| Packing List | Posted: July 7, 2004 |
Those of you who are planning a trip may find this column useful. Below is a list of what was in our packs at the end of our journey (by which time we were pretty seasoned). It's quite different from the list that we started off with a year earlier. The day we arrived home, we were greeted warmly by Jen's sister, who then showed us the room full of stuff that we had sent home during our trip. Half of it was souvenirs, but the other half was loads of useless equipment and gear that we sent back after realizing that it was completely unnecessary. And we had set out relatively light too; we had just one small backback and one daypack each. There seem to be few places in the world that won't have any vital piece of equipment that you're looking for. We were amazed at how much was available overseas if you really needed; we also learned that most of what we thought we needed we really didn't. Unless you're planning on being in the Amazon rainforest for several weeks on end, chances are you will be able to get most of what you think you'll need at some town or city that you're passing through. |
There are a few things to keep in mind with our packing lists: the destinations you're traveling to make all the difference in the world. We shipped our cold-weather gear from Nepal to New Zealand, knowing that we wouldn't want to lug it around SE Asia for three months. And those of you who aren't amateur photographers will certainly not need to carry the multitude of gear that we hauled around. We do regret NOT bringing a Swiss Army knife or Leatherman; our original plan was to carry on our backpacks (since they were just able to fit), which would mean that we couldn't carry sharps. But in the end, we ended up checking the bags, just to avoid the hassle; we missed having a utility tool several times on the trip. Truth be told, if you accidentally forgot a knife in a carry-on bag, it's pretty likely that it would have gotten through security at most of the airports we passed through! Of course, as always, this is just an illustration of our packing list; some people prefer to carry more, others less! (The less clothing you carry, the more often you do laundry.) However, we think that going light really ought to be a high priority for every traveller! |
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Winston's Stuff In Main Pack: (awesome MEC Walkabout TravelPack) Obviously we would be wearing some combination of above, so actually there was less in pack at any given time. The total weight of this would be approximately 11kg. In Day Pack: In Pocket: In Money Belt: |
Jen's Stuff In Main Pack:
In Purse: In Money Belt:
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Things that we DIDN'T need (and eventually either sent back home or donated away): Water purifier pump, purification tablets, hand cloth, extra pouches, additional flashlight batteries, rubber bands, pencil, extra eyeglasses, CD pouch, blank CD's, broken CD burner, headphones, eyepatch (from plane), ziplock bags, bandanas, extra laces, itch cream, various lotions, vitamins, giardia tablets, tape, compass, garbage bags, two sweaters, long johns, comb, additional pouches, water bottle, playing cards, Chinese chess set, headphones, platypus water holder, goggles, candle. |
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