through the area on a road trip.

For the past few years, I’ve been on a quest to visit all locations of national parks, national historic sites, and marine conservation areas in Canada. I hope to visit at least 10 locations on my list this year.

Celebrate Canada's 150th Birthday with a Parks Canada Discovery Pass #Canada150 [Read more…]

Why Celebrating Friendships Leads to Happiness

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Because I believe that what we focus on grows, I know putting time and effort in to celebrating friendships (one of the most important things in my life) will bring me further happiness.

“It’s about taking those moments when things are fine and making them amazing, because those moments are what make us who we are, and they’re the same moments we take into battle with us when our brains declare war on our existence. It’s the difference between surviving life and living life.”

– Jenny Lawson in Furiously Happy: A Funny Book about Horrible Things

Living life to the full for me, is all about having adventures—big and small. While I could find joy having adventures by myself, I prefer to share the journey with those I love. My good friend Alex and I have talked about the importance of living an adventurous life. No, we’re not going to sell everything and backpack around Europe, or train for a year to hike in the Himalayas.

Adventure is a state of mind. Adventure is about wondering “what if?”—to get curious and take steps towards exploring possibilities. 

During this first year of our friendship, Alex and I had many adventures (near and far). Living in two different (and far apart) cities in the Lower Mainland (greater Vancouver area) has meant discovering new places and returning to familiar favourites each time we get together. And every time we get together we talk about other places we’d like to spend time together and travel to.

This anticipation in itself brings happiness. Anticipating adventures with my friend extends the joy of the actual adventure.

Why Celebrating Friendships Lead to Happiness [Read more…]

The Joys of Camping

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Camping is a great way to connect with nature. And a great way to escape from the noise, hustle, and bustle of the city.

I was introduced to the fun of sleeping under the stars and enjoying nature for more than just a day at a time, late in life. Like with many other things, my best friend Greg got me hooked on hiking and camping; my life has never been the same since.

Living here in Vancouver, I feel as though there are two types of people—the super-adventure-y ones who go camping, on long hikes, and who regularly enjoy other outdoor activities each weekend. And then there are those that don’t like going outside very often. Where do I fit in? Well, I love being outside, but I don’t like extreme sports. I’d go camping and hiking more often if I knew people who enjoyed doing so.

camping [Read more…]

Celebrating Top Influential South Asian Lifestyle Bloggers

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Whether aspects of South Asian culture (food, clothing, celebrations, traditions) are front and centre, like with Raj Thandhi’s blog Pink Chai Living, or they’re more subtle, like with my blog, it’s fair to say that South Asian bloggers have a unique perspective that we share online. We all enjoy working with brands on campaigns that fit with our food and lifestyle preferences.

Top Influential South Asian bloggers

Here are just 5 of the influential South Asian lifestyle bloggers that I have come across:

Tript and Prabh, sisters who run the lifestyle blog Footnotes and Finds, which showcases handmade finds, fashion, and travel. The sisters are based in Vancouver, B.C.

Nisha of Love Laugh Mirch blogs about food, life, culture, and home decor.

Raj Thandhi does a great job of making sure the foods, celebrations, fashions, and family stories she shares include a South Asian presence on her blog Pink Chai Living.

Parita of My Inner Shakti loves to share her monthly goals, weekend recaps, favourite recipes, and beauty products.

The Write Balance, written by Salma Dinani is a blog all about “parenting, motherhood, children, family, food, health, thrifty shopping, being green and life in general.”

And also me: I write about and create content around travel, adventure, vegan food, and self-care/personal development.

Are you a South Asian lifestyle blogger, or do you know of one I should check out? Let me know!

 

 

How to Plan to be Spontaneous

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Planning to be spontaneous—seems like a contradiction, doesn’t it?

The truth is, if you don’t leave room in your life for spontaneity you’ll just end up feeling guilty the entire time when you decide to ditch your to-do list or skip out of work early to hit the beach.

Instead of putting items on a daily to-do list, make one for the week. This one action will allow you to decide when you’ll do certain tasks, and leave you feeling less guilty for not getting specific things done each day.

Plan Spontaneous

OR leave one day a week completely unscheduled—just do what you feel like doing and see where the day takes you!

Here are 7 things I’ve added to my car’s trunk so that I am prepared for spontaneity:  [Read more…]

Vancouver Travel Must-Haves

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Like other cities and areas of the world, Vancouver has a distinct style, and there are certain essentials one needs in order to both fit in and make it through weather-wise. My friend’s girlfriend is moving to the city for the first time and in order for her to successfully make it through the rainy spring and the rest of the year, I put together this Vancouver travel must-have list. Whether you’re here to stay or you’re visiting, there are a few things that will help make your time here more enjoyable:

Vancouver Travel Must-Haves [Read more…]

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