Packing list....

Before we left for travelling we did lots of research about what to take. Therefore we have listed all the stuff we took and bought along the way.

The main thing we wanted to do was to travel as light as possible. We both chose small backpacks and that was one of the best decisions we made! Due to this we were always able to carry our stuff as far as needed on foot. On crowded buses we were often able to put the bags next to us or even under the seats. We always had a smiled to ourselves as we overtook travellers staggering under the weight of their 80 litre backpacks.

The only problem was that we had to be very stringent with what we took and we did sometimes go cold due to minimal clothing. We also sent home lots of stuff along the way and bought extra items as needed.

Heres the run down of what we took...

MIKES STUFF Backpack - Osprey 40 litre + 20 litre day pack Small packing cubes x 2 to put in backpack – very useful for wires etc Documents pouch CLOTHES ·       Northface summit series rain jacket – I wouldn’t recommend this as was too thin ·       Waterproof trousers ·       T-shirt x 1 ·       Shirt x 1 – short sleeved ·       Fleece x 1 ·       North face Zip off travel Trousers/ shorts ·       Boxer shorts x 3 ·       2 x walking socks ·       Cap ·       Loose travel trousers ·       Swim shorts FOOTWEAR ·       Travel sandals ·       Flipflops ·       Walking boots ·       2 x walking socks ELECTRONICS ·       Kindle keyboard + neoprene case (lost and replaced with kindle no keyboard – much better) ·       DSLR – CANON 600D + 18-55mm kit lins, 55-255mm Zoom – both in waterproof bags ·       Camera Filter lens – polarizing ·       500gb external hard drive ·       3 x USB flash disk - for backing up photos ·       Samsung galaxy phone + charger ·       Laptop - Acer netbook – 9inch + case + plug ·       Travel adaptor – 3 x assorted ·       Camera chargers x 2 ·       Cables for kindle/ phone chargers etc ·       2 x spare camera batteries + charger ·       Headtorch ·       3 x AAA + 3 x AA spare batteries ·       Small LED torch ·       3 x memory cards 1 x 16GB ·       2 x 4GB ·       Travel plug adaptor TOILETRIES ·       Toothbrush ·       Dental sticks ·       Daypack waterproof cover ·       Electric beard trimmer + plug ·       Toothpaste ·       Suntan lotion factor 30 – Large Bottle ·       Small Factor 30 for day pack ·       Hair wax EXTRAS ·       Travel towel ·       Silk liner ·       Umbrella ·       Back pack waterproof cover – For main pack & daypack ·       3 x comination padlock + 1 x wire to attach backpack to something while sleeping ·       Pen ·       Waterproof sacks x 3 spare ·       Swiss army knife ·       Sungalsses - prescription ·       Glasses  ·       Contact lenses – 2 months supply ·       Lonely planet book – 2 at a time – This + the next country ·       Various – wildlife books ·       Nikon travelite binoculars ·        Money bag thing – rarely needed ·       Sweat rag/ scarf - essential for hot climates ·       Travel pillow – Lifeventure (GREAT buy) ·       Hackey sack (Rarely used) ·       Mosquito repellant x 1 bottle – deet 55% ·       Boot polishing cream ·       Cotton wool, silicon sachets for absorbing moisture in underwater camera case ·       Athletic tape ·       Duct tape EXTRAS PER COUNTRY: which sent home along the way/ Kept ·       NEPAL -  jumper, beanie, gloves, extra thermal tshirt, Walking poles (Not really needed) ·       ASIA – Snorkel + Mask – brought from home -        Fins (Flippers) -        Underwater camera case for Canon S95 -        Leech socks (not essential but very helpful) -        AUS – Fly face net (useful in Northern territory) -         Jumper + Trousers, plimsoles bought in Melbourne because it was so cold -        Camping lamp + large torch EXTRA…Extras 3/4 size Guitar + softcase + how to play book - bought for the last 3 months of the trip

