9 Packing

If you open ten different guidebooks, you’ll find ten different packing lists. Naturally, this is a matter of personal preference, and the only one that really matters is yours. The problem is it will take you a good six months to get a feel of what you actually use and what you can do without. Until then, it’s better to bring less, not more. This may sound like twisted logic, but it’s much easier to pick up additional things you realize you need than to throw away stuff you don’t. In this chapter, you’ll get the lowdown on selecting a pack, what to do with souvenirs, how to handle your digital photo back-ups, which clothes to leave at home and which medications come in handy.

Why take less

As Henry David Thoreau once said, “Even the elephant carries but a small trunk on his journeys. The perfection of travelling is to travel without baggage.” The bigger the pack:

The bigger the sweat stains, the more odour you emit, the more often you have to wash.
The more difficult it is to run for a train, the harder it is to lift the pack over your head into a luggage rack.
The more gear you have to lose, the bigger target you are for thieves, the harder it is to run away from them.
The harder it is to walk around, the more desperately you need to find a place to leave all your stuff, the bigger the locker you’ll need everywhere you go, the more you’ll need to pay to leave it.

The crucial backpack test

You should be able to wear your pack (fully loaded) for an hour without suffering what feels like spinal compression.
You should be able to pack it in five minutes.
You should be able to lift it over your head easily.
You should be able to toss your pack across the room and then step on it without anything breaking – chances are this is going to happen. And count on the fact that it may get stolen, so leave your mother’s pearls, your snakeskin cowboy boots and your collector’s edition silver-plated backgammon set at home.

WHAT TRAVELLERS ARE CARRYING

I spent a few days walking around Stockholm’s central train station last summer with a survey and a scale. I interviewed every traveller I managed to stop, and weighed their packs. The average weight was just over 20kg. Some of the heaviest packs (over 25kg) belonged to women who weighed less than 55kg. It looked like they were going to be crushed at any second, Wile E Coyote-like, under their packs. Everyone I asked had something they wished they hadn’t brought. The general consensus on the least-used item was formal shoes for going out. After that came textbooks and extra novels. The most-used items were sandals and a rain jacket. I asked a few people to open up their packs so I could have a look. If you’re wondering what people with large packs are carrying around, here’s what’s taking up about seventy percent of that space: shoes, sleeping bag, souvenirs and dirty laundry.

Doug Lansky

Why you should send souvenirs home

The best way to get your souvenirs home is to send them as you buy them. They have a better chance of getting lost, broken or stolen in your backpack. Check the local postal regulations first. Sometimes there’s a certain weight or box size that’s extremely cheap, and you can divide your purchases into a few separate parcels accordingly and save a mint. Overland shipping is cheapest, but usually takes a few months to get there and items may get roughed up a bit on the way. If you’d rather not take the chance, try registered mail. If you plan to stock up on trinkets on your last stop before heading home, simply buy a cheap duffel bag. If you’re on your way from an expensive country to a cheaper one, it can be worth dragging your souvenirs with you for an extra leg to take advantage of much better postage rates. It’s a bit of a trade-off – mail sent from developed nations has a better chance of arriving sooner.

Solving the memory problem

A digital camera or phone camera is handy, but what about backup? If you’re carrying a laptop, you can back your photos up there, though you’ll likely want more backup than that. The best option is to upload them – either to yourself or a friend/family member. With batches of files larger than 25MB, you may need a file-sending site like web_icon hightail.com or wetransfer.com. You may prefer to upload to sites like flickr or a print processor like kodak/snapfish/shutterfly so you or friends can have prints made. For additional security, you might also load your pictures onto a data storage site like Dropbox, Google Drive or Apple’s iCloud, with prices varying depending on amount of space needed.

Resupply on the go – don’t try to bring it all

There may not be toilet paper in every stall or ice in the drinks, but you can get sweaters, T-shirts, socks, toothpaste, soap, superglue, hats… nearly anything almost everywhere you go. Just take the smallest tubes and bottles from home, plan on buying replacements along the way and find some wi-fi and special-order something to your next destination if you can’t find it.

