advice needed on a few items.

picklepak

I just did my first trial-run of packing my rucksack the other night, and while everything fit into my 45 L bag fine (surprise!), it was heavy and I believe myself to still be carrying too much. So, I am looking for some advice on the usefulness of a few items. Feel free to comment on only a few if you like.

BACKGROUND: Starting in mid-November I'll be traveling through south India for 3-4 months, and then off to Thailand and Vietnam in late winter/early spring, and finally Indonesia in the summer timeframe.

(1) My rain jacket. It is one of those "mountain rain jacket" types, very nice but takes up a fair bit of space and I'm not sure how useful it will be. Considering where/when I'm going, how much will I even use my jacket?

(2) Small sweater? I expect it to be hot everywhere I go, except maybe northern Thailand in the spring, after India. It's bulky. Can't remember how cool it gets at night.

(3) My sleep sheet/hostel sheet. On my last trip this was one of my most useful items, particularly for sleeping in questionable beds as I believe it to keep out the larger bugs because it's sewn together and I can zip it up. But it's even more bulky than my jacket and quite heavy. Just trying to weigh the pros/cons.

(4) Electric shaver. Eek, I know what kind of response this will inspire... well let me just say that I have never, ever been able to use a normal blade for some reason. Shaving once or twice a week with a blade with have me bleeding all over. Am considering going bohemian but a shave is still nice sometimes.

(5) door stop. You know, one of those wedges that you fit under your door for security. Not big but kind of heavy. I am a deep sleeper.

-m2-

Hi Kelly,

I'll take a crack at your questions, but I'm sure you realize that there may be some differences of opinion. I generally travel in the same time-frame as you are planning and I'm familiar with most of the places you plan to go.

1. rain jacket. heavy-duty, water-proof or Gore-tex type jacket not really required or useful. While you may encounter rain, perhaps occasionally heavy, temperatures and humidity will probably be high and the jacket will be uncomfortable and sauna-like. As long as you will be getting a ride to the airport in Calgary for your departure mid-November, a windbreaker (lightly lined if possible) will be adequate. For tropical showers, an umbrella is the answer -- don't bring one from home as you will find one available and cheap when you need one (i.e. when it looks like rain). That's what locals use, and if your T-shirt gets soaked, it's no big deal.

2. small sweater: the light, lined windbreaker suggested above will serve on cool evenings or for hill station trips etc. Layering with a long-sleeved shirt will keep things comfortable to a fairly chilly temp. (you should have one light cotton long-sleeved shirt along)

3. sleep sheet/hostel sheet: definitely a useful item for the reasons you state. It really doesn't have to be very heavy or bulky however; a well-worn sheet from home can be trimmed and sewn in to an appropriate shape minus the zippers and draw-strings that bulk up a commercial rig. My own preference, however, is a hybrid affair which I got from the Mt. Equipment co-op called the 'Equatorial' which is a sheet on one side and a light insulating layer on the other and therefore reversible depending upon whether you want only a sheet on top, or a light layer for cooler conditions. It weighs around 650gms and compresses fairly well.

4. Electric razor: I'm with you here -- I dislike shaving with cold water and a cloudy mirror in a dingy bathroom too. I carry a small Phillishave rechargeable 'Tracer' model -- it goes a month between recharges, and will work with 220v current provided you have the blade-to-prong converter ( I bought one in India for around 10 rupees)

5. Door-stop: Confess, I've never even thought about bringing one of these! I am rather security conscious, as I have lost things from my room before -- even 'fished' through a barred window while sleeping. My current gadget/solution is a device made by the pac-safe people called the 'travel safe' -- is is a nylon bag reinforced with stainless steel wire and a cable which can be looped around something solid and locked. Good for train/bus travel as well as light-duty room security. (around 13" X 8" X 1/2" when flat weighs 250gms including lock, and will hold around 2 litres of gear)

I usually manage with a carry-on bag of around 50 litres -- but I guess I'll probably check it this year as I usually have a pocket knife and a bunch of spare batteries and stuff and I guess security will still be pretty heavy in November.

BTW, I'll be flying to Bombay from YVR Nov 13 with Korean.

mike

KathSF

I would substitute the lightest pullover fleece you can find for both rain jacket and sweater. A fleece is more water resistant that a sweater (though less so than a jacket) and easier to clean. I mostly wore mine for overnight trains/sleeping on camel safari/plane rides.

I'd take my sleep sheet again. Used it on overnight trains and a couple of guesthouses with questionable sheets. When not being used for sleep, I folded it into a square, wrapped my sarong around it for a cover, and used it as a (thin) pillow on busses, etc.

I took a door stop with me on my last trip, but think I only used it once, at the very beginning of my trip. Probably wouldn't take it again.

__________________
Happy trails!

indiamike

I always pack real heavy at first to, knowing that after a short while of Dhobi washes my clothes will start to fall apart and need to go. Usually by the beginning of my trip I can barely carry my pack and by the end, of three months or so, there is hardly anything left. Eventually I weed out the things I don't need and give them away as I go.
For razors, I actually use a battery charged one that runs on two "AA" batteries, it's not great but does the job and is extremely light. It also gives me that constant five'o clock shadow that I have always wanted since the days of Miami Vice (though I leave the Don Johnson white jacket at home--well sometimes).

For sweaters, I also lugged around an expensive sweater for a long time, later trips I found it best to just go buy one if I needed it. There is no shortage of them and they are blissfully inexspensive.

