Writer travels with no baggage new boyfriend
Travel is supposed to be the ultimate relationship test for any couple, but one writer took the concept to a whole new level.
Clara Bensen had enjoyed just four dates with science professor Jeff Wilson, who she met on dating website OkCupid, before he invited her to join him on a summer holiday.
He planned to spend three weeks travelling through Europe with no baggage and no concrete plans - nothing, in fact, but the clothes on their backs.
Bensen, who lives in Austin, Texas, has written a book about the experience, No Baggage, which is set to be turned into a movie.
Writing for Marie Claire, she admits her original response to the proposed experiment was an automatic "hell no".
But she soon found herself arriving at Istanbul Ataturk Airport, with nothing but a green dress, a small handbag, and a guy she had just met on the internet.
"The night before we left we sat on the floor and slowly whittled down our possessions into two tiny piles," Bensen writes.
"My pile had a passport, iPhone, deodorant, contact lenses, tampons, a toothbrush, a cotton scarf, two pairs of underwear, and a few cosmetics. Jeff's had a passport, phone, notebook and map of the Balkans.
"He stuffed everything into his pockets. My dress was pocket-less, so I brought a tiny handbag instead. The summer dress was another impractical choice on top of all the others.
"I figured the trip was already so ridiculous – why not add a touch of elegance?"
Bensen said the couple made it through Turkey, Greece, Macedonia, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary, and the UK.
During the day, they explored tourist spots and people-watched at parks and cafes, and at night they found places to couch-surf, bunking down with locals.
"After a week, travelling without luggage became an afterthought to the adventure at hand," Bensen writes.
"Aside from a roof, a bed and a bar of soap, I didn't need much. I felt no desire to go shopping – a departure from past holidays where I felt compelled to stock up on knick-knacks and mementos."
As for the pair's fledgling relationship? The journey ended up bringing them closer together, Bensen said.
"By some miracle – despite 21 days of travel, absolutely no privacy, and a shouting match on the side of a road – we still weren't sick of each other. That had to mean something."
The initial travel experiment took place three years ago, and the couple are now living together, having made four subsequent trips since - to South America, the Caucuses, Scandinavia, and Japan.
"One book, three years, and four more no-baggage trips later, I'm still so glad I said 'yes' to a crazy invitation," Bensen writes.
"I wouldn't have it any other way.”
First appeared on Stuff.co.nz.
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