The minimalist traveler.

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Started 2 years ago by rw86347
Latest reply from awurrlu
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rw86347
Member

The first time me and my wife (then girlfriend) went on vacation I was shocked at way she brought. I had a small roller and she had a purse! And I thought I was a minimalist!!!

I said "where are your clothes?"

She said I have my toiletries in my bag along with some underwear. If I want to wear different clothing, I can buy some! We went every where. On trains, taxis, shopping... And in each place I had my stupid bag with me. She was free as a bird.

I will never be able to be as minimal as her, but living in China has really changed my thinking. Now when I travel everything must fit in a backpack or shoulder bag. Every time I see a westerner carrying two suit cases I just shake my head in disgust. They don't understand! You will spent thousands of dollars traveling, then you take everything you own... just in case. Go minimal! If you are wrong you can always spend an extra $30 on clothing.

On my last trip I was cycling through the rice paddies of southern China in a pure downpour! I was soaked to the bone. After cycling I bought now pants, shirt and socks for $25. Oh well, not carrying bags was worth the $25.

I have two exceptions...

1) is I love taking my digital SLR camera with me. That alone add 10 pounds.

2) I need to stay in touch with my work and my daughter both require a laptop. I hope to do away with this with a new iphone and ipad.

Oh! And as a side note...

Avoid cotton like the plage! Cotton holds water, is hard to clean, takes up lots of room, and wrinkles. If you have few clothes you will need to wash them in the sink as night. That means they need to dry by morning, look unwrinkled and be clean. You can't do this with cotton! I wear one outfit and carry one.

I only wish I could find cotton free jeans! :-(

Rodger

Posted 2 years ago #
Sky
Member

That's a true minimalist woman!

Posted 2 years ago #
AJ
Member

Rodger, you have to check out Rohan clothing. The shop has been around since the 1970s and it has many items that are fast drying, i.e. overnight. It delivers worldwide.

One example - Men's Essential Trousers:

"They’re made from a tough, durable polyamide which has been treated with our highly effective Dynamic Moisture Control™ finish. It’s a lightweight fabric but much more rugged than appearances suggest. It’s also high wicking and extremely quick drying.

Washing the trousers is a simple matter of rinsing them through with travel wash. Just hang them out – and they’ll comfortably dry overnight. Needless to say, they require no ironing whatsoever.

They feature two spacious hand pockets which are mesh lined to increase breathability, reduce weight and minimise the packed size. One features an inner security pocket, the other a small accessory loop – which is the perfect place to attach your keys or a pocket knife.

The zipped rear pocket is a Packpocket™ into which the trousers can be packed for compact, convenient stowage and transport."

http://www.rohan.co.uk/

Posted 2 years ago #
Nina
Member

For some reason buying what you need new when going on a trip doesnt seem very minimalist to me. Yes, I agree that you don't have to bring EVERYTHING but why not just bring very little that if you plan right and wash clothes every few days will last you. Otherwise you will have the things you buy just pile up when you get home. Or what do you do with the things when you return? Throw or give them away?

Also I personally do not find it that easy to find clothes that fit me and I like wearing so I would feel stressed if I had to buy new things while travelling.

Posted 2 years ago #
bandicoot
Member

nina, i am the same as you. difficult to fit and fussy to boot.
and i loathe synthetics.....i know they are hardy and they wash and dry fast....but i haaaaate the feel of them on my skin.

i take 3 sets of linen/silk/cotton shirts and trousers to my own specifications, 3 camisoles, 3 knickers, a sarong, a swimsuit, a pashmina (instead of a coat), another scarf or two, a pair of clogs and a pair of sandals.
one on, one off and one in the laundry!

i take a tiny laptop, a tiny leica, an iphone, an ipod, bose noise cancelling headphones, a pen. hotels always have paper.
my toiletries bag is a marvel of minimalism....i've got those gotoobs and i have filled them with concentrated waterless shampoo/conditioner/lotion/scrub....all made by myself or by friends who dabble in handmade skincare products.
a kabuki brush, two pots of mineral make up, a lipstick, a lipgloss....a strip of painkillers, some tiger balm, some lavender oil. soap!

i take a few pairs of earrings.

this all packs down into a small timbuk2 laptop backpack and a small samsonite carry on rolling bag.

sure, i won't be cycling from place to place, but i haven't got the figure for it anyway, lol.

on the way TO a place, i take as many kilos of my own handmade soap as will fit my luggage allowance (gifts. bribes. barter goods).
on the way home, i bring spices and any really good kitchen tools that i might spot.
i used to struggle home with wooden carvings and textiles galore....but this year, i decided i've got enough of everything.

Posted 2 years ago #
trillie
Member

Chapeau! to your wife, rw86347. It must be an incredibly freeing feeling for her to travel so lightly!

In my heart, I admire that boundlessly, but I know I'm also siding with Nina and bandicoot: If I had known when packing at home that it would make sense to bring along item X, I would not want to buy a duplicate while travelling. I would also think that if I already own an X, it is possible that it's of a better quality than the second X I'd buy. Also, if travelling very lightly with a small backpack, I would hate buying something that doesn't fit into the backpack when it's not used.

