Book Review: No Baggage

It was date night, so of course the hubs and I were swinging by the library. Yes, we are that geeky. I found myself wandering down the non fiction aisles looking for something new. No Baggage by Clara Benson caught my eye.

This is a supposedly true story of Clara meeting a man on OKCupid and a month later taking off to Europe with him for a 21 day trip with no baggage. And she doesn’t mean just nothing checked in. Only the clothes on their backs.

Let that sink in for you. Only the clothes on their backs. Granted he has a toothbrush stuffed in a pocket and she has 3 pairs of underwear in a small purse. But no toiletries, no spare outfits to even wear while they do laundry.

They fly into Turkey with no plans, no hotels, no reservations, until they are set to fly to England at the end of their trip and then from England home.

It’s a pretty interesting tale. Their relationship. The people they meet. The experiences.

There are plenty of picture of them in the same clothes in all sorts of places. And the way she describes some cities, I actually got up and added another white peg to my world map. White is places we still want to go.

But I am left with the vague feeling of dissatisfaction. Like it was a pretentious stunt and traveling that light is really more than necessary. I get the idea of figuring out how little you really need, been there and done that myself but….maybe I am just too old and settled for that sort of flight of fancy.

℘℘℘℘ – 4 pages. Very enjoyable. Well written. Certainly an unusual take on things.