The Wandering Chocoholic

I’ve been home for a week and I’m trying to stave off the post-travel blues a little while longer. So I’ve decided to write a bit of a bonus post to answer the frequent questions I get about how to pack for the type of travel I like to do.

While I don’t travel five star by any means, I have evolved my packing list over the years to include a few more creature comforts. Keeping it all to a size that I can comfortably carry — no small feat when you’re a 5’1″ woman — is a bit of a challenge. Here are a few of my packing tips:

Staying organized

• Backpack. I have an XS sized Gregory Deva backpack, which gives me about 50L of space in a well-fitting backpack. The nice thing about the Deva pack is that it has lots of pockets and compartments to keep gear organized. I use the bottom compartment for larger items like shoes, towel, jacket and fleece. The middle compartment houses my clothes and toiletries. And there are two side pockets, a top compartment and a front clipped pocket for all the miscellaneous little things. Over the years, I’ve developed a system in which everything has its place, so I’m not constantly digging around for things in the dark.
• Mesh packing cubes. I have two double-sided cubes for clothes, and a smaller one for socks and underwear. They fit all my clothes as long as I roll instead of fold (HIGHLY recommended), they pack neatly into my bag, and I can access whatever I want without having to make a giant mess each time.
• Ziploc bags. Anything not in a packing cube goes in a ziploc. Anything that could potentially leak goes in a ziploc. Dirty shoes go in a ziploc. Anything that needs to be compressed to remove the air goes… you guessed it … in a ziploc. I recycle them and they last a long time. They are a backpacker’s best friend.
• Purse. I’ve looked long and far over the years for the perfect travel purse, and have finally hit upon this one by Timbuk2. If I’m going somewhere a bit more style-conscious, I might take a real purse, but for the most part, this bag is brilliant. It has enough zips and compartments to keep everything organized, is made of super-durable material that stays clean even in the dust of Namibia, and is large enough to fit my camera, water bottle, sunscreen, sunglasses, reading glasses, phone, tissues, pen and notebook, and other such essentials.

Useful essentials

• Headlamp. Absolutely essential if you plan to camp. Even if you’re not camping, these are extremely useful. After all, it’s really rude to come back late to a hostel dorm room and flick on the overhead light, and sometimes you’ll encounter power failures or places without electricity. I have a little one from MEC that has lasted practically forever, with the occasional replacement battery.
• Polar fleece top. If you’re going someplace cold, it’s the best way to add a layer of warmth to whatever you’re wearing, without adding bulk. Even you’re going to a hot country, remember that it can drop down in temperature at night.
• Enough socks and underwear. My rule of thumb is to pack enough clothes for a week, regardless of the length of the trip, since I can usually manage to do / find laundry every week or so. Outer layers can usually be worn several times before they need a wash, but socks and undies are, obviously, non-negotiable. Pack enough pairs and an extra one or two just in case.
• Jeans. In the pro vs. con debate, I’m firmly pro jeans. Some people dislike them on such trips because they’re bulky and take a while to dry. But I love them. I basically live in mine; they go for ages without needing a wash, and they are far more versatile and stylish than those horrible zip-off specialty travel pants that scream ‘tourist’. Jeans work well for day or evening, city or wilderness, dress up or dress down. I never leave home without them. I limit myself to one pair, though; I’ll supplement with shorts, sweatpants and/or a skirt, depending on the destination.
• Shoes. Depending on the type of trip, I’ll pack either three or four pairs. That’s a lot, by  backpacking standards, but I usually wear the bulkiest ones on the plane (the hiking shoes) and the others pack up quite small. Aside from the hiking shoes, I always take a pair of flip-flops for grungy showers or beachwear, and if I’m going to a hot country I’ll pack a more comfortable pair of walking sandals, too, since I find it uncomfortable to do any serious walking in flip-flops. The optional ones are the little black heels. Hey, I’m five foot one, so sue me if I like a couple of inches of extra height now and again. If I know I won’t have much occasion to dress up, I’ll skip these and just manage with the flip-flops or hiking shoes.

