Why would you want to travel light? Freedom. After having all of my and my friend's belongings robbed three times in South Africa, we had the opportunity to have to travel light and experience the sensation of being unattached to material items. Aside from wearing the same clothes in all our pictures (First World problem anyway), it felt exhilarating to walk around and not have to be anywhere to move my stuff, look over anything, or think about where you left things. Everything is with you! And aside from my wallet and iPhone, nothing else was of any real value. The clothes I do bring with me on trips are from thrift stores. The money you spend in thrift stores goes to helping and rehabilitating disabled people. It seems shopping in thrift stores would be good karma. Additionally, the clothes I do have with me, become gifts for homeless people or for those whom I see committing random acts of kindness. Traveling light allows you to focus your mind on your spiritual development and thinking about what's important in your life.
Traveling Light: The Abyss of Lost Luggage
Luggage is baggage; it can weigh you down and cause you to stress as you try to move around and figure out what to do with your belongings. At the airports, you see people checking in multiple suitcases as if they were moving out of the country forever. Traveling with large quantities of items has its drawbacks such as additional cost incurred by renting carts, paying bellmen, paying airline baggage fees, dealing with weight and item limits, and paying hotels to store luggage for you. There is also an element of mental stress created by having to worry about whether your stuff is safe, did you leave anything behind, did you pack everything you need, are people looking through your things at hotels, airports, transport, or anyone else who has to help you manage your cargo? Hauling around "stuff" takes away from the purpose of your going on a vacation in the first place: to relax and forget about all the responsibilities at home.
Once after vacationing in Central America, Copa Airlines lost my luggage! The first thing that came to mind was “big deal,” my bag is somewhere pushed into a corner. After all, how could someone "lose" my bag? Where exactly could it be lost, right? The staff at the airport directed me to the lost luggage office of the airline. In my mind, I immediately thought, “No problem. Even if my bag was lost, these guys will just buy me a new bag and pay for all my stuff.” Did I forget to mention the 100-ounce gold bars I was bringing home? Well, the office had several passengers standing outside, and no staff was present during the posted operating hours. Who could blame them? Who wants a job being a human punching bag for angry passengers who yell at you for other people's mistakes?
As I asked around, the other baggage losers told me they had been waiting there for hours, and if I wanted to, I could fill out a form and add it to a pile of other inquiries that were sitting in a basket on the desk. This was not looking very rosy. I started realizing that nobody cared about my luggage except me. I thought there was going to be someone here to pat me on the back telling me, "You poor thing. Don't worry, we'll take care of this for you," and I would have the opportunity to sit there as if I were at a psychologist’s session and blah blah blah myself into feeling better as I discussed all the hidden gems I had in my bag that I had brought back while on my month-long excursion, but instead, nothing -- no sympathy, no help, no recourse. I filled out the paper and added it to the pile. No one ever called me. Basically, the document I filled out said they would call me if they found something, otherwise, get lost! The paper did post an 800 number to call. It played a recording, repeating what was on the document I had filled out and turned in.
I never saw my bags, never received any compensation, and never even received an acknowledgment from anyone that the incident had ever happened. Lost luggage is one of the topics the airlines want to keep under wraps as it is very unsettling to people to think they might lose their items. Everyone wants to feel safe about packing away their valuables and loading them into a plane, but the reality is that human error exists, and inevitably your bags can get lost. The experience can really ruin a pre or post trip experience.
I have experienced several types of luggage issues. I have left the luggage behind. I have been charged by everybody who believed they were entitled to do so because I was making them haul around my stuff. I have had airline staff open up and take items out of my bags. I have had my luggage held for ransom by taxis and hotels. I have had other passengers take my luggage. I have had bed bugs and other parasites use my luggage to shuttle to different parts of the world and had them destroyed by weather. In most cases, you have almost no recourse. I tried buying travel insurance at an additional expense, but they often cover very little, around $100 unless you pay big bucks for a policy which defeats the purpose. Even then, I was asked to fill out lots of paperwork and provide itemized receipts of the items in my bags. Like most people, I did not have the original store receipts for the items I purchased, so I received no reimbursement.
