For the upteenth time, James and I packed our backpacks the other day as we left Penang to go back to Thailand. At this point, I feel like I could do pack in my sleep. With all the practice of packing and unpacking, having to find things in a hurry, knowing what goes in first vs last, I know the inside of my backpack like I know the back of my hand. It took a couple different iterations of packing before I found the one that works just right. Granted there are always some things that don’t fit. Now that we are in Southeast Asia, my hiking shoes and light jacket don’t fit in the backpack which is annoying as shoes are clunky but that’s okay. It’s the nature of traveling across different climates.

As we travel around, we often get asked “How do you pack for a Round The World trip?” and honestly I think it’s simple and perhaps even easier than packing for a shorter trip. Here are a couple ground rules that I employed before we left.

  • Know that you will wear whatever you are packing at least every other day. You have to make sure to pack clothes that you like and you have worn prior to leaving (to ensure comfort etc.) If you have been following our blog, you will have seen every outfit I brought with us. (More on that in a bit.) There are no other ways around it. James refers to my outfits as Outfit #1 and #1A.
  • Pick clothes that give you the most options, and I am not just talking about colors. Ideally everything has to serve more than one purpose. My long sleeved dri-fit tops were great in the cooler places and also work in the humid climates. I wear them to shield my skin from the sun, but they aren’t cotton so they remain cool (relatively speaking!)
  • Accept that you can just pack for a type of travel—backpacking. This ultimately means you won’t be dining in nice restaurants, dancing in heels or attending any black tie events. That alone cuts down on so many clothes options!
  • Figure out a way to organize your bag. I bought 3 Eagle Creek Travel Organizer Bags (S, M, L) and they are fantastic. Not only do I know exactly where to find things as they are always in the same bag, but it helps to slide things into my backpack when I am ready to go.
  • Figure out what items you can share between the two of you (if you have a traveling partner.) We only have one bathroom bag with day to day toiletries like toothpaste and brush as well as small containers of shampoo and soap. We also only have one set of converters for our chargers and electrical items.
  • Imagine you are just packing for a couple day trip, not a Round the World trip. It’s really no different. People all around the world wash their clothes and so can you. Granted it may not be in a Maytag washer, but they will get washed (not always to 100% cleanliness, but “washed” none the less.) And if all else fails, you can always find a sink. We made sure to pack a clothesline with pins and they have  already proved their weight in gold.

So what did I pack you may be wondering? Almost 6 months ago, I left Boston with the following:
3 tank tops from Target, 2 long sleeved dri-fit REI tops, 1 dress, 2 t-shirts, 3 sports bras, 1 bathing suit, 1 pair of jeans, 1 dri-fit pair of pants, 1 pair of yoga capris, 1 pair of capris, 3 pairs of socks, couple pairs of underwear, long underwear top and bottom, a light REI jacket/shell, a toiletry bag, small bottle of sunblock and insect repellent, clothespins,1 pair of Merrell Chameleon hiking shoes, 1 pair of Reef Flip Flops, small bag of electronics (memory stick, converters for ipod and camera charger), 1 Canon small digital camera, couple passport sized photos, copies of documents, 1 yogi toes, 1 sarong. 1 quick dry towel.

And now, almost 6 months later, I have pretty much the same items in my bag, give or take a couple. One tank top has been lost along the way (no idea how.) One of my t shirts got too stained to wear and got tossed. There has been a couple flip flop catastrophes along the way (blow out in Auckland, losing  a pair to the high tide in Thailand.) I picked up another dress and bathing suit in Thailand which I had figured I would do. 1 sports bra got tossed for lack of comfort. Some souvenirs got mailed home along the way but otherwise my bag looks more or less like it did when I first left….all 12 kg (26 lbs) of it.