Hello! The autumn chill has set in where I live in Canada and I’m ready to hide under many layers until the sun reappears. I even saw snow while I was away! Nothing could have prepared me for that. Anyhoo, let’s talk travel plans, preferably to somewhere warm, along with Christmas gift ideas for your favourite travelers (AHEM). Thanks for reading The Packing List, have a great week!

News you can use

• • A family of otters was spotted near a boarding aircraft at Singapore’s Changi Airport. The airport took full advantage of the opportunity.
  • A suitcase containing £1 million worth of rubies, emeralds, and other stones was stolen from a luggage rack on a train. I, for one, always keep my emeralds on me…
  • Canada’s Air Transat is cancelling their winter flights to Puerto Rico, due to Hurricane Maria recovery.
  • The US government is making it more difficult for its citizens to travel to Cuba. Visitors will once again be required to go as part of organized tour groups. Canadians and everyone else can continue to visit Cuba however they want.
  • Here are 12 other ways the US government has changed global tourismthis year.
  • The Victoria’s Secret fashion show, scheduled for later this month in Shanghai, is turning into a glorious poo-show because the Chinese government is denying visas to models, performers, fashion bloggers, and imposing controls over every aspect of the event. Imagine that!
  • This story happened more than a week ago, but I still love it. A Qatar Airways plane had to make an unscheduled landing after an unruly passenger couldn’t be managed. The reason the passenger was unruly? She found out mid-flight her husband was having an affair.
  • Between July and September, US airlines bumped passengers at the lowest rate since they started keeping track of such things in the 1990s, particularly noteworthy after a series of high-profile incidents. Yes, we are the point of celebrating literally anything that isn’t a garbage fire in 2017.
  • If only every romantic misadventure had such hilarious consequences:

Packing lists and tips

• How to pack wine (or any alcohol, really) for upcoming holiday travel.
• Travel Fashion Girl, a packing site I regularly read, has developed her own multi-functional carry-on compliant, packing cube system. She has a promo deal on now for pre-orders (I get nothing for mentioning this), or you can just check out all of the ways you can organize your own things.
• It’s a light week for packing, but in the coming weeks, I’ll have tips for packing for winter travel, as well as holiday gift suggestions for your favourite travelers!

 Armchair travel & inspiration

• If you aren’t sure where to begin with planning a city break, particularly in Europe, here is a great process to get you started.
• The Guardian shares reader tips for the best winter travel in Europe.
• The Travel Risk Map for 2018 is out. Enter your destination and get up to date assessments of health, road safety, and security risks.
• If you’re traveling over the holidays, start planning now. Get travel insurance if you don’t have coverage, including health insurance for international travel. If you’re heading to Europe, monitor labour situations at airports, airlines, and rail companies. I’ve been seeing a lot of threats of labour disruptions. Also, monitor country reports for safety and security notices.

Zipping the suitcase

Tell me what you think about the newsletter by sending a message directly to bitesizedtravel@gmail.com. Find out more about where I travel here on http://bitesizedtravel.ca. See you next week!