Packing for 90 Days Wandering Asia

---

---

Well, we're almost ready to take off for....53 days of cruising, 10 days of bus tours, 5 airplane flights, 3 days of river cruising, 20 independent wandering days, 12 formal nights, 22 day tours, 4 night tours, 6 beach days, 2 birthdays, 1 anniversary, blogging along the way, rainy days, cold days, hot days, windy days, and of course, eating-exercising-eating-swimming-eating!

All in a 22 inch rolling carry-on & a shoulder bag, less than 35 pounds TOTAL!

There are so many articles on how to pack light that it seems crazy for me to even address it here…but ;-) so many of you have asked “How the heck can you travel so long with so little?”, that I feel compelled to see what I can add to this topic ;-). For those of you who have it wired…stop reading here. On the other hand if you’re like this picture… maybe a few tips will help!

First of all skip all the articles that talk about how to travel with 10 pounds or less… for heaven sake I’m a girl, I need more than that. Skip the articles that talk about how to ditch everything and travel with your toothbrush… are you kidding?? Let’s get practical. Somewhere between 4 huge bags and just your toothbrush is where we need to be.

You want to look nice, have the things you need when it’s cold or hot or a fancy dinner or beach time. You want to be comfortable, feel secure, have things to keep you healthy and still have the ease and comfort of light travel. Most of all you want to feel FREE!

#1 is having the right bags… for our trip this fall, we’ll be heading to the cold environs of the Aleutian Islands all the way to the hot equator of Singapore we need to be able to mix and match a lot of things. So, having a VERY light bag to begin with is important. Can you lift your empty bag with 1 finger? NO? Get rid of it. You need to start light. I don’t make any money from the GoLite Company, wish I did ;-) but they have the most reasonably priced, sturdy but light bags around. Take a look at www.golite.com or through REI stores, that where I got my current bags.

Now that you have your bags, where are you heading? Hot only? Cold only? You will need less if you only have one climate to deal with. On this particular trip we have it all, so we need to think “layers”.

So, some basics…


• Think thin layers, rather than bulky<li style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: bold;">Ditch the duplicates<li style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: bold;">Forget the “just in cases”<li style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: bold;">Favor versatile, multi-function items<li style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: bold;">Think black!<li style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: bold;">Don’t be seduced by souvenirs<li style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: bold;">Be a borrower or renter<li style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: bold;">Roll your clothes



Never pack…



Full size toiletries

Travel coffee containers or anything you have to carry when not in use

Food or beverages

Do Bring…

Lightweight scarves for color, warmth and to dress up an outfit. Scarves or pareos can be used as tablecloths, bathing suit wraps, formal dinner wear or tied as a top. Extremely versatile, I love them.Think Black: Black pants, black shorts, black skirt, long sleeved black, short sleeved black, nice tank top…in black of course.



We have a silver and black ball one night on the cruise ship. Normally I would wear I will wear a black top, black skirt, black nylons, black “Mary Jane’s” and a silver scarf. Voila… formal dinner wear. This time I popped (at a re-sale store $12) for a black and silver dress that I will give away right after the diner to someone working on the ship. Next, bathing suit & cover up which also doubles as a bathrobe or a light wrap when walking the decks, flip flops.



Black, no wrinkle pajamas that double as a top and pants when not in use as pj’s. Specialty items such as hat (one for hot and one for cold), gloves, t-shirt for exercising, umbrella and rain cover for the suitcase.



Because I blog on trips I take an “office” ;-)

Netbook Computer, Mouse,Jump Drive,1TB backup drive, Mouse PadI Phone, Camera (video/still), Charger, Back up Phone Charger, Flashlight, Home Office in a BagScrapbook Journals, Then there’s the misc. …underwear, socks, nylons, toiletries (one bag for liquids and gels- one for dry), and one bag for “stuff”. Your “stuff will be different from my “stuff”. My “stuff: Binoculars, blow up pillow, pen, back up glasses, electrical converter, headphones, jewelry, swim goggles, bungees, duck tape, world atlas, black belt. Gum, dental floss, aspirin, something to flavor water ;-) Sunglasses, Wallet, passport, visa, travel tickets and docs.

And I always take a medicine kit!



Be sure to wear your heaviest items… like tennis shoes… in black of course. Wear your sweats and jacket on the plane…



Donate things along the way… everyone around the world appreciates a “hand me down”… I do ;-)



Need something unique? Borrow or Rent it! Especially if you’re going to captain a tug boat or go on an Antarctic Training Expedition. Maybe rent a tux for a formal night.

Or rent that skin diving suit and equipment when snorkeling with friends on the Great Barrier Reef.





So that’s about it … everything WILL fit in the two bags, just weighed my combined bags, total about 33 pounds, with room to spare. Happy packing ;-) Enjoying coffee in the Bavarian Alps, Germany. Notice the scarf? ;-)

Now that you’re a packing expert, take the quiz… what do the following pictures have in common? ;-) Hint: think black and/or practical ;-)

---

Comments

[Madison Hogge]

Packing Queen!
Just read your blog entry to my roommates! We are all SWOONING over the fact that you packed so light! We all had the hardest time packing up our lives and bringing it to Thailand! We will be referencing back to this when we go home (-: Thanks for being such an amazing woman grandma! -Madison

[Adventureduo]

Great Start
Hi Maddy, you and your girlfriends are off to a great start. At least you've packed for a long overseas trip! When you get back think of what you really needed and what you didn't and write it down. Each time you will find that you need less and less ;-) So, where's your next big trip? Gotta think ahead LOL! Love GJ