The Weak Bitch's Handbook: Packing Light for Short Trips

Hello and welcome to my official travel series for the next 6 months: The Weak Bitch's Travel Handbook.

You guys know I tell it like it is. So now I'm telling you: I'm such a weak bitch.

This realisation and the inspiration for this series came about during a weekend trip to Birmingham with Christine. Severely overestimating the things we could do in Birmingham, we marked our calendars for a 2d1n trip to the next nearest city to our university. Brits told us Birmingham could be done in a day but I didn't believe them. Bright-eyed me thought they were simply too jaded by their own city. PSA everyone, turns out they were right.

Most of the sights in Birmingham can be done in a day with shopping time to spare. I'll probably be posting my itinerary sometime soon, but Birmingham was relatively affordable food/lodging wise (by UK standards) and also incredibly convenient. All the places we visited were accessible on foot, which meant that we walked everywhere. And that's where the problems began.

Leaving our bags in the hostel didn't make logistical sense, so we carried our backpacks and traipsed around the city for 9 hours straight (fine we stopped for dimsum but give chance pls). Our backs hurt. Our feet hurt. By the time we got to the shopping part we took turns to play the part of bored boyfriend, sitting down at every chance we got in the shoe sections of topshop, f21, Primark, New Look blablabla.

I thought I packed light by bringing 1 set of clothing and other "necessities". I CLEARLY THOUGHT WRONG. As a reminder to never put myself in this situation again, this guide will tell you how to pack ultra light (sounds like some pad name) for short trips. You're probably thinking "but can't you just leave your stuff in the hostel?" Sometimes, you need to walk to the hostel. Sometimes, you need to check out in the morning and your train is at night. Sometimes, you need to walk a distance to the bus terminal. You only know the pain if you've gone through it.

Pack Less Clothing

This sounds so obvious but it isn't. FYI, this was what I packed for 2d1n and it was too much:

1x jumper
2x disposable underwear
1x heattech
1x socks

I ended up not wearing the jumper and I really only needed 1 set of underwear. I could also have worn the heattech I had on the first day. My point is, rewear your clothes as much as the climate and your icky tolerance allow you to. Weak bitches hate smelling bad, so bring a sample vial of perfume/ body spray to freshen up - a tiny bottle is lighter than an extra set of clothing. Generally bottoms can go up to a week while tops last 3 days in winter. If you are a guy please be more discerning of your own smells and tailor accordingly.

Also, pack disposable underwear so that you travel home with only the set of underwear on your body.

Leave Electronic Devices at Home

Christine brought along her mac and charger because we left for Birmingham straight after her class. Worst. Mistake. Ever.

Almost every reputable hotel/hostel/ air bnb host has a computer anyway, so leave the damn thing at home. Need to complete an assignment on a trip? Do it beforehand. Think your iPad is light? Not when you've been carrying it for 6 hours. Just bring your phone, phone charger and portable charger if needed.

Bring only ONE Camera and Lens

Unless it's a photography trip, bring only ONE camera and lens with you. I brought my DSLR with two lenses and died, even though they were small ones. If photography isn't really your priority, even better! Just take photos with your phone.

Weak Bitch's Beauty Tip

Eye cream? Day cream? Night cream? Body cream? Shower cream? Whipped cream? JUST BRING ONE CREAM. Yours truly brought 2 different cleansers (1 for makeup 1 for morning lol), shampoo and conditioner, a full tube of toothpaste and other basic makeup items. And they were all travel-sized mind you. My skin may have glowed but my shoulders? Not so much.

If you're on a short trip (less than 5 days), an untreated zit is not going to kill you. A few more tangles in your hair won't matter. Cracked elbows are the last of your worries. Like I said, JUST BRING ONE CREAM.

Also, a good tip is not to fill up travel bottles to the brim. Even though the bottles look small, you probably won't finishing using everything on such a short trip. Half-full is usually more than sufficient.

Split the Weight

If you're travelling with a friend, try to agree on what items can be shared beforehand. For example, I could have brought toothpaste while Christine brought shampoo. Each of us would have had less weight on our backs without compromising our cleanliness and hygiene. We no bear grylls.

Bring only 1 Pair of Footwear

And a maybe an extra pair of disposable hotel slippers at most. I brought havaiianas because I thought I needed them for showers and such #weakbitchproblems. Turns out the toilet was ensuite anyway so I could have gone in barefoot with no problem.

Don't Bring a Towel

If you're staying in a hostel, just pay the extra few dollars for a towel when you're there. If you're staying in a hotel/ air bnb/ couchsurfing, you shouldn't be bringing a towel anyway.

Don't Bring Food

Self-explanatory. You can buy food anywhere at anytime. Bring an empty water bottle and fill it in at clean water fountains or toilets if the country you're in has drinkable tap water. When travelling around, just fill your bottle halfway.

Ok, that's it for this edition of The Weak Bitch's Handbook!  I'm hungry to hear more tips since I'll be travelling almost every weekend this month, so do leave a comment if you have more tips to share!