What to Bring on Your World Adventure

Wear your life on your back. A 30-40 liter backpack is plenty, and will guarantee that you never have to check your luggage. Rolling suitcases are annoying and unusable on basically every rocky or poorly paved alley you're going to walk down. Plus, humping your bag on your back builds character. And muscle. Assuming that your trip begins with a period of cold weather and progressively gets warmer, you'll be able to ditch your coats and sweaters, making room for more shorts and sandals. If it doesn't, pack light and add layers along the way. If you're a girl, when you shed your bulky sweatshirt you'll make room for the high-tops you want to pack when it's time to break out the sandals. If you're a guy, turn your most worn out jeans into cut-offs, ditch the hoody and grab a Tiger Beer t-shirt.

When it comes to toiletries, pack only the precious stuff. Ken has a few essential skin care luxuries, while I have a bandoleer of tampons. These are the most expensive (and difficult) things to buy on the road, while things like toothpaste, shampoo and soap are complimentary in even the cheapest hotel rooms. Many countries go the Eco-friendly route and provide large shampoo and soap dispensers, so bring a few refillable containers under 100mL to re-up.

In many spots, hawkers will try to sell you all sorts of crazy crap. They are determined, and some things may look attractive; a painting, a bracelet, a collapsible wooden fruit bowl. Our rule on souvenirs is if you can't wear it, eat it, or drink it, there's no room for it. This also applies to buying multiples of things we already have; no extra shoes, sunglasses, etc. Sometimes it's really tempting, but we always remind ourselves that since we left everything, we've got no where to call home to send stuff back to.

Now that we've said what not to collect, there are a few things that you should be hoarding. Number One: Paper products. Toilet paper, napkins, tissues, anything you can get your hands on. You're going to be in situations (ahem) that you can't clean up without them. Public toilets in Asia do not stock paper, you must bring your own. Restaurants in Asia do not provide napkins, or if they do, they often aren't free. In Japan, napkins feel more like wax paper and do little to absorb anything. Number Two: Wet wipes. 'Nuff said. Number Three: Utensils. If you can get your hands on a couple of metal spoons, some disposable chopsticks, a styrofoam plate or two, you'll have a distinct advantage when it comes to rigging a cheap meal situation. If there is a hot water thermos in your hotel for coffee and tea, you can use it to soft-boil eggs and eat them with the provided toast, making your fellow hotel lobby buddies jealous of your resourcefulness (and your superior breakfast).

Speaking of resourcefulness, your first inclination may be to fly by the seat of your pants, and trust us, we leave a lot to chance, but to help your budget, leave room for an iPad or similar tablet. We cannot stress enough how much money we have saved by having this thing. It's more than paid for itself. We have all of our travel guides, foreign language dictionaries, maps of every kind, tons of research, hotel reservations, flight confirmation info, leisure reading, games, music, photos and of course our blog. Writing this actually makes us realize how unfortunate it would be if we ended up loosing the thing. Your iPad will quickly become your travel companion that's been everywhere and knows everything- and don't worry about adapters, they are everywhere!

Lastly, a bit about drugs. Better safe than sorry. Bring ibuprofen, aspirin, and a diesel anti-biotic, in our case Ciprofloxacin. Add to that vitamins and a bare bones first aid kit- ours is just some fabric bandaids, a tube of neosporin and a propolis tincture. Propolis is great for internal and external sterilization, and the band-aids have made the difference between a minor toe abrasion and what could become a serious infection.

Here's our recipe:

Ken's 30-Liter Kelty

3 Pants, one now cut-offs
5 T-shirts
2 Buttonups
2 Thermals, one already ditched
1 Carharrt Hoodie
1 Light Jacket
1 Long underwear, ditched
7 Boxers
7 Socks
2 Hats, one Carharrt wool, one Phillies
1 Sneakers
1 Flipflop, purchased in Langkawi
1 Microdigital Recorder
1 iPhone
1 iPad
2 Chargers
3 Headphones
1 Set Watercolors
1 Harmonica
1 Canon Powershot
4 Suntory Commemorative Coasters
1 Soapdish
1 Bar Lavender Duross and Langel Soap
1 Ziplock bag assorted Toiletries
(Toner, fancy moisturizer, lip balm, nail clipper and tweezers)
2 Passports
2 Yellow Books for Inoculation Proof
3 Pens
3 Disposable Chopsticks
1 Metal Spoon
5 Large Plastic Bags for Laundry etc.
1 Leather-bound Book for Writing

Davida's 40-Liter Northface

3 Pants, one ditched
6 Shirts, a rotating stock
1 Wool Sweater, ditched
2 Knit sweaters, one ditched
2 Cardigans, one lost
1 Thermal, ditched
5 Dresses, 2 purchased in Kuala Lumpur
14 Underwear
7 Socks
3 Tights
1 Sandal
1 Hightops
120 Tampons, ob for space saving
40 Packs one-use Hand Sanitizer
40-Pack of Wet Wipes
Assorted Collection of Chinese damp clothes, tissues, toilet paper
20 Band-Aids
1 Tube Neosporin
1 Glass Bottle Propolis Tincture, extra concentrated
7 Tablets Fluconazole 200mg
20 Tablets Ciprofloxacin HCL 500mg
12 Tablets Mefloquine
100 Tablets Excedrin
1 Bottle Volumizer (to keep hair looking fresh)
1 Small Make-up kit
1 Hairbrush
1 Razor
1 Deck Playing Cards
Several Toothpicks
1 Pack Bobby-pins
1 Casio Digital Watch
1 Vivitar Optics