Authors: Peter Lynn
Date Submitted: August 31, 2002
Article Type: Journal

Traveling. There are lots of tricks.

One of the requirements of going to international kite festivals from New Zealand is that the baggage allowance of 140 pounds (64 kilos) is for kites alone—-that is, no superfluous things like anchors or little tents to store gear, beer, and hide in. And definitely no room for clothes and personal things, which have to all fit in a carry-on bag along with a few heavy but non-metallic things like 200 yards of flying line.

If there’s just too much for the permitted 18 pound (typically) carry-on, I pack the overflow in a prominently labeled duty-free bag, because gate staff are blind with respect to these, probably on account of instructions from airport management not to cause problems for airport rent paying shops. The clothes allowance is still minimal for more than a week away though, so I have to get involved in an activity that eludes me at home, that is, washing clothes. It’s easy, just puddle each day’s dirty kit under foot while showering, squeeze, then lay out on the hotel bedroom carpet. This soaks up the excess water fast—much quicker than for hanging, and because air conditioning includes dehumidifying, within 12 hours your clothes will be wearably dry. And the damp spots on the floor will be mainly gone in an extra day or two, so you don’t get hauled over the carpet by hotel management.

To relieve the tedium of endless hours sitting in airports and on planes, most frequent fliers play the game of how to get upgrades without paying. Of course there are the standard ploys like booking early and requesting a bulkhead seat in the hope that some mother traveling with a baby will, at the last minute, require your seat because it has a bassinet bracket, because by then hopefully all the spare cattle class seats will be taken and you will gain a promotion.

PDF Link: Journal Issue