To anyone that knows me personally or met me in the course of my travels this will bring a smile or two for sure.
I was notorious for having the heaviest backpack around: and with good reason - it weighed near on 30kg, with an additional 10kg in my day pack. I have to admit it - I was stupid - it didn't stop me having an amazing time but doing it again I would never consider taking so much stuff.
I'm the one on the far right - with an enormous backpack. My day pack was at my feet.
What was in My Pack (from hell)
• Laptop
• Camera
• Two person tent
• 2 cases of CDs
• Spare laptop hard-drive
• CD player
• Packsafe wire net
• Cassette player + Teach Yourself Spanish
• Two large paperbacks
• Water purification pump
• Assorted cables for laptop
• Clothes
• Leatherman
• Duct-tape
• Mini Travelling Guitar
• 3 lonelyplanet guide books.
• Head torch
• First aid kit
• Mini-speakers
• Battery recharger and spares.
• Juggling kit - 6 balls.
Ok, so I'm kind of stuck with the Laptop - at least for extended periods, I have to keep this and a number of other sites going, but the rest!
• Laptop - essential for me
• Camera - essential
• Two person tent - Make up your mind, is this a travelling holiday or camping holiday. Look at where you're going and decide in advance. In NZ and Aus, tents great but in Central America - I didn't use it once.
• 2 cases of CDs - get an mp3 playing CD player and cut this down to one or two.
• Spare laptop hard-drive - Ok - useful, and small - now converted into PHD - portable hard-drive.
• CD player - wouldn't have wanted to travel without it.
• Packsafe wire net - Only really used this because of the laptop - if you don't have one - forget it.
• Cassette player + Teach Yourself Spanish - taught my self spanish with the aid of a spanish school 😉 - no longer needed.
• Two large paperbacks - at some points I had three. It is useful to take two books, one to read, and one that you've read for exchanging on the road.
• Water purification pump - I'd keep this.
• Assorted cables for laptop - will be cutting this lot right down.
• Clothes - take lots of underwear, but keep everything else to essentials, light weight trousers etc.
• Leatherman - nice to have a knife - make sure it goes in the hold luggage though or say goodbye to it at airport security.
• Duct-tape - really useful, but I didn't need a whole damn roll! - Just a few meters would have been fine.
• Mini Travelling Guitar - sorry but only if I go on an extended trip will I carry it again, for this summer - 2 months - it will be staying in Pecs (new home).
• 3 lonelyplanet guide books. - keep it to one, and swap/buy on the road.
• Head torch - nice to have a torch.
• First aid kit - essential - but again could be cut down.
• Mini-speakers - not this time 😊
• Battery recharger and spares - essential
• Juggling kit - cutting this down again.
So what do you think? I'm definetly not the type to tear pages out of books to save weight, or drill holes in objects to shave off the grams (ounces). Where are you on this?
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