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Nothing gets travelers more fired up these days than baggage fees, and our online community here at Budget Travel is no exception. Over the last year, as airlines have ratcheted up checked luggage and carry-on costs, we've been privy to your rants, your anecdotes, and your tips on the topic.
We thought we'd heard it all.
"The more I've traveled, the more I've wondered if luggage is really necessary, or if it just sort of gets in the way of your travels," Potts said. "Without baggage, there won't be anything to get in the way of the enjoyment of the trip and the people you meet along the way."
So starting this week, he's putting that theory to the test—in the most extreme way possible. He's traveling around the world for six weeks, "without a single piece of luggage," he says, "not even a man purse or a fanny pack." The only creature comforts he'll bring from home—including a toothbrush, iPod, lip balm, and a spare pair of underwear—will be those he can fit within the pockets of his clothing.
Potts' trip will take him on a whirlwind loop from New York to London, through France and Spain, and then on to Morocco, Egypt, South Africa, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, New Zealand, Los Angeles, and then back to New York.
Extreme? Certainly.
But Potts is no stranger to pushing his personal travels to the limits—and showing his readers what's possible in the process. Over the past ten years, he's traveled to and reported from more than sixty countries. He lived and worked in Southeast Asia for seven years. He drove a Land Rover from California to the southern tip of South America. He walked across Israel. He cycled across Burma. He piloted a boat down the Mekong. And most importantly, he picked up a thing or two about solo travel on a dime along the way and shared those lessons with the rest of us in what many consider to be the Bible of independent travel, his book Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel.
It's safe to guess he'll pick up similar bits of wisdom during his "No Baggage Challenge," and I, for one, know I'll stay tuned to his online page to find out.
PREVIOUSLY
Interview with Rolf Potts on the "tourist" versus "traveler" debate
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"He drove a Land Rover from California to the southern tip of South America".????????
I wonder How he accomplished this trip...there is no road from Panama and Colombia.
Also, it will be great if he can give some tips or may be share his log trip with us.
Thank you...
Posted By antonio on August 23, 2010, 2:36 PM
@antonio, Land Rovers were designed and built for regions where roads are primitive or non-existant.
Posted By Andy on August 24, 2010, 1:46 PM
Continental Airlines recently lost a bag of mine filled with irreplaceable possessions. This bag was a carry-on – not a checked, a carry-on -- bag and was moved without my knowledge or permission from the overhead bin. No one has seen the bag since.
This took place on my way to Rhode Island to attend the graduation ceremonies for members of the Initiative to Educate Afghan Women. The First Lady, Mrs. Bush, was scheduled to be there and so, due to the nature of the events, I had packed some good clothes and jewelry and decided to take everything in one carry-on. A flight attendant helped me place my suitcase in the overhead bin a few rows away from mine
as the space above my seat was taken.
After the plane was taxiing on the runway, I was informed that the Continental staff had moved my bag -- supposedly to the lower storage area of the plane. In order to find whose bag it was, the Continental staff had gone into my suitcase and from my purse they got my return ticket and my name! Yet they did not have enough sense to at least give me my purse or to see if I needed anything (such as my medication) or wanted
anything (such as my jewelry) from the bag. Although they knew from my ticket that I had a connecting flight in New Jersey, they still didn't gate check my bag, which would have allowed me to retrieve it upon exiting the plane at Newark to make my connection to Providence. Instead, they told me that they had checked it all the way through to Providence and handed me a handwritten number. Unsurprisingly, the bag vanished, along with my jewelry.
This is the most bizarre action I've ever known an airline to take with respect to a passenger's carry-on luggage, and may well be the most egregious case of airline carelessness you have heard.
Still, it doesn't stop here. Now Continental is claiming no responsibility and have retained Fulbright and Jaworski to fight me. They asked for receipts of all items over $100 which I told them I did not have, so -- per their request and suggestion -- I supplied them with credit card statements and personal letters from store managers who have records of my purchases. I thought that Continental had agreed to honor this information, but absolutely nothing came of it.
They took entirely unnecessary, unapproved, unilateral action over which I had no control and which directly resulted in the loss of my property. There was nothing I could have done to prevent this, and now they choose to pay exorbitant legal fees rather than
compensate me for the loss they caused.
Anjum Malik
512-472-6666- Office
512-799-5044- Cell
a.malik@houseoftutors.edu
Posted By HouseofTutors on October 4, 2010, 8:37 PM
To Anjum: My sympathies. It's hard enough to travel these days without the idiot airlines adding to the stress.
Re: Rolf.
I'm sorry, but that's fine for a man who isn't interested in shooting photos of his adventures, doesn't eat in better restaurants that may require civilized dress, doesn't use makeup or even have to "style" his hair. As a woman, there is no way I would take a trip and look like a casual "vagabond". I can easily travel with a carry on and go from well-dressed tourist to smart-dressed diner, in 100% total comfort. My 20-something daughter can get away with a lot, but even she needs a backpack. What does Rolf do, sit naked in the laundrette, whilst his clothes take a spin? swim in the ocean in his undies? wear his dirty tennis shoes 24/7?
You have a WONDERFUL magazine, but this is one article that holds no interest for me. Otherwise, keep up the good work.
Posted By Martha on October 23, 2010, 2:49 PM