A Digital Nomad’s Guide to Packing Everything You Need in a 7kg Cabin Luggage

Between February and November 2018, I went on 44 flights. Most of these were within Malaysia, but some were for outside the country. Throughout that time, I was practically living out of my cabin luggage and small backpack. I stayed in 30+ different accommodations in 6 different cities. I’m going to tell you what to pack to be comfortable but still light, and all that without exceeding 7kg.

This list will be updated over time. I’m doing this initial draft in 15 minutes so I can just have this up.

What you will wear

• 3 t-shirts — keep the colour dark so that you won’t feel stupid wearing a white t-shirt with soy sauce stains on them
• 3 sets of undergarments (for me, this means 3 boxers)
• 1 pair of long pants
• 1 pair of shorts
• 1 set of pyjama wear (I have a t-shirt and shorts. Wash every 3 days)
• 1 detergent bar — to handwash your clothes. Wash daily if possible.
• 1 pair of flip flops
• 1 pair of sneakers (technically this won’t be in your luggage as you’ll be wearing this)
• 1 rainproof parka that doubles as your sweater when it gets cold. uniqlo, if you pay me, I’ll link to one of your parkas so my 1 million readers will get them.
• 1 plastic bag to store your dirty clothes before you wash them

Keep yourself smelling and looking good

• deodorant
• talc (baby powder) — this stuff is basically magic. sweaty? put some on, need for shower delayed by an hour. not sweaty? put some on. research shows that people are attracted by the scent. maybe because we associate the smell with babies, and babies = cute. jackpot.
• toothbrush + toothpaste
• nail clippers
• small towel — For when your accommodation doesn’t provide you one. Yes small as in two pieces of A4 paper joined together (which is called A5 btw but not all of you have worked in printing). Obviously you can’t use this to cover yourself when walking to the shower, unless you can run very very fast. dry yourself in the shower, and get dressed in there too.
• stolen pieces of toilet paper — stock up wherever you can. public toilets, hotel rooms. they’ll come in handy. there’s nothing worse than having a running nose and the only thing you can use is your rainproof parka…

Making your stay more comfortable

• Blindfold + ear plugs — some hostels/airbnb’s will be noisy and there’s nothing worse than trying to sleep when there’s karaoke blaring outside the window or a dorm-mate snoring to scare the devil away
• Toiletry bag for your toiletries — this makes going to shared showers so much more comfortable because you won’t need to construct jenga structures out of your toiletries when there isn’t enough surface area to lay out your essentials.

Keeping things in order

• 1 ballpoint pen
• 1 notebook — write your feelings and travel reflections. write your plans. write essential travel information so that you won’t be left with awkward stares from the immigration officer when your phone can’t switch on.
• 1 power bank
• universal adaptor — bringing one along with you is better than walking around town at night hoping that you find a department store selling one before they close

Additional tips:

• get a phone that has dual SIM capabilities so you can keep your home country SIM and get a local SIM wherever you go
• get a local SIM as soon as you arrive, even if you’re only staying for only 2 days. there’s nothing worse than being lost somewhere at 11pm at night and being too afraid to ask for directions for the fear of being mugged.
• bananas are your best friend. buy and eat as often as your appetite permits. you’ll save.

Say hi to me on twitter, @nxmohamad.