Thailand to Queenstown: No Baggage Challenge Update

Rolf’s latest travel project is the No Baggage Challenge — a journey that will take him around the world without using a single piece of luggage. Every few days, we’ll be updating Vagabonding with a recap of the latest to keep you up to date on the adventure.

Rolf ended up staying three nights in Bangkok before heading south to Malaysia on an overnight train. After a quick visit to Singapore (and the Sydney airport), Rolf arrived in New Zealand for a few days of adventure before heading back to The States.

The Same River Twice: Bangkok in Three Acts:

Thailand to Malaysia: Scenes from a train:

No-baggage field report: Week five:

Trip stats:

Days on road: 40
Miles traveled: 31,941
Countries: 12
Flights: 11
Trains: 4
Bags: 0

“At that time, I wrote that “Khao San Road is not designed to be a static, aesthetic part of Thailand, but a pragmatic duty-free zone — a neutral territory that has learned to continually reinvent itself in the image of what young budget travelers want” — and it’s an observation that still holds true: In continually tweaking and adapting to the needs of travelers, Khao San Road is in many ways staying the same. As I walked up and down the street checking out the vendors and sampling plates of pad thai and banana pancakes, the place felt almost identical to the way it felt a decade ago — even if it now sports fast food restaurants (McDonald’s, Burger King, and Subway — which were not there when I last visited) and different technologies (music downloads instead of cassette tapes, wi-fi instead of dial-up).” –Rolf on The Same River Twice: Bangkok in Three Acts

Our next update will find Rolf in New Zealand. To follow the journey in real-time, check out the No Baggage Challenge blog or follow along on Twitter or Facebook. And enter this week’s reader challenge, by sharing what you will do over the next year to make yourself richer in time. The best entry will win Scottevest gear, a BootsnAll Moleskine journal, and Rolf’s book Marco Polo Didn’t Go There!

Posted by | Comments (1)  | September 30, 2010
Category: Asia, General, Oceania, Rolf's News and Updates


One Response to “Thailand to Queenstown: No Baggage Challenge Update”

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