My travels and the big baggage battles

I have witnessed the evolution of a vital travel mate over several decades. Frequent postings meant packing up every few years which entailed moving a massive amount of household goods. The house would be taken over by cardboard cartons, wooden boxes and steel trunks.

Since we travelled by train in those days, it meant that we could transport a lot of stuff, which included a couple of dogs. I don’t remember a single soft suitcase. Nowadays we choose our luggage with care, opting for lightweight containers and colours that stand out. No drab greys or black as these are a dime a dozen and difficult to single out when they are on the conveyer belt.

All the containers then had to be sturdy and stand the wear and tear of being tossed out on to the platform without worrying about the safety of the contents. There were coolies aplenty then so we did not have to carry any luggage. Have you noticed that coolies seem to be a dying breed? The few times I have opted to travel by train in recent times, I have had a hard time spotting these men in their red attire.

Holding awkward shaped objects

In a military household there is bound to be a few duffel bags, the go-to piece of luggage for soldiers. The cloth that was used to make these originally came from the Belgian town of Duffel. It was convenient for many reasons, the main one being its ability to hold awkward shaped objects and the fact that it could accommodate a lot.

In modern times, it is used by gym enthusiasts to carry all the paraphernalia required for a workout or sports. However, it was recently used in a novel way which made for interesting reading. An engineering student in the state of Manipur tried to sneak his girlfriend into his hostel.

The caretaker became suspicious of the rather unwieldy piece of luggage and questioned the student. Soon the girl was out of the bag and the game was over. I have to admire the girl for agreeing to curl up in the bag. Ah well, true love and all that.

Of late I have been bingeing on crime stories on TV and a lot of dead bodies have also been found in duffel bags. As I said earlier, it is a versatile piece of luggage.

When I lived in Dubai, I would search for the biggest suitcase to accommodate all the things I wanted to take home. Keeping to the airline’s stipulated dimensions was not an easy task. Over the years, I began to downsize but wasn’t very happy at the thought of not being able to take all that I wanted to.

Not conducive for easy walking

However, I learnt the hard way that travelling by air was a different kettle of fish altogether. To discourage people like me, airports are designed to make you walk miles and even wheeled suitcases aren’t exactly conducive for easy walking.

A visit to the duty-free shops sees you make purchases like there is no tomorrow until you realise you now have to juggle your cabin bag, handbag and the huge duty-free bag. And that’s not all. Once you enter the plane, you have to lift these and stow them in the overhead locker. If you are a little late to board, you find that all the overhead lockers near your seat are taken. Life really is unfair.

Some airports have trains to take you to the next terminal and the thought of missing a flight is horrifying, especially if you didn’t expect this last-minute-hurdle. And if you are in a country where no one speaks English, you are doomed.

I have learnt the hard way to travel light but being forced to pack a small suitcase with as much as you can fit in, is not easy. Maybe I should go back to train travel.

Vanaja Rao is a freelance writer based in Hyderabad, India