This article first appeared in the Derby Telegraph. Martin Taylor, April 08.

Round-the-world journey reveals bags of surprises

Will Baxter’s trip around the world took him to Australia, India, Singapore and America - all so he could delve into people’s handbags.

The 27-year-old decided to buy a round-the-world ticket to see if he could convince strangers across the globe to show him the contents of their bags as he travelled around the world in 80 days. And he said he was surprised by just what possessions people carry around with them, from vitamins and diaries to a pair of comic-print underpants with holes in them. Mr Baxter, who does consultancy work for Interfleet Technology, in Pride Park, said: “I wanted to see how people reacted when you asked them to reveal something personal about themselves.”

So I decided that asking them if I could see what was in their handbags would be one of the most personal things you could do. “It was a very humbling experience and I have come back from it a changed person.”

Entitled, Around the World in 80 Handbags, Mr Baxter has now written a book about his trip, which started on New Year’s Day last year in India.

On his first day, Mr Baxter met a shoe-shine boy in Mumbai. His bag was full of telephone numbers, prayer cards and photographs of a Bollywood actress. Mr Baxter said: “He spent two days badgering me to give him the equivalent of £10 in Indian money. When I eventually relented and gave him the money, he told me that it would enable him to buy his own business, which was a real eye-opener for me.”

Mr Baxter’s said that as people revealed their most personal possessions, it helped him build up a picture of how different countries held different views on things. He said: “In LA, I met a tattooist who absolutely stank. He seemed to have no concern about his cleanliness so when a pair of hair straighteners fell out of his bag I was astonished.”

He explained that what surprised him most was how almost everyone kept a diary or notebook. “What that taught me was that people valued their own thoughts the most.”

Now he is releasing the story in a book to a wider audience. He said: “Meeting so many different people with so many outlooks on life changed me completely.”

Before, I was materialistic and always wanted a Ferrari. “If you offered me one now I would take it, sell it and give the money to charity.”

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What would you like to do now?
a) Read Chapter 1.
b) Order your copy of the book.
c) Upload pictures of your own handbag.