Tales From A Traveller's Desk !!

Sabitha_K · Mar 3, 2009

Everybody has come across one or the other form of phobia in one’s life and I just pray that no one experiences the kind of phobia I had. My phobia has been fancily named by me as ‘Luggophobio’ which is scared to death when your baggage weighs more by 100 gms than the one instructed by the airline. Ever since I was a kid, I always preferred to carry as less luggage as possible while travelling and somehow I developed an aversion towards heavy baggage ,which over a period of time nurtured into phobia.

I always spend the last day of my packing not by stuffing my bag from all sides but like the sailor who jettisons his cargo, amidst dire storms, I start removing stuff from my suitcase. Sometimes unknown to my husband I also try to interfere with his baggage and remove as much stuff as possible and stopped doing it only when he caught me red-handed and since then he has passed the same rule passed on Britney by Kevin Ferdeline, to protect his children ,which is to stay minimum 2 metres away from his baggage. Me being an obedient wife, could only dream and never violate it.

Last March when I travelled to India , my hubby asked me if I was going on a survival camp to a remote village in Kerala where they teach you how to live life only with basic amenities looking at my buggage.I also had to assure the cab driver that I haven’t forgotten any luggage at home or in the cab and this is all I have, being an international passenger. When we finally reached the airport, there was a long queue for checking in and I waited impatiently to check in and prance to the duty free shopping which I absolutely love. Unfortunately the person [a desi guy] in front of me was arguing at the check in counter and had to be taken aside to assuage him. I quickly checked in my light luggage and was free from the burden. My attention was focused now on the Indian guy who was still arguing. My husband and I walked up to him and asked him what the problem is. He explained that he was going back to India and had problems with weight. My inner devil was strongly against me offering any assistance to him coz I had to cover the marathon duty free window shopping in Amsterdam in just under 30 minutes and I can’t do this lugging any cabin baggage so preferred a hand bag but my inner angel was sympathetic with the plight of the young lad. Like an animal rights activist jumping at the first scene of animal abuse in any bollywood film, I can’t resist myself when I see someone with excess baggage and don’t miss any opportunity to sing my favorite tune ‘Don’t you check your luggage while travelling. Why do you have to carry so much luggage as if you are travelling to another planet’? Before I could pounce on him and tear him to pieces with my cacophonous criticism, my hubby moved me away and talked to the guy. One problem with the so called first world developed cities is that when you want to throw away things you just can’t leave them anywhere and him offering something in the airport for free will put him above Bin Laden name in the security check list if he visits next time. Finally few dare devil people who came to drop off their kith and kin agreed to take few books. Born in a country like India, imparts in you that anything given away for free need not not be looked upon suspiciously and we all fall for it. He, being a medical student made me take a pick on ‘Study of Advanced Endocrinology’ which I still regard as a show piece and prized possession.

Few years back when I had gone to give a send off to one of my friends, his mom was feeling bad coz the luggage weighed 2 kgs less than the maximum permissible value and I was so thankful to god that she didn’t have a daughter like me who would have gifted her heart attack as parting gift with the luggage weighing less by 20 kgs.

I have travelled for few years now and every time I travel the size of the bag diminishes which makes me wonder if this phobia of mine is taking over me .I had to fight against this enemy getting stronger by the trip. On one of my trips to India last year, I vowed to myself to overcome this phobia. I shopped in India till the salesperson dropped dead. As I checked in the language at the Hyderabad airport, I could read the signs. There was something wrong. I looked at the digital reader. It weighed 32 kilos [UK max baggage allowance is 22kgs]. The heaviest suitcase I had carried in my life. It was a moment of triumph and apprehension. I wasn’t even sure if I had Indian currency extra to pay for the extra baggage. I knew the news was bad and did it have to be on my maiden attempt to overcome my phobia?

The man sitting at the ticket desk counter had the most puzzled look I have seen in ages. I was on the on the verge of humouring him that I weigh 5 kilos less than my average ideal weight which can be checked in but was interrupted ..

“Do you mind travelling in the business class if you do not have any dependants in the economy class ”?

I was dumb founded .These things do not happen with me. Something is not right. It took me another 10 seconds to come out of the trance and grab the offer .There I was for the first time in my life travelling in business class and all the credit goes to my extraordinary extra baggage which served as a lucky mascot to me.

I was able to overcome my phobia and the entire trip is memorable to me. Well as they say the best things happen when you least expect them to happen. You never know if it is trouble or triumph with this traveller.

Padmini · Mar 3, 2009

dear sabita,
nice post presented in a nice manner. my phobia for bombastic english words flew in the air. as luck favoured you in the airport, this time iwas favoured.
this happend to everyone who travel by air. myself and my hubby have come for the first time to u.s.wow!!!! my hubby threw all the tantrums that we should not carry heavy box or anything that is heavier. before starting we weighed the boxes now and then. he quoted all the incidents who all suffer at the nick of the time because of overweight.(excluding our weight). we overcame all that and reached u.s. again i can hear him yelling to be careful.
prying to God this time let the godess of Luck smile on uslike she smilled on you. given the chance, i blabbered something. thank you for the nice post.
with love
pad.

SupriyaDinesh · Mar 3, 2009

Hi Sabitha,
I could clearly visualize you with your baggage.. Guess i am just the opposite.I stuff every part of the bag with things.Can you believe we missed the flight because we were removing things and reaarranging our baggage..bonk
My problem is i have the thought "What if".So i select a item and another one ,just in case.Please pass on your phobia to me..
Great writing.You have good sense of humour.

