How I Pack for Two Weeks Autumn Trip in One 7-kg-hand-luggage

As I said, my principle is to pack light. For my recent Sydney + New Zealand 13D13N trip, where we visited glacier and all, I packed everything into my 7kg backpack as hand-carry.

I wore the most comfortable yet decent items for the flight: an Airism bra-top, an uv cut cardigan and a lounge pants. The lounge pants is comfortable enough for sleep, and 'normal enough' for me to wear outside. If it gets too warm, I can always remove the cardigan.

To prepare for the weather, I brought a Heattech long sleeve turtle neck, a Heattech leggings, a pair of glove, a pair of fleece socks, a beanie, a light pocketable parka as rain coat, an Ultra Light Down jacket, an Ultra Light Down vest, a scarf and a fleece jacket. (Yes, I packed a bit too much for the weather, but at least they make sure I survived star gazing at Aoraki Mount Cook)

Packed for this: 1 degree C + Strong wind

To keep me warm

The extra layers outside

To shield me from the wind and chill

As usual, I bring Airism and heattech t-shirt because they are light to pack and quick dry. I can use them as inner wear or as normal t-shirt. For this trip, I packed an Airism bra-top, an Airism short sleeve t-shirt, one heattech short sleeve t-shirt and one heattech long sleeve t-shirt.

For sightseeing, I brought a pair of jeans, a pair of leggings, an over-sized t-shirt, and a short sleeve jeans hoodie. blouse, I can match them with the Airism as inner wear, or wear them as it is.

For in-house comfort clothing, I bring two t-shirts, a shorts, and a long pants. 

All that I stated above, I categorized them using compression bags from Daiso.

They all fit well into my 35l backpack, with ample space left for my toiletries, undies, portable pail, sketching & drawing kit etc.

Of course, as usual, I cheated by squeezing my favorite Ultra Light Down jacket into my camera bag, which does not eat up any space of my 7kg-hand-luggage.

See also my Detail Itinerary: Sydney + New Zealand 13D13N

How I Pack for 18 Days South Africa Spring Trip in One Cabin Size Luggage

My principle is: pack light! I always manage to pack everything into my 7kg backpack. Even when I'm not using budget airline, I still pack very light.

Here's the example of how I packed for my 18 days South Africa trip last spring.

We were taking SIA from Penang to Cape Town via Singapore and Johannesburg, it was a very long flight so I wear something very comfortable so that I can sleep well in the plane. I paired my bra-top with a workout pants, and make this outfit modest by adding a denim jacket. The pants is comfortable enough to be my pajamas during the 18 days, and not a fashion disaster to wear on the plane.

The outfit I wear on the plane 

To prepare for the weather, I brought a set of Heattech long sleeve T-shirt and leggings, a pair of glove, a pair of fleece socks, a light pocketable parka as rain coat and 2 scarfs for any weather. Do note that this pocketable parka not only water repellent, it resists wind chill too. It worked wonder when I was waiting for sunset at the top of Signal Hill.

For sightseeing, I brought a pair of jeans, a pair of leggings and a pair of shorts. The shorts was added because I knew beaches in Cape Town are irresistible.

As usual, I always bring Airism because they are light to pack, quick dry (a. I sweat a lot, b. I need to wash these often), and they release body heat quickly to keep me dry and comfort.  I can use them as inner wear or as normal t-shirt. For this trip, I packed 2, wore one (Airism bra-top).

I bring also one over-sized t-shirt, a blouse, a long sleeve knitwear and a linen shirt. I can match them with the Airism as inner wear, or wear them as it is. 

For in-house comfort clothing, I bring an old t-shirts, a shorts, a set of pajamas (a long sleeve t shirt and a long pants), and wore a work out pants on board. I can mix these as of when necessary.

The only mistake that I made was, I brought my swim suit and a cover up, hoping that the weather is warm enough for me to swim. WRONG! These 2 stayed in my backpack for the 18 days!

All that I stated above, I categorized them using compression bags from Daiso.

This is how compact my 18 days clothing look like

When I put them into my backpack, they taken up less than half of the space. Once the necessary clothing are in, I can then start to pack my toiletries, a novel, and my drawing materials.

See also my Detail Itinerary: 南非十六天十六夜行程

How I Pack for One Week Autumn Trip in One 7-kg-hand-luggage

A lot of my friends complain that Air Asia promotion fare is not as cheap as it seems because the published fare in the advertisement does not include luggage fee. However, I do love this concept of adding features only when it is needed so that I can get real cheap airfare. I never really need on board entertainment because I usually sleep all the way. I never really need on board food because I usually sleep all the way and have to specially request the air stewardess not to wake me up :) And I never need to pay Air Asia luggage fee as I always manage to pack everything into my 7kg backpack, even during my one week autumn trips, when keeping warm is necessary.

I normally wear the most heavy yet comfortable items for the flight. For example, on my recent trip to Perth, I wear a bra top with legging pants, and layer with my jeans jacket and scarf. If it gets too warm, I can always take out my jacket.

What I packed in my luggage:

For bottoms, I bring only one legging pants. 

For in-house comfort clothing, I bring one old t-shirts and shorts. 

For tops, I invested in a few pieces of Uniqlo Airism. I like the fact that this collections is cool to touch and light to pack. The fact that it is quick dry make it really suitable for backpack trip as you can wash them anytime when necessary. I always bring 3 pieces so that I can mix and match. When needed, I can wear one, wash one and dry one :) I bring also 1 over-sized t-shirt and 1 blouse to match with the Airism.

  

Just in case it gets too cold at night, I bring one short sleeve Uniqlo heattech and one long sleeve turtle neck heattech. I like the fact that it is light and sufficiently warm when layered well.

Finally, my favorite, is the Uniqlo Ultra Light Down Jacket. It is so light and compact that I can squeeze it into one of the lens compartment in my camera backpack, which does not eat up any space of my 7kg-hand-luggage.