When you contemplate carrying all your worldly possessions on your back, every piece counts. So what exactly DID we pack for our round-the-world (“RTW”) trip? Not 365 T-shirts, that’s for certain. We spent an extraordinary amount of time on this question because these items need to be durable, reasonably wrinkle-resistant, lightweight, and capable of taking us from hiking in the back of beyond to breezing into the Raffles Singapore for a drink. Seem impossible? Let us know how you think we did …
Skyler
Clothes:
- 2 tank tops
- 2 short-sleeve shirts
- 2 long-sleeve shirts (one button-up — I promise you I will look much happier wearing this shirt than their model does)
- 1 pair REI Northway pants
- 1 pair leggings
- 2 skirts (one black, one seersucker)
- 2 pairs shorts
- 2 dresses
- 1 Versalette (so sad that they’re sold out! You can still watch all the nifty videos and peruse the look-books for this fabulous 20-different-pieces-in-one product.)
- 1 light jacket
- 1 rain jacket
- 3 bras (2 regular, one sporta bra)
- 10 pairs underwear
- 3 pairs socks (2 lightweight, 1 warm)
- 1 swim suit
- 1 sleep shirt
Shoes:
- Merrell Barefoot Pace Glove
- Naot Dorith Sandals (a total splurge, but it’s so difficult to find comfortable walking shoes that are also cute)
- Sanuk flip flops (a gift from my fabulous Aunt Gay and Uncle Dan. You can find the site here).
Sundries:
- One day bag and one small purse
- 1 pair sunglasses
- 1 pair eyeglasses
- Infinity scarf
- 1 (Gator) baseball hat
- 1 belt
- 1 necklace
- 1 Moleskin notebook
Toiletries/Grooming:
We’re taking travel-size (and TSA-compliant) containers of all the normal stuff you’d take on any trip (shampoo, toothpaste, deodorant). I’ve also forced myself to stick to a Spartan beauty regimen.
- NARS the Multiple Stick (I ordered it in the color “Orgasm” and Jordan about had a heart attack when he saw that Amazon was shipping us “The Multiple Orgasm.” You can cause your own mischief by clicking here.)
- Lorac compact (combo concealer and powder foundation)
- Waterproof mascara (I have loved Maybelline Great Lash for years and am taking a new tube with us!)
- Burts Bees chapstick
- A nail kit and tweezers
- Hair ties / bands / pins
Jordan
Clothes:
- 2 Patagonia lightweight wool-blend t-shirts
- 1 REI technical t-shirt
- 2 lightweight cotton v-neck shirts
- 1 Brooks Brothers long sleeved button down sport shirt
- 1 Old Navy long sleeved button down shirt
- 1 long sleeved thermal shirt from the Gap
- 5 Pair Ex-Officio boxer briefs (these came highly recommended, they worked like a champ during my half marathon, which if you know how much I sweat, is a glowing endorsement)
- 5 Pair lightweight dry-fit socks
- 1 Pair REI pants
- 1 Pair jeans (this is controversial in the backpacker world since they are heavy and don’t dry quickly, but I’m comfortable in them so I’m packing them anyhow)
- 2 Pair REI shorts
- 1 Pair Patagonia swim trunks
- 1 Pair workout shorts
- 1 Patagonia rain jacket
Shoes:
Sundries:
- 1 pair sunglasses
- 1 pair eyeglasses
- REI Flash Pack (my daypack)
- Again Faster Jump Rope (because I’m finally going to master double-unders)
Our packs and other bags
- Skyler’s pack: Gregory Jade 38L
- Jordan’s pack: Osprey Kestrel 48L
- Eagle Creek packing cubes
- LL Bean toiletries bag
Our electronics
- 13 inch Macbook Pro
- iPad
- Kindle
- Olympus PEN E-PL1
- Canon Powershot point-and-shoot camera
- Plug adapters
- Chargers
- Sansa Clip MP3 Player x2
- Earbuds x2
- USB Wall Charger
Other stuff
- A pharmacy’s worth of malaria meds.
- Ciproflaxacin (the cure for when street food ails ya)
- Basic OTC stuff: Band-Aids, antibiotic ointment, Pepto, etc.
- Sunscreen, insect repellant, hand sanitizer
- Enough contact lenses to last us months
- 2 head lamps
- Duct tape (Because what doesn’t it fix …)
- Safety pins
- Extra Zip-Lock bags
- Copies of our passports and other important documentation (also left copies with my parents and uploaded to the cloud).
- Ear plugs
- Deck of cards
- Lonely Planet Southeast Asia on a Shoestring and Thailand guidebooks