Am I the only one who changed their whole packing list after a stranger on a bus called me out?

I was traveling through Southeast Asia last fall with a huge 65L backpack full of stuff I thought I needed. A guy sitting next to me on a bus in Chiang Mai saw me struggling to get it in the overhead rack and straight up said, 'You look like you're moving, not traveling.' He told me all I really needed was 15L and a good pair of sandals. I argued with him for a bit but eventually I downsized to a 25L pack and it honestly changed everything for me. Has anyone else had a random person give them advice that totally flipped their approach?

3 comments

3 Comments

carr.luna3d ago

That random bus guy sounds like a total legend honestly. It's wild how a complete stranger can say something that just clicks in your brain and changes everything. I had something similar happen at a hostel in Bali where this older woman told me I was packing my fear of the future, not my clothes. Really made me rethink what I was carrying around with me. Sometimes the best advice comes from the most unexpected people.

brooke_murray3d ago

Once had an old dude in a diner tell me I was holding my coffee cup like I was mad at it. Dude was right, I was stressing about a job and taking it out on the mug.

torres.riley3d ago

Three weeks ago a cashier at a gas station told me I was choosing my candy bar like I was picking out a grave plot. I was just trying to decide between Snickers and Twix. Not everything has to be some deep life lesson you know. Sometimes a random stranger is just making an observation and you can take it or leave it. I'm with you @brooke_murray, sometimes people are just cranky and projecting it onto a coffee mug.