Why should you send gear ahead?

If you’re going to be trekking every other week of your trip, bring your favourite hiking boots. If not, they’re going to take up thirty percent of your pack and make the other seventy percent smell. Tying them to the outside of your pack may be even worse: the dangling Christmas-tree look makes it tricky to run for departing transport, knocks people in the head as you enter and leave trains, and lets people smell you from a remarkable distance. It’s better to send your boots ahead to the place you’ll need them, or simply rent boots when you get there. Covered in “How to pick up mailed packages”. All major trekking centres have boot rental and cheap used ones for sale.

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OVERPACKED

It occurred to me on the flight over to Italy that maybe my pack was too big. The woman seated next to me, who was also signed up for my Italian course, had what looked like a day bag. Mine looked more like a hockey bag. I wasn’t just carrying the pocket phrase book. I had the whole $50 dictionary. I was into photography at the time, so I had all the lenses. There were three pairs of shoes. After three months living with a family, I set off to travel Switzerland, Germany and Austria. Only now, in addition to the stuff I brought, there was now stuff that I had purchased, and stuff my family had given me, including a ten-pound bathrobe. The school chipped in with a lithograph print that I couldn’t part with. I even picked up a fourth pair of shoes. It must have weighed at least sixty pounds. Sending it home never occurred. I’d sweat through my shirt a few minutes after I put it on. Fortunately, I had about twenty others in my bag. My pack started to affect my itinerary. At one point, I trekked two hours out of the way to get to Milan’s train station, so I could find a locker big enough to hold it. I’ll never forget when I arrived with it in England and dragged it to the Wax Museum and Buckingham Palace, even the other budget travellers were shooting me weird looks. Hey, check out the sweaty guy with the giant pack.

Jason Wilson, Editor, Best American Travel Writing Series

What to look for when picking a good travel backpack

No matter how big your backpack is, you will always manage to fill it. The single best thing you can do is start off by buying a small rucksack (40–55 litres). That’s just slightly bigger than a day bag. Once you do this, it’s pretty hard to go wrong. The stuff you don’t need simply won’t fit. Be forewarned: that’s not likely to be the advice you’ll get from the shop assistant. The bigger the pack, the more it costs, and the more stuff they can sell you to put in it. Plus, that should allow you to use it as a carry-on bag, which will help you get around those nasty checked-bag costs imposed by most budget airlines.

This is not the time to try to save money. Take an internal frame model for support. Couple that with a major brand name and you’re looking at prices in the range of £50–120/$75–185. There are a few bells and whistles that are nice to have, but skip the zip-off daypack, since these don’t make the best daypacks and they tend to unbalance the main pack when attached. Check out the rucksacks used by climbers. They keep the gear closer to your body for a fuller range of motion and better balance. Packs that extend wide with side pockets make it extremely difficult when you’re getting on and off trains and buses. Packs that extend straight back (such as those with attached packs) force you to lean forward to counter the weight.

There should be some kind of alternative opening that allows you direct access to the inside or bottom of the pack so you can grab things like a rain jacket or first-aid kit. Make sure there are compression straps on the outside (usually, the sides) to keep the stuff on the inside from jiggling while you walk and to make the pack smaller if you use it for a day-hike. Look for a top compartment that’s completely detachable, because if you can raise and lower that, you can stuff things under it more easily. If you need to carry a bag of souvenirs to the post office, for example, the pack can temporarily accommodate the extra gear. Also, you could detach it completely, clip on a camera strap, and you’ve got a shoulder bag that makes an ideal daypack.

