Travelling Light

last month

Airports are stressful places

Yesterday I took my parents to the airport. They are in their early 80s and they are going with very heavy luggage. They get 23kg (50lb) of luggage so the take exactly 50lb of luggage. Luckily this flight they were only allowed one check-in but if they were allowed two check in luggage they would have happily taken two.

Image: Packing light. What I packed for my two months trip.

Image: Packing Heavy. Getting ready and how much stuff do you really need?

But why?

What was really in that luggage that was so important? Honestly I don't know. I've been travelling for the past two months with a backpack and a handbag. That's it. I pared everything down to the bare minimum. A few changes of clothing, necessary electronics, necessary medication and hygiene items and that's it.

It makes life so much easier.

Why?

I can move faster. Literally. When I'm weighed down by 50 / 100 lbs of luggage it is heavy and its hard to move fast. Getting into a taxi is much slower. Going through the airport is much slower. Of course waiting in line to check-in the baggage? That was 45 minutes in a slow moving line with my parents. Today I'm at the airport for myself and there was certainly a long line up to drop off check in luggage but with just my backpack? Skip the line. 45 minutes saved.

Then there is the time when you get off the plane. I take my backpack and head straight for the doors. I get the first Grab when I get out and avoid the surge pricing when everyone else is leaving the airport. Most people are stuck at the luggage carousel waiting for their baggage to arrive. Add another half hour (roughly) just waiting for your bag to arrive on the carousel. Assume it does arrive, things do get lost in transit and means more hassle and aggravation.

Cheaper options.

It is also more expensive to travel heavy. When I was booking a flight to Manila? My flight was $45 because I had no luggage. My parents in law? They paid $95 each as their one 50lb bag cost more than they did! Even worse, my mother-in-law packed too much so she needed to pay an additional $20 for overweight luggage.

The fees didn't end there. When we arrive we have to take a Grab (taxi) to get to the hotel. If we didn't have luggage a basic 4 seater vehicle would be fine. With giant suitcases we needed to get a 6 seat vehicle. That meant the price went from P400 up to P700. Another $15 dollars spent to get to the hotel and of course another $15 dollars spent getting to the airport the next morning.

Overall I look at those bags and think they are making life more difficult, more expensive, and more hassle. They cost time, money and convenience so you can have your stuff. However, it also limits options.

A flight gone wrong

Last year when I came to the Philippines I came with my parents and they used my wife's luggage allowance, my luggage allowance and their luggage allowance. 8 bags all weighing 50lbs! Plus hand carry and personal item bags. I felt like a pack mule. It was awful. When we arrived in Manila we had to get all this stuff from one terminal to another and it was a major hassle. Getting a porter, waiting in lineups, and generally making life miserable. Things went downhill when we got to the next terminal as our next flight was cancelled. Now there would usually be the nice option in this situation.

When I travel light? I would be first one in the next airport. I find the cancelled flight. I get in line to get the next available flight (3 days away in this case), I get a document from the airline documenting the reason for the delay, I contact the credit card company and I get $500/day to spend on a nice hotel, food, and transportation. Big win for me.

When I travel heavy? The lineup for assistance was a 3 hour line which is unbelievably difficult to navigate with heavy luggage. We got a refund without compensation and had to go get a bus as alternative route. The bus took 14 hours and even getting to the bus depot required us renting a delivery van as even a 6 seater vehicle wasn't large enough for all the stuff.

Travel light: Get a 3 day mini vacation. Travel heavy: Get additional expenses and irritation.

More flexible options

Right now I'm sitting in the airport waiting for a flight to Iloilo. I found a last minute flight and a cheap, nice hotel so I grabbed my backpack and I'm on my way on a 24 hours excursion. I'm all smiles and when I arrive a cheap shuttle bus. If I travelled heavy? I wouldn't even consider a one day trip away. Packing that much and hauling it off for a 24 hours excursion? Way too much work. I'd be sitting in my hotel room today wondering what I'm going to do.

I love being flexible. I can come and go as I please without anything weighing me down.

That's a life hack that works in more than airlines.

Living a spartan lifestyle

I'm so proud of my son for figuring out that having a minimal lifestyle. He looked at his bedroom a few years back and realized that he had an awful lot of stuff and much of it he really didn't need. The stuff in his room gave him less space and more headaches.

What did he do? He decluttered and got rid of many many things. Sure a lot of it was fun, interesting or useful but he decided it wasn't actually necessary and its marginal value wasnt worth the space and clutter.

Now his room is tidy and orderly. He has more space for what really matters to him. His life is lighter and easier because he has less stuff. He still buys things but when he buys he thinks carefully and makes sure he is buying quality and something he will use regularly.

He has learned that travelling light on the airline or in life is a whole lot easier....

..... More than that he learned that many "good" things still have strings. His motorcycle? Lots of fun BUT requires maintenance, insurance, storage and more. It is a weight in his life and he needed to evaluate are the benefits worth it? In his case? No.

My son learned the life hack that sometimes less is more. A lesson that many people never learn, even when they are in their 80s and travelling halfway across the world :)

Sometimes I think it would be nice to have another piece of clothing or two while I was on my vacation. Sometimes I wish I didn't have to find a laundry quite so often. There are some downsides of not being prepared for every potential issue or problem. Still, I think I gain more than I lose. I'd be happy to get other opinions in the comment sections. Plus a big thank you to anyone who has made it this far. Thanks for reading.