Trip Supplies
Or, what went in the backpack..... (my beatup $100 Cdn MEC 52L), plus the notes I made to myself when I returned. I've added a few notes since to explain some things better. Keep in mind that everyone traveling packs differently.
Clothes incl. wearing
- 2 pair trousers, belt, 2 pair shorts, 1 pair swimming trunks,
2 t-shirts, 2 long sleeved shirts, 3 pair underwear, 3 pair socks, light
jacket, fleece vest, 2 sarongs, silk sleeping sheet, sleeping bag, poncho,
hiking sandals, flip flops, shoes, disposable heavy jacket, daypack,
waterproof pack cover, main pack.
- if flying in and out of the same city, it would possible
to store the heavy winter jacket in a guest house and pick it up on the
way back.
- keep the sandals wrapped up in the perforated zip lock bags
(a bag for each sandal).
- pure cotton shirts are fine as long as they are non wrinkle.
A breast pocket is handy for the days spending money.
- extra pockets on shorts and trousers are useful to hold
money, tickets, etc.
- goretex shell would have been nice, expensive, but would
have saved me getting sick when it was raining so hard in Zimbabwe.
-bigger daypack would have been useful with the way the main pack
was locked away during the day.
Notes -I try to leave in clothes that are new or fairly new. Traveling
seems to wear stuff out much quicker than normal life, and I've had a few
trips where clothes I thought were fine have disintegrated after a month
or so. I also try and pick things that hand wash easily, hide dirt,
while at the same time not looking too casual (which for me just means
I leave my jeans at home)
-for shoes I try and
take as light and cool a shoes as I can that still have good grip for hiking.
-one sarong is for
a towl and the other is for the million other uses a sarong has. That way
the one can be drying out while the other is being used.
-the silk sleeping
sheet adds some warmth and luxury to scruffy beds and makes a nice warm
weather sleeping bag. Bed bugs are also said not to like silk. Generally
I don't pack a regular sleeping bag. This trip was an exception as it was
mostly camping.
Moneybelt
- passport, cash, travs cheques, drivers liscense, visa card,
health care card, new address list, plane ticket, aeroplan card, a few
business cards, lock combination.
- keep everything in a ziplock bag so it stays dry in the moneybelt.
-more US cash would have been useful, although riskier.
Medication
- baking soda, betadine disinfectant, doxycycline, roll ankle
bandage+safety pin+instructions, mosquito repellant, cough drops, suntan
lotion, charcoal pills, toothache medication, thermometer, Lariam, Tylenol
3, roll bandage, q-tips, chloramphenicol eye ointment, athletes foot powder,
gravol, condoms, tiger balm, chapstick, gastrolyte, caladryl, tylenol,
60 ml Sudafed decongestant, cloth bag to hold everything.
- replace the tylenol with aspirin next time as aspirin can
take down swelling as well as fix headaches.
Note -small things tend to be in small labeled nalgene bottles as they
don't crack or leak.
Toiletries
- alarm clock, toothbrush and toothpaste, shaving creme, 2
razors, deoderant, bar soap, colgate dental floss, comb, flashlight, shampoo
(250 ml nalgene), 60 ml dandruff shampoo, 30 ml detergent for glasses,
alarm clock, scissors, cloth bag to hold everything.
- keep the bar soap in a plastic bag.
- screw top, not flip top toothpaste if it can be found.
Note -shampoo etc kept in nalgene for the same reasons.
Paper
- 1 traveling notebook with aeroplan # and small calendar,
one blank notebook, journal (with flight itinerary, addresses to
write to, Lariam info, LP update info), business cards, photocopy of drivers
licence+healthcare card+YH card+flight tickets+passport, flight and health
insurance, manuals for both cameras, yellow vaccination book, small world
atlas book, photo album, Bugs, Bites, and Bowels health book, guidebook,
medication instructions, address book, phone direct card, visa photos,
YH card, Int'l drivers license, travelers chq's numbers, photo of backpack,
photocopies of the guidebook maps to the cities I will be going to, 2 extra
flight itineraries, Africa map.
- less traveling photos in photo album, more different bits
of living in Canada, eg. hockey, typical town, friends, etc.
- only get the International drivers licence if I'm sure it
will be needed.
- buy or trade for a book while traveling.
-travellers chq purchase receipts would have been useful to
cash travellers chqs in Malawi.
- make up my own business cards, with e-mail address.
Photo and Audio
- CD player+fleece carry bag, CD's, SLR camera and case, compact
camera and case, camera cleaning kit, spare camera batteries, spare film,
mini tripod.
- take minimal music, if any. I always end up listening to
what I buy on the way anyway.
- pack spare film in clear ziplock bag so it can be inspected
easily.
Miscellaneous
-fingernail clippers, earplugs, small Phillips and flat screwdrivers
for glasses and cameras, spare pack closer, spare watch pin, needles+thread+thimble,
laundry bag, spare small, medium, and perforated zip lock bags, clip on
sunglasses and case, spare glasses+prescription+case, spare pens, hilighter,
clothes pegs, spoon, glasses retainer for swimming, lighter, spare elastics
(one container large, one small), whistle, scotch tape, combination lock,
locking chain, maglite, maglite headlight band, marker pen, 2 x 500 ml
water bottles, humidity/temp gauge, small needle nose vice grip, compass,
spare AA batteries, Gameboy and case and spare AAA batteries, dual timezone
watch with alarm and light, mini leatherman, post-it glue stick, small
key lock, US $50.00 hidden, toilet paper, Kleenex pack, inflatable pillow,
compression straps for jacket and sleeping bag.
- the maglite flashlight band was useful when camping but a dedicated headlight would have been better.