It’s been a while since I’ve lived out of my backpack. More than three years, actually. The last time I stuffed my life into this bag when was I worked at a newspaper in New Zealand for a semester during journalism school in 2004.
As I prepare for this trip — T minus three days now — I’m feeling nervous not about the flight, not about the time away from home, not about the language, the food, the change of cultures. What’s giving me anxiety is fitting everything into my pack.
Here’s the packing list. I’ll take a daypack and a small shoulder bag, too.
Sleeping accessories: sleeping bag, mosquito net, sheet
Shoes (they get their own category because they take up so much room): sandals, hiking boots, running sneakers
Keep-me-healthy supplies: water filter, Nalgene bottle, daily malaria pills, headlamp
Techie equipment (I should call this group “begging to be stolen”): mini computer and extra battery, power converter, digital camera, global cell phone, iPod
Personal items: toothbrush, toothpaste, hairbrush and the like, contact supplies to last six months, ditto on tampons (both likely will be hard to find when I’m outside of major cities), six months worth of my daily medications, plus a collection of remedies to fight any stomach bugs I pick up along the way, sunblock and bug spray
Books: Lonely Planet guides to West Africa and Madagascar, a fun-read paperback, copies of important documents, a notebook, small photo album of family and friends to share
Gifts: Stickers for kids (the lightest toy around)
Does that leave any room for clothes? Not much. But I’m also hoping to fit a few skirts, capris and shirts in there, plus a fleece jacket and a rain slicker.
Then there’s the all-essential money belt, which will hold my passport, paper airline tickets (apparently some airlines still use those), debit card, back-up traveler’s checks and U.S. dollars.
Since I’ve left Houston and have turned my parents’ house in Albany, NY, into Packing Headquarters, these two weeks of preparation are doubling as quality time with my family. That includes using my mom for the mosquito net test run:
Am I forgetting anything? Please say no. I don’t think it will fit in my bag.
Inkslinging in Africa 
June 23, 2008 at 2:41 pm
Hate to say it, but is one book enough? Maybe a couple more for those long waits in visa offices . . .
Or give me an address and I’ll send you some halfway through your trip!
June 23, 2008 at 2:59 pm
Oh my goodness. The worst is six months of tampons and contact supplies. They take up so much room!
Don’t forget a hair elastic, or bobby pins, to get your hair off your face. Those are small. And dental floss and a blunt-end nail file.
Are you bringing a knife of some sort? For defense and living in the brush.
Also, remember that you can stuff socks and undies in each shoe. And REI sells these quick-drying underwear that cut down on how many you need. You could get by with two, really, washing one each night and wearing the other.
As far as clothes, do you have a skirt that is supposed to look wrinkled? Those are the best!
I think you’ll feel very liberated once you DO fit it all!
June 24, 2008 at 10:49 am
Oh, Lexi, I admire you in so many ways – not the least of which is living out of a backpack for 6 months. I’m going to Costa Rica with some girlfriends from college for 5 nights at the end of July and I’m afraid I won’t be able to fit all my stuff into a big suitcase! I couldn’t even imagine a small backpack.
P.S. Take a swimsuit! At the very least you’d get a great tan 😉
June 25, 2008 at 4:26 pm
Lexi,
We are glad that we had a chance to visit before you left. It’s going to be the adventure of your young lifetime. Have much fun, keep us in the loop with your blog and be safe. Cheers!
June 25, 2008 at 5:29 pm
Deoderant? Maybe or maybe not..I ran out two days ago and its kind of liberating to be chemical free….but Id atleast take a towel of some size. It can double as a blanket, a pillow or a bag if you tie the ends together. In india we had to wear skirts because of the culture so I brought those wrap arounds which were small, anti wrinkle and served all the functions a towel would serve as well as being fashionable. Take care!
-Ally
September 19, 2008 at 12:48 pm
Lexi,
How’s the global cell phone working? While in Korea, I ran into some foreigners with “global phones” that didn’t work like they were supposed to (no service at all).
So I used Skype, which is great to communicate overseas via computer for free. I’m sure you’re aware of this already though. 🙂