BootsnAll Travel Community

Hola y'all!

I'm wondering what people have realized when they were on the road that they regretted not bringing with them or were really happy with...

Did you bring something that you were really HAPPY about having?

Did you bring something that was totally useless even though lots of people told you to bring it?

Were you really sad or disappointed that you didn't bring something?

I'm thinking of things like random toiletry items......or those pack organizer things. It seems like it would actually take up MORE room to have something that packs your clothes....

Totally disagree: I LOVE my packing cubes.

I really wish I had brought two decks of cards. On numerous trips, we have taken just one deck, and for whatever reason, it got sticky or nasty because play cards on trains/airplanes, etc. We found ourselves popping into random shops in Italy, looking for a deck of cards, which we finally ended up buying for 8 Euros!

Why the f*** did I bring so much toilet paper to India. We brought two full rolls and two of the little purse-size rolls. After six days lugging them around, we never broke out the full rolls and left them in a hotel in Delhi. The purse-size rolls are great, though!

I love-love-love my Eagle Creek packing cubes.

In the "stuff that I am glad I brought" camp, would be unscented travel wipes and a travel size bottle of generic Purell, foam earplugs and an eyeshade.

In the "stuff that I should have left at home" would be a pair of 8" high boots that I brought on my first trip to Europe back in the '70s..

In the category of "stuff I really wish I had brought" is a dictionary.

Ok, so I'm totally sold on the packing cubes, i'll have to check some out. I guess I just go to an outdoor gear place or something?

Thanks for the responses and keep them coming!

Funny you ask this. I was popping onto BnA to give my advice on exactly your question.

Since I just started my RTW (10 days in, 96 to go), I'm not going to make claims on what NOT to bring, since for all I know I'll be using them like crazy later. But here are a couple non-obvious things that I'm SO glad I brought:

#1 - Compass. For sure. So little, so cheap, and I'm using it constantly.

#2 - Everything quick dry. At home you don't really think of drying things, but it's rained, I've been on boats, I've been sticky-sweaty, and anything that isn't quick-dry? Forget about it. Very last minute before the flight to Kuala Lumpur (I'm writing in Bangkok now), I splurged on some "tech" clothes. Money VERY well spent.

#3 - Pocket-sized journal. Obviously you bring a journal, but one you can easily keep in your pocket is clutch.

#4 - Thumb drive. Just to back up my camera photos. Basically, I don't want to have anything irreplaceable in my pack. The camera is replaceable. The photos in it are not. Having a backup helps me sleep.

That's it for now. All the best from Thailand!

-Jake

quote:

Ok, so I'm totally sold on the packing cubes, i'll have to check some out. I guess I just go to an outdoor gear place or something?

I bought mine at the container store, actually. I got my eagle creek bag online.

Why the f--- did I bring:
- a water filter
- a second, older, larger, crappier camera


I really wish I had brought:
- less stuff.

Don't laugh, but my latest brainstorm is that I should have brought my (small, cheap) electric kettle along for my 5-month India trip. I didn't have it at the time but if I had bought something equivalent in Europe - so the plugs would be the same - it cost $10 and I could have boiled water in my room for coffee, tea, noodles, and also for drinking water the next day.

Then I would not have to a) go through so many plastic bottles and b) rush out of the room in the morning to get my coffee/tea/etc.

You can fill the empty kettle with clothes or whatever when it's in the pack!

Scotch tape is something I somehow seem to need more often than I would expect.

I also in the future will try to bring along postcards from my hometown or city I live in, so if I leave my email or real address with someone or even just a note, I can leave it on that.

I was about to write a blog post on this subject so here is a partial list. I'll just list accessories since quick dry clothes, pad locks, etc... are a complete given.

Extremely useful things I'm so glad I brought:
1. Compass for sure... Lonely Planet maps generally suck but you can get anywhere with one as long as you have this little gem.
2. Duct tape... I wrapped half a roll around my nalgene before I left and I'm almost about to run out. It is just so useful.
3. Superglue... It's sterile coming out of the tube and makes a perfect bandaid for cuts. It dries hard and usually stays on for a long time.
4. Silk travel sheet... There have been some really ratty beds that I slept in and was glad that I had it.
5. Asus EeePC... the purists will scoff but this little laptop weighs about half a kilo and does everything I need it too, nothing I dont.

Honorable mentions: duffle bag to put my pack in while in transit, packsafe bag (not the full backpack thing), about 10 feet of nylon chord and asst. zip ties & zip lock bags.

