What to do with all your stuff?

My all in one 'important stuff' bag is always around my neck when travelling

One of my male colleagues prefer a waistcoat with many pockets – like those green or khaki safari ones with all the zips and buttoned pockets. And then I love watching him patting all those pockets when searching for his phone or passport or boarding pass because he tends to forget what he puts where.

I have a travel bag that fits around my neck with an adjustable neckband. This is important because when walking, you do not want the neckband to be too long because it makes the bag swing and when you are sitting in the aircraft, you want to have it longer so it can rest on your legs and not be in the way when eating or working on the fold-down table or sleeping. This bag is much smaller than a handbag (and you do not need to have it clasped firmly in your hand for avoiding it getting stolen) but do provide enough space and different pockets to accommodate my phone, pen, credit cards, tissues, passports, boarding passes, vouchers and even a few mints or other small things in neatly separated spaces. Sometimes I even fit my glasses into it although it was not designed for this purpose. Having all the things you need around your neck keeps your hands free, keep the important stuff close at hand for safekeeping as well as having quick access to it. I also carry this bag with me whenever I leave the hotel room. During the conference, I put it in one of the small pockets in my backpack, but when out shopping or exploring I keep it around my neck all the time.

These bags come in different shapes and sizes and colours that could fit any taste and I see both men and women use them. I bought my first bag at a mobile phone provider, my second one from a luggage shop at an international airport (they really have nice choices) and the third one I ordered from a guy who does leather work for a living and asked him to adjust everything to my personal needs (like the size of my mobile phone and the number of cards I want to include).