Moreover, concerns over what kind of food I would be served, whether or not I would get by all the passport control and stringent bureaucratic procedures smoothly, had started clouding my expected excitement way before my journey even began.[break]
It’s no easy business, I think, traveling. There’s so much to do, so much to think about – just so much work. So right now, in the pits of my traveling woes, I feel the need to question the validity of the whole travel light concept.
What does it mean to travel light, anyway? And if you’re thinking in your head, “What an idiot the writer is; does she not realize that it means to take only the bare minimum and absolute essential in your travels,” then I’ll ask you to tell me what exactly bare minimum encompasses.
What would be some items that you would absolutely need to pack?
I for one haven’t been able to figure this out, and as a result, haven’t been able to master the art of traveling light. Packing, for me, is always such a grandiose affair. Of course, when I have to leave the house even for a few days, every irrelevant and trivial belonging seems meaningful and important.
Now, even if I just list the number of essentials that most people like to bring along, it’ll prove my point that traveling is never light. It’s actually very heavy: sometimes heavy enough for you to have to ensure a hefty freight charge.
This was what happened to one of my traveling buddies a while ago when she exceeded her weight limit by a rather petty amount.
The aircrew was not even willing to let a few kilos slide by for my poor friend. The only option was handing out some Benjamins, and of course, it was nothing a few dollars couldn’t settle.
Anyhow, earlier in the day, there I was packing very selectively the most important pieces of clothing. I made extra sure that all the things I had were high on repeat value and were the handiest, most comfortable and at the same time, not lacking in style.
I was all set to “travel light” and travel comfortably for I felt it was high time I found out how to do it.
At the end of the affair, I met the weight requirements, had a sturdy carryon bag and seemed pretty much all set for the rest of the day or the rest of the journey.
But, as the day dragged on, and as the procedures and rules and check-ins and the lines started flowing in, out started flowing the entire travel light opinion.
Even though I had handpicked all of my outfits and the rest of the attires to go with it, ensuring that I had only the absolute essentials, my carryon bag felt as heavy as a rock and my handbag seemed as messy as a teenager’s room for I couldn’t find a single document I was looking for when it was needed the most.
It seems to me that when you have something like getting yourself from one country to another in front of you, you’re bound to get stressed regardless of how light (or not) you’re traveling.
Yes, the rules are hectic, the procedures too much. But wait till I tell you about another kind of problem that challenged my attempt to “travel light.”
The people.
Amidst all existing confusion, the people you’re likely to encounter in a long, long journey seem to be terminally upset, I feel. Smile at them, and the most you’ll get back is a stare.
Sure, not everyone fits under what I’m describing here, but I think I can safely claim that the tendency to be crotchety increases in a person when s/he’s traveling.
There are too many opportunities to mess up; so people seem to be on their toes at all times – not to forget the sleep deprivation and (for some) food deprivation that add to their cantankerous behavior.
Also, to be up in the air and to have to write back to meet a deadline (in line with the time difference) is some kind of experience, I tell you. But then again, it’s not always that I get to write articles several thousand feet above the ground.
Moreover, to have to go through all the transits in different cities with the changing times, changing cultures and changing policies becomes an affair too hard to keep up with.
I did try to make the whole “travel light” option a success: I attempted it and I tried to be as compact as I possibly could. Yet there was no escaping the burden of traveling, no escaping the stress that comes with it.
To add to this, all the loathsome checking that actually necessitated taking off shoes and watches were catalysts to further fuel my angst against traveling.
Given, traveling is awesome; also a given, it’s a lot of fun. But just to go back to the real reality of things, especially since I’m going through it at this precise moment, traveling continuously for two days seems a bit too much.
And there I was thinking the world had become one global village and how easy traveling had become all thanks to the indoctrinating concept of globalization!
Ayushma Basnyat is a student of Political Science at Thammasat University who enjoys exploring life and all that it has to offer.
Related story
Seven Star Int’l Travel and Tours launches ultramodern ticketin...
