Travelling light

Before I left the USA last year after a 10 year vacation, I sold, threw out, and (mostly) gave away nearly all of my possessions, keeping only those that I could fit into one standard-sized airplane carry-on bag. (However, unlike Christopher McCandless, I didn't burn my remaining money and hitchhike to Alaska to live in the wilderness).

Over the next few years I intend to travel around the rest of the world, living out of this one bag. I created this website to keep track of my progress, and to keep a personal checklist of the gear with which I will be travelling. I will be testing the gear as I go and writing about it on here so that others may benefit from my experiences.

Living out of one bag

Initially, the main reason for taking just the one bag was simply to make it easier to travel. Having a single carry-on bag means there is no need to check luggage on a plane, so you can arrive later and leave the airport earlier. It is also easier to hop on and off trains and buses (and no need for taxis either).

But there are so many other advantages of travelling like this. Keeping your bag with you all the time means it is less likely to be lost, stolen, or otherwise tampered with when it is out of your sight. If it has shoulder straps then you can also travel with both hands free. You can consult your guide book, walk in to shops, open doors, and so on. Having both hands full of luggage is an open invitation to any thieves who may be watching.

Limiting yourself to one bag reduces the amount of space available when packing, therefore ensuring that you bring just the essentials.

Finally, it is a challenge to live out of one bag. You quickly find out what you really need to live and what you don't. You buy fewer things as you travel as everything you do buy has to be carried around. Oh, and it's a lot cheaper way to live too!

How this site is organized

There are two main sections, the pre-travel checklists and the actual travel section which I will add to as I move around.

The pages are arranged in roughly the order in which the tasks which they document were completed. For example, the first few sections are on preparation (gathering documents, saving money, research, medical matters). The next are on packing (choosing gear, deciding where to buy it, and actual packing). Finally there are details of my actual trip (gear tests, photos and so on).

There are also a few links to some travel resources that I found useful, mostly internet sites but some books too. I will be adding to this as I go along.