The Art of Packing Light

We’re off to South East Asia on Monday: Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia.  It’s packing time. Want to know what I’m taking?

The criteria is carry-on only with lots of room for shopping. I have two bags, a 40 litre backpack (carry-on size) and a lug, both half full. The lug can fit inside the backpack when needed, but in general contains the items needed while in transit, like comfort items, entertainment and documents. It’s surprisingly easy to pack a lot, way harder to pack less.

Clothes

Probably the hardest decision to make every morning is what you feel like wearing today. Now I’m faced with deciding what I’ll want to wear every morning for a month. I’ve made some epic errors in the past. I brought two t-shirts for 6 weeks on the Camino, both looked terrible on me. I only noticed that when I looked at a photo of me, on day 1 of the journey. Ray and I once accidentally packed an entire repertoire of colour coded outfits for a trip through Peru, and we were not subtle. We wore orange and black almost every day. More than once we were mistaken for a team on the Amazing Race. I’ve learned a few things.

I’ve discussed this with other travelers (women) and we all basically agree on one thing. Every trip will feature one outfit that fits the bill, that you’ll want to wear almost every day. The trick is picking that outfit before you leave. My advice, try on everything you pack just before it goes into the back pack and make sure you still like it, and fit it.

Check the Weather

South East Asia will be mostly very hot, with about a week of cooler weather in northern Vietnam, but there are respectful considerations that require thoughtful clothing choices. Clothes in my pack:

• 6 t-shirts 3 with sleeves and 3 sleeveless (way more than I need but I’m undecided and they are small and light)
• 1 UV protection short-sleeved button up shirt
• merino wool long sleeved under-garment
• 1 sweatshirt – an older one that I’d be happy to discard should a new one be found.
• 2 pair of shorts
• 1 pair capris
• trekking pants
• 3 pair fast drying underwear
• 1 sports bra, 1 regular bra
• 2 pair of socks
• bathing suit
• sleeping attire suitable for public consumption (overnight trains)
• west coast bubble jacket – warm and water resistant
• hat

Footwear

A friend of mine once told me she had one suitcase just for shoes when she goes on vacation. I’m bringing a pair of Keens travel shoes that will be good for hiking when it’s cool and riding motorcycles and/or scooters when a closed toe shoe is in order. I also have a pair of Keens hiking sandals and some flip flops. All the shoes are specially designed to be light weight.

Electronics

Disclosure: I’m an electronic junkie. You might know that about me. In spite of that, my beloved Mac Book stays home. I have an iPad mini for blogging, a brand new iPhone that I’ll use in Canada and then hide safely away and an old iPhone 6s. The old iPhone will get a local sim card and double as my camera.

Other Essential Items

• UV Steri-pen with rechargeable batteries – to sterilize the local tap water and avoid buying all those plastic bottles
• Adventure towel – backpackers towel that’s super light and fast drying
• Mask and snorkel
• 2 pair spare glasses – because I’m very blind
• Dry bag – handy for keeping clothes dry in the rain, but highly useful for expanding capacity for the way home, after all the shopping.
• Headlamp
• First aid kit – includes generic antibiotics for diarrhea and general infection, Tums, Immodium, Advil, Benedryl, Malerone (malaria), band aids and assorted other useful items.
• Melatonin – helps with jet lag and great for helping you sleep on airplanes, overnight trains and noisy/uncomfortable hotel rooms
• Toiletries – whatever you need to keep you clean and healthy, but in 100ml bottles or smaller. Pack liquids separately in a zip lock baggy to make the airport security people happy.
• Noise cancelling headphones –  with about 20 hours of air time between here and there, getting rid of turbo engine noise is essential.
• The heaviest thing in my pack is my travel book but I’ve always regretted those times I’ve left it at home. It won’t be coming back.

Documents

• Passport obviously – email yourself a photo of your passport so you can retrieve your information should you lose it.
• International driver’s license – costs $25 at CAA, so it’s worth getting even if you don’t think you’ll be driving. You just never know when the opportunity might arise.
• extra passport photos – for Visa’s, trekking permits and all sorts of other unexpected uses – also available at the CAA store.
• Visa’s – Thailand doesn’t need one, a Vietnam visa can be purchased on-line ahead of time, Cambodia must be applied for at the border and will need one of those extra passport photos
• travel confirmations – I always print out all confirmations even though they are available electronically on my phone. Cell phones have a way of failing you when you least expect it.

So there it is, a sneak peak into my backpack. Total weight is under 20 pounds. If I’ve forgotten anything, I’ll either do without or find it there. I’ve heard the shopping is wonderful 🙂