Everyone takes different things on their trip – some people can't live without music, while some just have to pack a 50-blade Swiss army knife, in case they meet a horse with a stone stuck in its shoe – but it can be quite daunting knowing what to pack. The golden rule is to take less than you think you need, because unless you're going somewhere amazingly remote, you'll be able to buy almost everything you want when you're there, and if you're travelling the developing world, it'll be way cheaper on the road anyway.
There's also the choice of what to carry it all in, and unless you like sore knuckles and a broken back, get a backpack. There's great debate about which style of backpack is best, but I prefer the travel packs that zip up like a suitcase, yet go on the back like a normal pack; they're much easier to pack and unpack, and they're not that much more inconvenient than professional packs when doing hardcore walking.
Getting a small daypack is a seriously good idea, so you can pack your camera, a book and some water and head off into the wild yonder having dumped your pack on your bed.
Don't take anything valuable, if you can help it. Most people take a camera, a music player and so on, but don't take expensive jewellery or anything you'd be heartbroken to lose, unless you want sleepless nights. If you take a computer, make sure you also pack a method of backing up your data, so if it gets stolen or falls into a river, all is not lost.
The following is what I now take on my travels, after a fair few years of working out what's essential and what's dead weight. It's more suitable for travelling in hot countries, though I managed to survive a month in the Himalayas without too much hardship.
Miscellaneous
- Backpack
- Daypack
- Sleeping bag and liner
- Inflatable pillow
- Eye shades
- Mosquito net
- Umbrella (I am an Englishman, after all)
- Sewing kit
- Heavy-duty chain (useful for locking your backpack to something immobile)
- Padlocks (large one for chain, small ones for locking your bag's zips)
- Compass
- Small pair of binoculars
- Small Swiss army knife
- Lighter (handy for lighting candles and fires)
- Watch or clock (preferably with an alarm for those early starts)
- Safety pins (very useful for pinning your trouser pockets shut in pick-pocket areas)
- Clothes line (just a bit of plastic line)
- Masking tape
- Bottle sling (then you can carry bottled of purified water without taking up your whole daypack)
- Snorkel and mask (handy if you're going to be doing a lot of diving – local options can be a bit dicey)
- Little snowman (to avoid the effort of building your own)
Electrical
- Small torch and batteries (I take a tiny Petzl head torch)
- MP3 player (mine's an iPod) and headphones
- eBook reader (mine's a Kindle) and charger
- Shortwave radio (to pick up the BBC World Service)
- Camera, charger, memory cards and weather-proof case
- Mini camera tripod (particularly useful for self-portraits if you're travelling alone)
- Small computer, including some method of backup (I take an 11-inch MacBook Air and a Palm m125 – I use the latter in public, as it doesn't attract so much attention as the Mac)
- Cheap mobile phone (local SIM cards are often pretty good value)
- International mains adaptors, if you need them
Documents
- Waterproof zip-lock wallets (for keeping documents dry)
- Cotton money belt (one that goes under the trousers)
- Durable wallet
- Passport
- Driving licence (with an international permit if applicable)
- US dollar travellers cheques (for emergency funds only, as they're a pain to change)
- Cash (American dollars in small denominations are usually the best bet)
- Credit/debit cards
- Diving certificate
- Insurance documents
- Spare passport photographs
- Photographs of loved ones
- Guidebooks
- Pen
- Paper
- Maps
- Highlighter pen (if you want to draw your route on your maps)
- Travel tickets
- Photocopies of passport, driving licence, air tickets, travellers cheque numbers and other documents (stored separately from documents)
- Details for any websites you might want to access from the road, such as email or banks
Clothing
- 1 Gore-Tex jacket
- 1 pair smart lightweight trousers (dark to avoid dirt showing)
- 1 pair tracksuit bottoms (for cold weather)
- 1 sweatshirt or fleece (for cold weather)
- 2 collared shirts (for everyday wear)
- 1 collared T-shirt
- 2 pairs cotton or linen trousers (bought en route)
- 2 pairs boxer shorts
- 1 pair swimming shorts
- 2 pairs hiking socks
- 2 pairs normal socks
- 1 pair hiking boots (for everyday wear)
- 1 pair spare shoelaces
- 1 pair sandals or flip-flops
- 2 handkerchiefs
- 1 sarong (bought en route)
- 1 head scarf (if you've got long hair)
- 1 pair sunglasses (polarised if you're going to spend a lot of time on the sea)
- Prescription glasses or contact lenses, if you need them
- Strap for hanging your glasses round your neck to help prevent loss
- 1 Australian bush hat (wide brimmed to keep the sun at bay)
- 1 small towel (travel towels are awful – take a real towel, as they're cheaper and far more pleasant)
Medical and Toiletries
- Inoculation card
- Sponge bag for holding all your toiletries
- Emergency medical kit (available from your doctor, contains sterile needles and so on)
- Sunscreen
- Lip balm
- Insect repellent
- Mosquito coils
- Insect bite cream
- Toothpaste
- Toothbrush
- Earplugs
- Flannel or pouf sponge
- Comb
- Small scissors
- Vitamin tablets
- Deodorant (though a shower twice a day is more pleasant if you can get away with it)
- Thermometer (if you can get a non-mercury one, so much the better, as technically you shouldn't carry mercury thermometers on flights)
- Muscle sprain cream
- Razor
- Paracetamol
- Oral rehydration salts (ORS)
- Acidophilus (excellent for replacing benign stomach bacteria when you get ill)
- Plasters (Band-Aids)
- Micropore tape (for strapping up wounds to keep the dirt out)
- Elastoplast stretchable fabric tape
- Antiseptic cream
- Knee supports (if you plan to do a lot of hiking with a heavy pack)
- Shampoo/conditioner
- Soap and soap dish, or shower gel
- Anti-fungal cream (for athlete's foot, tinea and other irritating side effects of being constantly sweaty in the nether regions)
- Plastic mirror
- Water filter (I bought a fantastic lightweight water filter for purifying water called a Katadyn Mini Filter, which was extremely useful on treks, though no more or less useful than tablets)
- Chlorine or iodine tablets (for purifying dodgy water)
- Taste removal tablets (to make it drinkable)
- Malaria tablets (if applicable)
- Toilet paper (though it's easier to get used to using your left hand in countries where that's the norm)
- Any special medicines you might need
And last, but not least, don't forget to pack your smile. It makes travelling so much easier...