The first time I traveled internationally, I overpacked by... well, by a ton. My grandfather had given me an enormous soft-sided piece of luggage (part of a set, actually) when I graduated from high school. The largest bag was... huge. I could have fit two dead bodies in there and had room for more stuff. The use it had seen in the ten years since high school was just as a convenient way to pack my wardrobe when I moved from one house to another. But then came my chance: I was heading to China for a few weeks.
Weeks? Oh my. What about clean laundry? What about... oh, there were so many possibilities and I tried to plan for all of them - which meant that I packed my entire wardrobe. Seriously. My *entire* wardrobe. What did I wear out of that? Well, I did wear quite a few things but the hotel had one-day laundry service for really cheap. I could have packed two pairs of shorts, a few shirts, some nice clothes and would have been fine. Instead, I practically needed a forklift to lift the bag I took.
Since then, I've learned how to pack.
Currently, I'm preparing for a fourteen day trip to India and Nepal. It's going to be in the 100's in India and in the 80's in Nepal. I've managed to pack a decent wardrobe into my carry-on wheelie bag - and still have room for all the 'extras' like the universal electric converter, the microbacterial water filter and bottle, a pair of fit-flops (world's most comfy flipflops), and my toiletries. I have come a really long way.
What am I taking? Will I look like a bum?
I hope I won't look slovenly. That'd be terrible.
But I'm taking two pairs of shorts, six shirts, a couple of tank tops (for under the shirts), one pair of pants, one dress. Yup. Fourteen days on just that. It'll be good!
No comments:
Post a Comment