My Packing List
Published April 17 2017
When planning a trip around the world, one of the first logistical issues to arise is what to pack. What can you bring that will sustain you the entire way, but not leave you hauling three giant suitcases up and down hills or through airport security?
I mostly cruised other round-the-world travelers' packing lists online to figure out what I ought to bring along, so I thought I'd post my own for the curious and for anyone else who might be considering a similar trip. So, this is everything I'm leaving with.
All lists describe images clockwise from top left.
Clothing
- 4x T-shirt
- 2x sports bra
- Hoodie
- Jeans
- Sun hat
- Sweatpants
- Hiking pants and belt
- Capris
- Flip-flops
- Sneakers
- Bandana
- Raincoat
- Sweater
- 5x underwear
- 2x short socks
- 3x tall socks
Electronics
- Digital camera (not pictured) and charger
- Laptop and charger
- USB drive (swapped for a smaller one before departure)
- Smartphone and charger
Hygiene & Medical
- Antibacterial wipes
- 4x refillable airplane-size bottles, currently filled with shampoo, laundry detergent, insect repellant, and sunscreen
- Mirror
- Toothpaste
- Toothbrush
- Soap
- Comb
- 2x emory board
- Menstrual cup and reusable pads
- Floss
- Nail scissors
- Toiletry bag
- Backup glasses
- Clip-on sunglasses
- Advil
- Antibacterial cream
- Band-aids
- Zithromycin (for the exciting kind of diahrrhea)
- Malaria pills
- Pepto-bismol
- Benadryl
Miscellaneous
- Extra ziploc bags
- Wallet
- Dummy wallet
- 20L waterproof stuff sack
- Mesh bag (left behind)
- Large packing cube
- Small packing cube
- Critical documents
- Travel journal
- Personal defense alarm
- (Fake) wedding band
- Eraser
- Microfiber towel
- Sleeping bag liner
- Headlamp
- Drain stoppers and individual laundry pods (left behind)
- Money belt
- Duct tape
- Colored pencils
- Parachute cord
- Sharpie
- 2x ballpoint pen
- Sewing kit
- 2x chapstick
- Folder with looseleaf paper
- Collapsible day-pack
- Universal travel adapter
- Headphones
- Spork
- Collapsible bowl (left behind)
- Door lock
Rather miraculously, all of that does fit into my 35L bag. The resulting pack looks like a spine-killer but is surprisingly light, around 20lbs, and fits nicely under an airplane seat.
As noted, some items ended up being cut last-minute (adios, laundry detergent pods), and others are on thin ice already, like the sleeping bag liner. On the other hand, there are things I'm already expecting to buy, like shorts--I definitely thought that one of my pairs of pants was the zip-off kind that transforms into shorts, but I was also definitely wrong. Then again, I did tramp all over China in 98° heat and long pants, so perhaps I won't. Regardless, I'm sure I'll have fun looking back at this entry at the end of my trip and seeing what was totally worth it and what got ditched.
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