No Baggage Challenge

I came across an ABC News article today about a traveler from the US who is 10 days into a six-week round-the-world trip carrying absolutely no baggage. None!

Of course his journey is completely sponsored, and the merits of the challenge are insignificant. And he is actually packing stuff – just into vests and cargo pants instead of bags. But it’s still pretty cool, and as a traveler myself, I hate him just a little bit for being able to travel for free and eventually for a profit when he no doubt publishes his awesome adventures.

Incidentally this man is Rolf Potts, an award-winning travel writer, and in fact, the author of the only book I squeezed into my backpack when I left the States for my own little adventure: Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel. I still carry this book with me and occasionally re-read excerpts from it to inspire my onward travels. (Thank you Peter W. for giving it to me!)

I am nowhere near achieving Potts’ level of travel savviness though. I left Seattle, Washington with a 12-kilogram backpack (just over 26 pounds) that fluctuated quite a bit in my first few weeks of backpacking. I can’t stand the weight sometimes. What the heck am I carrying anyway, and how does the weight fluctuate when I haven’t added or removed anything?! The latter will always mystify me.

As I became a better traveler though, I learned to keep it steady. Steady for me now is about 14 kilograms (about 31 pounds). This is still a lot of weight!

Long-term travel really only requires a few physical things: a passport, money (including access to money by credit and/or debit card), clothes on your back, shoes on your feet. Everything else can be purchased as needed along the way. It’s what you pack in your brain that allows for a successful long-term journey.

I’m not gonna sit here and pretend I’ve achieved this almighty level of backpacker smarts. I’m carrying around 14 kilograms for cryin’ out loud! There’s a lot of shit in my bag that I really don’t need.

Who actually *needs* a loofah? Dammit, it makes me feel good, ha!

If I were to break it down to MY personal bare essentials (yes, they are mine alone and yes, some of them are ridiculous), here’s what I’d have:

• Passport, money, credit card, debit card
• Toothbrush, toothpaste, body wash, shampoo…and maaaaybe that loofah
• Camera, battery, charger, SD card (I currently have four cards / 15 GB, and it’s not enough)
• Eyemask & earplugs (if you’ve ever slept in a hostel, you’d understand why)
• Lip balm (I have more than 10 sticks of lip balm amongst my belongings, but that’s a personal life-long obsession that I can’t kick)
• Travel towel (the uber thin but highly absorbent thing that barely wraps around my body)
• Just-in-case medication (which has come more in handy for my various travel companions than for me because I haven’t needed ANY of it – it’s for peace of mind, really)
• SPF 30+ sunblock
• Insect repellent
• Tiger balm for when the insect repellent doesn’t work (this menthol goodness has seriously been my best friend for awhile)
• 1 pair of flip flops
• 1 pair of hiking shoes
• Elastic hair-ties
• Sunglasses
• Clothes: 2 tops, 1 long skirt, 1 pair of shorts, 2 scarves, 3 pairs of underwear, 1 swimsuit (and for colder climates, a jacket, socks and long pants)
• A small notebook & pen
• And yes, my laptop (a teensy weensy Netbook that weighs 1kg) so I can write you this blog!

Didn’t bother with a hairdryer or a hairbrush and have never needed either of them.

Loved my collapsible water bottle while traveling in New Zealand and Australia. But haven’t used it once since I got to Asia where bottled water is the safest drinking water.

Ran out of my favorite Neutrogena face wash about six months ago, and have since discovered I don’t actually need it. Face wash is, in fact, completely unnecessary.

Didn’t use a cel phone for most of my time in Asia, and am only using one now because of my longer-term stay and job-hunt (eek!) in Vietnam.

I did all of New Zealand and parts of India & Nepal with very little prior research and without any travel book or guide. While that’s fun and exciting too, it really is convenient to have a book for reference. I’ve been using Lonely Planet (I know, I know – amateur!), and am told Footprints and Rough Guides are also excellent.

Mr. Potts probably isn’t cramming a guide book into his cargo pants though. And as a seasoned traveler, he probably didn’t make room for a loofah either (whatever, dude). In any case, here’s a link to his website: No Baggage Challenge.

As for me, I’m not quite ready for the challenge. I’ll leave that to the Potts man. He really is an inspiration. And I’m still a novice traveler who likes loofahs. But writing this post did get me thinking about all the useless crap I have in my backpack. Time to clean house!

But the loofah stays.