What Sharmiela Mandre can’t travel without

Sharmiela Mandre lists out her travel essentials

I am always travelling. I practically live out of my suitcase. Which is why I always have a suitcase with all the essentials in it ready all the time. At the time of travelling, I only pack some additionals to it and I am good to go.

For some reason, all the places I have been to till date have been tropical ones. But this year, I experienced snow for the first time in London. And it was a dream come true. So, I have decided to go to colder places now, like Switzerland and the Himalayas. My last holiday was in Bangkok. I was in Bangkok for a two-day ad shoot. But I extended my stay for two more days and shopped like crazy!

Clothes

Comfort is key for me and I like to customise my holiday suitcase according to the weather of the place I am travelling to. If it’s a hot place, I love to wear shorts, skirts and dresses. But if it’s a cold place, I like to layer up with jackets, boots and jeans. I am not brand-conscious, I just pick up whatever I like. But I always carry a shawl and a sweater with me. You know how these ‘airport looks’ are trending today? I can never do that. On long journeys, I need to be comfortable. So, I have gotten into this whole phase of wearing track pants with a t-shirt or a crop top now, because they are super comfortable. Adidas has an entire collection on this and they are all worth it.

Make-up

Since I am an actor, people naturally presume that I wear make-up all the time. But I like to go make-up-free when I am travelling. I just put on a moisturiser with a sunscreen, BB cream (which has a light tinge of foundation in it), and a lip gloss.

But in my cosmetics bag, I always carry sunscreen, face wash, toothbrush, shampoo and a shower gel. These are my basics. Actually, recently, I have shifted entirely to cosmetics that are sulphate- and paraben-free. My skin would get very dry and rough because of the harsh chemicals in the cosmetics. So, I switched to chemical-free ones and I have seen a marked difference in my skin. I like products from brands like Organix, The Body Shop and Simple.

Gadgets

I am helpless without my phone. Since I like to read a lot, I always carry a Kindle with me.

This funny thing happened...

Once, I and my friend were taking a bus from Los Angeles to Vegas. This was a three-hour drive. In America, the highways between two places are literally deserted. For miles and miles, all you can see are barren land with some vegetation. Midway, the bus stopped at a motel and told us we had 10 minutes to use the restroom and buy refreshments from the supermarket. But the line was so long for the restroom that when we finally came out, the bus was already taking a turn into the highway. The man at the supermarket told us that the next bus was six hours later. So, we both went running after the bus on the highway, screaming for him to stop. But the driver, I guess, wanted to teach us a lesson, and didn’t stop. However, we didn’t give up and kept running, waving our arms, and screaming at the top of our lungs. Thankfully, he stopped and let us in. It was literally like a scene from a movie.