The great hand luggage only challenge!!!

[Keith009]

Well what can I say - I come from a family of shopoholics. The main reason why we ever go overseas together is to catch up over shopping, or we'd probably not be so enthusiastic about travel. I have the added incentive of miles, flights and hotels.

 

[rhjames]

Well what can I say - I come from a family of shopoholics. The main reason why we ever go overseas together is to catch up over shopping, or we'd probably not be so enthusiastic about travel. I have the added incentive of miles, flights and hotels.

Can I ask a question - are you male or female - feel free not to answer. (Please be female!!!)

 

[Ric]

To each his own
I guess to the majority, watches are there to tell the time but to the dedicated watch collectors, they are pieces of art of mechanical magnificence:!:

 

[jasonja3]

To some, saving money makes them feel good, and others, buying fashionable things makes them feel good. Me, I am a little of both.

 

[Keith009]

Can I ask a question - are you male or female - feel free not to answer. (Please be female!!!)

Sorry to disappoint.

 

[rhjames]

To some, saving money makes them feel good, and others, buying fashionable things makes them feel good. Me, I am a little of both.

I don't understand fashionable. To me fashion is what I'm wearing, not what someone else tells me to wear. Getting back to the thread, I don't think there's much you can't get in Australia. In my early travelling days (35 years ago) I picked up a large tape recorder for a friend in Singapore. I carried it on a business trip through Europe and USA just to save him a few dollars (perhaps $200 in todays terms). If someone had offered me $200 to lug this thing around the world I wouldn't have taken it. Since then, no shopping or presents (except for the occasional perfume for my wife, and of course two bottles of Bundy before going thru Sydney customs. Actually, does everyone realise that if you buy some grog or perfume at the arrivals, there's a special lane on the right to passport check from the shop - always empty (unless they've changed it). Of course you need to be fast to beat the crowd - I'm normally close to first off the plane, walk fast straight to the Bundy, cash register, and to customs.

 

[NYCguy]

Can I ask a question - are you male or female - feel free not to answer. (Please be female!!!)

Oh please, I am most assuredly male, and I enjoy spending time at Bergdorf's just as much as anyone else. There are fashionable clothes for men these days, you know - not all of us are happy dressing like Kel Knight. Or using Nivea. Or wearing Blue Stratos. Or... Well, I've made my point - shopping not just for the ladies, ok?

 

[rhjames]

shopping not just for the ladies, ok?

To each their own. If I have good swimmers, shorts and T shirt that last a few years, I'm happy. If I need new ones, my wife nags me for a couple of years before I finally give in, meditate for a couple of days to prepare for the ordeal, and go to a shop where I buy the first ones I see (provided their cheap). But would you seriously go shopping overseas, then lug things in suitcases - can't you get much the same at home? I mean, is it really worth the trouble? You could save the time and get home again a couple of days earlier. Never heard of Bergdorfs or Kel Knight. Nivea and Blue Stratos sound familiar - deodorant I think. I rarely go to shops - my busness/first packs keep me going with shavers, toothbrush & toothpaste, I get my wife to buy a cheap deodorant that works. Hotel leftovers seem to take care of shampoo and soap. Other than food, there's not much else is there?

 

[NYCguy]

Other than food, there's not much else is there?

Touché...

I own a residence in each of my three main ports-of-call, so I rarely need to lug stuff from place to place. In any case, I can usually make some room in my cabin bags for something compact.

If I buy anything bulky I have it freighted back to wherever I want it.

Putting aside arguments about the relative advantage of Prada's New York stores over their Sydney setup, I must say that travelling without checking bags is the bomb. Especially during a tight connection at SFO.

 

[Keith009]

Let's put it this way - if there's no shopping, I'm not going!
On my next trip I'm staring at Rock&Republic, True Religion, Hot Topic, Abercrombie&Fitch....etc. Ok I'll stop now before I spend my weekend incinerating my resources to console myself that the next overseas shopping expedition ain't till Dec... Life is hard.

 

[JohnK]

On my next trip I'm staring at Rock&Republic, True Religion, Hot Topic, Abercrombie&Fitch....etc.

Until I googled these names a couple of minutes ago I had absolutely no idea what they were. You know that a pair of jeans is just a pair of jeans regardless of the label....

