“Traveling with just a carry-on and never having to worry about lost luggage seems as elusive as an extra pack of peanuts, but travel expert Lani Teshima is determined. Some of her advice smacks of common sense, but most of us could stand to be reminded of how to turn a few clothing items into a week's wardrobe and pare down the toiletry supplies.”
        — Access Magazine, America's Guide to the Internet

Recommended by Orbitz Travel Watch, L.L.Bean, Lonely Planet, Magellan's, People Magazine, Rick Steves' Europe Through the Back Door, Time Magazine and many more!

Update December 2003

It was recently brought to my attention that the e-mail form was no longer working—I just assumed nobody wrote me anymore because I am not updating the site at the same rate I used to. A big thank-you to the reader who bothered to track me down over at my other Web site, MousePlanet.com, to inform me.

The e-mail form has now been fixed—you can now send me questions and comments from that form with ease. Big apologies to those of you who met with frustration in trying to contact me unsuccessfully.

I am still working at the same software company in Northern California I started with back in 1998. My work at MousePlanet takes up most of whatever free time I have after I'm done with my day job. Unfortunately, that means my Travelite FAQ site has suffered from a severe lack of updates. This, however, was not enough to stop a reporter from the Honolulu Advertiser, one of two major dailies on Oahu, from writing a wonderful profile about me earlier this month. You can read reporter Wanda Adams' article, “Ex-Islander posts traveling-light tips” online at their Web site.

One of the things the reporter wanted to know, was whether I felt there were any changes that affected my travel-light philosophy since September 11, 2001. I told her no; while I no longer recommend carrying Swiss army knives or wearing lace-up shoes to the airport (they make getting in and out of at the security gate a bit of a hassle), I believe now—more than ever—that traveling light is the way to go. When members of the U.S. Transportation Security Administration tell you not to lock your luggage, and can now, without any undue suspicion, open your check-in bags to search for contraband, the time of checking in suitcases is over.

Now that my e-mail form is operating again, please write me with your questions, opinions, observations, as well as any stories you'd like to share. As time permits, I will post my thoughts and updates here.

Aloha,

– Lani

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