Little luxuries

• Pillowcase. Perhaps the most compact and multi-functional luxury around. Preferably a  worn-out, soft pillowcase from an old sheet set that you’ve had for years. You can stuff clothes in it to make a pillow for camping. You can wrap it around questionably-clean hostel, B&B or couchsurfing pillows for that comforts-of-home feeling. You can place those horrible staticky airplane pillows in it to get a little sleep on a long flight. You can use it as a laundry bag, a stuff sack, or even a towel, in a pinch. It takes up zero space in your bag, and makes travel so much more comfortable.
• Hairdryer. I have a tiny little travel hairdryer by Babyliss, which operates on 110-240V (so no need for a converter, ergo no fried appliances) and folds up to fit in the side pocket of my backpack. Many hotels don’t provide hairdryers, and if you’re camping, couchsurfing or staying in hostels, the odds of finding one are slim to none. If you’re bald, or have one of those hairstyles that miraculously dries nicely without any styling at all, kudos to you. For the rest of us mortals, especially women, having a small hairdryer is worth it to be able to avoid going to sleep with wet hair if it’s cold, for example, or on those days when I want to look a little bit less like a messy backpacker and more like a human being.
• Scarf. Another one of those versatile clothing items for women. Adds a splash of colour to nearly any outfit; protects your neck from the cold or the heat or the dust; doubles as a towel or a sit-upon or even a swimsuit cover-up. You can even use it as a head or shoulder covering in a pinch if you’re in a religious spot. I don’t like to wear expensive jewellery when I travel, so a cute scarf allows me to accessorize, and it packs up small, too. I usually bring one that goes with as many of my clothes as possible.

Staying connected

• Netbook. I’ve had my little LG netbook for nearly four years now, and I take it with me on all my trips. It’s small and lightweight enough that it takes up very little space in my bag, but it’s far superior to an iPad or tablet in that it has a real full keyboard, runs Windows 7 with proper multitasking, has a built-in webcam for Skype, card reader to transfer my photos, and it only cost about $200 new so if it gets damaged or stolen, who cares? Sure, netbooks can be frustratingly slow, and this one’s no performance wizard. But it keeps me connected pretty much anywhere, either with WiFi or via mobile internet (more on that below). Since I like to be able to email friends and family back home, as well as blog about my trips, having a computer with me is a non-negotiable.
• Rocket stick. Also known as a dongle in most of the world, a Rocket stick is a USB device that plugs into any computer to provide wireless connectivity. These aren’t so popular anymore, since they’ve largely been replaced with internet-enabled mobile phones or tethering devices, but they still work perfectly to provide internet access just about anywhere with mobile coverage. Mine’s unlocked, so when I get to a new country, it’s extremely easy to buy a local SIM card for a few dollars and load it up with enough mobile data for however long I’ll be there (which is REALLY cheap everywhere in the world that isn’t Canada or the US, by the way). That way, whenever I’m somewhere without WiFi, I can usually get online if I need to. I just transfer the SIM card between my phone and my Rocket stick as required.
• Camera. For travel photos, a phone camera just won’t cut it, even if I had one (which I don’t). My Canon G15 camera is the most expensive thing I take on my trips, but it’s a compact point-and-shoot that’s small enough to fit in my purse and doesn’t look conspicuously like expensive camera equipment, unlike a dSLR. It’s a compromise between image quality and portability, to be sure, but I find that it takes damn good pictures for its size, especially in low light. I carry it in a small embroidered zippered pouch that I bought in Vietnam last year, and I take one spare battery so I always have one charged — though the battery life on this camera is excellent and often lasts for days. Since my netbook has an SD card reader, I don’t need to take any connector cables with me, either. I have a super fast 16GB memory card, which can handle just about any trip, and I transfer photos nightly to my computer for backup purposes, just in case.
• Mobile phone. I get laughed at a lot at home for my phone. It’s a dumbphone, a little Samsung flip circa 2007 that I bought for $30 used off of eBay, and has a missing battery cover. People tell me that I’m living in the past. But here’s the thing: It’s unlocked and works anywhere in the world on a local SIM card (easily available for a few bucks in every sane country, i.e. anywhere other than Canada or the US). The battery lasts for several days without having to be charged. It has an alarm for early morning hostel wake-ups. And using it won’t turn me into a target for theft. I never used to travel with a phone at all, but in the past number of years it’s become essential as pay phones are few and far between. Sometimes it’s important to be able to phone for a taxi, call a hostel to pre-book, or provide contact information to people you meet on the road.
• Outlet adapters. One rule of thumb that I follow is not to take anything single-voltage, ever, so I never need a converter. Converters fry appliances, period. Everything electronic that I take with me has a voltage range of 110-240, so all I need is an outlet adapter. And the cardinal rule of hostel dorms is that there will never be enough outlets, ever, so I prefer two-in-one adapters wherever possible.