 

[rhjames]

Until I googled these names a couple of minutes ago I had absolutely no idea what they were. You know that a pair of jeans is just a pair of jeans regardless of the label....

You're one ahead of me - "Rock&Republic, True Religion, Hot Topic, Abercrombie&Fitch" - never heard of any of these. I guess they're shops of some kind. When I buy something, I normally don't notice the name of the shop - doesn't seem significant enough to bother with.

 

[NYCguy]

Until I googled these names a couple of minutes ago I had absolutely no idea what they were. You know that a pair of jeans is just a pair of jeans regardless of the label....

That is simply not true, but since this thread has already wandered significantly OT, I won't elaborate, other than to say that some people take notice of things like the quality of fabric and workmanship when purchasing garments, and some don't.

 

[rhjames]

That is simply not true, but since this thread has already wandered significantly OT, I won't elaborate, other than to say that some people take notice of things like the quality of fabric and workmanship when purchasing garments, and some don't.

Jeans keep us warm and cover the naughty bit - isn't that what counts? (don't take me too seriously - I check that they fit before buying, and buy 3 pair so I'm right for another few years). But can't I do that in some local shop? I don't need to lug them halfway around the world, and (perish the thought) have checked in luggage.

 

[pauly7]

That is simply not true, but since this thread has already wandered significantly OT, I won't elaborate, other than to say that some people take notice of things like the quality of fabric and workmanship when purchasing garments, and some don't.

Don't worry i agree with you but don't worry too much, most people on this thread wear 'chino's' which kind of indicates their age and fashion awareness

 

[rhjames]

Don't worry i agree with you but don't worry too much, most people on this thread wear 'chino's' which kind of indicates their age and fashion awareness

I had to google "Chino" early in this thread - never heard the expression before. Can't remember what it was now. Does this reveal that I'm in my late 50s?

 

[NYCguy]

I had to google "Chino" early in this thread - never heard the expression before. Can't remember what it was now. Does this reveal that I'm in my late 50s?

I think it's safe to say that we live in parallel universes - which is fine, it's not a problem. I don't want to come off as a snob or to make it sound like I am disparaging your lifestyle choices in any way. I also have no problem with people in their 50's - some of my best friends are in their 50's. Some of them apparently have worn Chinos, but never in public.

Having said all that, I'll come back to the topic at hand, namely the benefits of travelling with only hand-luggage, as opposed to lugging suitcases around the place. I really don't like checking luggage in, and I have The Spending Machine trained (after 12 years) to think and pack in the same way. I take a cabin-bag that has dimensions which are barely inside the upper limit prescribed by the airlines, plus a non-rigid bag that holds a suit or two, my favorite raincoat, and a few shirt/tie combos. If I am travelling between NYC, PAR and SYD without any intermediate stops, I omit the suit-bag.

The benefits of travelling with only hand-luggage become clear when you can finally make that 75-minute INT-DOM connection at SFO, and the ability to get ahead of the madding crowd in the international arrivals hall at SYD at 0730. Walking straight out to the car without having to do the carousel shuffle is fantastic, and on the rare occasion when I do take a suitcase, I stand watching the bags start to fall onto the belt and think "never again!".

 

[oz_mark]

Don't worry i agree with you but don't worry too much, most people on this thread wear 'chino's' which kind of indicates their age and fashion awareness

Ahh, but there are good chino's and bad chino's

 

[rhjames]

The benefits of travelling with only hand-luggage become clear when you can finally make that 75-minute INT-DOM connection at SFO, and the ability to get ahead of the madding crowd in the international arrivals hall at SYD at 0730. .

On this we agree - tight connections always worry me, as this is when luggage sometimes doesn't make it. It's nasty when on a hectic world schedule, and the luggage is always one airport behind. Sometimes, agents try to book me into somewhere with a 45 min changeover - eg Chicago or Detroit. I won't risk it if I have luggage, and even without it's very tight if the plane's late (as they often are).

 

[JohnK]

Fashion awareness! What I wear is fashion. I won't jump on the bandwagon, craze, based on what some moron thinks is fashion(able) today. Just one example is people spending hundreds of dollars on jeans that are ripped, torn or faded.

I don't think I have ever worn 'chinos'. I wear pleated trousers, business or smart casual long sleeved shirts and black leather shoes and occassionally wear a jacket. I am in my early 40's.