Sweet Shit Saturday #004 (aLoksak Contest Edition!)

77 thoughts on “Sweet Shit Saturday #004 (aLoksak Contest Edition!)”

1. I want the prize but it won’t help me when my camera, cell phone and wallet fall off a cliff into the rapids again. Tip, not only should you put your stuff in an aLoksak, but you should also have good physical security by tying it to you securely when hiking. :)

2. I was in Killarney, Ireland on St. Patrick’s Day with a bunch of American college students. Before I knew any better, they made me go to the most American bar they could find, where the thirty of us took over a corner of the bar, kicking out all the locals. There’s a metaphor in there somewhere. I promise never to participate in such “tourism” every again.

3. Would love to win this – a lot of travel time is spent keeping things dry and drying damp/wet things –

4. When illegally camping on a surf trip in Portugal our tent got taken by the police (which we found out after lots of asking around) and had to undertake quite the adventure in order to get it back. All ended well though but here’s the travel tip: pack up your tent in the morning instead of leaving it all day on your illegal camping spot :), or find a really out of the way spot instead (like not 100 meters from a beach..).

5. If you are taking a flight that includes an inflight meal in the price, pick the vegetarian/vegan/kosher/halal option if possible. It’s generally better quality than the standard meal and you’ll be the first to be served it also. Also, if you’re a beer drinker in a foreign land, make sure to try local brews in the bars and not stick to bland stuff such as Budweiser, Miller and the like.

6. When I was young I would stay gone camping all summer, only coming home to wash clothes and sleep on a soft bed and head right back out again the next day. It was then I figure I honed my skills for mommy packing; taking what you anticipate needing and nothing else. I would always start out with a bit more than I ever needed, but soon I’d hone it down to exactly what I’d use, nothing more. Now my kids are grown and they not only know too how to pack for any trip, but our closets at home are treated the same way, only what is needed, nothing more. Simplify everything.

7. I have been traveling since I was 14 and there was no internet, computer, blogging, so I’m glad I often took the time to put my experiences on a travel journal. We give for granted that we will remember everything, but we don’t!
   I wish I were younger, but I’m grateful I could see the world before too much technology changed it. I wouldn’t go back to that (often difficult) world, but I can say I have seen it and I remember it.

8. Remember that the places you visit aren’t just sites for tourism – people live there, too. It’s important to support locally-owned businesses, whether artisans or innkeepers or the place you eat breakfast each morning. I’ve also looked up local school or charity information in order to leave donations, whether cash or goods.

9. My travel tip is simple.

   Wherever and whenever possible, fly with carry on baggage only.

   Nothing beats strolling out the airport while everyone else is waiting to find out how much baggage they lost.

   And thanks to Karol, we all now know how to pack light.

10. Went down to London, England back in 2003. Lived there for a year, while I was there, I was mugged, had a 3 month battle with kidney stones, got food poisoning, and had my girlfriend breakup with me. Best year of my life–seriously (so far!). Life is an adventure :)

11. Tip: Never, ever let anyone else be responsible for your passport. Not even the safe of a 4-star hotel.

    Reason: I was in Bolivia with other students during grad school in 2006. We were publicly accused of being U.S. spies by Evo Morales. They published all of our names and ages in the newspaper. How they got the information: someone at the hotel gave them access to our passports that were supposedly securely locked in the hotel safe.

12. Karol, I think you can read my mind! I was about to email you to ask about the size of aloksak bag you used!

    I am planning a trip to Barcelona and have been working on getting my packing list to something like your original list, but without the extra laptop bag.

    This is why: I almost always fly Ryanair to Barcelona but they are the worst to deal with but almost always the cheapest by far (at the times I want to fly with them). The last time I travelled to Barcelona I flew with British Airways/Iberia for a golfing trip and they lost all my bags for 3 days of an 8 day trip – no bags, no golf!

    My tip: follow Karol’s advice and travel with one bag!

    I don’t have a need for as many bags but will definitely be picking up two or three 12″x12″ aloksak bags ahead of my travel.

13. When traveling cross country… you won’t need 1/2 the crap you think you’ll need.

14. In 2002 we sold our house and most of our stuff and moved aboard a 47 foot sail boat. We’ve been living aboard year round in Maine ever since. While I’m definitely living with less and enjoying it, there is one area where I still live large: packing for travel. Before we moved, I was finally learning to “pack light” on vacations. Now, most of the time when we travel we move our floating home and I take it all. One way to have my cake and eat it, too!

