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.

I have to 2nd all those who said they love their packing cubes!! I have 2 half cubes. One for socks, undies a couple of tank tops that serve as PJ’s and one for sarongs, bathing suits, bandannas and my pack towel. (it usually ends up as a good spot to put small breakable souvenirs too!) I also have a quarter cube for electronica – camera cable, spare batteries & flash cards, plug adaptors, alarm clock, etc. But if I had to choose between my cubes and my “Pack-it Folder”, it would all go in a ziplock, ‘cause I LOVE my folder. I can put week’s & week’s worth of clothing in an small tidy pack and nothing comes out wrinkled & messy.

Im not going to South America at all. I will be in SE Asia next year though for about 6 or 7 months. Perhaps I will run into you there.

ok I just have to ask. What the heck is a packing cube?

I'm starting to feel some what old (might be due to the birthday I've just had) but all I can visualise is giant plastic cubes/bricks that little kids play with.

I take it they are light weight, um, packing aids? Generally I just pack mine in those plastic bags one gets from supermarkets. Although since I've now got those 'environmentally friendly' reusable shopping bags I'm going to have to come up with something else.

Sorry, I've got nothing on the topic right now. I'll think on it.

The only thing I've pack the last few trips and never used was my mobile. Just in case work needed me. Although since I didn't turn it on 'just in case work needed me' it was kind of pointless.

just don't tell my bosses....

quote:

What the heck is a packing cube?

These are packing cubes

I don't use packing cubes but I have a compression bag I put all my clothes in which makes packing easier. I wish I had brought jeans. I set out on a year tour thinking they would be heavy and take forever to dry. But as has been said, you just want to look nice and feel normal, so I wish I had a pair that fit me nice. That said I've got two months left of a 13 month trip and I've survived w/o them just fine. My quick dry pants, however, have been the best clothing item! I didn't need to bring a water bottle - thrown out pretty early. I brought a ton of meds for every problem but luckily I haven't needed much of it. Gave most of it away. YOu can easily find meds on the road, tho. It's not a heavy thing to carry, but takes up space. I wish I would've started with a smaller bag!

Why thank you Static. I can safely say I've never seen them before but will certainly keep them in mind. I hate having to unpack the entire contents of my pack to get the item down the bottom.
of course I guess I could still end up doing that... particularly if I forget which 'cube' said item is in.

I really wish I had brought cutlery. I had a pocket knife, but a butter knife, spoon and fork would have been SO useful for those times I catered myself (or that time I ended up eating an avocado on a roll for dinner...booo!). I ended up snitching a set from a hostel.

I also wish I had brought a silk sleep sack.

I brought a rubber clothesline which I barely ever used.

Malena, I totally agree. I wish I had brought some "cute" clothes with me, most of my clothes were so practical.

I actually used my cutlery a lot, esp. in Africa and Europe.

I rarely used my silk sleepsheet, I guess I just forgot or didn't care about how dirty the sheets actually were. When in doubt I put my sarong down and wrapped my pillow in a Tshirt. I didn't die so I guess it was alright.

One thing that I loved having was a small bottle of liquid soap or even baby shampoo. Everywhere in Asia/India there are sinks to wash your hands and having soap was great. Sometimes the antibacterial gel just made a goop of the dirt on your hands.

In hindsight I didn't need so many medicines, pain relievers and such, but I think I still would take them with. And I gave a lot away to grateful people.

And while I used my hiking boots a ton in Oz/NZ and parts of Asia, I only used them once in Africa for varying reasons. I wish I had a more basic set of gym shoes or trail runners with me instead.

But, I loved that I had jeans with me in Africa, it was colder than I thought and they are very durable and I didn't get bit by mosquitoes through them like my linen pants. But I certainly didn't need them in Asia.

Edited to add: My headlamp. I am sure its very dorky, but wow, that came it handy everywhere. Reading on long buses, walking home when the power goes out in town, putting up a tent etc. Will never travel without one again.

I really wish I had brought:
a bottle opener
an umbrella

why the %&$# did I bring:
too many clothes!

I wish I hadn't lost my pen knife that HAD a blade, a can opener, and a knife fork and spoon in one package!!!

I wish I hadn't brought enough clothes for a closet, even if I DID have school to attend.

I wish I hadn't brought my sleeping bag.I haven't used it yet. Maybe I'll use it on the Camino de Santiago if the night looks free of rain!!!