As for the cotton: Yes, I'd also prefer cotton clothes to synthetics. However, if you are willing to pay more for great quality synthetic clothes, you can get some that feel very cotton-like while having all the benefits of synthetic clothes. On one trip during summer of 2002, hiking from Cologne to Heidelberg along the river Rhine and through the Odenwald, I had two sets of cotton clothes and would wash one set at night, and in the morning I'd strap them to the back of my backpack to let them dry until about noon, along with my towel. It worked pretty well, but then again, I didn't care who saw my underwear drying on my backpack ;o) And I know it wouldn't be appropriate for some areas or countries -- or during winter ;o)

Posted 2 years ago #
rw86347
Member

We don't plan to buy stuff, we just don't carry for every emergency. Usually we don't buy, but let me tell you when your trip requires planes, trains, boats, buses and hiking you don't want to have a suit case. Not even a small one.

Posted 2 years ago #
trillie
Member

Aaah, that clarifies it. In this case: Yay!

And I so agree on "suitcases are not fun". I love having my hands free, I'm a big fan of being able to lift up my own luggage, and I like having just one item of luggage (I cannot understand the women who carry a huge suitcase, a laptop bag and a purse, and then have to ask someone else in the train to lift their suitcase up into the over-head compartments while getting tangled in the straps of their bags), so one backpack is always the way to go for me.

Posted 2 years ago #
Mrs.Mack
Member

A 10 lb camera? *raises eyebrow*

I have a DSLR, and it's no where near 10 lbs.

Posted 2 years ago #
Nina
Member

Well I think it depends on the kind of trip you are taking. It's a big difference to go hiking or backpacking then going on a city-trip for a few days.

Posted 2 years ago #
bandicoot
Member

yes, different trips definitely need different wardrobes!
really, i cannot imagine going anywhere overnight without a change of clothes at the very very least.
i dislike wearing the same clothes two days in a row and i don't see how doing so would make me more minimalist.
more grimy, perhaps...

i've got a biz trip in a week's time...my personal stuff will fit into my usual two small bags and then i'll be lugging an additional huge case filled with equipment and raw materials for my workshop demos.
that's work though. i cannot imagine hauling gear around like that for personal use....it would make me crazy.

Posted 2 years ago #
sakruger
Member

My husband and I walked the Milford track in New Zealand and I *wish* we had gone the minimalist route. We had cameras and tripods (yes ... I know), changes of clothes etc etc ... the only thing I am super glad we over packed with was a 4L bag of red wine. You know box wine but we took the bag out and just carried it in our pack.

I can't tell you how great it was to sip a glass of wine after a 9 hour hike ... four days in a row. If you're planning to do the Milford track I HIGHLY recommend it and the wine ;)

Posted 2 years ago #
Lose That Girl
Member

Kudos for being able to travel so lightly. I try to only take the bare minimum but I still have one case with me. The thing is, when I travel for a holiday, the last thing that I would want to do is spend my time in my room hand washing my limited wardrobe. I want to see the sights, visit friends!

I tend to take things that mix and match and aren't too heavy ...and if there is some shopping on the cards, I will leave lots and lots of room so that I can bring my new holiday purchases back with me.

Posted 2 years ago #
Karen
Member

My first time traveling to Europe (for a ten day visit), I took a small backpack that doubled as a purse and a small gym bag. The taxi driver at the airport asked me where the rest of my luggage was. I told him that he was the only one who would be helping me with my bags, so everything had to small enough for me to carry myself. At the end of the trip, I was glad that I travelled light.

Posted 2 years ago #
lisetiffner
Member

13 lbs and no checked luggage is my ideal. I don't have to do laundry every night, but I'm not checking any bags or breaking my back.

Posted 2 years ago #
swanky
Member

I found that it sometimes pays to just ship your things to yourself for the vacation. If there are items that you can't go without and are not perishable/fragile, then think about shipping it both ways. It requires pre-packing and have them ready to go before the trip, so you have to plan ahead to do so.

Posted 2 years ago #
DKjr
Member

I recently traveled with my father who planned to discard clothing at the end of the trip as he purchased new items. We were in the same location for a week so we packed fairly heavy, but he left older shirts behind in exchange for the new ones.
I suppose my tip is to pack less loves items that can be donated or thrown out in exchange for some thing new, or to lighten your load through out your trip.

Posted 2 years ago #
HelofaMess
Member

Where do you live in China rw86347? My husband and I live in Beijing.

I struggle with minimalist travel but insist on a good suitcase. Rimowa is my choice. Our other problem is my travel plans always come together so I'm going to vastly different areas in 2 weeks. Last month we spent a week in Australia... half being spent in the deep south so it was cold and half in the top north so it was very hot. Then we went to Italy for a work trip. This meant we needed suits, shirts, smart evening clothes etc for Italy buy also jeans, jumpers, bikinis, tshirts, beach wear etc for aus.

Try doing that with just a carry on!

Posted 2 years ago #
vjb
Member

I love minimalist packing! I always travel with just hand luggage and it's so freeing. I don't really like buying new clothes en route though, so I pack a couple of changes and a bunch of different tops. If you stick with thin layers, you can fit in a lot.

My tip would be to try wool or silk knit clothes rather than synthetic. They're gorgeous, lightweight, and you can wear them for days with no smell. And to go easy on the shoes: max three pairs altogether, and try to make them lightweight.

HelofaMess: that sounds like a nightmare to pack for! Arrgh. My sympathies.

Posted 2 years ago #
rw86347
Member

I live in Beijing - 18600065366 (SMS me)

Posted 2 years ago #

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