Paying for stuff

• Bank cards and credit cards. If anyone advises you to take traveller’s cheques, send them back to 1975 where they belong. Cash and plastic are king; I take two credit cards and two bank cards — one to use, one as a backup kept in my money belt in case of theft. Don’t bother with Amex anywhere outside of North America; Visa / PLUS is your best bet, followed by MasterCard / Cirrus. Before I travel internationally, I switch my bank account type to one that has no fees for international ATM withdrawals, and I switch it back when I get home. Banks and credit cards will usually charge 2-3% in conversion fees, anyway, but there’s no need to tack a $5 service fee on top of that.
• Budgeting. I’m old-fashioned; I jot down cash withdrawals and credit card purchases in a simple notebook. Generally, I pre-determine my daily budget for things like food, lodging and local transport, and I may have separate budgets for larger-ticket items like tours. It’s not an exact science, and sometimes I’ll deliberately blow my budget for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, since, after all, I’ve travelled all this way, and who knows when I’ll ever be back there? But my system lets me keep an eye on my spending and to at least try to stay within budget. (For those who are curious, I came in about $200 over budget on this trip, which, all told, wasn’t so bad, considering.)

Final notes

• Souvenir shopping. I limit this as much as possible when I travel. Sometimes I buy the occasional item, but in general, I force myself to ask “how will I get this home?” and if it’s going to be any kind of hassle, I skip it. On this trip, my only purchases were a necklace, two bottles of wine, a few trinkets from the places where it was expected, and a ceramic plate from airport duty-free on my way home. I don’t believe in taking an extra bag with me for souvenirs, since that will only encourage me to shop, and besides, most airlines limit you to one bag now anyway. I prefer to spend my money on experiences than on things.
• Security. I’m not a big believer in paranoia. I make use of money belts or hotel safes as the situation dictates, but I’m not a big fan of systems like PacSafe or fancy locks that just scream “Valuables! Steal me!”. Generally, I figure that nobody’s going to be all that interested in stealing my dirty clothes, and hostels tend to be pretty safe places to leave my big bag. I keep a closer eye on my purse, but I store my cash, passport and backup cards separately anyway, so if someone were to steal my purse it would suck but it wouldn’t be the end of the world. Sure, bad luck can happen anywhere, but there’s no sense ruining your trip because you’re worried about your belongings. My main rule of thumb is simple: If I can’t stand to lose it, I leave it at home.
• Buy it there. As long as I have my passport, toothbrush and access to funds, everything else is optional. If you’re travelling someplace, remember that wherever you’re going, people live there. They will have stuff available to buy, if you forget something essential. It may not be the exact brand or style that you’re accustomed to at home, but there will be something that serves the purpose. I don’t usually pack a whole lot of “just in case” stuff, because if I forget something, I can always buy it there. It’s liberating once you embrace that notion, since it prevents you from over-packing.