The most important feature is that it fits comfortably. This is not something you should buy over the internet unless you’ve tried it on first. The waist strap should not dig into your hips and the straps should be easily adjustable when you’re on the move. Sometimes there’s one strap that’s meant to be sized to the wearer, and it’s not that simple to find or adjust. Have the sales person adjust it for you and drop something heavy in before you try it out. Every pack feels great when there’s nothing in it. There are now a number of special packs for women that are worth checking out, especially if you have a more curvy or petite body type. These feature narrower shoulder straps, a shorter frame, more cant on the waist strap and a pack mounted lower on the frame.

Think twice about packs with wheels. You can roll them in some places, but in just as many you can’t. In most airports (where they work best) you can find trolleys. For hiking trips, the extra weight of the wheels and plastic suspension isn’t worth it. At the risk of sounding like a drill sergeant, if you can’t carry it, you don’t need it.

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JUST ONE OUTFIT?

There are two basic approaches to dressing: stay in the same town and change clothes every day, or wear the same clothes and just change towns. When you travel you just have to accept that your general standard of cleanliness is going to be lower than you’re used to. Also, you’re going to have to wash your clothes daily, or tri-weekly – if you try doing it monthly, you’re in for some strange looks, not to mention rashes.

Once you get the hang of this, you’ll see you don’t need more than one set of clothes. If you wash the clothes before you go to bed, hanging them on a clothes line outside, they’ll be dry by morning. If you wash the clothes before taking a siesta in the afternoon and hang them in the sun, they’ll be dry in about forty minutes.

How to figure out what clothes to bring

Most people have probably experienced packing for shorter trips: a week in Mexico, Bali or Gran Canaria. On these trips it’s perfectly fine to bring along a suitcase or two the size of an early-model Cadillac. They only have to be dragged into and out of the airport. The problem, you’re thinking, is that it was difficult enough to figure out how to get a week’s worth of stuff into just two enormous suitcases. How on earth are you going to get a year’s worth into a tiny backpack?

To figure out what to bring, there’s one important question you need to ask. What clothes do I need to survive a day that ranges from swimming in the ocean to tanning on the beach to a cool evening walk in the rain to a moderately nice dinner at a place where there’s dancing, and be able to wash it all in the sink afterwards?

Let’s start with the swimsuit. For guys (and possibly women), make sure it’s quick drying and has pockets you trust enough to put car keys in while you swim – probably some kind of zipper-Velcro combination that will foil pickpockets as well. The shorts should cover your legs modestly so they can be also used for city exploring in appropriate countries – they’re the only shorts you have along. Women, you may wish to bring a two-piece suit with a less-revealing “tankini” that can double as a casual top for beach settings. You’ll also want a beach towel. It should be fairly thin, but long enough to stretch out on comfortably and wrap yourself modestly.

Later in the day, you’ll want a hat and T-shirt to help ward off the sunburn after you’ve been on the beach for a while, and to cover yourself when you run over to the café for a snack. If you prefer to match, make sure all the items fit your colour scheme (dark clothes – especially earth tones – hide dirt and help you blend in to the environment better) and try to pick multi-use items – pieces that fill at least two functions.

For a cool evening walk, you can get by with sandals or sandals with socks. You’ve got long, comfortable walking trousers. They should have deep front pockets that will deter thieves and not spill your valuables if you need to make a pit stop in the woods. On top you’ve got a long-sleeved polypropylene shirt that wicks away sweat, a micro-fleece pullover (not cotton!), a nylon rain jacket, and a bandana on your head to absorb any sweat. You’re carrying your plastic poncho in your small daypack in case it really starts to pour.

For dinner, you can still get by in sandals, especially if they’re black or brown solid colours. You’ve got a smart, short-sleeved or long-sleeved lightweight, wrinkle-free shirt/blouse. If it’s still a little chilly inside, the micro-fleece should be stylish enough to wear. Men, your walking trousers will suffice, provided you didn’t get “adventure travel” ones with more zipped pockets than those of 1980s breakdancers. They should be dark enough to hide any dirt you might have picked up on your walk. Women might also elect to go with a long wrinkle-free skirt. Wash and repeat.

