In nine hours and forty minutes, our flight to the United States will depart. Thankfully, I am all packed and am ready to go to bed in a few minutes, in the hope of catching five or six hours of sleep before the twenty-hour journey to Los Angeles.
Fortunately, more than fifteen years of flying between Bangkok and the United States has helped me be a better prepared traveler. And by “better prepared” I actually mean, bringing less stuff and being more organized about how I carry it.
As a child of an airline employee, I learned at a young age to travel lightly, as trips were always on a space-available basis and you didn’t want to check bags in case you ended up on a different flight. These days I have a paid ticket but many of the good habits have continued.
I do check bags, though. Especially when traveling across the ocean. It is too far and liquid restrictions are too… restrictive, to be trying to compress everything into a 22″ rollaboard bag.
But one of the most important changes has been that I no longer feel the need to over-prepare. I bring fewer clothes than I think I need, knowing that I can always buy something if it is critical. I bring fewer items for on-board the flight, too. The ubiquity of seat-back on-demand entertainment means I do not need as much stuff, and trying to bring every toiletry and sundry item for any emergency is a lost cause, so I bring only the bare minimum.
We’ll see if I can learn anything from this trip and learn to pare down even more.
christao408 
Prayers for a safe journey, enjoy your time in the States…I know that you and Tawn will have a fabulous time visiting friends and family!
Many thanks Ruth!
Have a safe trip. I tend to over pack and it’s agonizing for me to start paring down my stuff.
You operate on the girl scout principle, huh? Be prepared. Or is that the boy scout principle?
If I could find a way to bring my wok and rice cooker then I probably would.
Safe travels and have a wonderful time.
Many thanks!
It’s only when I land and then start wearing the clothes I’ve packed that I realise I packed clothes I will never wear – it’s usually stuff I never really liked wearing, but thought I should bring “just in case”. Since coming to Taiwan, I wished I packed certain things like nail clippers, more socks, thongs (you call them flip flops), more toothpaste, some novels, another towel.. OK, this list is getting too long, I’ll stop.
I think they sell toothpaste in Taiwan, no?
Enjoy your trip!
Thanks Jason
Packing lightly is definitely an art and I’m glad to say that I’ve learned to pack lightly. I only ever pack a carry on size suit case, even the time I travelled around the world in five weeks! Have an amazing holiday!!
The longer you travel, the less you need!
yah. i too try to pack light. BUT i tend to bring a few extra clothes just so i won’t have to buy anything new.