backpack traveling

After traveling with only a backpack on my last trip, trying to travel with as little as possible just to see if I could do it, I found out the following:

1. I could do it! Which is why in every photo of me I appear to be wearing the same thing ~ on the outside, I was, everyday. On the inside, well that’s my secret…. ;-)


2. There are some things I needed which I didn’t bring


• I need to travel with a better soap solution. I need a soap that is good for hands, face and body rather than hand soap, face soap, body soap. And I’m all about antibacterial and I’m all about clean and clear and no perfumes or dyes. A bar of good ole Dove Sensitive Skin Unscented soap would be good, but messy and wet after use. I think a bottled solution would be better. Or if I take a bar soap then I’d have to take a very good bar soap container to keep soap suds from getting all over the inside of my bag. I wonder what backpackers do.


• I need to travel with a small hand towel, something that dries quickly but soaks up well.


• I need to travel with a hook and/or small clip to hang stuff from anything, to hang toiletry bag or dry towel or wet socks, whatever.


• I need to travel with an alarm clock. Some hostels and hotels don’t have alarms or wake up calls. The Yufuin Country Road Hostel had a clock/alarm clock that I used but since i didn’t fix the time the morning alarm did me no good ~ clock time was off by five hours.


• I need a digital watch (with an alarm too maybe!) I never realized that on any given normal day of my daily life I’m only concerned with the minute hand when checking time. I never need to bother looking at the hour hand because I’m always where I need to be each hour. But, when I was traveling I lost track of time and, well, with the combination of the too short hour hand, the non-marked hours around the clock, the dimly lit watch in the dark, it proved too challenging to assess the hour in a quick moment. Plus with digital I can perhaps time things and save multiple time zones (if I travel out of my normal time zone).


• A day pack would have been nice. I had to use all 4 pockets in my coat when I went out during the day without my backpack, and well that was lame.


• An extra pair of socks


• A better solution for recharging my camera batteries in different voltage countries.


3. There are some things I brought and didn’t need


• Though I always bring it, I have never used my passport concealing body pocket. There were lockers at the all the hostels so I locked up my passport and valuables when I went out exploring, same for when I’ve stayed at hotels.


4. My favorite thing to bring are still nail clippers and clean underwear

my friend sent this to me. some of it applies to my type of travel. interesting nonetheless.