It’s bulky, it’s heavy and if we have too much of it, it can cost us a fortune, but baggage is an important part of travel, and despite having travelled around the world with little more than an oversized backpack, I still struggle to pack light!
My first attempt at packing light was for our first 6-week trip to South America, when my other half assured me that I would need nothing more than a couple of t-shirts, shorts, flip-flops, sunglasses and a hat…Hmmm
We decided that rucksacks would be the most convenient type of luggage for our trip throughout Argentina, Chile, Bolivia and Brazil, and I therefore headed off in search of a ‘sizeable’ backpack that would accommodate the ‘necessities’.
Initially, I was very tempted to purchase a 120-litre rucksack, but the 80-litre backpack I finally decided on was more than big enough. Once it had been packed, re-packed and then packed again, I had managed to fit in two pairs of jeans, 3 pairs of shorts, 2 summer dresses, a skirt, 10 t-shirts, 2 blouses, 3 bikinis, undies, 4 pairs of shoes, toiletries and a hairdryer!
Of course, I had never really thought about trivial things such as weight… and so spent 6-weeks carrying a rather cumbersome 17kg pack on my back, while my wiser half had a mere 9kg to contend with!
These days I do believe I am getting better at packing light, and as we like to take advantage of the cheap flight tickets offered by budget airlines such as Ryanair, I can actually manage a whole weekend away with just 10kg of hand luggage…
Long-haul trips, on the other hand, do need better planning, and I feel it would be rude not to use my allotted 23kg on a flight to Cape Town or New Zealand! Although, when heading to the US, one should always leave space for those ‘unbelievable bargains’ found in outlet centres!
Packing for a holiday is, for me, part of the adventure, and while I have probably paid more than my fair share for excess baggage in the past, our future travels are looking a whole lot lighter – thanks mainly to our ultra-light suitcases – now that’s a clever invention!
Equatours Travel News 
Love you abcd..about travel and related information. Though I have been travelling for 20 years now (to and from hometown to the place i studied and worked), packing was always a concern and each time i wish to leave those thing i probably wont use……but even today….i have something that i carry. May be after reading your page…..i am likely to cut down and minimise few more.
Thanks for stopping by Raastha! Glad you liked it and hope you can ‘pack light’ soon! 😉