Farting around

Here's a post from One Bag, One World, one of my favourite "traveling light" websites. I've quoted it here in its entirety, because it struck a chord with me, and I've bolded the bit that really hit home.

From Tim Ferriss’s interview with super traveler Rolf Potts, author of the new book Marco Polo Didn’t Go There:

“Be a minimalist. Reduce clutter. Obviously travel by its very nature is going to do this, since you can’t pack everything you’d keep in your home office. But this should apply to your travel office as well. For example, get a cheap laptop, and use it only for your work. Save your important information into Google documents (or something similar) in case the laptop gets lost or stolen or your pack falls in a river. Don’t use the laptop to surf news online; go to the local newsstand instead.

Don’t use the laptop to watch DVDs or listen to music; go to a local cinema or nightclub instead.This is not just a matter of travel aesthetics or cultural appreciation — it’s a matter of breaking bad habits. Back home we use our work technology to fart around and pass the day. Nobody should travel around the world just to sit in front of a laptop and fart around.”

This doesn't mean I've decided NOT to take technology with me - it's just a reminder not to let the technology rule me. Having said that though, a year is a long time to be on the road. I'm expecting that there will be times when I'll need a vacation from traveling. When that feeling hits I plan to hole up in the nicest hotel I can afford and spend a day or two surfing the web, watching tv, and lounging around NOT seeing the sights. You know, just farting around.