Winter gear is too bulky to travel with and too easy to pick up on the road to merit carting it along in warm climates. A cheap pair of warm shoes, gloves, hat, long underwear and a wool jumper can all be snatched up for about £40/$60 at a secondhand shop or handicraft market. Then give it away or send it home before you head on to warmer climes.

All of your clothes, minus what you need to wear, should fit nicely into a compression sack: one that holds a mid-weight sleeping bag will do nicely. With a few yanks on the cords, your clothes will be compressed to the size of a football. Crumpling is unavoidable unless the clothes are wrinkle-proof, and even then they won’t look perfect. To minimize creases, try rolling your clothes first.

CLOTHES PACK-LIST

1 T-shirt – women, if the T-shirt is a little longer, it can double as a nightshirt.
1 long-sleeve polypropylene shirt – one that looks nice enough to wear into a restaurant.
1 micro-fleece – if stylish, it can be worn as a pullover in a nice setting.
1 budget, breathable rain jacket – expensive Gore-Tex doesn’t help much when it pours, and hurts your wallet if stolen.
1 plastic poncho – this covers your pack as well and will keep you dry if your rain jacket is on underneath.
1 thin beach towel or sarong – extra-large microfibre travel towels work well.
1 swimsuit – doubles as walking shorts for men, extra top for women.
1 pair trousers – not black (because dirt shows), but a good, dark, dirt-hiding colour. Also, make sure they’re lightweight, wrinkle-free, comfortable, fairly stylish and easily washable, with good, deep pockets.
1 wrinkle-free travel shirt – short- or long-sleeved is fine.
1 pair socks – for cool overnight bus rides and cold hostel floors.
2–4 sets of underwear – special travel underwear dries quicker and lasts longer.
1 pair of sports sandals. You don’t want to skimp on these: they should be reasonably stylish (smart enough for a decent restaurant), have good support, stay on during a swim, not rot when they get out of the water and allow you to run for a train.
1 collapsible hat.
1 bandana – soak it with water to keep you cool on warm nights. Cover your mouth to protect your lungs from dust. Use it to dry off in the shower when you don’t have time to let your towel dry.
1 wrinkle-free travel skirt or dress, mid-calf length (women).
1 pair shorts (women).

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Toiletries

Start out by buying a toiletry kit with a built-in mirror and hanger since you may not have as much counter space in the bathroom as you’re accustomed to. You could transfer perfume/cologne from a heavy, breakable, chic bottle to a small plastic or sturdy glass one with a tight, screw-on lid. Extended sandal-wearing takes its toll on your feet, so bring a foot file to help shed unwanted calluses and keep people from smelling you before they see you.

Major-brand contact lens fluid can be found at supermarkets, opticians and pharmacists in most cities and towns around the world. Bring a pair of glasses along just in case, plus your prescription in case something happens to your glasses. Pity to travel the world, then have to check your photos back home to see what it looked like in focus.

Outside the major cities in developing countries, tampons and pads can be hard to find; even in the larger cities, they’re likely to be low quality and expensive. Everywhere else, finding them shouldn’t be a problem. An alternative which removes the worry of being caught without is the Mooncup (also called Divacup), a reuseable diaphragm-like device made from soft silicon.

Again, only buy the miniature toiletry travel containers and restock as you go. Local toothpaste is especially interesting to sample and – there’s at least one traveller doing this (me) – collect. Travel-size toiletries can sometimes be tricky to find, but there are a few smart ways to get around this. Instead of throwing out small bottles when they’re empty, refill them from big ones left in hostels. You can also buy a big bottle and portion it out with other travellers.

