When I ventured off to Korea, I didn’t take many items. Added all together, though, it took up a lot of space and weighed quite a bit. This time for my move to Saudi Arabia, I added more items to the total but kept the overall bulk and weight down. So far, this is looking to be the better way to go.
Korea meant cold in the winter. This year, it’s even snowed a lot there, at least in Seoul. Saudi Arabia is easier because it’s much warmer. That means I can leave my jackets, two items that took up a pretty large percentage of the space and weight in my luggage.
Beyond those two items, I’ve also learned to pare down other things. I don’t have twelve bars of soap and shampoo and a bath towel. I also moved away from jeans, thinking they’ll probably be too hot and they’re definitely heavier than other kinds of pants.
With less weight and less bulk, I even managed to cram everything into just one suitcase and a briefcase for my laptop. It’s not exactly minimalist travel, but it’s fairly sparse for an American spending nine and half months on the other side of the world, specially considering the suitcase gets to carry a rice cooker, a set of hair clippers, and a power converter (yes, Luke Skywalker wanted to go to the store to get one of these guys too).
I packed a small backpack in my suitcase for day trips here and there. Other than that, though, I’m looking forward to the lightness.