15. I always amazed my friends by being able to pack weeks worth of stuff into a much smaller bag than looked possible. (Ski Suit, pillow, and 4 days worth of winter clothing into a school bag) My secret was to tightly roll my clothes and compress them in air tight bags like ziplocks. Everything stays dry, compresses to about half the size, doesn’t wrinkle and can be easily organized.

    ~Scott Kostolni

16. While camping with friends on the shoreline of a lake I “staked” my tent down into the sand. The wind battered the tent ALL NIGHT LONG. When we finally got up the next morning I pulled my stuff out of the tent and moments later my tent took off into the air like a giant beach ball. It landed some 20-25 yards away with broken poles and everything. I’m sure there’s a good hint/pointer/moral in there somewhere — just haven’t found it yet. ;-)

17. While I was in college one summer I took a 2 week road-trip by myself. I started in west Texas and went straight to California, then north to seattle, and then east back to yellowstone park, and finally made my way home. I stopeed at every national park along the way. I slept in my car. I got so close to a black bear that he actually charged at me; for some reason he stopped when he got closer to me (probably because I’m so scary, ha). It was one of the best experiences of my life. It is actually what inspired me to want to be able to travel the world on a permanent basis. I’m still working to that goal though.

18. My wife and I and our 2 small kids are in an airport restaurant. We just realized our flight’s gate closes in 5 minutes, but we’re about 30 gates away. “Pack it up kids!!!”

    Just 30 seconds later, my wife’s running with a double-stroller and I’m sprinting with bags hanging from arm and neck. From 50 meters behind me, I hear “Run, Daddy, RUN!!!”

    Then I hear people around me laughing, mumbling “yeah, daddy Run!!”

19. Hi,
    I wish we had aLoksak bags when we went to 2-days trip in Nachal Yehudia (Israel). We knew we’re gonna walk in water, but didn’t think it’s going to be so deep… Well, wet bread is not so tasty…

20. We went to Scotland to meet up with friends to backpack in the Highlands for a week. After meeting up at the airport we headed out on a bus to stay at a hostel. After departing the bus, one of our friends realized he lost his wallet on the bus. Due to quick action, awesome Scottish people, and positive thinking we got the wallet back and all was well and good in the world.

21. Hi,

    My friend is standing in line at the airport when suddenly the drug sniffer dogs come up to her and go crazy! The guards call her out of line and ask her to go with them to their special room. They ask her: did you pack your own bags, are you carrying food? She sez yes, and no. They open her suitcase and it turns out her mom packed a special snack for her while she was sleeping: smelly cheese and mortadela ham!

    Vic

22. If you want to commit suicide upon returning from a vacation, your life is too stressful. Take Karol, Leo, Adam and Everett’s advice, simplify, and redesign your life to reflect what YOU want vs. social conditioning.

    Always take the opportunity to connect with fellow people-I helped a woman with MS in her wheelchair get on a luckily delayed flight back from Vegas, and damn, it felt good!

23. I few years ago when I was still packing way more stuff than I needed while traveling, I flew to Oakland, California to visit a friend. When my plane landed I went to baggage claim and waited for my luggage, which I could have sworn was black. It wasn’t until I was the last person there and I had watched a blue bag go around the conveyor belt several times that I realized that my bag was in fact not black. Not my proudest moment. So I suppose my travel tip is: If you have to check luggage, make sure you know exactly what it looks like!

24. Travel Issue: While traveling in a van through North Island New Zealand, I managed to get us stuck in mud at a campsite.

    How NOT to Handle Situation: I started thinking about Freddy Kruger coming from the woods with his buddies Jason and Jeffrey Dahmer all night.

    How to Handle The Situation: The next morning I was calm and thought out different solutions.

    Solution: Plea to Strangers. Usually, strangers will help you if you plea enough. I have to imagine those street beggars with signs reading “I have 3 kids, no shoes and no roof. Please help.” make more than the guy smoking with a sign that reads “Feed me”. Anyways, I pleaded to this random family down the road and they pulled us out of the mud.

    Hope u guys enjoy that travel tip….and I win me some cool shit.

    David Damron
    The Minimalist Path

25. If you buy a plane ticket in South Africa with a First National Bank credit card they give you enough travel insurance required by most travel Visas but not any other Bank card will. While travelling in Africa the train is really cheap and you get your own cabin and you can see everything at the same time! When I say cheap I mean the same price for a whole family to travel return compared to a one way flight for one person over the same distance. ;)

26. if you’re flying and you plan to pack an electric toothbrush in your carry on, perhaps, think about removing the battery’s before hand. doing so will avoid awkward stares as buzzing noises emit from your bag. and even more awkward convo’s as you assure your fellow passengers that is ONLY a toothbrush…

27. When driving through the back-roads of a National Forest don’t let the guy that is a NASCAR fan drive. Flat tires will be the result.

