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#CatTravels: Trying luggage this time

By Catherine Toth Fox • August 21, 2013 • #CatTravels

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If you’ve ever travelled with me, you know I tend to underpack.

I try to fit as much as I can into a backpack or small duffel. When I went to Brisbane for a week and Fiji for 10 days, all I took was a backpack. And when I spent more than a month in Japan two years ago, I lugged around a duffel bag. That’s it.

But on this two-week jaunt to Europe, I decided to try a 20-inch check-in luggage roller. Nothing else. My only other bag is my little sling that fits a Kindle, notebook and not much more.

I will say, I could pack in a lot of stuff — with lots of room for souvenirs and omiyage — and it was easier to lug to Gate 10 at the far-flung United Airlines terminal.

So we’ll see. At least the bag fit in the overhead compartment. That’s a good sign!

Follow my #CatTravels adventures in Europe and Japan on Twitter @thedailydish and on Instagram @catherinetoth.

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#CatTravels: Europe, I'm coming back!
#CatTravels: Amsterdam by way of London

About the Author

Catherine Toth Fox

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12 Comments

  • Reply Annoddah_Dave August 21, 2013 at 5:59 am

    CAT: Bon Voyage! Send buku pix of fuud, fuun, and bathrooms!

    • Reply Catherine Toth August 24, 2013 at 11:33 pm

      Damn, thanks for reminding me! Gotta take photos of bathrooms!

  • Reply M August 21, 2013 at 6:26 am

    Hello Cat!
    I don’t know how you do it. You gonna have to show me how because I’m the opposite, I over pack. Be safe and have a GREAT time!

    • Reply Catherine Toth August 24, 2013 at 11:33 pm

      I should do a packing Cat Chat… It’s in the works!

  • Reply Melissa August 21, 2013 at 6:35 am

    I was shocked to see the picture of a suitcase! You’ll love it….especially when it’s time to bring home all the omiyage.

    • Reply Catherine Toth August 24, 2013 at 11:33 pm

      LOL. Well, we’ll see. Like you, I had to bring a lot of stuff for other people. Right now, it’s not even three-fourths full!

  • Reply your old boss LOL August 21, 2013 at 8:58 am

    Hope you brought a lot of ziploc bags and containers too. Foodies need ’em to bring home all the random treats that they pick up along the way! Have a great time!

    • Reply Catherine Toth August 24, 2013 at 11:33 pm

      Are you subtly suggesting something… Hmm….?

  • Reply David Jackson August 21, 2013 at 1:09 pm

    I’ve spent two weeks in Asia out of a backpack, a week in Europe with my overhead compartment bag. I don’t like to take a lot of stuff, too much trouble. So I say carry on with that program.

    Look forward to the first round of Food Pix.

    • Reply Catherine Toth August 24, 2013 at 11:32 pm

      Me, neither. I had lugging around a lot of crap. But I’m like that at home, too. Hate clutter. I purged all the time.

  • Reply Eric August 21, 2013 at 10:34 pm

    Travel guru Rick Steves usually recommends a backpack. if you do a lot of traveling by train, the 20 inch suite case is usually ok since it’s not too big. The lighter you can travel, the easier it is. Nobody except your travel companions know that you’ve worn the same clothes several times. If you’re staying with a friend in Amsterdam, stay in one night and do laundry.

    When I went to Europe in 2011, I mailed back a bunch of stuff so i didn’t have to lug it around, but postage in Germany was kinda expensive. Weird thing was that the Post office was also a bank.

    • Reply Catherine Toth August 24, 2013 at 11:32 pm

      Yes, lighter is better. It’s even BETTER if you stay in places with laundry facilities, which I try to do. That way, I really don’t have to bring a whole lot.

      I had a friend who went to Europe and brought clothes he didn’t want to wear anymore. So as he used them, he donated them. Came home with nothing but socks and the clothes on his back.

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About Me

About Me
Born and raised on O‘ahu, Hawaiʻi, Catherine Toth Fox has been chronicling her adventures in her blog, The Cat Dish, for more than a decade. She worked as a newspaper reporter in Hawai‘i for 10 years and continues to freelance—in between teaching journalism, hitting the surf and eating everything in sight—for national and local print and online publications. She’s currently the editor of HAWAIʻI Magazine.

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