Packing Do's and Don'ts

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Now that this part of the journey has ended, I can officially say, I am an expert on packing. If I decide to do something like this ever again, I know exactly what I would need!

Here is a list of things I couldn’t live without:

My lululemon dancer pants. I literally was able to wear these pants for 3-4 days without washing them as they absorb sweat.

My Toshiba netbook. After being thrown around for the past 7 months, a trip to the geek squad will be made; however this baby has been amazing.

My stuff sacks/compression bags. These kept me super organized! I had separate bags (different colors as well) for my socks, underwear, bathing suits/rain jacket, tank tops/t-shirts and the most important bag was for my laundry. The laundry bag was the largest as this kept the smelly clothes away from the clean ones. I did a pretty great job at keeping my clothes smelling acceptable.

My fabric/pouch jewelry organizer. This was a gift from my friend CS for my 30th bday. At the time I didn’t know what to do with it, but with all the random stuff I bought, this bag is now filled and in good condition.

Pepto Bismol. Of all the things to bring abroad, this is mandatory to bring with you as it isn’t sold around the world. Other things that I had a tough time translating getting what I wanted was Neosporin and in some parts of the world, leave-in hair conditioner (as my hair took a beating from all the warm climates).

Woolite singles. For the most part I got my laundry done every week or two. Occasionally I would use Method concentrated laundry detergent to had wash things when I was staying somewhere more than 1 night (as drying in cold hotel rooms is sometimes a challenge). For the times I needed to desperately hand wash, instead of opening the Method (which became a little messy), I just ripped open a single pouch of Woolite.

Nasonex or other allergy medicine. Allergies are wild as you don’t know how you are going to react to certain climates/smells, etc…

20 pairs of underwear! Everyone said to bring 5 pairs and hand wash every night. Screw that! I was happy being able to change my underwear every opportunity I got. The truth is when it is over 100 degrees; sometimes hand washing your panties isn’t enough to get the sweaty salt out!

Small external hard drive. When you are traveling so long, you need to upload your pictures otherwise you will spend hundreds of dollars on memory cards. It is worth saving on a hard drive just in case something happens to your computer. I also saved seasons of 24, House and Sex in the City on the hard drive to watch as I knew I would have downtime over a few months of travel and no TV.

Bathing suit cover-ups/temple dress. I brought 2 cover-ups that can also be worn as skirts that fall below the knee. These were super handy vs. wearing pants in hot climates.

Bug Spray. 100% Deet is available; however some people advice to buy bug spray abroad as their ingredients may not be approved by the FDA. This sounds silly; however some products may work better in other climates. Certainly do anything to avoid Malaria or Dengue fever.

Le Sportsac bag. This was my one and only purse/bag. The good news is that it is washable so when it did get filthy I can hand wash it. This bag held up like a champ every day for the past 4 months abroad.

Oakley sunglasses. Even though these aren’t the most fashionable, they are sturdy and after being tossed around, still survived without a single scratch.

Toilet paper. For the last 2 months on my trip I carried around a small roll of toilet paper (obviously got new ones along the way) as many countries do not supply any paper in public rest rooms.

North Face rain jacket. This has zippers along your armpits to let your body breathe in warm climates. This came in handy a few times.

Books. Best to only pack 1 or 2. Many places have book exchanges so once you are done with your book you can trade it in for another. Worst case, some countries will have used book shops and/or most descent size airports will sell books in English (at an inflated price).

Two pairs of shorts, 1 pair of ¾ sweat absorbing pants, 1 pair of lululemon pants, 7 tank tops, 3 t-shirts, 6 pairs of socks, 2 beach cover-ups/long skirts, 2 tank dresses, 2 bathing suits, 1 decorative scarf, 1 sweatshirt, 1 long sleeve shirt, 1 rain jacket… that is what I have left in my suitcase at the end of my trip.

Sleep sheet. I carried around my sleep sheet the entire trip. This is less bulky than a sleeping bag. I would recommend this in warmer climates only. It came in handy for overnight trains, guesthouses and a few questionable hotels. It is washable and made me feel a little less gnarly at times.

Beach towel. Yes, I know you can use a hotel towel, but I never felt right stealing them… so 1 towel in total will do. I purchased mine in Capri, Italy as that was the 1st time I needed one. I used it numerous times since…

International debit and credit card. The international fees to use your credit card can be between 2% and 5%. Find a company who doesn’t charge these fees and you will save mucho dinero! Additionally, my debit card (Charles Schwab) reimburses me every month for every single time a bank charges me to take out money (domestic and international). Over time this can add up AND I wanted the flexibility to take out money as often as I could as I never wanted too much cash on me at any given time. That being said, make sure where you are going has ATM machines. Some remote areas only accept cash, yet the closest ATM may be miles away. I got stuck in Olympus, Turkey with little cash. I had to get all my meals and bottled water from the guesthouse I was staying at as thankfully they accepted credit cards. Additionally, don’t bring too much of your own currency. Use your ATM card once you arrive to take out local currency. Most exchange places take commissions and you end up losing money time and time again when exchanging back to US dollars and/or the next country’s currency. Also, loose change will not be exchanged so use it to buy some bottled water before boarding your plane. If you do have leftover money and have nothing to buy in the airport gift shop, exchange it before you leave! I still have my Jordanian money as no one in South East Asia will exchange it for me.

A hat. Yes, bring some sort of hat. There will be times the sun is super hot and you want to cover that head of yours.

Common sense. Make sure you spend a few seconds thinking before doing. For ex. when I got 2 terrible bug bites that were not typical a pharmacist tried to convince me it was infected and insisted on selling me oral medication. Something didn’t seem kosher, so I got a second opinion from another pharmacist who simply said I was having an allergic reaction. Use your head. If something doesn’t seem right, stop to think and take your time. There is always another bus or train if you aren’t 100% sure if the one you are about to board is the right one.

What NOT to bring on your trip around the world:

Multiple bars of soap. I only use Dove soap. One large bar lasts almost 3 weeks. A small bar lasts almost 2 weeks. It is sold everywhere!

Large bottles of shampoo or conditioner. You can buy Pantene almost anywhere in the world. Salons have nicer products; however even if you are in a 3rd world country, it is going to be expensive.

Expensive jewelry. There is no need at all to chance getting something stolen or attract unnecessary attention.

Nail polish or nail polish remover. I bought a buffer/file. You are better off not dealing with chipped colors. Go buff!

Too many clothes! You will buy lots of things during your travels. Keep it basic and assume you’ll do laundry every 1-2 weeks. Sometimes finding a place to do laundry can be nerve wracking or expensive (Europe only), but it will work out. Just remember to ask your hotel where you can have your laundry done and pay by the kilo vs. by item. All hotels should be able to accommodate you or have a service pick your laundry up vs. having to use their expensive pay by the item service.

A loud voice. The worst thing people do is raise their voice in their own language when they aren’t understood. When you are somewhere and no one speaks English, you will figure it out (eventually); however getting louder is not going to help anyone and most likely frustrate yourself even further. When I wanted to buy ham at a deli in Spain and no one understood me. I finally snorted like a pig. I got my ham. Yes, silly, but sometimes charades of all sorts can work.

Anyhow, if you ever have questions on what or what not to bring around the world, feel free to just ask me!

One last note. My Swiss army duffel suitcase ripped en route between Amsterdam and Marrakesh. As I explained to the company about my extensive travels, I received a brand new bag when I arrived in Spain after sending some photos of the damage. This was a solid and I never had such great customer service like this. It is worth spending money on a solid bag or with a company with good customer service. This bag becomes your home; therefore make the investment.

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