An old guy in a hostel in Prague taught me something about packing light that still sticks with me

Honestly, I used to think the whole one-bag travel thing was just for showoffs on Instagram. Then I met this retired dude named Jan in a 12-bed dorm in Prague last summer. He was 68, been traveling for 4 months straight with nothing but a 20 liter daypack. I asked him how he did it and he just laughed and said "I pack less laundry and more memories." He showed me his setup - two shirts, one pair of pants, a tiny sewing kit, and a bar of soap that doubled as shampoo. No laptop, no ziplock bags full of gadgets, just the bare minimum. It made me realize I was carrying a ton of stuff I never even used, like that extra pair of shoes and a hair dryer. Has anyone else had a random stranger change how you pack for trips?

2 comments

2 Comments

sullivan.john9d ago

That Jan guy sounds like he gets it. It's funny how we fill our lives with stuff we don't need, not just when we travel. I've noticed the same thing at home with my kitchen gadgets I never use or clothes in my closet with tags still on them.

ben_shah939d ago

Man I feel you so hard on that. Bought this fancy spiralizer thing two years ago thinking I'd be making zucchini noodles every week. Used it maybe once and now it's buried in the back of my cabinet with the bread maker and that weird avocado slicer. The tags on clothes one hits different too. Got a whole section of my closet dedicated to shirts I bought on sale that still have the retail tags hanging on them. It's like we're collecting stuff just to feel like we have options or something. But the worst is the kitchen gadgets you're too embarrassed to donate because you know you wasted money on them.