1. something relatively nice to wear for going out

2. ipod

3. hair clips and supplies (I have ridiculous hair)

1) a small, LED light that I can turn on by biting it to free up my hands for dark, dodgy bus bathrooms or putting a key in a door in a dark hallway

2) camera...but does this really count as "unnecessary? I think not. I would rather travel without pants than not have my camera. So, since a camera is hereby reclassified as necessary:

2 1/2) small bag of plastic spoons

3) leatherman (one with a corkscrew AND a can opener)

1) Bible
2) Camera
3) Duck Tape

1 - Hacky Sack/Footbag

2 - Any small musical instrument - If I left tomorrow it would be my harmonica, but i'm always on the lookout for new sounds.

And thanks to prior posters, I have a new one...
3 - Tea or Yerba Mate
(of twinings, earl grey is my fav)

camera and accessories for it.
flip flops
watch

Hey Eppyboy, what are "flip-flops"?


have a nice day, Whistler.


If you can keep a sesnse of humour and see the funny side of life, you will never be old. SMC.

haha

i believe you aussies call them thongs...i should have known...i'll try to keep it international next time

1) iPod

2) Tiny picture book that holds about 15 photos. Inside are pics of my dogs (both the ones still alive and those that have passed on to the big dog park in the sky) as well as a pic of my house and a pic of my neighborhood. I can't count how many times I've shown the pics of my house/neighborhood and had it start great conversations with strangers about similarities and differences in our daily lives.

3) A packet of Fran's bittersweet dark chocolate squares. It's my security blanket in case I find myself somewhere without any chocolate.

ooh, fun. okay since camera/journal have heretofore been included in the "necessities"

1. picture of my parents
2. hot sauce
3. headlamp

-a red spork
-a red flashlight
-at least 800 pages' worth of paperback mysteries, preferably of the gory forensic type
Among the donations to our library, I found a paperback from the U.K. filled with "true" (?) stories of ghastly things that had happened to overseas backpackers. Wish I had held onto that.

- laptop
- memory stick
- earplugs

On my trip to New Zealand

1) notebook for the journal/blog I never wrote
2) roll of duct tape - for all it's multi- purposes, never used
3) corkscrew - all the wine had twist-off caps

As camera/journal/book(s) have been uniformly exempted, top three for me are:

1) Headlamp (without a doubt this has been the most crucial thing I thought I'd never use.. used every night for reading in dim to electricity-free places, as well as the high-beam for those unexpected nights stuck on the trail in the jungle or mountains)
2) This squishy roll-up pillow from REI that feels like its filled with paper when you unroll it but becomes the most glorious, fluffy pillow after it sits for about 5 minutes: Therm-A-Rest Compressible Pillow
3) Hand Sanitizer

An Alaskan T-shirt: it's where I'm from and a great conversation starter...

Silk Sleep sack: packs small, provides a bit of insulation from bugs and unclean sheets, and gives a bit more warmth if needed...

Portable speaker system for my IPod: the party starts with this...and sometimes you just get tired of earbuds...


A lot of the stuff on these lists ( headlamp, camera, journal etc.) are absolutely necessary...

1.) An old school metal bottle opener comes in handy: mine's tip is sharp enough to cut through plastic yet it makes it onto the plane carry-on every time.

2.) Flip flops

3.) A pen (Although you can normally grab one anywhere they can be surprisingly hard to find right when you need one.)