Zipping through airport security and out through the exit, I noticed the bus to the city centre parked in the bay.
I’d just touched down in the Albanian capital of Tirana and I knew the next one wasn’t for a while so I decided to make a run to try to catch it.
Sure enough, I made it with only moments to spare. But as soon as I scrambled on – puffing and perspiring – I noticed only one seat available, which was right at the back in the corner, with no leg room and certainly no overhead luggage space.
Not to worry, I thought to myself. All of my clothes were contained in my Uniqlo cross body bag.
Settling into the seat that no one else clearly even wanted to try, I felt smug that I’d managed to pack so lightly and it was already paying off. All of this to say, I couldn’t recommend this downsized way of travelling more.
I first noticed the viral Uniqlo bag a couple of years ago when it was popping off on the socials. It felt like absolutely everybody was talking about it because it was under £15, it went with every outfit and it had this Mary Poppins-style likeness that you could put so much inside it.
The moment I saw a video of someone putting an entire bottle of wine in one, that’s when I was totally sold.
As a travel content creator and founder of the website, Cheap Holiday Expert, I began using it as a day bag when I was out and about. So I’d throw in my passport, keys, lip balm, powerbank, phone, and maybe even a little tripod for filming content.
One of the recurring things that I cover in my travel content is how to pack light – we’re all too familiar with the costs of bringing hold luggage or even a small bag, with extra charges starting from a few quid and spiralling into the hundreds, depending on the airline.
Then I had a thought one day as I pulled out a jumper from my bag: It would be really funny if I could try to do an entire trip with this bag.
When I decided to challenge myself in May last year to do a weekend trip abroad to Albania for under £100 in total, it felt like the perfect time to try out my theory.
I immediately knew it would be all about planning.
I wrote out exactly what I’d need for a three-day trip, including the bulkier items on the travel days to and from the airport. This was a pair of lightweight trousers, a tee (that I could swap out on the way back), a shirt, a jacket, a hat and sunglasses.
I even made sure to put my tripod and passport in the jacket pocket to maximise space.
Then all I’d need to pack clothes-wise was a skirt, another top, nightie, two pairs of socks and two pairs of underwear. I know not having a contingency pair of underwear might freak some people out, but trust me, you can do it!
Vitally, I packed all of these clothing items into a vacuum bag (that didn’t need a vacuum, just to manually roll out the air) to squish it down.
As for toiletries, I decanted everything into small containers, including moisturiser, cleanser, foundation, cream blusher, and toothpaste. I also brought an eyebrow pencil, mascara, comb, toothbrush, deodorant, and comb.
Obviously, if you wanted to glam up one evening, packing so little does make it more difficult. But my top tip would be to take a lip pencil that you can use as a blusher too with your hands.
Finally, instead of a bulky charger and plug adapter, I brought a power bank and cable charger. I also had a watch charger, SD cards, keys, bank cards and ID.
All of this took a lot of trial and error – like when I had to swap out a big, bulky hair brush for a compact comb, or a lightweight night dress instead of a set of pyjamas.
The moment I finally zipped it all up, I felt so much relief. But remarkably, I actually had some space leftover!
As for the actual holiday, there’s no doubt that packing so lightly was beneficial. For one, getting through baggage and security at the airport was a breeze, especially because I had already organised my liquids into a small bag.
Then there was the moment I got off the bus into Tirana’s city centre and had to walk for around 20 minutes to find my accommodation. Especially on a warm day, it was so nice to not have to lug a big suitcase around.
But the best thing was that once I’d checked into my hostel and put everything away, I could just repurpose the Uniqlo bag as a day bag.
So I can honestly say that packing so lightly didn’t impede on my trip.
It wasn’t until I was recently chatting to a friend about the fact that I managed to fit what I did in my Uniqlo bag that I thought about recreating that and posting a video on it. And it went viral.
It’s had over 4 million views on Instagram alone and such a lovely, positive response. Lots of people said they wanted to try it, while others said packing so light would make them too anxious. One of my favourite comments was: ‘Nobody send this to my boyfriend.’
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Of course, I know I didn’t need to do this. It was just a way to challenge myself because, why not?
Time and time again, I have been that person trying not to make eye contact with airline staff while waiting to board a plane because I was nervous my carry-on bag would be too large. This took that away.
But if I was to do this challenge again, I’d do a few things differently.
Firstly, I’d get some sample deodorants or perfumes, instead of bulky containers (I had bought a travel size deodorant from Boots). I’d also get some sort of collapsible sack water bottle.
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So if you’re thinking about trying it too, I couldn’t recommend it enough. At the end of the day, you’ll be absolutely fine if you plan everything and be realistic about what you need.
And again, I promise that you’re going to be OK without packing 10 pairs of underwear for one weekend away.
Who knows, maybe the next thing I do is a pockets-only trip.
As told to James Besanvalle
Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing James.Besanvalle@metro.co.uk.
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