Travel
Well, technically traveling isn’t a hobby. It’s just something I do as part of my job and, well, happen to like doing. This is the page where I collect information relevant to my travel activities.
Packing light
Unfortunately, as more and more airlines are charging for luggages, at the same time, it’s becoming more and more difficult to carry a bag on board the airplane, due to TSA restrictions and what-not. It goes without saying that anything that looks like or can be used as weapon is not allowed, but perhaps the most annoying rule is their liquid rule. Since a lot of personal hygiene items (toothpaste, shaving cream, etc.) fall into this category, you need to take special care (I personally don’t carry these items any more and simply plan on buying them at the destination; some hotels provide these items as a courtesy if you ask).
Once you’ve made sure that your bag does not contain items like liquid soap that TSA considers dangerous, you need to make sure that the bag is light enough. This isn’t so much of an issue with domestic airlines, such as United, since if it’s light enough for you to carry on your back and it’s small enough (most small backpacks), they’ll let you carry it on. But if you plan on traveling internationally, as some international airlines have weight limits as low as 11 lb, your bag must be lighter than that. I’ve ran into, I think, a 15-lb limit last time I traveled to Europe.
So, to travel light, following is the comprehensive list of items to pack:
- 1 microfiber body towel (light and quick-drying)
- at most 1 spare pair of pants and 1 pair of shorts
- at most 3 additional T-shirts
- …