[quote=“Loretta”]Glancing at my passport recently, I noticed that I haven’t left Taiwan for ages - despite promising to do so permanently every week for the last eight years.
So I go online, discover Air Asia, and miraculously my credit card actually works long enough for me to book a flight. Great! I’m off to Kota Kinabalu in a few days. Probably.
Now I’m sitting here like a retard. I got to a page that says ‘reservation confirmed’ but I can’t actually remember ever having done this before. I’ve always bought tickets from someone who provided me at the very least with a piece of paper saying that they sold me a ticket. I’m a bit lost. Is that it? Do I just show up at the airport and tell them my name?
Please don’t tell anyone I’m posting this, as I’m a seasoned world traveller with a reputation to maintain. If word gets out that I don’t know how to buy a ticket, I’ll lose about a million backpack-cred points.
Please tell me what to do![/quote]
real backpackers don’t buy tickets online, they don’t own credit cards.
My backpacking days are over. What’s the point in carrying your stuff when it can follow behind you on little wheels? It’s not like you’re going to be climbing any bloody mountains on the way to the hotel, is it now? Backpacks are stupid.
And I always had a credit card during my stupid era. I remember losing them, and activating the emergency cash and replacement service, while romping in a haystack with a Swedish girl on a remote island in Greece. No mobile phones or even direct dial telephones in those days. I had to queue at the Post Office and wait for a line so I could call the card centre. But they managged to arrrange some emergency cash for me.
Thank God* for credit cards, that’s all I can say. And Swedish girls.
And don’t forget that all of the destinations in the Eastern hemisphere are now called Asian Land Areas. So after telling the crew that you have a “gun” make sure to tell them you are going to “ALA”. You will need to say it in a loud voice so they will recognize the acronym.
[quote=“Loretta”]My backpacking days are over. What’s the point in carrying your stuff when it can follow behind you on little wheels? It’s not like you’re going to be climbing any bloody mountains on the way to the hotel, is it now? Backpacks are stupid.
[/quote]
Actually lots of backpacks have wheels on them. Mine does. Perfect for travelling through the airport or bus terminal and such but if I do need to walk any distance with it the straps come out and I carry it on my back.
Mine’s not a North Face, and is a little less rugged looking but you get the idea with this pic:
People with wheels on their bags get in my way and slow me down. My philosophy is that if you can’t carry it yourself for a decent distance, then you shouldn’t be bringing so much shit. Pack lighter if necessary.
I’m pretty anti-wheel as well. On the few occasions I have used a wheeled bag, I’ve actually felt embarrassed about it. I admit that it was kind of handy, especially for long walks, but I still felt lame.
But what I really hate is that wheeled bags are so ubiquitous these days that it can fairly hard to find a decent non-wheeled bag. My duffel bags are all starting to fall apart, and I am not looking forward to my search for new ones.
Whels are great. Baggage is not designed to be carried for any distance more than a few steps comfortably. It just isnt/ Doesn’t matter what it weighs. It’s the design.
Duffel bags. Travelled with them for years but they get in other’s way even more. And they tend to rub the fabric right of clothing. Easy to crush things inside as well.
I decided to get a wheeled backpack after one more time carrying a bag from the airport rail to the MTR in HK. It’s a long walk. On a summer’s day you get really wet having to carry extra baggage. Hell even walking from the MRT to the counter at Songshan Airport is a long way with a heavy bag.
Quit being young fart you too. Once you’ve gone wheeled you’ll never appeal.
My beef with wheeled is that when you do have to carry them (which I seem to have to do a lot), the wheels make them heavier (and often much more awkward). The one wheeled bag I have is not light, even when empty. I do have a personal policy that, unless I’m traveling with a lot of equipment (like heavy sledgehammers, etc), or am importing a giant bag of food back to Taiwan, I don’t pack more than I can carry for at least a km. Definitely helps keep me under control…
Non-wheeled backpacks should always be there, since there’s the hiking market. It’s the duffel bag selection that I really miss. You used to be able to get them in all sizes, with all sorts of variations in compartment numbers and size. Now you’re lucky if you can find just a basic one-compartment bag. My favorite bag is one that’s over twenty years old, it’s a great size, has some features that I really like, and my chances of finding anything like it these days are slim to none.
All this lamenting the good old days is making me feel old
My wheeled babckpack is very light. The wheels don’t add more than a few ounces of weight. It was also dirt cheap compared to a regular backpack (NT1600 I think) but very well made.
