If you haven’t heard of Plukka, you’re sorely missing out. Â The classic-but-edgy fine jewelry, featuring diamonds and other precious stones and metals, are priced incredibly well. Â The company’s founder Joanne Ooi, is a natural fit for ERW as she’s based on Hong Kong and travels internationally. Â A lot. Â I loved putting together this feature, and I hope you love reading it. Â And note to self – invest in a Halliburton suitcase IMMEDIATELY.
Joanne Ooi
Founder, Plukka
I’m in between a minimalist and an overpacker.  I’m based in Hong Kong but travel quite a lot and spend the summer in Europe, where I have a house in the countryside in England. The latter is always hugely challenging because England tends to be seriously cold sometimes, whereas my continental peregrinations tend to take me to warmer climates.  When it comes to luggage, I use Zero Halliburton, the original James Bond aluminum luggage which predates Rimowa by decades and is totally indestructible. Rimowa may be popular but many of its components are weaker than Halliburton’s!  I have a full set, from carry-on to large size.
I always pack apparel first, then, shoes, followed by undergarments. At the very end, I add my toiletries, separated into wet and non-wet categories.  I generally avoid too much fussy, woven clothing, because it creases too easily. I roll. And am a sparing user of a suit bag when it’s necessary.  I never understand why a person would ever pack far in advance.  It means that you’d be checking everything you’d already packed AGAIN on the eve of departure, when completing the pack. Like most things I do, I like to do the job at the last minute, from beginning to end, in one session.
I always check in my bags because all my trips are international. Literally. Â Running to the gate is very stressful so I get to the airport 90 minutes in advance. If arriving 15 minutes earlier can provide great psychic ease, why arrive at the last minute? That last 15 minutes can make a huge difference–the difference between massive anxiety and confidence. Â You can’t avoid lines, although the Hong Kong airport is undoubtedly one of the most efficient in the world, matched only by Singapore. Rather, one has to accept lines and queuing with philosophical resignation. Anyway, in today’s world, even queuing isn’t lost time provided you have a fully charged smartphone while you’re doing it. Â Â I’m very fast getting through security, because I’ve been traveling a LOT for more than 15 years.
Many times before my flight, I head to the business class lounge. But, if I can’t do that, I go to the gate and just burrow into my computer or phone. Â If I’m at the Bangkok airport, I have a foot massage. Â I’ll always visit the book store. And, this is totally disgusting and, until now, a guilty secret, but I always eat Popeye’s fried chicken before departing from the Hong Kong airport if I have time! (This is one of the only times during the year I eat junk food, literally.)
In the air, I work. And, when I need a break, I watch movies. Specifically, I write Plukka product descriptions on the plane. I prepare for the flight by downloading documents I can work on. I take a lot of long-haul flights, up to 14 hours, all the time, and am a workaholic generally, so I look at flying time as an opportunity. On long haul flights, I’m definitely a window person. Short-haul – an aisle person.  Besides working on my laptop, I frequently write and queue up a lot of emails on my Blackberry, so that they are ready to be sent within minutes upon landing.
When flying long-haul economy (which is always, these days, since Plukka is a startup), I always bring earplugs, melatonin and a sleep mask. For that matter, when flying long-haul economy, I always try to schedule the flight in the morning or in the middle of the day, so that I don’t have to sleep. But, sometimes, that’s not possible — and sleep comforts are necessary. As I believe you already gathered, I can’t live without the computer or smartphone when traveling. On top of that, I usually bring at least 5 old International Herald Tribunes I haven’t yet read. It’s crazy but I never miss reading my IHT, even if it’s several weeks old.
– laptop – Eterna necklace – newspaper –
– Parabola necklace – scarf –
– suitcase – fleece jacket – BlackBerry – monogram ring – Helmet ring –
