I have a smaller pack than The Private Eye. The Traveling Economist told me she’d never heard anyone say they wish they had a larger pack, so I have an Osprey Talon 33. It has a pouch for a water bladder, so I brought a camelback one. It’s a much easier way to carry water than a bottle, e.g. on two day boat rides or when mountain biking to a waterfall. Attached to my pack I have a name tag, a watch/compass, an LED flashlight, and two padlocks of different sizes (useful when you have to use lockers).

Clothing

• one pair of permethrin pants
• one permethrin long sleeved, collared shirt
• one permethrin hat
• 4 tank tops (2 new, icebreaker merino wool, 1 grey cotton, 1 mesh burning man)
• 3 pairs of boxers (2 new, icebreaker merino wool, one old, cotton)
• one pair of Psylo pants with detachable lower legs (can be long pants and 3/4 length shorts)
• 3 pairs of socks
• one olive t-shirt
• one navy linen collared shirt
• one pair of swimming trunks
• one sarong (gift from The Surfer Stylist)
• one pair of pajama pants
• 3 leather wedding bands
• chain necklace
• one pair of flip flops (new Chocos)
• one pair of light, comfortable, beat up hiking sneakers
• scuba mask
• snorkel
• mountain biking sunglasses (very rugged, wrap-around)

I wish I had brought another pair of pants, like the Psylo ones (they are light and dry quickly). I didn’t realize that Thailand and Laos dress conservatively, such that my swim trunks are generally not OK to wear. While traveling, I’ve bought a pair of fisherman pants, a hooded, long sleeved t-shirt, a bracelet, and a scarf. I sent the sarong back with our gift package, since it’s bulky and I didn’t wear it in our first three weeks.

I put all of my clothes (except shoes and scuba stuff) in a large, sealable plastic bag – think of a giant ziplock bag. This means I can empty and fill my bag very quickly, and if we are caught in rain my clothes remain dry.

Medical and toiletries

• toothbrush
• 2 sticks of deodorant (with multiple showers a day in Thailand, the first lasted 3 weeks)
• 20 or so 3mg melatonin for jet lag
• 15 or so 200mg ibuprofen (Advil)
• Imodium and laxatives
• Anti-malarial pills from Kaiser travel clinic
• Antibiotics for terrible diarrhea (3 doses) from travel clinic
• 20 pairs of disposable contact lenses
• electric razor
• nail clippers and file
• one linen handkerchief
• small tub of Osmo essence hair clay (very stiff)

I wish I had brought a small screwdriver for my eye glasses, which sometimes come loose. I’ve had to borrow a small knife once, and will probably have to do so again a few times.

Other stuff

I brought two wallets. One holds a few cards and a bit of cash; I carry this around with me. One is larger, with multiple pockets, zip pockets, etc. I keep larger amounts of cash, travel documents, and other documentation in this one, which I generally keep locked up in our room somehow (locker, locked drawer, inside The Private Eye’s bag, which can lock up). I carry my passport with me at all times, either in a zipped pants pocket or in a zipped pocket of the bag I’m carrying.

In Chiang Mai I picked up a simple cloth satchel which I’ve used as my small day bag. It’s falling apart a little from my having put large, full water bottles in it a few times. But it was $4, so that’s fine.

Technology

• First generation iPad
• outlet plug converter
• Canon PowerShot D20
• 2 32GB memory cards
• USB cable for camera
• USB cable for iPad, 120V USB plug
• Old candybar phone from Silamander, charger

I bought a new digital camera because our old one (from 2007) is starting to have mechanical problems with its lens. The D20 is, well, a d20!!!! and is a rugged model, waterproof to 10m, shockproof, etc. We don’t take a huge number of pictures, so I think we are only 10% of the way through our first card, most of which is a few videos.

An iPad seemed like the perfect computer, but I didn’t want to buy a new one. So I grabbed the first generation one from my lab, since it’s not super useful for work anymore (students borrow it for trips so they can watch movies on the plane).