South Africa to Bangkok: 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 spent a few days off the grid while on safari in Kruger National Park. While there, he created his own personal alternative list to the Big Five animals — top of the list: hipppos. After the safari, they headed to the Welgevonden Game Preserve, three hours northwest of Johannesburg — where they had the opportunity to sample some world-class elephant-dung tea, before flying to Bangkok.

Hanging with the animal paparazzi in South Africa:

Justin’s elephant-poop cold remedy:

No-baggage field report: Week four:

Trip stats:

Days on road: 32
Miles traveled: 18,869
Countries: 9
Flights: 6
Trains: 4
Bags: 0

“Of all the things I’d expected to experience when planning my no-luggage world journey, drinking elephant-dung tea in South Africa was not among them. I’d expected I might explore nightlife in Spain (which I did, while eating tapas in Madrid) or ride a camel in Egypt (which I did, at Giza) — and I even thought I’d get lost from time to time (which I did in Morocco, among other places) — but I never expected to imbibe a medicinal beverage that had recently passed through an elephant’s ass. Such is is the unpredictability of travel.” –Rolf on Justin’s elephant-poop cold remedy

Our next update will find Rolf in Thailand and 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!