The most challenging thing for me about travelling that contributes to why I don't exactly like it is the idea of packing and then moving what I have packed. It is usually an arduous task for me, so I take a deep breath whenever I have to. But I think I have now learned a valuable lesson to make things less complicated for me.

You know how you pack for a journey, and then, at the end of the journey, you think to yourself, "I didn't even use most of these things." Yes, that happened yet again to me, and it cost me a lot of money. The stress and money that I could have avoided spending made me realise how peaceful it can be to just stick with what's truly necessary and meaningful.

I had to be in an orientation camp for three weeks last July for my national service year. It was so far away, and there was a dress code. One box was enough for all that I needed, and so one box it was. I had to get a few extra things, like a bucket, along the way, and that was just it. Afterwards, I was deployed to somewhere else in the state to serve.

I didn't have all that I needed, so I had to travel back home, which is a 12-hour journey. Now, here was where I made my first mistake. I should have travelled with that box and taken the things I didn't need any more along with me, but I didn't.

I went back home with nothing and returned with yet more luggage. In my mind, they were essentially the things that I needed. A toaster and an electric cooker. I mean, I enjoy my coffee with toast bread the most - the kind you have egg in between the slices of bread. But then, I had to go with a gas cylinder as well, because electricity isn't regular here and I wouldn't get to use the electric cooker sometimes.

You see how it's all adding up? And there were more things, like clothes, that I really never wore. What's worse was that I even had to purchase more things that I needed, like a small plastic table and chair; that was important, though, because there was no way I was going to work for several hours at night on my PC or study while sitting on my bed that had no frame and was just on the floor.

As husband material for one million yards, I also had a few pots and cooking utensils. Sadly, this version of husband material doesn't even cook that much because he's often too busy and would rather eat fast food. That, too, was yet another hole in my pocket that I needed to fix. Tsk tsk, Jay.

The day of reckoning came, when I finally had to move back home after the completion of my national year of service. Packing everything together became such a difficulty. Eventually, I did. And what I had packed was more than I got there with.

There and then, when I was thinking of how I would move everything, I said to myself, "This must not happen again." I could have lived without many of the things that I initially thought necessary.

When I had to contact the travel service that was recommended to me, they charged me double my fare, because all my luggage would need an extra seat. Damn. The fare for one person was already a lot to me, but I had to pay it anyway - with pain in my heart.

I had to let go of some of the things I had by giving them to friends that were staying back, and then I travelled back home with the rest.

At home, I realised how many things I had kept in my room and didn't need, sorted them out, and let go of them, too.

I have always preferred things to be as simple as they can be, but there were some areas where I hadn't applied that yet, and this part of travelling has now been adjusted.

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_{All images are mine}

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