TOILETRY PACK-LIST

Toothpaste
Toothbrush
Dental floss
Cologne/perfume (in plastic bottle)
Foot file
Contact lens fluid (if needed)
Lip balm
Comb/brush
Lotion
Razor
Sunscreen
Mosquito repellent
Mirror
All-purpose soap which doubles as shampoo (container for it if not in a bottle)
Conditioner (if needed)
Deodorant
Contraceptives/condoms

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Miscellaneous gear

There are a few tiny items that, when you need them, you need immediately, and they’re not always easy to find. Keep the following items in a separate bag (preferably transparent):

Ear plugs – don’t leave home without them. Hostels have a nasty habit of occupying the space above nightclubs and next to busy streets. Plus, every dormitory seems to come with at least one snoring champion.
Permanent marker – for making hitchhiking signs and other notices.
Superglue – this fixes just about everything (keep it in its own plastic bag).
Duct tape – this fixes nearly everything the superglue doesn’t fix (wrap the amount of tape you need around the permanent marker to save space).
Guitar string/wire – fixes whatever’s left.
Sewing kit – okay, that’s a lie. This fixes whatever’s left.
Candle – power cuts are common. Here’s a romantic way to save batteries.
Lighter – you don’t need a £50/$77 lighter that works on top of Mount Everest (besides, it’s now illegal to carry them on many flights).
Power adapters – you can pick them up at major airports as you go (see voltagevalet.com for country requirements).
Media storage device – good back-up for photos. Either a USB keychain or a larger mini-hard drive.
Pocket knife – you can leave the Rambo survival blade at home.
Spoon – just grab one for free on your first flight. It comes in handy for supermarket-food dining.
Clothes line – you’ll need about 10m of nylon cord.
Mosquito coils – only carry when in malarial or buggy areas. They should be easy to find and cheap in those areas. No need to buy them in advance.
Sleep sheet – you can sew a sheet in the form of a sleeping bag, or buy a pre-made model. The nicest are silk, which cost a fortune, but can be worth it, as they keep the bed-bugs out. In Southeast Asia, you can have one custom made for about £10/$15. Get it in white, so the cheap dye doesn’t ruin your clothes.
Rubber drain-plug – facilitates laundry washing.

Optional extras

Here are a few extras that you might want to bring along:

Books/tablet: see “Where to go” for suggestions.
Small travel games: backgammon, chess and cards are the most popular. They can keep you sane on a forty-hour bus ride across the outback, and can be a nice way to meet locals.
Musical instrument: a guitar can be worth the effort, especially if you’re good and plan to earn money playing it, but a harmonica is better suited for transport.
Frisbee: doubles as plate and soup bowl.
Plastic container to use as plate or bowl and store breakables.
Makeup, if you wear it.

Extra stash

Consider keeping an extra (secret) stash of money separate from your passport pouch, perhaps in a pocket in your address book or taped to the inside of your backpack – £40–80/$60–120 should be fine – just enough to spend a night in the hostel, get some food or take transport to the nearest embassy.

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First aid

Most prepackaged first-aid kits sold in outdoor stores aren’t necessarily customized to your need. Make your own to add on to a pre-packaged version. Start out with a Tupperware container large enough to hold about four muffins. Those nylon sacks don’t keep your bandages and pills from getting wet or crushed. You should be able to resupply all you need (see Medical pack-list) on the road.

A lot of travellers like to take antibiotics along, but it’s not really necessary, or smart. If you’re whacking your way through a rainforest for weeks or in a similarly remote location, it’s probably a good idea to bring some. But the vast majority of travellers are never that far from a local doctor or hospital. If you get sick enough to require antibiotics, you should be going to a doctor, who can prescribe the right ones. Plus, antibiotics don’t travel well. They expire, don’t hold up well in heat and are often not handed out by doctors, who are understandably trying to prevent their misuse. If you do take antibiotics, take the full course, even if your symptoms abate after just one or two days. Otherwise, the few microbes that don’t get killed off tend to mutate and come back stronger.

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Bringing a collapsible daypack

That 50-litre internal-frame pack is not a joy to lug around the entire day while you explore ruins, museums and cities. Something smaller is a more sensible way to carry the few necessities you’ll need.

