Why You SHOULDN’T Travel Light
Being a light traveller is only a good thing if nobody else finds out. As much as I disagree with airlines ripping off passengers with excess baggage charges, I don’t think that justifies using me as a mule for paper plates, canned cheese or torn clothing.
When I was leaving Cairo, a friend’s cousin asked me to carry something small for her. She’d been quite hospitable and it seemed like the least I could do for her. I put her item in my suitcase and forgot about it.
I should point out that while most airports have some amount of English speaking staff, Cairo Airport does not. After I had my bag X-rayed, a staff member said something to me in Arabic. I presumed he was one of the people my friends had warned me about, someone who offers to carry your bags and expects an exorbitant tip.
So I used the little bit of Arabic I knew to turn him down. What he actually said was something along the lines of ‘We need you to open your bags’. No wonder he was taken aback by my response of ‘No. I don’t want’.
Of course when 3 people began to yell in my direction I had no choice but to go back. A man sitting near the X-ray machine screen pointed at this extra object I was carrying. Here is where my inability to speak Arabic came in handy.
“It’s a block. Don’t you know what a block is? Everybody knows what a block is. Is there nobody to translate? Oh what a shame.”
Tired of my rambling, he let me go. I made it to Dubai where, for the first time, my bag was ‘randomly selected’ to be X-rayed, courtesy of a policeman. Sure enough, he pointed at the block. Unfortunately for me, airport staff in Dubai do speak English.
“What is that?”
“I don’t know what it is, but you are more than welcome to figure it out and tell me”
The cop let me go with no further questions. I’d love to say the story ended there. 2 weeks later my friend’s uncle wanted to pick up his block. Just like the staff at Cairo Airport, he too only spoke Arabic. I’m sure I don’t need to point out that giving someone directions in a language they don’t speak rarely ends well. All I will say is that just to make things feel more cursed, I got caught in a freak thunderstorm while waiting to deliver this block. And the worst part? Since he didn’t speak English I couldn’t even ask him what the block was.
It is true that people do use us as cargo. As a frequent traveler, i was advised not to be a mule for others. However, being a priest and single, people imagine that i wont have much to take with me when i travel and do not hesitate to use me as a Cargo. Once i asked one of my regular customer who makes me carry stuff whether she would take me some stuff to my flocks. She was so reluctant and in the gave out my stuff to her friends as gifts. It is hard to be an unconditional lover regarding carrying others stuff when one travels. It is wise to be in the know about the things in one’s bag. Well done and thanks for the post.
Great post, I push the limits at times when packing…about half the stuff for other people. How did you like Cairo?
Cairo is one of the most chaotic cities I’ve ever been to. Trying to cross a street there felt like a death sentence. I was definitely glad I had Egyptian friends to accompany me on my trip.
good article although I do understand ur pain being in such situation quiet a few times
I definitely agree. I just went on a family vacation a month ago and, unlike the rest of my family who packed a suitcase each of clothes, I managed to fit everything into a duffel bag. Of course on the way home none of them could fit all their stuff into their own bags so they stuffed it into mine. I was lucky my bag still had room!
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hahaha…I love the way people use their hands or start increasing their tone of voice as if it’s going to help you understand what they are saying! 🙂 Even when I say ‘I don’t understand. I don’t speak French/Turkish etc.!!!’ or just show an ignorant face…still doesn’t help in any way. Speaker still goes on explaining! 😉