Jithiks · Mar 3, 2009

Hi Sabitha,

What a lovely tale! From the title, I anticipated it to be some travel experience to an exotic location . But lo...I was not disappointed.

You have an awesome way with words and our phobia (if we had any) will surely vanish on reading your vivid post. It was mindblowing!

Me..I am just the opposite, will try to stuff my baggage to the fullest extent possible. Infact, during my trip back to US from Chennai about 4 years back, I ended up paying money for the extra baggage weight.

I must learn some tricks from you to maintain a slick and sleek suitcase from next time onwards. How do you do it?

On the whole, loved the narration from the start to finish..encore..encore!!

Cheers
Krithika

Bujji · Mar 3, 2009

Dear Sabi

Wonderful narration and brilliant writing )

"I weigh 5 kilos less than my average weight which can be checked in" Big Laugh - Loved your sense of humour.

I like to take more luggage even am travelling in bus
Once when my sister and me packed for 1 month stay in our native with my new born nephew.
My BIL's friend came in, shocked and asked whether we are vacating the house. )

SoaringSpirit · Mar 3, 2009

Oh Sabitha, I am soooooo glad to hear of someone like me! I am exactly like you when it comes to carrying bulky bags and luggage items. I detest them. I hate lugging all that weight around and throwing my weight around everywhere!

Awesome post. I had a good laugh and I kept nodding my head in agreement throughout the post!

My dream travel is a backpack travel. Only a reasonably sized backpack as mu luggage item! Alas, that's a dream that hasn't yet come true. I guess it is too unrealistic to come true ever. But I do love travelling with the least amount of luggage. I reason that almost everything that I need can be bought wherever I visit so if I really need something and I don't have it, I'll just buy it.

And as you would guess, my husband is the exact opposite. He hates to even compromise on the color of the socks her wears!

I don't mind repeating the same pair of jeans and shirt as long as they are not dirty and smelly! Even when I go to India I don't like to take too many sarees or dresses to wear, much to the dismay of my relatives. I don't mind if people think I am a pauper to not have enough clothes or shoes or fancy jewelry. I just don't want to carry that heavy luggage.

Many times I have felt like changing my ways. But even I have tried really really hard I just can't bring myself to fill up my bag. Sometimes my husband will insist on carrying my clothes in his bag (especially when we go to India!).

Nice one Sabitha!

Luv,
SS

swapna15 · Mar 3, 2009

Dear Sabitha,

Well well, I think we are complete opposite in this matter my friend..When I first came to <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comffice:smarttags" /><st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">UK</st1lace></st1:country-region> after marriage my hubby had to pay a small fortune to the airline for the excess luggage because of me.

Usually for <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">UK</st1lace></st1:country-region> there is only 20kg luggage allowed on belt, which I find ridiculous, while people going to US they can take lot more than that..Not fair..No? I know you won't agree with me here <?xml:namespace prefix = v ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" /><v:shapetype id=_x0000_t75 stroked="f" filled="f" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" oreferrelative="t" o:spt="75" coordsize="21600,21600"><v:stroke joinstyle="miter"></v:stroke><v:formulas><v:f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"></v:f><v:f eqn="sum @0 1 0"></v:f><v:f eqn="sum 0 0 @1"></v:f><v:f eqn="prod @2 1 2"></v:f><v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth"></v:f><v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight"></v:f><v:f eqn="sum @0 0 1"></v:f><v:f eqn="prod @6 1 2"></v:f><v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth"></v:f><v:f eqn="sum @8 21600 0"></v:f><v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight"></v:f><v:f eqn="sum @10 21600 0"></v:f></v:formulas><vath o:connecttype="rect" gradientshapeok="t" o:extrusionok="f"></vath><o:lock aspectratio="t" v:ext="edit"></o:lock></v:shapetype>

So now what I do is I take those plastic laundry bags (they look disgusting by the way..but comes v handy) with me while going to India so that I can stuff them left right and center to my hearts delight and still can manage in 20kgs just fine:thumbsup

Nice post Sabitha, keep them coming!

Love
Swpana

Sabitha_K · Mar 3, 2009

Dear Padmini,

Thanks for your lovely feedback.

Probably, if your hubby and I were paired up for a trip then we would travel empty handed with only the clothes we put on arousing suspicions from the airport staff.This is what is called balancing act and my hubby is just the opposite who stuffs his suitcase till the last minute inspite of my howling.

I appreciate your feedback ,being the first one to acknowledge my post and like all the first time events , your post is quite precious.Thanks a lot for stepping in.Don't worry the goddess of luck and weight will be generous to create a hassle free trip for you this time.:thumbsup

sundarusha · Mar 3, 2009

Dear Sabitha

lovely post and enjoyed your sense of humor to the core!

I too belong in your league of light packers. When I visit India, I take just a few clothes for the time being and the rest I buy there later.

Anywhere else, I take just enough clothes for each day, sometimes even less if the clothes can be washed in between.
This way I can concentrate more on sightseeing than keeping track of all the items.

My family members on the other hand, carry a whole bunch of cables and chargers to keep the electronic gadgets functioning. Not to mention the various shoes for different activities!

Ammukutty · Mar 3, 2009

Dear Sabitha,

Enjoyed your style & it tickled my funny bones.So your motto is less luggage more comfort.I dont think you will have much company over here ,the majority being luggomaniac rather than phobic.Well I think I love to travel smart-nothing less nor more.So even the luxury of travelling in business class couldnt help you get over this phobia:spin

Here is something for youhttp://www.bumptokids.co.uk/images/pinktrunki.jpgBig Laugh

Loved your post

ammu