Most travellers opt for small daypacks, such as the detachable ones that come with packs. If that’s your preference – and for women who are getting repeatedly touched in crowds, wearing the pack on their front is an excellent idea – you can simply empty the laundry and toiletries from your main pack, tighten the compression straps and that should work fine. While it’s on your back, though, it can be hard to protect it from quick-handed thieves. Some travellers prefer the comfort of a waist pack, but this is something of a thief magnet. A better idea is a shoulder bag. It’s easy to tuck under your arm to protect from pickpockets, can be accessed more quickly while you’re on the move and doesn’t peg you as a tourist, especially in bars and nightclubs. If the top compartment of your backpack detaches, a camera or guitar strap can turn it into a decent shoulder bag.

What to keep in your day bag

Water bottle.
Guidebook – you can lighten the load by ripping out unneeded sections (if you haven’t gone for the digital version).
Sunglasses – don’t skimp on these as sunglasses without UV protection allow your pupils to widen and expose your eyes to more damaging rays.
Journal, address book, pen – a necessity. Some photos of home and friends are also nice to include for letter-writing inspiration.
Reading matter – there are sections on books vs tablets and how book swapping works you might want to check out.
Pocket knife – you don’t need the Swiss Army knife with all sixty functions. One obstacle to consider is that, if you’re thinking of taking all your luggage with you on a plane, the knife may not be allowed – so you might wait until you arrive before you buy one. Swiss Army, Leatherman and other popular brands are available virtually everywhere. In less-developed countries, you can get knock-off versions for about a fifth of the price.
Flashlight or torch – the little LED key-chain ones work well. The tiny LCD headlamp is even better.
Pocket camera – you can get a good one for under £75/$115.
Mobile phone and charger – an extra battery booster (eg power monkey) can be a godsend when there are no outlets to be found.

TRAVEL WITH A SEATBELT

Admittedly, it sounds like a warped idea. It sounds like something Kramer is trying to push on Seinfeld. But if you value your life and plan to travel by bus in developing countries, this is probably the single best thing you can do for your health (besides not trafficking narcotics across international borders). Buses crash. You’ll see them flipped on their backs, tanning their rusted underbellies at the bottom of a ravine or bear-hugging the trunk of a tree.

For less than £10/$15 you can get about a metre and a half of webbing (the same material as the hip-strap on most backpacks) and a plastic clasp at any outdoorsy shop. It rolls up to the size of an ice-hockey puck. Then wrap it around the back of your bus seat and clip in. Will the people around you think you’re nuts? Probably. But then again, you’re a foreigner living out of a backpack and travelling around the world. They probably think you’re a little nuts already.

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Camping gear

If you plan to camp the entire time, bring what you need. If you’re not sure, don’t take anything. The gear will more than double the size and weight of your rucksack. You’ll be forced to spend more on transport – getting in and out of cities on local trains and buses becomes a real headache – and you may worry about your belongings when your tent is unattended. If you’re not dissuaded, make sure you have the right gear:

Light, rainproof tent
Cooking stove
Pot with lid
Cooking utensils
Sleeping bag
Sleeping pad
Headlamp (when you need a light, you usually need your hands as well)
Tarpaulin to lay under tent
Water-purifier. Available as tablets (iodine works), a small water-purifier pump, SteriPEN, filter straw, or water bottles with a built-in filter. Pick one you feel comfortable with.

