What happened to travelling light?

I remember going on a 16-day backpacking trip through Italy about 12 years ago. My bag had enough clothes for about 4 days (and a tube of liquid washing soap), a sleeping bag for nights in backpackers hostels, a pen in case I want to send a postcard home and just enough money in my purse to get me back home again in time for the next payday.

The two most important and valuable items is my bag were a Lonely Planet guidebook and my camera (and a couple of film rolls). And that was it. I can remember phoning home once from a telephone box downstairs in the Uffizi in Florence, my only contact with the “outside world”.

Times have changed and now we all seem to have our fingers glued to the screens of our mobiles. So, packing for a trip nowadays reminds me a lot of an IT installation project or two I had the misfortune to witness during my days as an IT consultant: there are cables everywhere. I am leaving for a trip later this week with my husband and the picture below shows our current version of “a guidebook and a camera”. Every item comes in its own protective cover or bag and every item needs its own power supply. With a luggage allowance of 23kg per suitcase on the plane, we'll be lucky to fit enough clothes for four days into our bags!!

Image credit: Photo taken by me