Travelling Light Is a Mindset

Travelling Light Is a Mindset – Summer Pack List

Many of my travel followers ask me about packing. How do you do it? How do you travel for months with “just” a backpack?

This is simply my way. I am not saying it will work for everyone – these are my personal essentials. But this system works for me, and I have never felt neglected, dirty, or unable to hold myself with confidence and good posture when I walk into a hotel lobby, a desert camp, or a local café.

Travelling Light Is a Mindset ✈️🎒I did not always travel light. Years ago I was the person dragging a suitcase with a broken wheel across cobblestones, wondering why on earth I packed half my wardrobe “just in case”.Somewhere between Africa, India and Europe, that changed. 

Now my 42L backpack – weighing just 900g – is my little home on the road. It’s crossed a few continents with me and still carries everything I need for two months of travel. Nothing more, nothing less.

The Backpack That Becomes Part of You

A good backpack should feel like part of your body, not an extra burden:

·       Light and tough

·       Comfortable on your shoulders

·       Side pockets you can reach while walking

·       A strong zip that will not fail you halfway through India or Africa. If the top zip opens the whole bag, even better – no more digging like a mole to find clean underwear.

I do not roll my clothes. I pack them flat, corner to corner. They crease less, stack neatly, and I can see exactly what I have at a glance.

My Base Kit: Clothes

This is what two months in a 42L backpack looks like for me:

1.         3 pairs of easy-wash pants in dark colours (comfortable cargos or similar)

2.         4 simple tops or T-shirt style shirts – not cropped, nothing low-cut, preferably with ½ or ¾ sleeves; at least one black top/T-shirt that goes with everything

3.         1 long-sleeve, loose sports top

4.         1 lightweight, all-weather long-sleeve jacket – ideally the same colour as your sneakers (mine is black)

5.         4 pairs of underwear (neutral/dark colours)

6.         3 bras or crop tops (neutral/dark colours)

7.         1 light T-shirt or top to sleep in

8.         1 loose, caftan-style dress for evenings – lightweight, not creasing badly

9.         1 pair of black silk pants you can twist into a ball – the creases become part of the look and work beautifully with a simple black T-shirt in the evening

10.   1 sunhat – light, and something that can be shoved into a bag

11.  A small roll up poncho (It can be disposable - protects my camera)

Shoes: One Pair That Does It All

Shoes are where most people go wrong. I travel with:·       

One pair of slip-on sneakers (no laces) – good enough for desert sand, comfortable on trails, easy to dust off, and smart enough to wear with the caftan or silk pants at night. Preferably black. Your clean them with a wet cloth. 

·       Scholl inner soles for extra comfort – and that is it

·       No extra sandals (perhaps very lightweight thongs for showers, if you really want)

·       No heavy hiking boots unless the trip absolutely demands it

Socks? I choose my sneaker type show well nd do not wear socks, but you may park a pair or two.

What Not to Pack

There is a kind of freedom in what you leave behind:

·       “Just in case” outfits you will never actually wear

·       Heavy jeans or bulky shoes

·       Full-size toiletries (they weigh more than you think)Remember: 1 ml = 1 g. Ten little 100 ml bottles? That is an extra 1 kg you are carrying on your back.

Ziplock Magic: Organising the Small Stuff

All my documents, toiletries, chargers and cables live in small ziplock bags – one for documents, one for tech, one for liquids, one for little “bits and bobs”.
I always travel with a few extra bags – they weigh nothing and suddenly become very useful when something leaks, breaks, or needs to be separated

Tip: buy ziplock bags with a double zipper line – they seal better and last longer on the road.

Non-Negotiables: The Little Things That Make a Big Difference

I travel with two big, soft cotton scarves. They are my quick Vivie-style headwrap for bad-hair-days, towel, curtain, picnic cloth, beach wrap, shawl and emergency headscarf. You can swap one of these for a classic sarong and a soft scarf for warmth/modesty, but honestly, my scarves are lighter, do all the same jobs and feel softer and more “me”.

In my must-have pouch, you will always find:

A zip locker bag with washing powder.

A small first-aid kit with:·       Headache tablets·       Med-Lemon·       Daily electrolyte sachets with added magnesium and potassium·       Panado·       A 3-day course of antibiotics·       Anti-diarrhoea tablets·       A few anti-nausea Valois (for “just in case”)·       Eno sachets·       Gaviscon (tablets)·       A few sachets of Citro-Soda·       A handful of plasters (Band-Aids)·       Earplugs·       Cottonwool but instead a few compact Lillets – they take less space·       A tiny pot of Vaseline and Zam-Buk·       Tabard for mosquitoes·      

 A universal adapter and a lightweight power bank

And, most importantly – curiosity and adaptability. Those do not take up any space, but they change every journey.

Why Travelling Light Feels So Good

Travelling light is not about punishing yourself or doing without. It is about discovering how little you really need to feel comfortable, safe and free.

With a small backpack, you can:·   

Run for a train if you have to·       Climb into the back of a tuk-tuk·       Walk a few kilometres without hating your life·       Say “yes” to detours, last-minute buses, and unexpected invitations. 

The less you drag along, the more space you have – in your bag and in your head – for what really matters: the people you meet, the places you discover, and the stories you bring home.
Travelling light is not about lack. It is about freedom. 

Enjoy! 

Vivie