Lifehacker

Warning: Navel Gazing Ahead

Right, so I was reading this guys‘ post on how he travels on 10 pounds of luggage or less , and thought I’d post up my travel gear. This website is also interesting, and so true, as most middle-class kids I see backpacking these days fit more into this category then the old 60′s mentality of dirt-poor pilgrims gallivanting around the world on shoe-string budgets.

First, the packmule bag. I remember backpacking around europe several years ago (damn, I feel old saying that), and everywhere I went that big, huge, bulbous, nylon monstrosity on my back would immediately point out that I wasn’t from around there. Even in countries where I could pass as a local, the backpack says “Look! North American young tourist!” (Or at best Australian… maybe German). I never ended up needing to use the full capacity of the bag (it was 70lt), and it spent most of the time with all straps tied as tight as they would go. Really, the weight and cumberance of the backpack was unnecessary, I met other travelers that were going to be away for several weeks, and were simply living out of a carry-on sized bag.

So, now that I have a home base in a country and have a place to store the larger, warmer items of clothing that normally take up all that space, I have the freedom of traveling with as little as possible. All I take for a weekend exploring is: skirt, loose trousers, a very worn pashmina, bikini (doubles as underwear!), a shirt, undies, and my Birkenstocks. In warm climates you really don’t need as many clothes as you think you do, and the new people you meet every day won’t know you’ve worn the same thing for the past 3 days (as long as the smell doesn’t give it away).

My leather backpack has 4 pockets around the exterior, a top-opening for packing, and a zipper on the side for accessing small items. There’s a secret compartment on the back for valuables, and a loop for hanging it above nasty bus stop floors. It’s beaten-up, worn-in, and stretched out, but I love it. I can fit in with this thing pretty much anywhere, and it definitely doesn’t scream “TOURIST!”.

Second, the general everyday contents that keep me sane whilst traveling solo. Clothes and such are just a given, what you use for intellectual or leisure activities is more interesting. I pretty much always carry around my moleskine sketchbook for documenting locations and events, jotting down illustrations and descriptions of trips. I have a smaller, pocket-sized moleskine for real thoughts that have nothing really to do with traveling. If you’re not surrounded by friends to talk to, bounce ideas off of, or rant at, I find that thoughts can build up and build up to the point of being detrimental in thinking about anything else. Therefore, writing it down helps let off some steam. My trusty home-made pencil case, enscribed with my parents’ whole address (in case someone happens to want to ship it back to Canada if I lose it…unlikely, but plausible). Burts Bees lipbalm, the tin is handy to store little stuff in when empty. Sunglasses. And necessary documents. With all these, I can keep myself far more entertained then with an ipod or laptop, and they don’t need to be charged!

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