Minimal travelling #2

Whew, hard work making it thru #1!!

It's not the clothes that weigh you down, it's the gear.

I was grateful for:

my free-standing mosquito tent, my walking stick when trekking thru the jungles in Thailand (both very lightweight), the little flashlight when reading at night when there was only one weak light in the room, the travel towel when there weren't any in the very basic accommocations in interesting places, the sarong which was a sheet inside my little tent, the sheet-sleeping bag which I eventually had made out of a sari fabric, books for non-English speaking countries, etc. I did use one bar of shampoo/soap which eliminated 2 of those things, guide books (which had been ripped to pieces for the only areas I visited), etc.

What other invaluables did you carry? I have to say that the lightest I could get my stuff down to was 15Kg, which I cursed continually. But, as I mentioned, I definitely appreciated having the stuff.

I never travel (however rough or luxurious) without a form of headcovering, for practical reasons (I am fair-to-auburn haired and fair skinned) and also for cultural reasons -- particularly for women. The smallest I ever had was a silk scarf.

A Swiss Army knife is fantastically useful, though only in checked in baggage -- mine has (as well as the blade) an LED torch, a pen, scissors, screwdriver, toothpick and tweezers (useful for splinters) -- and a load of things I never used.

I'm amazed you got it down to 15kg. Of course those new pick and mix LP guides would be handy...

oh... at the risk of raising the washing issue again... my sister uses those plastic coated paper clips but big ones -- like these -- as pegs. I use one as a bookmark, too.

My pack is between 11-13 kilograms. If I wanted to loose weight then it would be in books.
I read fast and a lot so I always have at least 2 books with me. Going to countries/places where I think there won't be a lot of places to change books I take more maybe 4-5. Tried to do without books but really can’t. Having the time to have a relaxing evening (especially about the country I am in) is a big plus to go travelling for me.

I don't understand how so many people can rip out pages of there guide books. To me that just feels bad. But how much difference does it make anyway? 200 grams?

For my next trip too much weight and room is needed for chargers and connectors. For the: camera, MP3 player, mobile phone (have to take it to make my family happy), epilady and battery charger. On my trips before I only needed a battery charger. Any suggestions on this?

My bag weighed just under 4 Kg. before I started.

Those chargers and batteries are heavy! Epilady?? Ya got me on that one? Re: ripping, have you seen the size of the book and the size of the country of China! But, it did break my heart to do so. It was surprisingly difficult to find book exchanges in some places, but equally pleasantly surprising to discover some wonderful book stores in others.

And this is how it starts weighing up!

Most of the clothes don't really weigh that much (jeans and boots being about the only exceptions), and even most of the incidentals are fairly light.

What ends up weighing me down are books. Guidebooks, language books, books for pleasure...that library ends up consuming a lot of space adding a lot of weight.

Yet I like having the books handy, and I don't particularly like ripping apart the guidebooks, so I end up just dealing with the bulk. It's a small price to pay for learning more about the places that you're visiting.

You can now download books (inc some LP guides) -- you could have them on a palm device. I hate those things myself, though.

#4 Epilady = a epilator anyway I just weight that charger and it 450 grams, the 4 other chargers are 350grams together, so its really heavy. Definably rethinking taking it now thanks to this “minimal travelling”subject.

I've done a bit of travelling, and based on that, I plan on having just a carry on bag, weighing max 7kg. It will be my "hiking pack", with a cover to make it look more airline friendly. The pack? Well, I have it, it fits me, it's comfortable (hip belt) and I like it. It has 50 litres of capacity, which will give me room to pick up and discard stuff, while still being able to get down to the "core" 7kg for flying. :)

So: Clothing... some sort of nice looking quick drying pants. A pair of shorts, and some other pants. a tshirt, a long sleeved nice top and a short sleeve nice-ish top. a skirt. underwear, (pairs of, lol) socks and bras. my swimsuit. a fleece jumper, a rain coat (also will cut wind) and a set of thermal underwear. a beanie and a sun hat. a pair of sneakers, and a pair of flip flops. possibly a pair of sandals but not sure yet. Also still thinking about sleepwear (?) Remember I'll be wearing some of this, it won't all be packed in the bag!

Misc.. a silk sleeping bag liner. (small and light) a small travel towel, zip lock bags.

toiletries: sunscreen, bug repellent (small), a small bar of soap, little bottles of shampoo and conditioner (top up/replace on the road) deodorant, my hair brush and a small comb. Ladies items.

Entertainment: my (small, travel sized) bible, my gps (small, hobby) my digital camera (small...) my notebook and a pen.

I fully expect to buy things on the way, and I don't plan on going clubbing... :) I am a small female with back problems- hence the hip belt and lightness of bag. :)

TA

oh darn. throw in a lighting device of some sort and a length of string. :) that's about it, I think. :) (besides passport, ticket, cash, card, health book, etc.)

I usually take 3 or 4 soft cotton tee shirts (half and full sleeve) in basic colors from the Gap clothing store, rolled up and they don't need ironing. Wear my full sleeve hoody on the airplane so I'm not carrying it plus its cold in there! 2 or 3 capris, sandals, sneakers, 2 dressy skirts in chiffon (rolled up), a hat, sunglasses, plastic poncho roll, my small SONY digital camera, tiny Ericsson phone that has an Int'l carrier plan and my SONY viao laptop which is 10.5"x7.5" and weighs about 2.5 lbs. plus a converter. I usually pick up local maps at the airport or train station when I get to my destination, but bookmark all necessary url's on my laptop before leaving home. Some tide detergent in a ziploc bag, basic toiletries in small travel size bottles from Duane Reede. I've even used the black plastic cases which came with film rolls to store my face cream and powder. A hot pot depending on the country I am visiting. Oh and some protein bars for the road. If you are ever in India, buy a bath towel called 'panchaa.' Its usually white with a colored border, long, and made from thin muslin cloth. Very inexpensive at the local market, folds to a napkin size and dries in 10 minutes.

What happened to the minimal packing thread. I've been off line for a few days and something's happened. Heard there's been bannings and abuse. Trust the really interesting posts to happen while I'm not here.

Anyway you all know my thoughts on packing and HERE I agree with Road Warrior. My books and books I buy along the way are heavier than my clothes.

Regarding charging - I have a Voltaic solar backpack - a solar panel built in with a battery module inside so you can store energy and use it when the sun's not out. The real beauty is it comes with a mains charger - with small light international adapters, and a 12v car charger lead. So you can plug it into the mains or a car and charge your devices rain or shine. It come swith loads if charging "tips" or adapters. The bag is not the lightest - you have the solar panel weight plus the small battery storage unit, but if you eliminate a few chargers you would notmally have with you you soon start saving weight and space.

From my bag I can charge my Digital SLR, my compact camera, my phone, my wife's phone, my Nintendo (:-p) my camcorder, and pretty much anything else up to about 10v.

I've used it in Vietnam, but no serious travelling yet - that starts next year - when I'm seriously considering reducing the amount of gadgets I lug around!...