28. I’m Canadian and have crossed the US border hundreds of times. One of two times I’ve ever been stopped and searched was when I was still in University. I was taking a US history class as an elective and was reading a book titled: “Death of a Nation: America in Decline.” What followed was the most unpleasant hour long interrogation I’ve ever experienced. Tip: When crossing borders (even familiar ones), be mindful of what’s in your bag.

29. Echoing David’s camping post: stuck in mud up to caravan floor, wheels vanished, towed out by kindly farmer with tractor.
    30 miles or so down the road my husband looks in rear-view mirror and thinks ‘The caravan’s at a funny angle’ Pulls over – wheel has vanished without trace, even though he walked back 2 miles, it was never found!
    Moral of the story, when towing, make sure you have a good friction stabiliser, it could save your life!

    Thanks for a great blog :o)

30. While studying abroad in China, my program director, classmates, and I had just checked out of a hotel after a long study trip and were enjoying our breakfast before our trip back to Beijing. A hotel employee tracked us down and demanded we pay for a stained towel one of us had used because they claimed they would be unable to wash the stain out and the towel was ruined. Turned out, one of my classmates wanted to dye her hair purple the night before and that was how the towel got stained. After some arguing back and forth between the program director and the hotel employee, my program director was able to bargain with him and my classmate paid half of what they originally demanded, plus she got to keep the stained towel.

31. As soon as they are sentient and can remember past yesterday (4 years old for some, maybe 8 yo for others), start making your kids carry or tote their own luggage. This trained my son in one trip to Grandma’s how to pack for a week with only a backpack’s worth of stuff (he wants to use grocery bags, I insist on a bag that zips). My daughter took a little longer, because dad and grandfather had pity and helped carried her multiple bags, but she figured it out too.

    I learned my lesson in college trying to run through the Pittsburgh airport (doing my best OJ Simpson impersonation – in the 80’s when that was funny, not macabre) with a bag that was way too heavy, had 3 times what I needed, and ended up splitting open. Now, I lay out what I think I need and take half that.

    And, I’d love to win any of the packages. They all look like sweet shit to me! Thanks, Karol!

32. My husband.I,2 kids.2 beagles were camping in Maryland.
    In the middle of the night I hear a dog whining.
    I say to myself “Damn “it’s so dark out there I don’t feel like walking a dog.
    So I got out of my sleeping bag.
    He was trying to get in not out!!!
    – Show quoted text –

33. When trying to omit outrages charges put on train tickets across Russia by English travel agencies, we tried to buy them through official RZD Russian Railways Website (all in Cyrillic!). Several different credit cards got declined. Each time we had to start whole process of putting all the details in again. Last card we tried was debit card (cash card). Tip: do not do it few days before going off, very serious fraud alert from bank, card canceled and no access to cash and to account for a week. Oh, it gets worse when your passport is away at the embassy due to visa application and that means no visit to a bank with proper ID in order to get some money out.

34. Thanks for your generosity Karol! While on a family vacation in southern Germany in 2005(?), it started raining, and raining, and raining some more. Roads and rail were flooded and our tiny village was cut off from civilization, so I just wandered around town taking pictures of the devastation. While taking a photo of some firefighters sandbagging, they started yelling at me in German and I was forced to help them sandbag haha.

35. When I was 15 I lived in Australia for 3 months as an exchange student. My first night with the family I went to go use the bathroom, AKA water closet, which is in fact a separate room containing only the toilet. So I walk in, do my business, turn around and less then a foot from my face is a spider larger then my hand. I screamed like a 4 year old girl until my host “mum” comes and opens the door. She then explains to me that the “HUNTER SPIDER” was harmless. I never saw the spider again, but I did put towels under my door every night.

36. Last summer I walked 150 miles of the amazing Oregon coast by myself. Often I would really exhaust myself to make it to the next hiker/biker camp at a State park, even though beach camping is legal in most of Oregon. The too few times I stayed overnight away from campgrounds were far and away the highlights of the trip – the most beautiful, pristine, incredible places and experiences. And guess what – I always felt safe. Or at least safe enough! So my tip is this: if you’re brave enough for primitive camping, you will be amazed at how awesome it can be!!
    (ps thanks for the postcard from india, karol – I loved getting it!!!)

