“When preparing to travel, lay out all your clothes and all your money. Then take half the clothes and twice the money.” – Susan Heller
Writer Susan Heller from the New York Times supplies today’s quote. It’s fun, light hearted quote – But speaking from my own experience, a more true word has never been spoken. On my initial trip (which lasted about 12 months in total) I took a backpack which was 70L, Rucksack sizes work in litres, as in the amount of litres it would take to fill the thing. It’s hard to imagine how much 70L is, for myself it is at least as I don’t generally measure much else in this manner, But its alot. Actually let’s have a look;
Boarding A Taxi In Fiji
That’s my well worn and much loved bag on the left, It would be an ongoing love/hate relationship that we came to share with one another. They’re a joy to chuck on your back, straight out the airport without searching for a trolley adding to that sense of freedom. They’re a pain to navigate 5th avenue in Manhattan with, Which one poor lady can attest to after unfortunately stepping out unexpectedly in front of me. As I now weighed twice as much that’s twice as much mass moving forward, and twice as much to stop, poor lady never even saw me coming.
Now I imagine seasoned travelers may be snickering about my naivety the first time round. But hey, I thought I might have needed that winter coat in Fiji (See Photo Above!) I learn’t my lesson quick and by the end of the trip I had streamlined my gear to less than 50% of the stuff I started off with. The following year I spent going around Europe I actually got my supplies down to a small wheeled suitcase, the kind you see business men frantically pulling behind them at any airport in the world. The upside was that didn’t need to check the thing in. Although convenient it for me at least, lost some of it’s charm – love it or loath it the backpack is part and parcel of the adventure. When your away for long periods of time it becomes one of very few constants that you experience, something familiar to return to at the end of the day. A backpack becomes more than a piece of luggage.
So this time around the backpack is making its triumphant (and overdue) return!
Hurrah!
Although I still own my big backpack, taking it is not really an option (I think a family of four might have moved into it by now anyway, selling goods out the front pocket) I needed to go small, Much smaller. I would like to say I did some research, a few sums and came out with a figure of 35L for my new backpack, but I couldn’t do that – I would be lying to you all. My technical calculations went something like this – if I got rid of 50% of my stuff the first time round, than get a bag 50% of its size right? Good, glad the hard bit is out of the way. Slipping into a bag 35L at my local camping shop was reminiscent of putting on a school bag, the thing is small. Where on earth was I going to put my scarf and woolly hat just in-case India is struck by a sudden and freak blizzard leading into the summer? and although many thousands of miles from the ocean where were my snorkels and flippers going to fit?
Of course being a realist a 35L pack was ideal, small enough to have on my back without causing too much discomfort, I could take it with me into bathrooms stalls as this time around I would be traveling alone and would have nobody to watch my stuff. After a little hunting on the Internet I found this little bag by Karrimor (The makers of my first pack) for a bargain price £20, I’m chuffed.
Now lets see what goes into the thing! I got the half the clothes bit done Mrs Heller, Just the small problem of getting twice the money.
