After 4.5 months, Paul and I are nowhere near experts on travel. But we have learned what worked best for us and our trip. To give you and idea of how we traveled:
- We mostly arranged pick-ups from airports and limited carrying our bags to just a few times on our trip (and between the taxi and hotel room if we could jump in before the porter)
- We mostly stayed in 3 star hotels, with a few hostels, B&Bs and nicer end hotels in the mix
- We had the chance to drop things off with my parents about halfway through, and sent a few boxes home full of souvenirs as well
- We had a long camping trip in Africa (4 weeks) and other shorter outdoor adventures, and sent that gear home once it was no longer needed.
- Our weather ranged constantly from hot and humid to freezing and dry
Essential gear:
- A combination of empathy, international "sign" language, and patience - this will get you over most (but not) language barriers and awkward situations where you or they have no idea what is happening (ok, it's not gear, but it's important!)
- Pen and paper - drawing maps for people, writing down the names of places in the native language, jotting down restaurant names, the list goes on. I kept a small notebook/calendar with all our travel details (hotels, reservation numbers, flights, transfers, etc.) and used this to write in. One border control officer even insisted I have my campsite information written, and not just on my iPad!
- Tablet (we both use iPads) - saved in my screenshots were all my hotels, reservations, details on each stop, maps, tickets, EVERYTHING. While the backup in my notebook was nice, the real screen shots had the names of places in the native language (especially helpful in Thailand). Add in its ability to send postcards (I used Postagram), the array of apps for learning languages, navigating cities (TripAdvisor CityGuide), keeping up with my blog, listening to audio books, watching a film now and then, checking currency exchanges, Skyping my parents, and all the things in between. Small, easy to carry, and extremely useful, I can't say enough about traveling with one. If you don't decide to bring a computer too, be sure to download Puffin Browser, which loads flash programs (some airlines require this for check-in!)
- A well stocked first aid kit - we've had several instances where we needed a medication or topical balms RIGHT NOW. We didn't have the time to wander around in a foreign country trying to find the cure to our problem. Be sure your medical kit has all the usuals, for example we had lots of general pain killers, oral rehydration tablets, DayQuil, NyQuil, disinfecting wipes, bandages, and everything else our doctor recommended (don't use this as a definitive list!). The things we found most useful for our specific trip were:
- Imodium
- antihistamines (especially if you have allergies!!!)
- legal opiates (prescribed along the way for extreme pain)
- Aloe Vera + hydrocortisone sting relief balm (used on a near daily basis when covered in mosquito bites)
- Malarone - our anti-malaria drug of choice which gave us no noticeable side effects
- decongestants (nasal spray steroids which are excellent for high altitudes as well as pills)
- Easy, slip on shoes for hot temperature, beaches, touring temples, etc. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND (and no, I'm not getting commission) these Croc Cleo Sandals. This is the second long trip they have seen me on, with no blisters, rubbing, or discomfort. They are incredible! They look good with pants or dresses and take up almost no space. I heard a few years ago they would stop making them so I bought 10 pairs, but that rumor (luckily) wasn't true! This is my third pair I'm working on :)
- Sturdy closed-toe walking/hiking shoes - What shoes you bring depends on your trip, but I found my Merrell Siren Sport shoes did a great all-around job.
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| My shoes stood up even to the toughest hikes! |
- A light waterproof bag (we used Sea to Summit), along with ziplock bags in general. I put all my things into the water proof bag on all our boat trips, and sometimes in heavy rain. This gave me peace of mind when I brought my nice camera along.
- Skeletool - on this knife there is a bottle opener, pliers, wire cutters, blade, and a screwdriver. The screwdriver got me out when I was trapped in a bathroom in a campground in Africa (read more about it HERE), and the pliers have been useful in several occasions. It's small and practical and it does the jobs you need.
- Merino wool clothing - almost all of our shirts were made of merino wool (both SmartWool and Icebreaker), which meant that when we couldn't find a place to do our laundry for five days and it was so humid outside nothing would dry if we hand washed it anyways, we still smelled ok. After months or traveling, this is definitely a blessing.
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| We're both wearing Merino Wool cardigans for warmth! |
- On the go water sterilizer - specifically, CamelBak AllClear - yes, bottled water in most parts of the world is cheap, but do you want to contribute to the piles and piles of waste? Paul and I sterilized all our water with this through S. America and parts of Asia, and we have appreciated the convenience and ease of always having water at our fingertips and not lugging around gallons at a time. It only takes 60 seconds to sterilize a bottle, and we only needed to charge it once on the entire trip!
- Spare Toilet Paper - you might laugh thinking it's silly to carry around a roll of toilet paper. But when you need it, you certainly don't want to be without it!
- Superglue and duct tape - I have used Superglue to fix a dozen things on this trip (clothes, my iPad case, etc.) and the duct tape for patching holes and sending packages. Small and easy to carry, but immensely useful, so why not?
- Hats (brimmed for hot, sunny weather and wool for cold) and buffs - we brought both types of hats, but depending on the climate you could get away with one. We had two buffs each, and could use them as scarves, extra hats, hankies, etc. We were always happy to have these and never upset to carry them.
