One of the ways to offset the challenges of foreign travel is to pack strategically. If you have the things you need, not more or less, you will be far more comfortable, more mobile, and better able to direct your focus to the world around you. The problem for most of us when traveling to a new place is knowing what is and isn’t needed. The consequence of this “Boy Scout” mentality (“be prepared!”) is that we tend to overpack and bring too much stuff.