I’ll probably be going home for Christmas and my local Mountain Equipment Coop still carries duffel bags. If you want I can pick one up for you. Next time we go for a hike I’ll show you the one I have. Very tough and sturdy.
Wheeled baggage… a life saver. I travel with a folding bike to places where I don’t have a bicycle stored. Bicycle, plus office (two computers and periperhals), plus “normal travel baggage” = major wheeled production.
[quote=“Mucha Man”]My wheeled babckpack is very light. The wheels don’t add more than a few ounces of weight. It was also dirt cheap compared to a regular backpack (NT1600 I think) but very well made.
I’ll probably be going home for Christmas and my local Mountain Equipment Coop still carries duffel bags. If you want I can pick one up for you. Next time we go for a hike I’ll show you the one I have. Very tough and sturdy.[/quote]
Thanks! But I’m not actually in the market for a new one just yet. The ones I have are beginning their decline, but still have (hopefully!) at least a few years left, especially if I coddle them a bit.
I admit that I’m not up on the latest luggage wheel technology, so maybe I’d find the weight more acceptable now, but I just can’t bring myself to do it
Sorry, but being on the small side and traveling two months at a time for business requires more clothes than I can carry for a reasonable distance. I end up with a big garment bag (no wheels), a reasonable-sized suitcase (no wheels), a laptop backpack (no wheels), my purse (duh), and usually a bag of gifts and food for the plane… and my carry-on smallish suitcase, which does have wheels.
I walk fast and and I’m careful to not hit anyone or roll over anyone’s feet. My wheeled behavior is better than that of some people with big dufflebags… I got almost knocked down by someone carrying one on their shoulders, backpack style, when they swung around and hit me in the shoulder in the Taipei airport. No apologies were required because of the UK flag?
[quote=“zyzzx”]Thanks! But I’m not actually in the market for a new one just yet. The ones I have are beginning their decline, but still have (hopefully!) at least a few years left, especially if I coddle them a bit. [/quote] Have you thought of getting a copy made? As long as you are careful about the thread quality, you have a good chance of getting exactly what you want. Something to think about next time you find yourself stranded in a hub somewhere…check out the tailor district.
[quote=“DiaFun”] My wheeled behavior is better than that of some people with big dufflebags… I got almost knocked down by someone carrying one on their shoulders, backpack style, when they swung around and hit me in the shoulder in the Taipei airport. No apologies were required because of the UK flag? [/quote] Nope, nothing to do with the flag. That is just how people behave. Sense of personal space is , uh, very small here. As well, people anywhere and everywhere wearing backpacks or carrying shoulderbags (or dufflebags over one shoulder) often are unaware of the extra space they are taking up. Whaps in the head are not uncommon, especially for shorter people.
[quote=“Mucha Man”][quote=“Loretta”]My backpacking days are over. What’s the point in carrying your stuff when it can follow behind you on little wheels? It’s not like you’re going to be climbing any bloody mountains on the way to the hotel, is it now? Backpacks are stupid.
[/quote]
Actually lots of backpacks have wheels on them. Mine does. Perfect for travelling through the airport or bus terminal and such but if I do need to walk any distance with it the straps come out and I carry it on my back.
Mine’s not a North Face, and is a little less rugged looking but you get the idea with this pic:
[/quote]
That’s the ticket! Excellent. Do they come in orange?
I guess the ultimate would be if you could take the bike out of the bag, unfold it, put the rest of the bags on the bike, and ride away.
Backpacks are for climbing mountains. Actually carrying anything on a flat surface is a totally pointless exercise in misplaced manliness, appropriate for inexperienced juvenile world travellers, but scorned by anyone who has been round the block, sweating unnecesarily because he insisted on looking cool.
15kg for two people for a week, one bag. Plane, taxi, city streets. Why carry it?
I guess the ultimate would be if you could take the bike out of the bag, unfold it, put the rest of the bags on the bike, and ride away.
Backpacks are for climbing mountains. Actually carrying anything on a flat surface is a totally pointless exercise in misplaced manliness, appropriate for inexperienced juvenile world travellers, but scorned by anyone who has been round the block, sweating unnecesarily because he insisted on looking cool.
15kg for two people for a week, one bag. Plane, taxi, city streets. Why carry it?[/quote]