Useless crap:
1. Doorstop... was recommended to me but I have yet to find a use for it.
2. Fleece... in SE Asia I have had 1 use for it so far. Would have been better to just buy one when I needed it.
3. Frisbee... it has been fun at times but I would totally chuck it right now if I wasn't so attached.
4. Spoon, fork, knife set... Just completely unnecessary.

-SkiCO
The obligatory travel blog

One of my all-time favourite things are those matchbox-size containers of soap sheets. They weigh nothing, take no space and you always have hand soap available. Just a quarter of a sheet is enough. You can also buy the same little sheets of laundry soap, shaving foam, shampoo, body wash etc. Fabulous!

My packing cubes, silk sleep sheet, sarong and hand sanitizer are other things I would never leave at home.

I don't think I'll bring a water filter ever again.

Things I wish I'd brought: Clothes that actually look good and are at least minimally flattering! Almost none of the quickdry stuff I brought looks good on me, so I'm slowly replacing it with cuter stuff as I travel. Also, some good strong SPF 40+ waterproof sunblock and some good insect repellent.

Things I'm happy I brought: my LAPTOP! I know it's heavy, I know it's a pain, but I love having it.

Things I haven't used yet: My Ipod (I'm just not a big music person) and my silk sheet - it's too hot here.

Malena, I always find that the silk sheet has some kind of cooling effect when it's hot in the room... way more comfy than a regular sheet Have you tried it with the fan strategically aimed? It's great!

And I agree about the clothes... After a few months in hiking shoes, cargo pants and a grey fleece I got desperate and went amok in a La Paz market where I got cute jeans and tops, red sneakers, lipgloss and a new haircut. It was sooooo nice to feel "normal" again... Now when I travel I take clothes and shoes that I would actually wear at home.

Kath

quote:

Originally posted by Kath:

My packing cubes, silk sleep sheet, sarong and hand sanitizer are other things I would never leave at home.

(Especially ladies) How many packing cubes do you use and what sizes?

The thing that I am glad we brought on our recent trip is dental floss.

Thing we should have left at home in the ipod. Love it on the train, but pointless to have when you are traveling with a 1 and 2 year old.

I want to feel normal on the road as well and refuse to take anymore hiking stuff with me and will take the effort be good to myself now. I will have my boots only for hiking.I carry my jeans now..will not leave home without one. Even the dirtiest pair of jeans make you feel good.

Silk sheet: amazing in hot and cold weathers
Packing cubes or bags: a must

Wish I had taken a laptop and better tripod...this time I will (I hope)

Wish I brought sport sandals for those showery days. My feet were mutilated after being trapped in murky boots for several weeks.

why the f did I bring so many books and waterbottles? The books seemed like a good idea considering I had so many long bus rides, but I ended up dumping all of them a couple weeks into my trip when I got fed up trying to fit them into my pack. The waterbottles, as I lost them, gradually got scattered across the entire breadth of Argentina.

I love my packing cubes! Someone asked how many I have. I have two large ones for my clothes and two of the 1/4 cubes for socks and undies. I then have a half cube for stuff that cant spill and a water proof one for the stuff that can. I keep my camera and ipod wires in a padded cube. I might have gone a bit crazy.

I wish I had a computer. It would just make my life so much easier. As for stuff I wish I didn´t have, well all of it. I wish that there was some sort of a magic faerie that carried it all around for me.

We are leaving for our rtw in October, so I love threads like these. We decided we are going to take a computer, despite all the reasons not to. Mainly for updating our website and for pics.

And Kathryn, if you come across any of those fairies, let me know, I'd love one of those.

sea - what is your itin? Maybe we will cross paths?

Well, we have a rough itinerary. We are primarily going to be spending our time in South America and SE Asia. We are leaving October 15, flying into Lima, Peru.

Then we are going to make our way down to Cuzco, probably spend a few weeks there taking Spanish classes, then hiking the Inca Trail.
Then off to Bolivia, most likely Brazil, then Argentina and Patagonia (planning on being in Patagonia late February/early March. Maybe Chile somewhere in there or after Patagonia. Maybe not. We will probably spend anywhere from 4-6 months in South America.

We may come home for a few weeks after that, it just depends on flights. But then we will head to SE Asia, where the itinerary is really rough. We are probably going to do the circle of Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia, no idea what order or when, yet. We may look into teaching English somewhere in SE Asia as well. We're really leaving it up in the air.