Traveling Light: 10 days in Taipei (where I both over-packed and under-packed)

I spent 10 days in Taipei with a carry-on only. Usually my packing is pretty good, but this time I brought stuff I didn’t end up using and simultaneously ended up needing stuff I didn’t bring.

I want to share my original packing list/logic for the trip, what I got wrong, how I dealt with it, and also what I brought home with me:

Trip prep

Location: Taipei, Taiwan. City trip.

Modesty levels: Pretty relaxed. Maybe no booty shorts though.

Accommodation: Hotel in the city

Duration: 10 days (of which 3 days of travel)

Weather: Rainy season

Temperature: ~25C-36C (~77-97F)

Activities: This trip was primarily centered around being with friends and eating, sightseeing, and more eating

Packing logic

In my opinion, hot and humid is the most difficult to pack for. You end up being sort of damp all day, but then going indoors usually means AC, which can be chilly.

The rainy season means puddles and frizzy curly hair, so that dictates shoes and needing more hair product.

All that being said, I love tropical climates. I run cold, so this kind of weather gives me a reprieve from perpetually frozen feet and hands.

Also, since I was there for longer than my usual 7 days between laundry, I was planning on washing a couple of items in the sink.

Clothes

Packed

• 7x tops

• 3x wide linen trousers

• 1x workout set

• 1x pair of slippers (waterproof ones)

• 1x dressier sandals

• 1x running shoes (I’ve started using barefoot running shoes so now I can easily pack my shoes for “just in case”)

• 8x underwear

• 1x set of PJs

• 1x bathing suit (I’m not planning on swimming, just in case though)

Travel

• 1x top

• 1x jeans

• 1x cardigan

• 1x light scarf

• 1x raincoat

• 1x sneakers

• 1x purse

Toiletries: Soap, moisturizer, SPF, deodorant, toothpaste/toothbrush/floss, cc cream/eyeliner/mascara, makeup remover pad, shower comb, shampoo/conditioner/cream/gel, quick dry hair towel, diva cup, tweezers/nailclippers, hair ties/clips, ibuprofen/immodium/bandaids.

Tech: Phone, eSim, eReader, headphones, iPad, Apple Watch, and chargers (type A and type B plugs, which are also used in North America)

Comfort: Earplugs/eye mask, dramamine, breath mints, pen/notebook, black silk pillowcase

Paper plastic: ID/Visas, 2x credit cards, cash, paper with emergency contact details.

You can also check out my full post on packing in a carry-on

What I got wrong (and how I went about fixing it)

The thing to remember about packing, especially when going to big cities, is that packing “wrong“ isn’t too much of a disaster. As long as you have your essentials (money, medication, ID, and phone/tablet/laptop) you’ll be fine.

Still, it can be inconvenient and it sucks to spend money unnecessarily.

Activewear - The temperature ended up hovering around 33C during the day and 27C at night.. needless to say I did not work out. That was some wasted space in my carry-on.

Swimwear - This was a just in case addition to the packing, and I didn’t end up using them either. Again, wasted space, but I was aware this would happen.

Shoes - I made a rookie mistake. I wore new slippers on day one, walked 20k steps and then got blisters. This meant I had to wear my sneakers all week, which was fine, but I only brought two pairs of socks (for the flights).

Solution: I didn’t want to spend money on buying more socks so I spent every night washing my socks in the sink to give them enough time to dry before the next wear.

Divacup - I’ve been a staunch believer in these cups, and still am, but being out for over 12 hours a day on heavy days just didn’t work. Solution: I ended up having to switch to disposable sanitary products for a day or two.

Fashion - This is something that hasn’t happened to me in a while. I’m confident about my sense of style and my ability to pull together an outfit. But Taipei is full of incredibly fashionable people and I felt underdressed quite often.

Maybe it was because I was going to the graduation shows in the creative parks [1] [2], or maybe it was because I spent quite some time around the Taipei 101 area. In any case, I started wishing I had brought some more accessories to style my outfits. This is more of an ego thing than a true “oh no I didn’t pack enough“ situation.

Solution: I found a really cool jewelry designer in one of the creative parks and bought an ear cuff, picked up a necklace at the jade market, and got a wallet chain (my emo 14-year-old self would be thrilled) in the Chifeng Street area. Those are just a couple of the things I bought though:

What I brought home

Physical

I try to be strict about what I bring home from trips. Not just because I travel with carry-on only, but also because I don’t want to clutter up my space back home. When I do decide to buy a physical souvenir, it has to be something I want to display, wear, or something that’s useful. This trip was once again an outlier however and I bought way more stuff than I usually would:

• Ear cuff

• Jade necklace

• Wallet chain

• Sunglasses

• Phone charm

• ID badge holder

• Big sleep shirt

• Cute lipgloss (the packaging omg)

I have been wearing most of these things on repeat since I got back, so it ended up being a win.

Digital

I’ve gotten in the habit of being more selective with how I take photos (treating my digital camera space as if it were film). If I do get too shutter happy, I make sure to go through my photos at the end of each day and curate. This is so I dont get too overwhelmed when I get home.

Generally I aim to keep between 5-20 photos per day. The way I decide on what to keep: if I were to show my grandma these photos (subject and amount) would she fall asleep (based on a true story)?

Final photo/video count for this trip: 37

Final thoughts

I’ve never simultaneously under- and over-packed like this. It wasn’t a disaster though. I got some really cool souvenirs out of it.

If anything, it solidified that I don’t need to worry too much about packing perfectly, as long as I have the essentials. I can always wash my things or buy supplemental stuff (though I’d rather not).

Sidenote, I had a total of five layovers on this trip, with delays and missed connections making the travel time close to 60 hours (there and back). Not checking my bag meant having all of my stuff with me at all times, which gave me the opportunity to take a shower at one of the airports and took away the uncertainty of whether my bag made it to my final destination.

The beauty of traveling light is that you’re not being weighed down by your stuff, which can be both the physical volume and/or the mental load of it. And while it might require a little more planning up front, I can’t imagine myself traveling any other way.