longest trip with the least luggage

[Walker]

In 1998, a friend & I modified Rick Steve's 21-day best of Europe tour to travel from Frankfurt to Nice, swinging through Freiburg-Stuttgart-Colmar, the Cinque Terre and Sienna, in addition to all the major stops on the Rick Steves tour. We spent 28 days, travelling by train & a few bus trips in Europe.

I brought a Tom Bihn brain bag & Rick Steves' civita backpack as a day bag/purse - both were 3/4 full at most. My friend had a 22-inch rollerboard that was bulging & weighed a ton & her huge messenger bag. We both carried our bags on board the plane.

The immigration officer in Rikjavik held me a long time and their custom officials literally went through every item in my bags. It was difficult for them to believe that I was touristing through Europe for almost a month with my less-than-full brain bag and civita backpack.

I had same experience going through Canada's immigration/customs 2x with just my backpack (not TB) a purse. Both times to visit family over the christmas holidays for a week or so.

Opps! Posted more than the topic.

[gmanedit]

The immigration officer in Rikjavik held me a long time and their custom officials literally went through every item in my bags. It was difficult for them to believe that I was touristing through Europe for almost a month with my less-than-full brain bag and civita backpack.

I had same experience going through Canada's immigration/customs 2x with just my backpack (not TB) a purse. Both times to visit family over the christmas holidays for a week or so.

What were they looking for? To prove what hypothesis? Especially for a weeklong trip.

[Maria]

Customs officers - they think if we pack light, therefore we must be carrying something really small and therefore really dangerous! Compared to those that over-pack and lug an insane amount of "carry-on" luggage. Those folks couldn't possibly hide anything in all that baggage!

Wonder if you told them - "I shipped everything ahead via Fed Ex well in advance" - would that ease their minds?

[Walker]

Who knows, Gmanedit & Maria. They can look through my luggage all they want. A good thing my bags were not packed full - shoving my stuff back into the bags was easy. As for their question, "these are all you have for your trip?" - I just answered, "yes."

I have been picked for full search at the airport also. So I either look suspicious or a pushover

I don't want to take this thread off topic. My apologies.

[Walker]

Who knows, Gmanedit & Maria. They can look through my luggage all they want. A good thing my bags were not packed full - shoving my stuff back into the bags was easy. As for their question, "these are all you have for your trip?" - I just answered, "yes."

I have been picked for full search at the airport also. So I either look suspicious or a pushover

I don't want to take this thread off topic. My apologies.

[flitcraft]

Back from China, I thought I'd report on my two day trip to Macau. To summarize: I was on a three week professionally oriented trip to China and Hong Kong, and had a gap in my work schedule for a two night trip to Macau. My luggage consisted of a Tristar and an Imago as my 'personal item.' The plan was to simply tote both along on the fast ferry to Macau. But, since I was coming back to the same Hong Kong hotel, I started thinking about whether I could go with just the Imago for two days. And so I did!

Here's what I packed: My Toshiba 13 inch computer in its neoprene sleeve, two short sleeved polyester tops, an XL Ichiro mesh shirt (for pajamas), knit shorts, an extra bra and two undies, and a skeletal toiletry baggie (toothpaste, toothbrush, comb, sunscreen). In the back pocket was the xerox of Lonely Planet's Macao chapter and a Macau map. In the zippered pocket was my Big Skinny passport wallet with passport, credit cards, and money. One inner pocket held my point and shoot camera, one my mini ziplock of meds. The clothing were done in a bundle pack format, in front of the computer.

Ta da! It was very do-able, as it turned out, though a tight fit. Good thing the buckle strap is adjustable! Once I got to Macau, the Imago was emptied and turned into my day pack for my camera, wallet, tourist materials, and a bottle of water. Overkill as a day pack, but it worked.

I could have gone without the knit shorts (they were an emergency back-up for my capris, which I ended up sinkwashing the first night) and I could have gone with just one extra top and one pair of undies, since I ended up sinkwashing once anyway. But given temperatures in the nineties and humidity not far from that, it was nice to know I always had clean, dry clothing to change into! (The Ichiro shirt is non-negotiable for me, but those less wedded to sleep shirts or Japanese outfielders could probably dispense with that, too.) And of course, the computer took up way too much room. I would not have brought it at all but for residual nervousness about leaving it in the Tristar in a hotel luggage area. (What if they put a heavy bag on top of the Tristar???)

So, Imago as a short-trip bag? Who knew...