37. One of the most difficult hikes I ever took was a trek into the Gila wilderness to see some friends who were living off the grid. A good friend and I arrived late in the afternoon to cold weather and at times, snow. Two steps into a waist-deep river and I lost my sandals (I know, stupid me for wearing sandals; thought it would be an easy walk). I made the rest of the approximately 2.5-hour trip barefoot, crossing the river back and forth multiple times to find the best path. My friend died unexpectedly a few months after that trip, so it turned out to be our last and most memorable adventure together.

38. A few months ago, I had the opportunity to travel with a friend to New York and Boston. We stayed at hostels. That was my first time being exposed to hostels. I loved it. I met a lot of cool people. It also changed my perspective about traveling alone. I used to think it was weird, but after that experience, I think it’s wonderful. I will soon be on my way to exploring the world on my own. I would actually prefer it that way :)

    Cheers

39. The biggest tip for traveling internationally for anyone, get a passport ahead of time. Right now working on getting passports for the lover, no spontaneous cruises for a few weeks.

40. Our first experiment in trying out a “mobile lifestyle” was this spring with me, my hubby, and my 5 and 3 year old kids. We drove from Buffalo, NY to the gulf coast of Florida and despite the 6 days total of driving it was the most relaxing vacation I have ever been on. Why? Because we had ZERO agenda but being with people we liked and having a good time. Both my hubby and I knew that even if we wanted to spend a couple extra days (or months for that matter) on the road, it didn’t matter because both of us can work from laptops anywhere in the world! Our kids picked up on our relaxation and they both enjoyed even the driving parts of the trip!

41. I REALLY want to win your sweet stuff….our camper was totaled last year and even though we travel light, we have to replace everything and these products look like just what we need! We hope to get traveling again very soon.
    Thanks,
    Betty

42. Awesome stuff Karol!

    I will have you know, every time I type or read your name, I always used to pronounce it like Carol. BUT finally it just rolls off my tongue as Karol!

    In 2002 I went to Nicaragua with a local youth group. The purpose of the trip was to help repair, fix up, and repaint a few schools and orphanages. We ended up bringing two 70lb hockey bags per person loaded to the gills with shoes, clothing, school supplies etc. We left from Toronto, Ontario, Canada and had a short stopover in Florida. I got searched 3 out of 4 times that trip. Talk about my luck!

    Anyways, if you can imagine 10 or 12 white folks driving around in a passenger van, we were pulled over by the local police. They claimed they were doing a routine check. Naturally we knew they were looking for bribes. Because we didn’t bribe them they escorted us back to their local police compound and held us for 3 hours while we had someone bring us our passports. After that they had no reason to hold us and subsequently let us go without incident.

    (I know some of you are going to point out that I am stereotyping about the bribing issue with the local police, but that is not the case). A mother and daughter from our group were taking a taxi to a local orphanage to drop some stuff off, and were pulled over by a cop. The taxi driver slipped the cop 60 or 70 cordobas and he sent them on there way. What surprises me is how little that actually equates in dollar value. At the time it was probably no more than 6 or 7 dollars Canadian. Travel tip. Always be mindful when travelling of price gouging or corrupt local authorities.

    But either way. It was an excellent experience.

43. When driving through rural Australia. Be VERY alert for kangaroos during dawn and dusk. Unfortunately, one found its way into the side of my roommates car while I was borrowing it. He was none to happy and I had less money.

44. From all the places that I have been in my life, probably being in Paris was the only moment that I felt being lonely. It was like a dream coming true when I got there, but I didn’t know anyone and all the people seemed to be so busy and in a hurry walking around, that I couldn’t imagine bug them to say how amazing was for me to be there. One day, walking close to the Louvre, one old lady looked at me and went through. After 2 seconds she came back running, she made me open my hands and gave me this “Four-leaf clover”. She said it would be “for luck”. She then gave this big smile and left. It was my favorite moment of my trip. :)

45. Hey Karol,
    Here’s something for parents (and others too): I have a trip planned to MA for my college reunion coming up, and I plan on checking out a couple of geocaches while I’m there. My kids have loads of fun helping me find them! And sometimes the objects are loaded with local culture! Thanks for passing on the goodness Karol!

46. If you can’t carry it for 1/2 a mile – don’t take it. I’m 52 yrs old and started traveling at age 13 and learned that I really didn’t need that much. I’m completely flabergasted by my contemporaries who take 3 suitcases plus carry-ons for a simple one-week in Florida. Hell, hubby and I do Europe for 4 weeks in 2 carry-ons and they aren’t even full.

