Leaving in two weeks.... help

Dave77

I'm leaving for Dheli in about two weeks and thus far, I have nothing. I have only the loosest plans to heaad for the south once I get off the plane. From there I'll be moving around for six months, returning in august (maybe). Here's what I'm thinking:

70 litre pack with detatchable day pack (overkill?)
minimal clothing (one pair pants, a synthetic long sleeve shirt, couple of tees, sandals... buy what I need once I'm there.)
20gb mp3 player
digital camera
first aid kit
flashlight
lightweight compressable sleeping bag.
maybe a rain/wind shell.

does this sound reasonable? I'm weary of spending all my time looking after electronics but I figure I need to take pictures and the mp3 player goes everywhere with me. Also not sure if i'll regret such a large bag but it is a fairly long trip.

any thoughts?

Vadim Chiline

Hi,

Hmmm... 70 liters is a little much considering what you listed above. I'm going to india with a 40L pack, and everything is fitting nicely. I didn't want to get boggled down with a large pack because I know I would try filling it up along the way as I make my way through india.

As for digital gear, well, we're in a digital age, and many travels will have those by now. Some more than others, in my case, my laptop, with professional photo gear...

Regards,

Vadim
www.vadimchiline.com

lostinasia

A rain shell is surprisingly useless in rainy season places, because it's so stinking hot already. I find them unwearable in tropical rain storms. Bring a hat and if need be buy a small umbrella. Will you even be there during the rainy season?

The smaller the pack, the less you'll carry and the easier it is to take it on buses with you--reducing all kinds of security concerns. I think my pack is 50L and I doubt it was half full. In my experience, I was carrying less at the end of a yearlong trip than I usually am at the end of month long trips.

If you're only going south, and not going to the Himalayas, I'm not sure why you'd need the sleeping bag.

With a digital camera, you'll be burning CDs. Remember to bring some kind of hard-covered book for carrying the CDs.

Don't be too concerned with having a detachable day pack--any day pack will do. I HAVE a detachable day pack, and it's a great little day pack, BUT while travelling I virtually never attach it to the big pack. I feel kind of silly for worrying about getting a detachable day pack back when I bought the thing.

Travelling in India is pretty minimalist--you don't need much. If you're into nature and parks, bring binoculars. There's a surprising amount of birdlife EVERYWHERE in India!

dank4000

damn. Got myself a 75L.... I'm a big guy so hopefully it won't look too massive. Certainly won't be filled on departure.

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Avnish

The pack you have may seem a tad too big given you're not going with a lot of stuff. The plus side of this is that you will have plenty of space for all the neat stuff you will (hopefully) be buying along your travels.

The sleeping bag may be unnecessary if you're not planning on heading to the hills (as L.O.I. has said) ... but if you really want to ...

Digital gear wise, the mp3 player is a nice to have, better not to take it along and experience the "sounds" of India. Digi-cam is a definite for the gazzillions of pics you will be taking (don't forget to share ).

Not too sure about the shell though

Otherwise everything seems cool bananas.

Hope this helps.
Avnish.

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Vadim Chiline

I think a rain shell, or any shell/windbreaker can be okay if you're heading north near Darjeeling or Sikkim. It can get cold at night, so extra stuff can't hurt. But yeah, if you're staying in the warm areas, then, you definitely not use it.

gobbledegeek

You forgot a raincoat...

5reviews

Hi,

I think that you can find almost everything in India, so if you are carrying an MP3 player, a digicam and oyur basic stuff, you should be fine.

You can buy raincoat and other stuff once you are in India. Also the weather varies from region to region, so you might need to buy the stuff depending on where you are planning to move on to. Up above in the mountains or on the coast of South India, India does give you a lot of options.

Hope you have a great time here.

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monkgonemad

because it's so stinking hot already. I find them unwearable in tropical rain storms.

AGREED

my bag is about 18"x12"x8"(+2") > good size for warm weather, but even this i want smaller. the thing about a big bag is you have to lug it about and baby sit it. small bag you can fly hither and thither at the speed of palak paneer coming thru your bum.

no bag!
you might find collar shirts are both more presentable and lighter!