My route included: Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Nepal and India. In that order. Leaving in January 2013.
Gear:
Tent- spend the money, you won’t regret it. You might use it, you might not. I spent 4 months in mine.
Sleeping bag- Don’t spend the money. Unless you’re going to Europe. Or Honduras in March. Or Kenya in September. But get something small. SPACE.
Sleeping pad-Decide now what is more important; Space or comfort. Space means not the greatest sleeping pad, but you can splurge on other things. Comfort means lugging around the biggest pad ever that will never fit into your pack. I had a Thermarest. What a few of my squadmates had REI campbed 2.5. I used mine for 5.5 months.
Backpack-INTERNAL FRAME!
Daypack- Big enough to hold all your electronics, spare set of clothes and toiletries. But that can fit in your lap. You hold it just as much as you carry it.
Pillow-I didn’t mind my travel pillow. But don’t try and use a neck pillow as your only one. You’ll hate yourself like I did.
Sleeping bag liner- Good investment. Some countries you don’t want to pull out your sleeping bag. Or a thin blanket. Even Thailand it was nice to have.
Packing Cube/Stuff sacks- You’re living out of a backpack, you have to be organized. You’ll go crazy otherwise. Ziplock bags don’t count. But bring those too.
Clothes:
Shirts-Tanks are surprisingly appropriate most places. Bring some, buy some. You need a few shirts you don’t mine getting trashed. And a few that you like to wear. Don’t bring your most fav shirt, but second fav works.
Shorts-Again surprisingly appropriate most places. Bring at least one pair that goes to/past your knees. You’ll thank me later.
Pants/Skirts/Dresses- You only need like 1, maybe 2 skirts. Pants, again, one pair for trashy work and one or two for nicer things. There is always an opportunity for a cute dress. Bring one. I had a sister who lived in Africa for 5 months tell me not to bring jeans cause they are heavy and hard to handwash(both true). However I missed having a pair of jeans so badly. I am comfortable in jeans and will wear them more than a skirt most times.
*Item that you MUST bring; Pro-biotics. When your whole squad is in Nicaragua with liquid poo, you’ll thank me. Seriously, you can do it on this blog. I can count on one hand the number of times I have been “butt-sick” and they usually are the times when I’ve forgotten to take my pro-biotic. And when you are only eating rice for 10 out of 11 countries, you need this to help keep things moving along.
Underwear-1,000 pairs. Okay that might be an exaggeration, but seriously African women scrub the heck out of underware and you will lose some pairs there. Plus we had some clothes stolen in Cambodia including underware. Boys this goes for you too, don’t listen to any blog/racer that says only bring 4 pairs. They are liars. Or playing a joke on you, either way you lose.
Bras- Again, lots. Both sports and regular ones. Don’t try to buy those on the field.
Socks- Just make sure you have shoes to wear the socks with.
Shoes-Flip-flops. Asia lives off them. But you can buy those anywhere.
Chacos. Or some sort of heavy-duty sandal.
Tennis shoes-I brought 5Fingers and LOVED it.
Some sort of nicer shoe- You will have chances to dress nicely. And no one wants to walk into a hotel restaurant in dirty, smelly, mud stained flip-flops.
*Item that you MUST bring; “Chaffey pants” Spandex shorts. 1. they help with modesty. 2. Chaffing. It happens to the best of us. 3. Sweating. Don’t ask questions. Asia is friggin’ hot. Dudes too. Underarmour, spandex, whatever you want to call them. Go buy some. Right now.
Rain Jacket.
Hoodie/Sweatshirt/Fleece/Some jacket for warmth.Or to serve as an extra pillow.
Toiletries:
You can find any and almost all personal care items all over the world. Shampoo, Conditioner(with the exception of Africa, kinda hard there), soap, deodrant, facewash, razors… Sometimes items are more expensive than the states(facewash), sometimes they are cheaper. Don’t stress.
Lady products-You can find anywhere. Tampons are harder. Bring a stash. Strangely enough, I’ve found them in Nepal.
Make-up- Bring some. You will want to look nice somedays. Mascara is hard to find and expensive. Same with hair products(mouse, hair spray…)
SUNSCREEN-I am freakishly pale so this is a huge necessity, but at some point everyone will want some of yours. So bring lots. Even if you think you won’t use some, bring it. The Equator is hot. And you can’t find it anywhere for less than 15$.
Vitamins- Poor diet means poor nutrition. Poor nutrition means hair loss.
Dryer Sheets- You can get these on the field but bring some too. Put in with your clothes and it makes you feel like you’re a little less stinky. And when you get home the smell of dryer sheets will remind you of the Race.
*Item that you MUST bring; Febreze spray in a travel bottle. You smell 85% of the time. Somedays you get tired of your own stank. Especially when you are handwashing, or the lady that does your clothes you’re pretty sure isn’t even using soap. I brought 2 and when I was halfway through with both I supplemented with water and still helps. And again it is a smell that, once you are home, will remind you of the Race, which is exactly what you need somedays.
Electronics:
Computer- Don’t go the iPad route. It sucks to try and post a blog on one of those things. And wifi isn’t always the internet of availability. Do get a netbook. I had a ’15 inch computer and it sucks to lug that around.
Kindle- I got one as a gift. Not a necessity(if you have an iDevice iBooks works just as good), but nice to have. Especially if your computer won’t connect to the wifi and you phone battery is dying.
Music source- You want whatever iDevice you currently own or Zune(Ha! Who has a Zune?) Sometimes the only way to get away is drown everything out with music.
Lots of headphones, multiple iPod cords, headphone spliter, adapter, and external hard drive.
*If you have an iPhone, get the Lifeproof case. It’s better than an otterbox, it’s waterproof. But don’t forget the headphone adapter cause no one wants to take that case off all the time.
Meds:
Along with your Probiotics and vitamins you will want ibprophin, peptobismal, and some sort of sleep aide. 15+ hour flights suck if you can’t sleep.
I know I probably forgot something, but I hope this helps. You can’t be prepared for everything, you He’s not asking you to. A huge part of this journey is relying on others for help and having them rely on you. Sharing is caring.
