Three days in Chiang Mai taught me my whole packing system was a lie

I landed last Tuesday and my backpack felt fine at the airport. By day two in the old city, my shoulders were wrecked and I kept digging through everything just to grab my power bank. Then I hit a 7-Eleven for snacks and saw a girl with this tiny 22L setup, she just had two changes of clothes and a tablet. She said she does laundry every 4 days. I tried it for 48 hours and honestly I felt like an idiot carrying 40 pounds for no reason. Anyone else look at their own luggage differently after watching someone else pack light? What's the one thing you could not drop from your bag?

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lilyfisher18d ago

...then I did the same thing in Vietnam last year and it clicked. I dropped from a 65L monster to a 28L and the only thing I refused to cut was my Kindle. Everything else is just stuff, but having that with me keeps me from buying paperbacks and wasting space. And honestly, doing laundry every few days is way easier than I thought, those sink washes dry overnight if you roll them in a towel first. Now I look at big backpacks and just feel tired for the person carrying it.