After selling the house and leaving my job, we’re literally days away from flying to Bali and beginning our 6-month travel adventure.
As we’ve prepared for the trip we’ve thought a lot about what to take and what to leave behind. Hayley was great at researching what other travellers have done and re-read Vagabonding to uncover some packing advice.
There seems to be a consensus when it comes to packing – take less than you think you need.
With this in mind, I’d like to share the complete list of everything I’m taking (Hayley obviously has her own bag of stuff).
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZKkt1sipH0]There are a few points worth mentioning:
- I’m taking a few extra necessities to shoot my travel vlog and record audio for my podcast while we’re away.
- We decided on the Torpedo 7 30L Backpack as our main travel bag as it’s pretty small and limits how much we can take with us. It’s also extremely good value for what you get.
- The packing cells are a must have for packing clothing. Using cells will keep your stuff well organised and means you can pull stuff out without messing up everything else in your bag.
- I used the “Army roll” technique to pack t-shirts neatly into the packing cells.
- We’re going to Indonesia, Cambodia, Vietnam, Japan and Sri Lanka so it’s going to be pretty warm for most of the trip. We’ll be in Japan during the spring where it may be a little colder (this is the only reason I’m taking a pair of pants).
- Most important documents have been scanned and are stored digitally in Evernote. However, I've printed out a copy of our travel insurance policy and a copy of my 1Password login details. I need these in case we lose our computers/phones and need to access critical information. Becuase I store all of my account passwords in 1Password, I need to be able to access the account from any computer, which is why I need a copy of my security key.
THE COMPLETE LIST
Bags & storage
- Torpedo 7 30L Backpack – Primary bag for packing clothing and this is the one that gets checked at the airport.
- The North Face Vault Backpack – Day pack, carried on to the plane. I’ll take most of the gadgets in this bag.
- Kathmandu Packing Cells (x2 small, x1 medium) – Used to organise t-shirts, shorts and underwear inside the main pack.
Gadgets & tech
- MacBook Pro (early 2015 model)
- iPhone 7
- Apple Magic Mouse
- FitBit Charge HR
- Bose SoundTrue Headphones
- TwelveSouth Plugbug – For charging the MacBook and other USB gadgets at the same time.
- TP-Link 10400mAh USB Battery Charger – For charging USB devices on the go. Don’t get anything less than 10,000mAh.
- GoPro Hero 3+ Silver Edition – For vlogging and action photography.
- Peak Design Capture P.O.V. Camera Mount – Used for mounting the GoPro onto a backpack shoulder strap to capture point of view shots on the go.
- Joby GorillaPod Tripod – For vlogging using the iPhone.
- Joby GripTight Phone Mount – For vlogging using the iPhone.
- Kindle eReader
- Samson Go USB Condenser Microphone – Used for podcasting. The audio from this mic is insanely good for it’s size and price.
- Rode smartLav+ Microphone – For high-production quality videos (not vlogging).
- Go Motion Time Lapse Camera Mount – Great for capturing rotating time-lapse shots.
- Tile (2nd generation) – Kept inside my backpack, this allows me to locate the bag if it goes missing.
Clothing
- AS Colour Pocket Tee (x7) – This is my favourite t-shirt and I like having lots of the same thing as it makes it easier to get dressed in the morning (admit it, you probably wear the same clothes most of the time anyway).
- Cotton Tees (x4) – We’ll throw t-shirts away and buy more as needed.
- Short Sleeve Shirt (x1) – For fancy occasions and going to restaurants.
- Nike Free Running Shoes – This is the only shoe I’m taking, so has to be good for all lots of walking, CrossFit and day to day use.
- Havianas
- Ray-Ban Wayfarer Sunglasses – I’ve owned the same pair for the last 7 years.
- Pants (x1)
- Shorts (x3 gym shorts, x2 regular) – I expect I’ll wear the gym shorts for 90% of the time.
- Board shorts (x1)
- Quiksilver Neoprene Top (x1) – For surfing.
- Long-sleeve top (x1)
- Light-weight rain jacket – Also useful for covering up when it gets mega hot.
- Nike Cap (x1)
- Underwear (x8)
- Socks (x3 sport socks, x2 regular socks)
Other Stuff
- Moleskine Pocket Notebook, Ruled, Softcover
- Parker Jotter Ballpoint Pen
- Multi-Currency Cash Passport – We’ve loaded US dollars onto the card which we can then withdraw as the local currency at any ATM.
- Aeropress Coffee Maker – Quite simply the best way to make coffee. Plus, it’s nice and small, making it perfect for travel.
- Aeropress Able Brewing Disk Filter – The Aeropress comes with paper filters which were going to be too cumbersome, so I picked up a metal disk filter instead.
- CamelBak Eddy Water Bottle
- Bellroy Note Sleeve
- Multi-tool
Cosmetics
- MacPac Wash Bag
- Toothbrush
- Toothpaste
- Nivea Suncream
- Dominate Hair Wax
- Brute Deodorant
- “The Executive” Razor
- Nail Clippers
- Lucas Pawpaw Cream
- Shave Gel (dispensed into smaller container)
- Shampoo (dispensed into smaller container)
- Body Wash (dispensed into smaller container)
Medicine
- Paracetamol
- Ibuprofen
- Rehydration tablets
- Hayfever tablets
- Bushman Insect Repellent (40% DEET)
- First aid kit (to carry in the day pack) – Containing a mix of small bandages, steri strips and antiseptic wipes.
- Larger first aid kit – Containing larger bandages, antiseptic wash liquid and medical glue.