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| Our buffs and hats kept us warm! |
- Headlamps - for setting up tents or reading at night without bothering the others, to hiking home in the dark, this was used quite regularly for us, even in the bigger destinations.
- An adapter with 2 USB ports AND a main plug. Plugs can be in short supply and this can be a life saver! I had THIS one, and Paul had THIS one. Both were great, but with Paul's, we could charge something and use the USB ports at the same time.
- Thermometer - when you're traveling somewhere at risk of disease, you need to know if you are running a fever as this can be life of death. Thanks to my cousin Kate for reminding me of this before we left. Within weeks of arriving in Africa, we sure needed it!
Nice to have:
- PacSafe purse or bag - affording peace of mind all around with built in slash-proof mesh and locked-by-tension zippers, this bag allowed us to go out at night knowing it could not be opened, slashed, or cut off of me. It even fit my nice camera! They have lots of different bags, all with similar features. Not the cheapest of things, but worth it.
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| Pacsafe Purse on the far right! |
- Clothing with hidden pockets and zippers - zippers allow you to be sure nothing is going to fall out, and hidden pockets allowed for safe withdrawals at ATMs at night. I especially loved my running shorts with their hidden pocket, and my ScotteVest Tropoformer jacket. Perfect for looking like you are carrying nothing!
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| This is my jacket that transformed into a vest - with a pocket for everything! |
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| These weren't my shorts, but the pocket was the same! |
- Several sets of clothes, especially at least one set that looks decent. I (Liz) cycled through my clothes quickly while Paul managed to wear the same clothes everyday for a week and still be OK. We liked having clothes for every situation - going out to a nice dinner, hiking a muddy path, laying out on a beach, touring temples, you name it! Don't bring the whole wardrobe, but do have a variety appropriate to the activities and climate.
- A small netbook - one of the best programs was the photo recover, which allowed previously accidentally deleted or missing photos to reappear. I also used this to backup photos onto our 1 TB backup drive (Lacie Tough) and to post pictures into my blog. Sometimes, a tablet can't quite do what you need!
- Pillows from home - yes, we may look silly carrying them. And yes, sometimes they were annoying to lug around. But everywhere we went we had a little piece of home, and we loved it.
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| Our pillows next to Paul - they also came around the world! |
- Journal - to record your thoughts as memories fade quickly!
- Lock Picks - (Paul says) if you know how to use them, a small set of lock picks (Bogota titanium minis). Or don't lose the key to your padlock, both are ok.
- Phrase books and dictionaries for languages that are very unfamiliar. Or use an app on your tablet :)
- A tiny hair clipper (for men) to keep his hair at a reasonable length and trim beards, without always trying to find a barber. Small and easy, we think it was worth it.
- Tiny pack umbrella - I (Liz) carried around a tiny, lightweight umbrella everywhere. Most the time I didn't need it, but sometimes I used it for sun or rain and I was so glad I had it. Much smaller and more practical than a raincoat!
- Mini padlocks - For locking our tent, our bags, lockers, you name it. Small and useful, why wouldn't you bring them?
- Zip off pants and Jeans! Both pants are used for different things and I was grateful to have both. In the cooler weather, the jeans were amazing (and helped me look less like a tourist). In the hotter places, I could protect myself from being burned or I could zip them off and have shorts. Quick drying, but good looking!
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| My PrAna pants do lovely handstands |
- Good bags, be it suitcases or backpacks. You're going to carry them a lot, so be sure your things are easy to pack and the bags are sturdy and comfortable. I started out with a Gregory Forrester bag (bought in 2003!) and Paul had a Deuter bag. When my bag broke, I also got a Deuter and we love them.
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| Our gear all packed and ready to go! Including my small bag and our pillows :) |
- Packing cubes - We loved these! They kept all our gear organized and made it so easy to pack, unpack, repack over and over and over again - and still find everything.
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| 3 of these each in a different size fit nearly all my gear. |
- 2 cameras (if you like photography) - We carried one nice camera (Olympus OMD-EM5 mirrorless) which takes incredible, blog/photo book/painting worthy pictures. We also carried an Olympus Tough for hiking, swimming, and other activities. Finally, I used my iphone for quick memories and my iPad to take postcard pictures. I stored my camera in the amazing LowePro Streamline Sling, which has a place for a camera, and extra lense, a special tablet pocket, and can fit way more than you'd ever imagine - plus it doesn't look like a camera bag, and you can easily swing it around to the front of your body in unsafe areas. I still absolutely love it!
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| My amazing camera at Vic Falls! |
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| Me and my LowePro bag at Machu Picchu |
Don't bother:
- Moblie phone - the faff of buying new credit in each country was annoying at the start. Then we bought an international sim that lasted 1 text message and one 30 second phone call. The international numbers we dialed never worked and it caused more stress than needed. Just leave it at home and use Skype!
- Clothesline - Although we did handwash a lot of clothes, we just hang them over the bath and the clothesline got carried around but rarely used. Usually it was easier and cheaper to pay someone to do it.
- Compression sacks - Sometimes used for dirty clothes, these weren't very useful as we already had our pack cubes.
This isn't all we brought, but they are the things we used most often and on reflection thought we should share. We'll add more if we think of it! What did you find was the best gear on your RTW or extended trip? Did we miss something?
