Art of Packing for an Eight-Week Backpacking

I can definitely say that I've become sort of an expert when it comes to travel packing, having taken more than 700 flights in the last several years for the weekly business commutes. That's 700 times I've packed my suitcase, and stuffing five days' worth of business and casual garments and personal goods into a tiny 20" carry-on luggage is not for the newbies.

Nonetheless, despite such self-claimed expertise in travel packing, I was stumped when faced with the question: "how do you pack for an eight-week backpacking trip in a foreign continent?"

Here were some lessons learned through my eight weeks of travel through Europe:

1. Unless you're planning on doing much hiking, or have this romantic notion that slugging a large frame over your back as you trek across Europe is what's 'in,' the traditional backpack just doesn't make sense. Basically, all you are doing is to haul the bag between your mode of transportation and your lodging; there's a reason why wheels were invented. I've bought a cheap 26" roller at TJ Maxx for about $50 and it worked brilliantly. Plus, it's hard to match your outfit to the color of your pack since they come in awful colors. No, the bags.

2. Books are heavy. Duh! Even with my business travels, I tend to error on bringing too many reading materials (one of my worst fear is to be stranded somewhere with absolutely nothing to read -- yeah, I'm sick in a really nerdy, weird way) and on this trip, I've brought five travel guides, three language phrase books (German, Italian and Spanish), two journals, my trust Moleskine notebook, and three books (Crime and Punishment, How the Irish Saved Civilization and The Bible). "Why are you carrying so many books?" is a question I've heard more than once (with 'library' being thrown around often), and I quickly ran out of plausible-sounding excuses behind my (irrational) rationale. I'll share more thoughts on travel books in a later posting -- they are absolutely invaluable -- but bottom line: don't go crazy with books. Also, many hostels have a casual book-exchange thing where you'll find more than enough books in various subjects. Finding a dog-eared, yellowed copy of A Hundred Years of Solitude, (an old out-of-print edition at that!) that obviously passed through many hands and borders, was especially heartwarming.

3. Money belts are NOT necessary, contrary to what Rick Steves might tell ya (sorry, Rick, but I really do respect all other invaluable advices that's gotten me through Europe). The sight of a sweaty, stained 20 Euro bill that you fish out of your money belt (in the process of which you flash all sorts of porky body parts and sweaty under garments) is definitely not deemed as sexy in ANY culture, and there's really no need to attach a sweaty bag next to your skin on your torso. Although I've bought a money belt for the trip, it was never used; I simply left my wallet and travel documents in deep, safe compartments in my bag, and only kept about $20 worth of cash in my pocket.

4. Luggage locks ARE necessary. Buy ones with dials instead of keys ($8 for two, usually). I used that on my suitcase (a potential thief at a hostel will not go through the extraordinary trouble to break the lock or haul your suitcase away) and also on my daypack for extra security. The idea is to discourage any attempts; I've accepted the fact that there's really no way to stop a determined thief.

5. The high-tech, sweat-wicking, light-weight, quick-dry atheletic garments are GREAT for the road, as you can wash it at any basin, wring it, put it on, and you'll be dry again in 10 minutes. I found myself doing this a couple of times a day in especially sweltering climates such as southern Spain. Lugging around laundry really is no fun.

6. Pack tools of the trade. Two things: a simple pocket knife (with can/bottle opener) and a folding camping cutlery set. I also picked up a simple waiter's corkscrew on the road, as wine is CHEAP and it adds a certain gourmet touch to any meal. When the grocery store staples become the menu du jour (reality of life for most backpackers in adverse exchange-rate situation in Europe), things like cheese, bread, lunch meat, yogurt and fruit become very inconvenient to convert into a civilized meal without some basic tools. Unlike US where disposable napkins and cutlery are abundant, Europe is very stingy on waste like that, and I often found myself sucking yogurt out of packages because I didn't have a simple, plastic spoon. Yes, my European witnesses, we Americans eat our yogurt this way.

7. Ear plugs = good night's sleep. When 16 people sleep in the same room, the night's filled with cacophony of all imaginable sorts. The same goes for airports, second class couchettes and buses. (These are all the types of places I've found myself lodging for the night on the trip.) There's nothing that can be done about the bedding, the smell and the temperature, but at least ear plugs will block the biggest nuissance to a sound, restful night. My favorite was the wax-type plugs my friend in Germany provisioned for me the first thing in Hamburg, but you can get more information here and come to your own conclusions.

Things that I wished I had packed:

1. Small flashlight. My 15 roommates in the 16-bed dorm room at the hostel would not appreciate me flicking on the light at 2AM (drunk, of course) just to find my bed and stumble into it.

2. Small souveniers. I met a lot of people on the road, most of them with whom I've shared some good conversation and exchanged contact information, and I wished that there were some things I could give them as a token of the encounter. (Yes, traveling alone kinda turned me sentimental that way.) Ripped-out portions of my guidebook for places I've already covered were always welcome gifts, but even simple pins (Chicago, for example) would have been even better.

3. Notebook computer. I've seen a lot of backpackers travel with laptops, and with most hostels providing lockers and you carrying padlocks, safety should not really be a big concern. Lugging around a 45lbs suitcase, extra 5lbs for the notebook computer would really not have been a big deal. I had a lot of thoughts that I wanted to jot down or stories I wanted to work out while I was on the road, and I just write too damn slow on paper to do that as effectively. Plus, while there are many wi-fi hotspots, there are not that many Internet Cafes, and in some places, it's FREAKIN' EXPENSIVE (e.g. Venice charges $10 per hour). Being able to update the blog on the road would also have been nice.

4. More books. Just kidding.