In fact, once on my way back from Peru, I was told I had too many carry-on items, so I started stuffing my check-in luggage with carry-on items to save on fees, and the airline staff commented on how beautiful my souvenirs were. Well, guess what? When I arrived to my hometown of Los Angeles, all of my souvenirs had been plucked from my bags despite my having TSA approved locks on them! Yes, the locks were opened and after my souvenirs were stolen, someone was thoughtful enough to close the locks. Thank you!
Over the years, I learned that this is not a battle I’m going to win unless I wanted to stay home, which, for me, would defeat the whole purpose of living, so I adapted a saying I learned from Buddhism: “Water does not flow through rocks; it flows around them.” I needed to adapt and go with the flow.
It’s not the strongest, most attractive, or even the smartest that survive, it's the most flexible. After all, vacations are supposed to be for you to relax and set your mind free. I started by gathering intelligence while staying at guest houses, hotels, hostels, motels, and people's homes. I met thousands of fellow travelers, some of whom were on vacation for years at a time.
In Scottsboro, Alabama, there is an “Unclaimed Baggage Center” (http://www.unclaimedbaggage.com/) that sells millions of unclaimed items of luggage and their contents.
Check out Doug Dyment’s website OneBag.com on suggestions and tutorials on how to pack light.
Clothes
Need I say more?
This is where you will have to decide what you are comfortable doing without. This is where we all struggle. Pack natural, low-maintenance materials such as cotton. Bring neutral colors so you can blend in, and so you can mix and match clothes easily to make multiple outfits out of a few articles of clothing. Being a minimalist has its strengths.
That being said, when I pack, I pack no underwear, no socks, one hat, one pair of glasses, one t-shirt, one windbreaker that’s waterproof and can be used with layers of clothes to keep me warm or dry from the rain, one tank top, one long-sleeve dress shirt for going out or to use during the day to protect myself from sunburn or mosquitoes. I also pack one pair of cargo pants with removable legs that convert to shorts. This can be used for hiking or going out dancing. I also pack jeans, one pair of good quality black sandals with arch support (I use these for public showers to avoid fungal infections, going out, hiking, everything). Include one pair of walking shoes, in case you prefer using shoes when you walk through the brush. Bring a small bag of laundry detergent or a bar of soap so you can soak and wash your clothes in the shower when needed and leave them out to dry after your shower, or you can wear them wet for a cooling effect in hot places like the Middle East.
Wear the heaviest of your clothing during transit if you’re going to be charged baggage fees. If you are traveling somewhere where the weather is cold, then you will need to bring a good quality jacket. Feather down or jackets made of high-quality materials are lightweight and offer superior protection in cold weather. If this is the case, you can leave the windbreaker at home. Instead, bring two pairs of socks and underwear and a pair of lightweight walking boots.
I once traveled to the Bolivian Andes during the winter in shorts and sandals, the weather was below zero, and no matter how much money I spent, I could not get good quality clothes to keep me warm. All that I could find were wool socks and sweaters. These are porous, allow all the cold air in, and lose heat. Well, I looked like the Michelin man with five sweaters and all of my clothing on, yet I was still freezing.
Cold weather is the toughest to pack for. If you fail to pack right, you’re going to be miserable. I suggest investing in one outfit made of high-quality fibers to be used in extremely cold temperatures. These types of articles last forever, and they are extremely lightweight.
Toiletries
This is my Achilles heel, but the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the airlines have helped me on this one. You may put any sized bottles of liquid in your checked luggage. In your carry-on luggage, you may only have one quart-sized plastic bag. You may include as many three ounce-sized bottles as you can fit in that bag. I try to avoid checking in luggage altogether. However, if I am going to a jungle or a tropical location for an extended period of time (you usually get one free check-in for international travel), I'll pack a small bag to check in for items such as beauty creams, sunblock, insect repellent, etc. due to the fact that the quality of these products are typically questionable outside of industrialized countries, and they charge a premium for them since many of the locals don’t usually buy them. Try to pack just enough toiletries for your trip so you don't have to haul them back or give them away as tips on your way back.
I talk more in-depth of travel issues in my Amazon Book. Check it out here.
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