The Countdown Is On

Currently Listening to: “Elephant” by Tame Impala

In just a short 72 hours, I will be sitting at SFO waiting for my first of two flights to Sydney, Australia.  This will be the start of 11 weeks on my own in a total of 5 foreign countries.  I’m currently a mixture of many emotions; fear, anxiety, excitement, gratitude.  More on those emotions later.  For now, I’d like to continue staying busy and focus on packing.

Since telling my friends and family about my trip, I have had several people ask how I plan on carrying around 11 weeks worth of clothes and supplies.  It’s simple.  Carry only what I need and buy quality items for the things I intend on keeping with me from the beginning to the end.  Above is a picture highlighting some of the things I’ve invested in for my trip.

1. My backpack is made by Deuter and I love it.  I’ve had for several years and it fits like a dream.
2. Anyone that knows me knows I love organization.  If it means keeping things in excel spreadsheets and in wicker baskets, I’m all for it.  Of course, I do the same thing when I travel.  These Eagle Creek Pack-It Compression Cubes are amazing.  I have a cube for separate types of clothes and then they compress saving space in my pack.
3. My GoPro!  While hanging out in the beaches of Thailand, my super expensive digital camera died due to sand getting into the lens.  It was a bummer and I had to rely on my iPhone for the remainder of my trip.  I learned that the iPhone 6 has an awesome camera and with so many photo editing apps out there, a digital camera is not necessary.  I did realize, though, that this gave me an opportunity to invest in a type of camera that I could take anywhere and not worry as much about it.  I wanted a camera that I could take with me from the Great Barrier Reef to Halong Bay and everywhere in between.
4. Knowing that I will be traveling through Asia during the end of the rainy season, I wanted to find a pair of sandals that could be taken on and off easily and withstand the rain.  Tevas were an easy choice and I’ve loved them all summer long.
5. And my last investment was my pair of Nike Free 5.0, which is my running shoe of choice.  I wanted a pair of trainers that I could easily go on a last minute run in one morning and survive a last minute hike sometime that same week.

And so, I continue packing, unpacking, and then repacking.  I want to make sure everything I take has a use and that I don’t have anything I won’t use more than a few times.  There’s no point in taking something with me that I’ll use for 1-2 days on a trip that’s about 75 days long.