Packing Up

So this is a little late, but such is my way. In thinking about blogging for my Asia trip summer 2010 (woohoo) I thought I'd start off with the itinerary and packing list. This second one is more for me to be able to refer to later to expedite the packing experience.

The itinerary. I'm still not totally sure but it involves many forms of transport, overnights in cities I will never see and a large carbon footprint. It roughly works out to 10 days in Tokyo, a weekish in Kyoto, Bangkok, 3 weeks in Sri Lanka, an overnight in Kuala Lampur (this will be my second time doing this although this time won't be sleeping on a couch in the airport) and a week in Krabi, Thailand. It's something like 6 weeks of actually being somewhere and a week of getting there.

The packing list. I've always wanted to do this...

I should start off by mentioning that the travel nurse at Kaiser totally freaked me out about Sri Lanka. First there were the shots; polio, tetanus and typhoid (I asked but no yellow fever needed). Then there's the stuff you can't vaccinate against, namely malaria and dengue fever. I traveled in malarial countries before and have never taken any medication because it was either sequestered to a certain area of the country, like the lowlands of Bolivia, or not in the urban areas, like Cambodia. But apparently in Sri Lanka malaria is everywhere. So I picked up my prophylactics (love that word) to be taken daily and for a week after leaving the country. Unfortunately, there's no preventative for dengue so I've been chugging tonic water(quinine), chomping garlic and bought some 98.6% deet mosquito repellent (the usual stuff is like 15% deet) along with the natural stuff. Here's where I'll start my list:

Medications:

Deep, deep woods, Indian Jones strength mosquito repellent

All natural, actual attracts mosquitoes because they think it's a joke, mosquito repellent

stuff that makes you poop

stuff that makes you stop pooping

antibiotics (in case you really can't stop pooping)

ibuprophen

first aid kit (the standard stuff)

Other Toiletries:

hair care (shampoo, conditioner)

face wash

15 SPF face lotion

30 SPF face sunscreen

15 SPF sweatproof sunscreen

night time lotion (I aged a lot living in Thailand, plus white skin is highly prized in Asia)

aloe for the inevitable sunburn

toothbrush, paste, floss

nailclipper

hair bands, brush

travel towel

wet wipes

earplugs

hand sanitizer

tissues

Clothing: You'll notice this to be a short list for 7 weeks, so if it looks like a did a lot for one day it's probably just the same outfit on different days. That's the advantage of not staying in one place for too long.

1 pr jeans

1 pr pants

1 skirt

6 shirts

4 tank tops

yoga clothes

climbing pants

1 sweater

1 sweatshirt

2 bathing suits

undergarments

1 pair close toed shoes

1 pair flip flops

climbing shoes and harness

sarong (has endless uses, a total essential)

sunhat

Media:

camera with download cord and charger

guide book to Sri Lanka and photocopied pages for Thailand

1 book - The Secret Life of Oscar Wao. This is important. There's ample time for reading with this kind of travel, but paper is heavy so it's necessary to have a limit. Fortunately, travelers trade and there are English language bookstores (sometimes even used) in big cities.

Documents:

passport

itinerary

2 credit cards (in separate locations)

debit card (primary source of getting money)

driver's license

traveller's checks (just in case) with purchase record in different location

cash (just in case)

Miscellanea:

water filter

1 large and 1 small water bottle

water treatment tablets

bungee cords (great for hanging laundry and other uses)

pen/pencil/travel journal

sunglasses

suitcase locks and key

snack bars

If you're still reading, thanks for hanging in there. Amazingly, all this fits into my backpack with room to spare and under 50 pounds. We'll see how much of it I use.