Traveling Light: To Pack Or Not To Pack?
Hamlet had it easy. All he had to figure out was whether "to be or not to be?" — a one-time dilemma, at least if he chose "not to be."
My own quandary, though admittedly relatively frivolous, is a continuing puzzlement that challenges me repeatedly, not on a daily basis but whenever I plan a trip. My soul-searching question, which I am compelled to ask of every item in my closets and drawers, is "to pack or not to pack?" You'd think that it would get easier every time. Wrong. If anything, it seems to get harder.
Though I travel fairly frequently, I still haven't figured out what to take with me. I can be certain of only two things: If I leave it home, I'll wish I had it; if I pack it, I'll wish I hadn't.
Danish backpackers in front of the Vienna State Opera, Wikipedia Commons. (Editor's Note: Rose told us that this is not her packing style)
The pioneers who crossed the Great Plains were lucky. They could stuff all their stuff into the old Conestoga wagon. Come to think of it, they didn't have much stuff, as opposed to their wealthy descendants who crossed the Atlantic on luxury liners who did have a lot of stuff, but didn't have a packing problem. They simply had their personal maids transfer the contents of their closets and chests to spacious steamer trunks.
Today most of us also have lots of stuff, but no personal maids; and we usually travel long distances on airships instead of steamships. Goodbye steamer trunk, hello dilemma.
The urge to overpack must be in our genes. It's hard to stifle. If only we could remember that last trip when we had to schlep those heavy bags from home to the departure airport, from the arrival airport to the hotel-or, in the case of a multi-destination trip, to and from many hotels-the ultimate nightmare! Worse yet, unpacking at each stop along the way can consume hours which should be spent seeing the sights and mingling with the locals. Be honest. Wouldn't you rather be floating on a gondola while Rudolfo serenades you?
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