KATYS STUFF Backpack -  45 litre toploader backback + 20 litre day pack for hiking Large leather handbag (as day bag) CLOTHES ·        Northface rainjacket – Katys had an inner mesh which made it much more waterproof ·       Waterproof trousers ·       Leggings ·       Walking trousers ·       Fleece ·       Bras x 2 ·       Underwear x 7  ·       Tops x 4 ·       Trousers x 1 jeans ·       Shorts x 1 ·       Skirt x 1 ·       Sarong ·       Jumper x 1 ·       Loose travel trousers ·       Bikinis x 2 FOOTWEAR ·       Sandals ·       Flip flps ·       Walking boots ·       3 x socks ·       Trainers (for running) + 1 x pair of socks ELECTRONICS ·       Camera  - CANON S95 ·       Kindle 3g + Keyboard + case ·       1 x spare camera battery + charger ·       Samsung galaxy phone ·       Ipod 32gb + 2 x headphones + splitter TOILETRIES ·       Soap ·       Shampoo ·       Conditioner ·       Aftersun ·       Face moisuturiser ·       Sun lotion factor ·       Epilator ·       Ear plugs ·       Razor ·       Small bottle talcum powder – humid countires ·       Toothbrush ·       Alcohol gel EXTRAS ·       Travel Towel ·       Silk liner ·       Umbrella ·       Back pack waterproof cover – For main pack & daypack ·       Toilet paper 1 x roll ·       Sunglasses ·       Travel pillow ·       Passports ·       Plastic pouches x 2 – Insurance, receipts, tickets ·       Needle + thread (Useful) MEDICAL KIT Tablets – paracetamol, ibruprofen, malaria tablets, Antiseptic cream Antihistamin Paracetamol/ ibruprofen Plasters Gauze Tubigrip Blister plasters Water purification tablets Suture strips (never used) EXTRAS PER COUNTRY: which sent home along the way/ Kept ·       NEPAL -   jumper, beanie, gloves, extra thermal tshirt ·       ASIA – Snorkel + Mask ·       AUS - Fly face net Katys clothes fluctuated greatly throughout. She got rid of her hippy/ balloon trousers after India and Nepal and bought extra trousers, shorts, t shirts, jumpers etc as she went along

OVERALL THOUGHTS

MOST USEFUL THINGS WE BROUGHT

-        Silk liner – used many many times

-        Long trousers are essential for jungle trekking – zip off trousers were very useful for Mike. Worn almost daily for 5 months

-        Swiss army knife – mainly for the knife and scissors

-        Athletic tape  - excellent for blisters/ chaffing
-   Water purification tablets - essential for when you can't buy clean water

-        Combination padlocks to put on backpacks– essential for piece of mind

-        Travel pillow – life venture – probably the best thing we bought along

-        For me the DSLR was a really good choice – yes it was a bit bulkier than a point & shoot but definitely worth it for photo quality

-        A small laptop was really useful for accessing the internet & especially for photo editing - – the only problem was lack of RAW editing and movie editing (higher spec thin laptop would be ideal)

-        Smartphones are a must – as a friend once put it that 'WIFI is almost a human right in SE asia' and subsequently your phone is really helpful

-        Kindles – I must have read at least 15-20 books while travelling, some over 1000 pages. With the kindle it is so light and easy. I recommend the non 3G version as its much smaller, lighter and the internet on the normal kindle is pretty poor anyway

THINGS WE MAY HAVE CHANGED

-         Mike would have brought walking trainers instead of boots. Boots were useful e.g. much more weatherproof, but trainers are smaller and lighter. Gortex was a good idea. They kept us dry in the jungle and despite what other people said we felt they dried out well

-        Travel bumbag thing for Mike – He much preferred a normal wallet so never really used it

-        Deet is useful against mosquitos but not really against flies – consider aussie brand bushman repellant
-    Mike would have also bought a thicker waterproof jacket - Katy's North Face jacket with a thicker material and inner lining was much more waterproof and warm