47. Had my car break down in the middle of the Northern Arizona desert last year, in the middle of a sandstorm. Waited hours for AAA (while passed by at least three Arizona State Troopers who didn’t feel the need to aid some stranded motorists). Tow truck dropped us off just inside the Colorado border to wait for a new tow truck. Apparently this spot is a common meeting place for drug dealers, since while we were waiting, a big SUV with some very large men got out and proceeded to stare threateningly at our vehicle until the tow truck arrived to save us. Yay road trips!

48. If your day sucks whilst traveling, remember that even the most bat-shit-crazy-awful experience will make an AWESOME story later.

49. This will be the first year that I will be doing any traveling with the family, since the babies spent most of 2009 in the hospital. Given my minimalist tendencies, and my wife’s “be prepared for any event” mentality, I’m interested to see how this will play out. We live about ten minutes from the Canadian border as well as several beaches on Lake Erie, so it’s not like we travel far when we vacation. Ohhhh, I’m an International Traveler!!!

    Anyway, I have a feeling that it’s going to be two vehicles packed to the hilt with baby triplets and gear for everyone when we vacation up there at the end of July and the end of August. And I will have this tiny backup of all my shyt on the front seat. Sorry for taking up more than my alloted five sentences.

    – Charley

50. My very first international experience was volunteering for GVN in Ecuador for a month. It was a strange world to me not being able to drink the water or flush toilet paper down the toilet. It was the first of what would become of my world traveling experiences and I will definitely never forget it! Although getting all my clothes dry cleaned cost only $5, I probably would have used your aloksak washing technique had I known it at the time! As for a travel tip, I would recommend packing light and following your guide as lugging around heavy bags has never been worth the convenience of having all the extra stuff with you (at least in my experience! :))

51. When travelling by car always check the spare tyre before embarking on your journey. Having windows that work (so you don’t have to wrap yourself in a towel when it starts raining) also helps.

    We got a little bit wet and our car was kind enough to only get a flat once we’d arrived, so all in all a really cool long weekend! ;-)

52. Tip: GET LOST. Seriously, it’s the best thing that you can do when you’re traveling. You may be conspicuous as an outsider, but there are locals who would love to help you circumvent the bad areas and lead you to fun experiences.

53. Sweet!

54. Go with the flow. Trying to control every aspect of your travel experience will only be an exercise in frustration. Travel rarely goes completely according to plan. Besides, if you deliberately leave some of your trip up in the air, you may discover exciting experiences you didn’t foresee.

55. Travel tip: Pack as much as you want but make a list of it. When you get home, evaluate it. Then pair it down the next time. This takes all the stress out of traveling light–it takes practice to realize you don’t need all the crap.

    I just returned from a month in the Philippines and everything fit into an old-school Jansport (10th grade, 1995 style).

56. Travel by bike. Getting lost somewhere on a bike can be fun. Find a map of your town and travel to areas you’ve never been to by bike. Travel to the next town over, but don’t use paved roads if possible and go by bike. Use a bell on your bike and say hi to the people you pass or meet. =8^)

57. Scan your passport, resize, print and laminate in case you lose it, and also to use as an ID card (it looks official and works every time in a foreign country.)
    Never underestimate the value of carrying your own tissue and wet wipes.
    Drink what ever the weird local drink is.
    Be an ambassador: give up your bus seat, help pick up something that fell, hold a door open, learn to say “careful!” and “can I help?” along with “please” and “thank you”.
    The plaza is pretty, but it has the worst and most expensive food.

58. If backpacking counts as traveling, then this is a travel tip:

    I was backpacking in the vicinity of the East Coast’s tallest mountain (sounds dramatic, doesn’t it? ; but it’s only 6,700 ft), surrounded by WAY more evidence of bears and coyotes than humans (of which there were zero besides me and my partner). There were no trees from which to hang our food sack. All we had was our trusty OpSak which we filled with our food and threw on top of a rock. Amazingly, it WORKED; apparently no bears could smell our food and we stayed safe.

59. My only tip would be to always remember that walking on wet, slippery stones is never a good idea (that’s the thing I somehow always forget about … unfortunately) ;)

    Quite obvious tip, I know. But nevertheless, if my comment wins the draw feel free to send the prize to some institution that might actually make a good use of it (like the Red Cross or something).

60. My tip –
    NEVER NEVER NEVER book hotel for more than one night – you will always find better deal when you arrived.s
    More – hotel restorants aren’t the best in terms of quality for your
    buck.

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