It’s not so easy to know what to take with you when you are leaving for more than a year. When people see or lift our backpacks, comments range from ‚This is all you have?‘ to ‚Oh my god, you are carrying all this stuff around the world with you?‘
You could call this list pedantic, but we had fun compiling it… and when we were packing up for our trip, we actually found it really useful and interesting to research other world travellers‘ packing lists. So if you are curious what’s in our backpacks or are maybe an aspiring world traveller yourself, here is ours.
Compared to the start of our trip, about 40% of the stuff we carry by now are replacement or additional items that we picked up on the way. We put the place of origin in [square brackets].
A few of the bigger items made it all the way from Germany, but a lot of other things ended up as presents to locals, broke or were sent back home because they were not (or not anymore) useful. There are a several stories about some of this equipment across the blog. If you have more questions like where or why we found certain things useful just get in touch!
Mario |
Julia |
| Bags | |
| – Backpack, Quechua 50l – Daypack, Nike with padded laptop compartment – Valuables bag (for inside jeans) |
– Backpack, vauDe 55l – the predecessor of something like this – Photo bag, Timbuk2 incognito [from Manama, BH] – like this |
| Clothes | |
| – Plastic bag for clean clothes, Durin space maker – like this – Light jacket, wind and waterproof, Quechua – One long-sleeve shirt – The ‚last shirt‚, short sleeves [refabricated in Hoi An, VN] – The ‚last tie‚ – T-Shirts [from Ulaanbaator, MN; Melbourne, AU; Kabale, UG] – Jersey, Quechua – One thin sweater – Jeans [from Chiang Mai, TH] – Light zip trousers [from Ho-Chi-Minh-City, VN] – Shorts, Abercrombie & Fitch [from Phnom Penh, KH] – Seven pair of pants – One set of long underwear – Four pairs of socks – Thick hiking socks – Two pairs of low cut socks – Light gore-tex shoes, Salomon Speed Cross 2 – like this – Leather sandals [from Phnom Penh, KH] – Cap ’not all who wander are lost‘ [from Ulaanbaator, MN] – Thin gloves – Woolen Hat [from Oamaru, NZ] – Pillow case (to be filled with clothes) |
– Jacket, wind and waterproof – Fleece jacket – Two sweaters – Long sleeved shirt [from Kathmandu, NP] – Six T-shirts – Five sleeveless tops – Two blouses – Two shorts – Skirt [from Bunbury, AU] – Three dresses [one from Kuala Lumpur, MY, the other from Hoi An, VN] – Jeans [from Delhi, IN] – Trekking trousers – Six pairs of socks – Deteriorating supply of underwear – Pashmina scarf. Serves also as picnic blanket or headscarf in mosques. – Pair of warms tights – Fleece hat – Pair of gloves [from Kathmandu, NP] – Pair of running shoes – Flip flops [currently from Livingstone, ZM]. This has been the item with the highest throughput – I am on pair #10. |
| Mobile Office | |
| – Filing folder [actually a dive log from Koh PhiPhi, TH] – Travel diary [currently #8 from Kathmandu, NP] – Parker pen, black [from Little India, SG] – like this – Scissors also used for new hair styles [current ones from Kathmandu, NP] – Duct tape, scotch tape and glue stick – ‚Stay in touch‘ cards with our email address [printed in Hongkong, CN] – ‚Die Welt‘ a little book with maps of the world – Little notebook [from Chiang Rai, TH] – Point-it photo book – Post-its and little page flags – Book [currently „White Teeth“ by Zadie Smith, present from Rose in Kampala, UG] |
– Book [currently „The Undercover Economist“ by Tim Harford, present from Akshay in Delhi, IN]- Useless pile of dog-eared entrance tickets, boarding passes etc. |
| Toiletries | |
| – Simple jute bag as container – Small travel towel – Shaver Gilette and brush [from Bunbury, AU] – Essential toiletries (shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrush, floss, etc) – Toilet paper – Sunscreen [from Australia] – Hand sanitizer – like this – Some daily contact lenses [from Cairns, AU] – Weekly contact lenses [from Manila, PH] – Excessively expensive contact lens liquid [from Kampala, UG] – Spare glasses – Nail clipper |
– Toiletry bag from Jack Wolfskin- like this – only the most essential toiletries (Mario still thinks they are too many) – Hairbrush [currently from Wellington, NZ] – Dwindling supply of hairbands – Ear plugs & eye mask – First aid kit (includes painkillers (paracetamol, ibuprofen, diclofenac), Voltaren cream, decongestants, anti-histamines, medication for diarrhea (coal tablets, loperamide, antibiotics, electrolyte powder for rehydration treatment), eye drops, nasal spray, tiger balm, Compeed, plasters in all sizes, Bepanthen, sterile alcohol swaps, Malarone (for emergency malaria treatment), thermometer, asthma spray (salbutamol inhaler) |
| Electronics & Photo | |