MEDICAL PACK-LIST

Plasters/Band-aids – take a box’s worth, but put them into a clear plastic sleeve that holds photos or credit cards to save space and keep them protected.
Second-skin – modern science has created the wonder blister cure. Often called Compeed.
Elastic wrap bandage – vital for twists and big cuts.
Lidocain cream – works well on stings and bites.
Antihistamines – you never know what will spark an allergic reaction.
Hydrocortisone cream – cures most rashes and skin irritation.
Aspirin/paracetamol – for minor aches and major hangovers.
Laxatives.
Anti-diarrhoea medicine.
Iodine – works for both water purification and cuts. Use 5 drops of regular (2 percent tincture) iodine per litre of clear water (10 drops for cloudy water). Let stand for 30 minutes. Not advisable for pregnant women, people with thyroid conditions or those allergic to iodine.
Rehydration sachets – about four is enough to get you started (in a crisis, make your own mix: 1 litre water, 1 teaspoon of salt, 8 tablespoons sugar, dash of juice if available).
Condoms – bring some from home, and try to use only major brands purchased in developed nations.
Motion sickness pills – stale air and curvy roads make a lethal combo.
Malaria pills – if you need them.
Thermometer – electronic rather than glass and mercury.

If these don’t fit in the first-aid container, toss them in the gear bag.

Tweezers – find a good pair with a sharp point for removing splinters.
Vaseline – prevents chafing and blisters during long hikes.
Sports tape – it’s mostly for blister prevention, but helps hold plasters on.
Antiseptic wet-wipes – a great refresher when you’re stuck in a bus seat for two days, trying to clean up before a meal or helping clean out a wound.
Tiger balm – the all-purpose sports cream that also clears up clogged sinuses and soothes headaches.
Optical prescription – just in case you need to get new glasses.
Other prescriptions – in case you run out, but also because immigration authorities may require that you have a prescription with you when crossing borders.

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What you don’t need and why

Shoes – this may come as a shocker, but with a decent pair of sandals, you can get by without shoes. If you find you’re going out clubbing regularly, need shoes for work or it’s just getting too cold, buy a cheap pair for £10–20/$15–30 and ditch them when you’re done.
Pro-camera set up – if you’re a serious amateur or professional photographer, bring what you need. If not, this is probably not the time to start. Forget the SLR, lenses and tripod. Stick with a pocket camera and you’ll get more use out of it.
Jeans – resist the temptation to pack your favourite pair, no matter how good you may look in them. They’re too warm in hot weather, too difficult to wash by hand and take too long to dry.
Sweatshirt – the comfort is alluring, but it will take up far too much room, offer no warmth when wet and require about two days to dry on its own. Microfleece is the way to go.
Sleeping bag – nearly every hostel can produce a blanket for you as long as you have a sleep sheet. Beyond that, if you layer on all your clothes for a rare chilly night on a train or bus, you should be fine. If you’re worried about a particular train ride, pick up a cheap hat and blanket before boarding.
Travel pillow – bundle your extra clothes inside your fleece top.
Laptop – there are PCs and internet cafés in the most remote places and it can sometimes be easier to get connected with one of those than to try and connect your own computer. Hotspots are increasingly prevalent in cities, but that’s probably not the only place you’re going. If you’re trying to computerize your diary, carry a key ring-sized USB drive that you can plug in at various internet cafés, or bring a keyboard that connects by Bluetooth to your phone or tablet.
Appliances – it’s a cliché to tell you to leave your hairdryer at home, but there’s a reason for it. Better to find a hairstyle that works well without a dryer and hair product.
Make-up – see if you can get by with just a small amount, or go for the natural look.
GPS – if you’re charting new territory, fine. If not, leave it at home – or stick with the one on your phone.
Compass – the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. That sentence, plus your smartphone if you have one, should get you by. If you feel better having a compass along, take a tiny key-ring model. If you depart without one and regret it, you can always buy it along the way.
Mosquito net – if you need one for a specific journey, you can pick one up on the spot. Otherwise, most hostels are equipped with them in malarial areas. If there’s no net (and even if there is) use any combination of bug spray, clothing and mosquito coils – all of which are easier than carrying a net and stringing it up everywhere you go.
High-absorption washcloth-size “travel towel” – a decent bandana will do the trick; you just have to wring it out a few extra times. Both will be damp afterward, but it’s nicer to tie the bandana around your neck (keeps you cool) or outside your pack while it dries off. For towelling purposes, bring a full-sized thin travel towel you can lie on at the beach and use to keep you covered.

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