all my life, up until late 2013, traveling light usually meant a medium-sized suitcase-on-wheels that still fit carry-on requirements and a backpack stuffed full of essential electronics and what-have-yous to quell boredom en route.
i'd stare at travelers with lumpy backpacks the size of a tiny child strapped to their backs and wonder why anyone would subject themselves to that kind of labor. to be fair, after my stint in Malaysian primary school where we were forced to carry multiple massive textbooks and notebooks in our bags every day because for some reason we weren't allowed book lockers, my aversion to heavy backpacks was kind of justified.
thus, i consider it a personal achievement when this was all i started out with on my recent trip of two months:
i know. i surprised myself, too.
so without further ado (this phrase just reminds me of the announcements they used to make at high school morning assemblies, thanks Headmaster C), here are my few tips on how to become a female vagabond packrat... and still pack makeup (white pouch in the picture above) and several complete outfits (around ten, to be exact) to boot!
1) pick the right backpack for YOU
to be honest, this recent trip was my second backpacking trip - my first was at the end of 2013, and my destination was also Europe. because i did not want to spend money on a backpack that i probably wasn't going to use again, i texted my cousin Oon, a seasoned backpacker, now doting father of one, to see if he trusted me with one of his well-loved packs for a few months.
"I've got two of them," he said, when i turned up on his doorstep, slightly distracted by his adorable one-year-old, "a 70-liter one and a 35 liter one, i think you'll need the 70-liter one for a trip that long, though."
and that's what most of the female backpacker blogs on European travel told me, until i stumbled upon several backpacker blogs that sang the merits of travelling with carry-on backpacks, especially if you were going to be going through several transits. back then, i was going to be travelling between five different airports to get to my final destination, so I definitely did not want to lose my bag in between any of them. carry-on it was, and the 35-liter one was my final choice.
my second trip around, i'd left the 35-liter one back in Malaysia so i knew i had to look for another one. i did a bit of research about several good backpack brands, and Osprey stood out to me the most. it had a lifetime warranty, and had several different styles and size options for me to choose from. i loved the Farpoint, because of its several sections and zips and different compression belts that allowed me to neatly hold everything in place. it also fit comfortably on my shoulders and had back support (something the other backpack lacked) and a decent hip support belt that fit over my winter trench.
thus, when it comes to picking your backpack, DEFINITELY do your research, and do not skimp on price, because you're also skimping on quality and comfort.
2) Get organized with compression bags
these things are LIFESAVERS. i can safely say i am never going to be travelling without these again. these things are basically sacks made out of waterproof polyester-ish fabric that have toggles that pull out all the air within the sack when fully packed, resulting in a sack about half the size it was.
since i'm not really that organized a person, i just needed two sacks, one big one (the green one) where i put all tops, sweaters and bottoms in, and a smaller one (orange) to stuff my socks, tights, underwear and beanie(s). as i travelled, i'd have a plastic bag with my dirty clothes in it that i also stuffed in the orange one.
you could obviously use more than two of different size combinations if you wanted, of course. one website that i read suggested packing whole outfits in different sacks to make things easier so you needn't bother with de-compressing and re-compressing, which might be handy as well. whatever floats your boat. just. trust me on the compression sacks, guys. trust.
3) roll your clothes
yeah ok now that you know about the snazzy compression sacks, guess what. want to make them even smaller? roll your clothes when you pack them in. just like packing them in a regular suitcase. it makes things EVEN MORE compressed, which means you can pack more things. or have space for more things when you reach your destination. sweaters might be tricky though, but i managed. and if i can, so can you.
a tip? roll similar items together. for instance, i packed two similar thin basic sleeveless tops together, and bundled my underwear together. roll your socks into a ball (wrap one over the other).
4) PACK SMART.
ladies. you aren't going to need four different little black dresses when you're backpacking. you're going to be in a different place with different people in a few days anyway, so nobody's going to care or notice if you reuse your outfits. you're going to be doing laundry, and if you don't intend to, good luck lugging all those clothes around.
here are a few tips- pack clothes that you KNOW you're going to wear over and over again. it also helps if you know these pieces play well with several different outfit combinations. you're going to want to be able to pull out any top and any bottom from your compression sack and have them work together without thinking about what to put on, because there are going to be situations where you have to get dressed quickly, pack, and move on to your next destination without faffing around too much.
ALSO, work around a color palette. pack mostly neutral colors, and have a few other pieces for pops of color. my palette was grey, black, navy, maroon and a dark winter green.
here's what i packed in my green sack to start with off the top of my head-
3 dresses - 1 with polka dots, 1 striped, one plain
2 basic long sleeveless tops (multipurpose use- i also used these as workout tops)
1 pair of comfy long leggings
1 pair of jeans
1 grey t-shirt - used casually and as pajamas
1 oversize plaid button-down
1 knit sweater
1 lightweight jersey wrap sweater
1 Lululemon workout top that i also wear casually
1 pair of workout crops that can also double as pajamas
1 pair of shorts to wear in the hostel
Sports bra that can double as an inner layer
and i went shopping along the way for other key pieces, which brings me to my next point -
5) you're going to want space for things like souvenirs, gifts and your shopping plunder!
along the way, i bought one more pair of jeans that i ended up wearing religiously, a couple more long tops, and a few dresses. i could fit it all comfortably in my green sack, no problem. my only rule was that they had to play nice with the rest of the stuff i already packed. you don't want to end up having to buy another bag along the way that might cost you a mini fortune because you just can't fit anything in!
if you have to, use the postal service in the country you're in to ship stuff home, if you really can't leave something that absolutely can't fit but need to have.
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