| – iPhone 4 – like this [new touch screen from Mumbai, IN] and new iPhone charger [from Hanoi, VN] – Solar panel and battery from revolt to charge phones (1000mA, battery 3000mAh) – similar to this – Extension cord and multisocket [from Chongquing, CN] – Canon DSLR EOS 1000D, second camera – like this – A broken Tamron 70-300mm telephonto lens [from Kuala Lumpur, MY] – Underwater Camera and casing, Canon Ixy [from Cairns, AU] – like this and this – Half a dozen SD cards – Netbook Samsung N150plus [from Hongkong, CN] – like this – Small optical mouse [from Hongkong, CN] – USB flash drive [Two from home, one from Hong Kong, one from Delhi] – Several other chargers and adapters – Cheap looking casio watch (for use in poorer countries) – Damn expensive dive computer/watch [from Manila, PH] |
– Canon DSLR, EOS 60D camera body [from Siliguri, IN] – like this – Canon 70-300mm telephoto lens [from Dubai, UA] – like this – Canon 10-20mm wide angle lens [from Singapore, SG] – like this – Sigma 30mm portrait lens, 1.4 portrait lens [from Hongkong, CN] – like this – Tripod [from Siliguri, IN] – iPhone 3 and charger |
| Wallet | |
| – Different VISA and Maestro Cards – Not much cash left – we had some Euros and USD – Passport photos (for visas etc) – Driving license – Student ID card [from Khao San Road, Bangkok, TH] – Dive certification ID (this is real) – Lufthansa Miles’n’more card (pretty useless so far) – Two passports (very handy!) – Yellow fever certificate and vaccination booklet |
– Moneybelt [from Phnom Penh, KH] – Almost empty wallet to confuse (elusive) robbers – Two passports – Vaccination booklet with yellow fever certificate – Two credit cards – List of TAN numbers (for German online banking) – List of emergency phone numbers to cancel credit cards in case of theft – Fake student ID [from Khao San Road, Bangkok, TH] – Dive certification ID – Driving license – German health insurance card (useless outside Europe, but still) – ADAC membership card – the German car club – 40 Canadian dollars in cash (gift from my sister Carolin) – Warranty cards of all the electronic items we acquired during the trip |
| Other useful stuff | |
| – Dome tent, made in China [from Kampala, UG] – Ultralight down sleeping bag Quechua S0 – Silk sleeping bag – Water bag and drinking tube (with adapters for bottles) – Binoculars, Steiner – like this – Head lamp – Sunglasses [from Delhi, IN] – Pocket knive, one blade only [from Kathmandu, NP] – Little locks to use on zips [from Prague, CZ] – Small bike lock to secure luggage – Emergency blanket doubles as second roof for non-waterproof tents – like this – Sewing kit – Tie wire, superuseful to fix various other defunct products – like this – Different spare backpack straps and hooks – Cable ties – like this – Lighter [the most recent one from Muscat, OM] – Mosquito coils [from Koh Phiphi, TH] – Candles [from Kathmandu, NP] |
– Headlamp – Flashlight with dynamo – Travel towels, 1 big 1 small – Pillow [from Oamaru, NZ] – Tupperware boxes, 1 big 1 small [from Wellington, NZ] – Two plastic plates [from Ulaanbaator, MN] – Two plastic cups – Spoon and fork [most recent edition of cutlery borrowed from a restaurant somewhere in India] – Ziplock bags, superuserful – like this – Ultralight down sleeping bag Quechua S0 – Silk sleeping bag – Mosquito net – Inflatable neck pillow – Sunglasses – Hat – Bag of self-catering supplies: salt dispenser [from Prague, CZ], sugar, instant coffee, teabags, creamer, vegetable stock cubes – Small bottle of dish-washing liquid [from Cairns, AU] – Sponge [from Perth, AU] – Air mattress for camping [from Kampala, UG] |
Not with us anymore (excerpt)
– Light zip trousers from Meru/Globetrotter. Died far too early.
– Sigma 18-200mm superzoom lens – like this. Died of hard work.
– Trangia cooker, methylated spirits with pots – like this. Sent back home from Delhi.
– Worn down Nudie Jeans. Donated to a guy in Chiang Mai, TH.
– Leatherman Juice CS, blue – like this. Disappeared in Cameron Highlands, MY.
– Fake Zippo [from Hongkong, CN]. Stolen by Spicejet employees in Guwahati, IN.
– Several pairs of scissors. Taken away by the friendly security staff at airports.
– 8000 Philippine Pesos (about US$190). Stolen by a cheeky employee at Dive Guru’s on Boracay.
– Clothes line. Last put up on a hotel room balcony in Kolkata…
– Non-waterproof tent [from Ulaanbaator, MN]. Abandoned in the countryside.
– Second-hand tent [from Shul in Christchurch, NZ]. Left with friends in Perth, AU.
– Small umbrella (blown away)
– Spork. Looked cool, but proved useless – maybe try the titanium one like this. Buried at Lake Baikal.
– Small electric kettle [from Tsesterleg, MN]. Broke during the flight to NZ, discarded.
– Julia’s hiking boots [from Kathmandu, NP]. Didn’t survive the tough trek around the Annapurnas. Discarded in Pokhara, NP.
– Several pairs of cheap flipflops from all parts of the world.
– Snow trousers [from Kathmandu, NP]. Sent home after crossing the icy heights of Thorung La.
– Mario’s fleece jacket. Sent home after hiking around Nepal in the ill-conceived assumption it would now not be cold any more.
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