Backpack or a Suitcase???

sivan · Aug 4th, 2009, 17:40

Hi everyone, maybe you can help me with another dilemma...
I'm leaving to India tomorrow night and couldn't decide yet how to pack...

I was in India 4 times before for traveling, always with a backpack, one time with a laptop, but I had my husband with me to carry the bigger bag and take care of the (pretty heavy) laptop.

This time I'm going alone, with my laptop, and I'm not going to travel a lot - I will be 1 month in Landour and 1 month in Delhi, and a few days in Lucknow at a fried's house. In Delhi I will probably go to Paharganj for a few days (don't know where yet - any suggestion for a nice budget room? I used to stay at the Anoop which I find pretty good, but I thought maybe I'll find something nicer this time).
the rest of my time in Delhi I hope to find a place to stay in Darya ganj.

Suitcase would be much more comfortable and I will be free to carry my laptop on my back. on the other hand, maybe it's unrealistic to get around with a suitcase on the main bazaar streets and in the Indian train stations...
WHAT DO YOU SAY???

arunganpath · Aug 4th, 2009, 18:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by sivan

on the other hand, maybe it's unrealistic to get around with a suitcase on the main bazaar streets and in the Indian train stations...
WHAT DO YOU SAY???

Why do you need to go around bazaar streets with a suitcase. Deposit it in the hotel or place wehre you stay.

AS regards Indian Train stations, 90% of the indian travellers use only suitcase.

sivan · Aug 4th, 2009, 18:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by arunganpath

Why do you need to go around bazaar streets with a suitcase. Deposit it in the hotel or place wehre you stay.

AS regards Indian Train stations, 90% of the indian travellers use only suitcase.

Of course I will leave my suitcase in the hotel, but I need to get to the hotel first and I will probably have to move from one hotel to another in different areas of Delhi. Taxis don't reach inside the bazaar where most hotels are, and I'm also want to keep my budget low and take a bus/train/rickshaw when possible.

Still I'm tending to prefer suitcase. would love to hear more responses. Thanx!

Nick-H · Aug 4th, 2009, 20:19

Suitcase.

First, because it is a lot more friendly to other people --- not, of course, suggesting that you are one of those backpackers that forgets that they take up twice as much space wearing their pack, and send others flying or squash them!

Second, if you are travelling by train and car, you do not have far to carry your own case; drivers usually regard it as part of their job.

Third, suitcases come with wheels. Apart from occasional stairs, you do not have to carry that weight on your body.

However

Quote:

Taxis don't reach inside the bazaar where most hotels are, and I'm also want to keep my budget low and take a bus/train/rickshaw when possible

Somewhat negates my second point! I've never been a bus traveller. If I had, I might feel more friendly towards backpacks!

Haylo · Aug 4th, 2009, 20:30

Take whatever you personally would find easiest to carry, for the distances and times that you intend to be carrying it yourself.

sivan · Aug 4th, 2009, 20:44

Of course a backpack is easier to carry, I just want to believe that I won't have to carry it too much I'm just not sure if it's realistic... (a suitcase I can roll in most places, but I don't know if I can count on it in the streets of India).

atala · Aug 5th, 2009, 02:51

Where cars cannot enter, I put my (small) suitcase plus other things on a ricksha and walk with it, ricksha-wallah walking too.

Another disadvantage of a backpack: your things are difficult to reach, once you put one over the other.

Being alone, how can you watch your backpack in a packed railway-station while you walk? (except with a porter)

And how can you lock it?

Suitcase!, but not too big.

How much are you bringing, if you are not able to carry it where you cannot roll it (e.g. thru puddles of water when it rains)? Then again, a Ricksha will gladly do the job for afew Rupees.

Aug 4th, 2009, 17:40	#1
sivan Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Israel Posts: 13	Backpack or a Suitcase??? Hi everyone, maybe you can help me with another dilemma... I'm leaving to India tomorrow night and couldn't decide yet how to pack... I was in India 4 times before for traveling, always with a backpack, one time with a laptop, but I had my husband with me to carry the bigger bag and take care of the (pretty heavy) laptop. This time I'm going alone, with my laptop, and I'm not going to travel a lot - I will be 1 month in Landour and 1 month in Delhi, and a few days in Lucknow at a fried's house. In Delhi I will probably go to Paharganj for a few days (don't know where yet - any suggestion for a nice budget room? I used to stay at the Anoop which I find pretty good, but I thought maybe I'll find something nicer this time). the rest of my time in Delhi I hope to find a place to stay in Darya ganj. Suitcase would be much more comfortable and I will be free to carry my laptop on my back. on the other hand, maybe it's unrealistic to get around with a suitcase on the main bazaar streets and in the Indian train stations... WHAT DO YOU SAY???

Aug 4th, 2009, 20:30	#5
Haylo Structural Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Middle East and heading Easter Posts: 5,807	Take whatever you personally would find easiest to carry, for the distances and times that you intend to be carrying it yourself. __________________ The world is mud-luscious and puddle-wonderful - E.E. Cummings, poet (1894-1962)

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sivan Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Israel Posts: 13	Of course a backpack is easier to carry, I just want to believe that I won't have to carry it too much I'm just not sure if it's realistic... (a suitcase I can roll in most places, but I don't know if I can count on it in the streets of India).

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atala 8 years in India Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Switzerland Posts: 978	Where cars cannot enter, I put my (small) suitcase plus other things on a ricksha and walk with it, ricksha-wallah walking too. Another disadvantage of a backpack: your things are difficult to reach, once you put one over the other. Being alone, how can you watch your backpack in a packed railway-station while you walk? (except with a porter) And how can you lock it? Suitcase!, but not too big. How much are you bringing, if you are not able to carry it where you cannot roll it (e.g. thru puddles of water when it rains)? Then again, a Ricksha will gladly do the job for afew Rupees.