which electronic devices to bring?

Don't forget the blender and washing machine.
Whew!

Keep it simple and get more from your trip.

I don't see the issue with someone else wanting to bring a few tech things with them on their trip.

Yes, go talk to locals, take in your environment....etc. but at the same time I know that I like my own space from time to time and that's not always easy when travelling but sitting in a bus I stick in the ear-phones put some music on to block out my surroundings and stare out the window lost in the landscape. It's something I enjoy doing.

I remember the first time I came across a fellow traveller travelling with a lap-top, it was about 10 years ago on the Trans-siberian. At first we kind of made fun of him for it, but then when we had access to music and movies on his lap-top we were quite happy for it. Whilst on the train we also mingled with the locals to some extent including a very memorable night drinking with the guards from the train, or another drinking with Mongolian business men. But it's also nice sometimes to just watch a movie.

Though it is true that you shouldn't bring what you you're not ready to lose.

Just the one washing machine - you mean :-)</i>

well...the dryer too. but the fold up one acoarse.

As a fellow journalist I'll give you an idea of what I take with me on a trip.

A couple of paper notebooks, a couple of pens, a Pentax Optio 5S camera and an iPod Nano. My partner takes almost the same (she has a waterproof Pentax Optio and a smaller iPod, but she is considering buying a Kindle over the next month or so). And yes, I have had pics published in magazines and newspapers that were taken on the Optio.

We were people watching on the Bergen Bahn recently as we travelled between Bergen and Oslo and most in the compartment were playing with iPhones or iPads, watching movies on their laptops or staring at the back of the seats in front of them. ourselves and a quartet of Americans were talking with each other, chatting to the guard, admiring the scenery or taking the occasional photo.

The main difference between the two groups in the compartment was the age difference. Those with techie stuff were in their twenties whilst those doing the interacting were over 50 (self included!).

Oh, and our respective bag weights for this trip were 7.2 and 8.2 kilos, but some judicious purchases in the Rohan sale a couple of weks ago should ensure that both of our bags are more like 5 kilos next time. And that includes the camera gear, the paper notebooks and the ipods...

jScribberkeith, ust wondering, if you work as a journalist, don't you have to send your articles in Word by email? Don't you need a notebook?

No. I make my notes on paper whilst I'm travelling and then write everything up when I get home before emailing them off. Okay, it's not as immediate, but it does give you time to reflect or to give you more time to research the piece if you\re missing some information. It is however a useful method of working.

My last trip was a 1000 mile + road trip in Norway that ended on Saturday 16th July 2011. The world knows what started a few hundred metres from the hotel I used in Oslo a week later and that's why I haven't written it up yet. Some things are better left to mature than to be rushed...

Most of my work is gear or travel related at the moment, but even when I was writing music columns or film and gig reviews, the notebook was used first and then reviews keyed when I got home. Printouts usually were done the next morning and then taken by hand down to the newspaper office in order to hit the features department deadline.

I've been writing since the mid-1980s and it's only over the last 10 years that I've had to email copy in to clients. Initially it was done by posting hard copy and pictures to magazines and then disks, hard copy and pics. If I've stumbled on a more pressing story (i.e. a gun siege at the end of my street a few years ago), i've rung the details in and then let the news teams do their stuff.

I'm off again in a month's time, but that's over here in the UK. I'm taking my car down to Norfolk with me so I have plenty of space for technology even if my partner decides to take her touring bike with her for days when she wants to do her own thing.

Our accommodation has both wi-fi and computers to use, but I'm still taking a notebook, pens and the Optio and writing up the trip when I get back. The best part of where we're staying? Mobile phone reception can be non-existent!

I've just gone back to having a mobile after a year without one and I don't feel bad about it when I switch it off and my boss (from the day job) or editors (I'm a freelance journo) can't get hold of me... The notebook is also being used on this trip to make notes for my new business plan as I'm ready to change direction as a writer one more time.

The last time I did this I ended up working for four nationals at the same time so like my writing, the plan needs a little bit of time to mature and a few edits too to take off the rough edges...

thanks but I can't afford to work on a paper notebook, I've to send it right away. Besides, the MacbookAir is very thin and light. The only problem is that you're carrying a value so you've to keep always an eye open

I bought a crappy old powerbook g4 to take overseas with me, my macbook is too expensive and flashy and i "need" a laptop for email & checking for flights, routes and stuff. Staying about a year or so... Ill probably give it to someone who needs it when im done.

how bout a robot to carry all that gizmo crap? and a sextant.
8oQ