What to pack?

One of the initial questions we had once it came time to start packing was, “What do we bring?” This was not as easy as we had initially thought as many considerations started to come to mind. Some of these included, where are we going? What season will it be there? What airlines are we flying and what is their baggage weight restrictions? Which clothing is most durable, will not get dirty so easily and what can be used for multiple occasions? What will we be doing and do we mind replacing if necessary? These were just questions regarding our clothing and did not yet included other items like medication or toiletries. As one can imagine, it adds up quickly and with limited space, we had to be judicious in our selection for packing as the bags fill up quite quickly. It was easy to find lists that other travellers made who had left for a year and although it was very helpful, it varied from traveller to traveller. Our specific lists will not be provided as there are numerous ones posted online and we did not follow any specific one but rather just used several as a guideline. Other considerations were, “What were we going to buy on our travels and how much room did we have to do so?” We knew that we would be sending items home and if we bought too much, our travel bags would easily become overburdened. We had to decide on what we would be buying as we collect small keepsake souvenirs from each country we visit but that was key word, “small”. Overpacking is extremely easy because we never want to be out of clothes and in the back of our minds we always think that, “I’m for sure going to wear this!” But more often than not, it ends up sitting in the bottom of the suitcase. One would be surprised how often the same outfit can be worn and how often it can be washed so take this into consideration. Other items to ensure that are brought are your charging items for your technology although the way it has become globalized, these items can easily be purchased at each travel destination. If anything, bring a plug adapter that accepts USB cables as these are almost standard everywhere but will need a way to plug into the wall outlet. Because we were travelling with our 6 year old and we knew we would be travelling by car often, we brought a travel booster seat that takes up significantly less space than a full sized one and it can fit into our carry on luggage. Initially, we had planned on backpacks but we opted for a rolling duffel bag from Mountain Equipment Coop that seemed like an ideal fit. It was 85 litres, had rollers and a handle as well as hideaway backpack straps. Having travelled before with a dedicated backpack, there were an abundance of times where rollers would have been ideal and this new pack fit the job well as we have caused significantly less stress on our backs going in and out of both airports snd subway stations. As we approach terrain that will not have paved roadways, the backpack straps will be a necessity so that post will be coming sooner than later. Just make sure that the luggage that is brought is not heaping because this will cause undue stress as the decisions on how to pack and close the bag as well as what needs to be abandoned will become the main battle. Remember that it is easier to buy things along the way rather than getting rid of items that you will want to keep. Also, a larger carry on luggage/bag can prove to be a godsend as we keep a change of clothes for all us in one bag as well as a laptop and a few other items such as masks and our essential documents.