We have all experienced a little anxiousness when we are staring at an exit door awaiting someone’s arrival, or searching through the crowd to locate one of our loved ones.  These scenarios often occur in airports across the globe:  parents or grandparents coming to visit, a spouse comes home from being stationed overseas, or a child comes home from college.  In my case, my “loved one” is my luggage.  At the end of every trip, I’m find myself at baggage claim staring at the little door the bags drop out of, and scanning the slew of bags on the conveyor belt awaiting its arrival.  Yes, my luggage.  Heck, I love everything that I pack; and I always thought that losing my luggage could ruin a vacation.  But recently, I found myself staring anxiously at the conveyor belt in Istanbul long after all the other bags and owners had been booed-up.  My luggage was lost!  It wasn’t found until the day I was leaving Turkey.  I learned a lot from that period of having no luggage.

1. Take Precautions

I tend to believe everyone is doing their jobs properly, so I don’t check things.  Now, after losing my luggage, I will always ensure that the baggage tag lists my correct final destination.  I will also take a picture of the baggage tags in case I lose them (which I unfortunately had when my luggage was lost); and a picture of my luggage (helpful for the lost luggage report).  I now also have travel insurance – a year-long policy.  It wasn’t that expensive and has a lot of benefits.

•  Minimize the Fab

I learned a long time ago that when you carry luggage that screams how rich you are (or are trying to portray); thieves in the airport industry hear you first and most loudly.  If you ain’t rich enough to fly on a private aircraft; tame your inner-Beyonce and keep your luggage basic.  I also learned not to pack things that are irreplaceable to me.  It’s tempting to bring my best gear on vacation; but I won’t pack something that would hurt me greatly to lose.  I also learned that I don’t need to pack every product in my beauty regimen.  Maybe instead of taking all four face-revitalizing serums, you can roll with just one or two for a week.

• Be Nice

The people who work in the lost baggage claim department are like tortured survivors.  They have GOT to have PTSD —seriously.  Nobody is happy when they have to see them.  So when you are nice, they are thankful and more helpful.

• What is a Necessity for One Person, Isn’t for Another

The two things I missed the most from my luggage: my du-rag and my pumice stone.  I’m a low-maintenance hair girl.  I take off my du-rag and roll.  I don’t really touch my hair, so not having my du-rag was painful (and I am sure you can guess that they don’t sell du-rags in Turkey).  Secondly, and yes I know that this is TMI (too much information), I missed my pumice stone.  All that walking I did had my feet looking like hooves: ashy and thick.  Literally, by the end of the trip, wearing sandals was embarrassing.

• Nicer Hotels Have Benefits

I stayed at a few hotels during my visit to Turkey.  The nicer hotels definitely went above and beyond in their efforts to help locate my luggage. 

• No One Cares 

No one really pays us much attention.  We kill ourselves to coordinate fly outfits but really no one is really noticing our attire.  I was repeating outfits, then getting them laundered at the hotel.  I’m positive that not one hotel employee – and likely none of my co-travelers on the trip –  even noticed, and certainly nobody cared.

• Enjoy your trip.  Don’t trip.

It sucks when we are not reunited with our luggage at the airport; but don’t let it ruin your trip.  At the end of the day, you are on vacation.  You are on vacation without your luggage – but you are still on vacation!  Enjoy!