Rain jackets I have never used, but if I was to bring one it would be a fold up tiny one. If your in South India most of the time you will rarely if ever need a rain jacket or a sweater. I would actually ditch both of them and if it rains you can get an umbrella for next to nothing.

Good Luck
Mike

abraxus

rain jacket- no
jumper & bedsheet- yes
razor- forget it ; u will expeerience the best shave + head & shoulder massage at any india barber- make sure they use a new blade straight out ov the packet( they use disposable cut throats) for only a few roupees

jsr

I have to admit that I feel the opposite of indiamike. I pack light and just buy new clothes to replace the old ones along the way. Leaves more rooms for souvenirs (I know, I know, but I like decorating my house with things from my travels. Keeps me happy when I'm not).

I have taken a doorstop on my past few trips, but it wasn't always so effective. Either I bought a really crappy one, or just had bad luck with flooring surfaces. I would leave it at home. If I ever felt really unsafe, I would prop a chair against the door. Really, I don't think anyone wants to murder you, and the sound of a chair crashing would probably wake you up and scare the thief away.

The sleep sheet is a really good idea. Take it again.

For most of the places you will be, it will be hot, it sounds like. You will probably swelter in a rain jacket. It looks like you have plenty of time, so just take a break somewhere under cover if you get caught by rain, or get wet. I pack most of the things in my pack in Ziploc baggies just in case I get caught out in the rain. If you change your mind midtrip, you can buy one cheaply somewhere.

Nix the razor. My boyfriend loved getting shaves from the barber, and his face felt really nice and smooth afterwards--never nicked.

Have fun. I'm insanely jealous as it looks like I won't be going anywhere for a while.

picklepak

Just thought I'd say thanks to everyone for responding. There seems to be some real consensus on the rain jacket and door-stop, which is to say don't take them. Whew. Somehow I knew that jacket would plague me over a long trip, particularly because I spent a whole lot of money on it about a year ago (albeit, at a used sport swap kind of place) and have always wondered when, exactly, I am going to start getting some value out of my purchase. Some things, you want to force yourself to love, you know? It's certainly better to not get any value at all and leave it behind than it is to lug the thing halfway around the world for a good year or more and curse it every time I move, until I finally mail it home. So that's settled.

I am pleasantly surprised that I'm not the only one tied to an electric razor. Last weekend as an entertaining test I went four days without shaving and then tried a blade again (thinking that it might emulate getting a straight-blade shave in an Indian barber shop somewhere) and made it only about 1/3 of the way through before stopping from the pain. And all the bleeding. I can just imagine myself now, in a dark and dingy hotel room in India with my muddied little unbreakable mirror, dabbing the cuts on my face and then having them later get infected from the bad water... so in part I must be a wimp or something but I think I will take the rechargeable shaver anyway.

I'm trying to pack as light as possible - hopefully I can attempt another trial-run packing job in the next few days. Carry-on size is the way to go, though I too will be carrying a swiss army knife so in these troubled times I will surely have to check it. I like the thought of just buying an umbrella and sweater when I need it. My thin pull-over fleece is near and dear to my heart but I am not sure if it will make the cut... we'll see. hehe

indiamike

I have to add that one of the reasons that I pack heavy is that I am tall. Not tall by Western standards (6'2"), but tall by India standards, and for me it becomes a challenge to find any clothes off the rack that fit. Yes, I can get them custom made, but I would rather get'em and go.

I have bought many clothes there and occasionally would get a button down shirt that "is supposed to be my size" but when I unwrap and try it on the shirt would fit fine but the sleeves would be like four inches too short.

So this is a little tip for tall people.


Mike]

lleman

My two cents on the rain gear issue. One of those cheap, plastic poncho things that fit over you and your gear work well. They're like $3 and fold down to nothing. This way, you have your hands free, and since it fits over your pack as well, everything on you keeps dry.
As for the sleeping bag/sheet, I say bring one. I'm on my way to India, so I don't really know yet, but when I was in Thailand, it was invaluable. Air-con busses tended to be freezing.
nat

latisharma

hey we meet again,

about the shaver.. well a shave in india will cost you about rs20(incl tip) thats about 66cents in your currency.. not very different in thailand.

your rain jacket.. surely you have decided not to take it with you !!

mdeannarb

Hi!

I too am taking the MEC Equatorial sleeping bag as it's so small and light and really comfy. Not that much bigger than a sheet but has a zipper! Love it. As a woman, i don't really know how I'll contend with the razor issue, will just bring a disposable I guess. Am bring a door jam, maybe I won't need it, who knows! Am bringing a light, yellow rain slicker, very small and easy to carry. Seems like a good idea. I am bringing very little clothing as I plan to buy when I'm there. All the stuff I'm bringing is synthetic, cool, UVB protecting and light as well as modest.

That's what I have to say!

Have a great trip!

picklepak

I've just spent almost three months in the south of India and not once did I find any use for a rain jacket -- I'm glad I didn't carry one. Oh, it certainly rained in Kerala (even though it's not the rainy season just yet) but it was very warm, in fact quite nice to walk in the warm rain at night, on the way to a restaurant or back to my hotel room.

I have had no use for a door-stop thus far... glad I brought my electric shaver though.

Good idea on bringing very little clothing. Especially as a woman, you can find really cool clothes here in India that suit your personality. Happy travels!

k