What Santa Brought This Traveler

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!

My Christmas was lovely, although I'm a bit sad that it's over. It seemed to sneak up out of nowhere and then flew by just as quickly. I have no idea where in the world I'll be for Christmas 2012, so I'll definitely cherish my memories from this year's familiar celebrations.

Laugh if you want, but I totally won this game. Acquire and build, baby.

BON VOYAGE!

I want to wish Gerard (G) and Kieu (Q) of GQ Trippin' a safe journey as they set off on their round-the-world trip today! Q quit her job on Nov. 30 — the same day I cleared out my own cubicle — and we found each other online thanks to that shared experience.

Like me, G and Q are beginning their adventure in New Zealand, and many of their stops can be found on my own itinerary (I promise I'm not stalking them). I hope to meet up with them in Chiang Mai for Songkran in April!


SPEAKING OF MY ITINERARY...

You'll find a new RTW Itinerary page at the top of my blog, which houses the latest version of my ever-changing travel plan. Keep an eye on that page for the latest developments.

Can you find a recent addition? Hint: It's in April, and it rhymes with Lingapore...

I have Enthusiastic Runner's post about her recent visit to Singapore and Anthony Bourdain's Singapore episode of The Layover to thank for that. The food, people. The food.


SANTA'S RTW GIFTS

I didn't ask for much this Christmas. I'm busy getting rid of the stuff I already have, so I have little use for more.

Santa knew I could use a few things, though, and he delivered some very useful items to this soon-to-be traveler.

Lewis N. Clark Duel Converter Kit

This was something I knew in the back of my mind I'd need but failed to really think about. Luckily, my dad came through with this gift to keep me plugged in wherever I travel.

Now that I'm looking at it closely, it looks like I may need an additional adapter situation for my MacBook Pro (the plug has three prongs, whereas this kit only accommodates plugs with two prongs). Tech people: Help?

How to Shit Around the World: The Art of Staying Clean and Healthy While Traveling

Jodi of Legal Nomads recommends this book as a must-read prior to hitting the road. My dad thought it would be funny to wrap it in toilet paper, given the title. Indeed.

I'm only a few chapters in and already having terrible flashbacks to the debilitating food poisoning I enjoyed thanks to sketchy shrimp skewers at a BJ's in Southern California. Thanks for the memories, BJ's.

The book covers everything from ensuring safe drinking water and street food to finding a place to relieve yourself and how to cope without toilet paper. It also includes amusing little bathroom stories from all kinds of travelers, and by amusing, I mean after the fact. I'm sure none of these people were amused while in the throes of illness.

Also on its way to me, thanks to my dad: Point It: Traveller's Language Kit — The Original Picture Dictionary — a passport-sized book of pictures I can point to when other forms of communication fail.

Other than a marriage proposal from Ryan Gosling, this is the best gift a girl could ask for — funding!

I have many things to buy for my trip (first-aid supplies, a waterproof backpack cover and a sleep sack, to name a few), and nothing helps the cause more than some good ol' dolla bills.

My dad and my brother were perhaps too generous in their giving, as there are some very valuable bills hidden in that stack, but I wasn't about to refuse the help. I put Mr. Hamilton on top for this photo because he is, in my opinion, the foxiest President Secretary of the Treasury (thanks for the history lesson, Robb) to grace U.S. currency. Just look at that bone structure.

Deuter ACT Lite 45+10 SL Pack

OK, so Santa didn't deliver this one — I bought it for myself using store credit that Don and my mom generously gifted me well in advance of Christmas Day. I even have credit left over to put toward a daypack!

My mom offered to wrap this for me so I could open it like a traditional gift, but I declined. The pack has been perfectly fine just chilling in the corner of my room, silently reminding me that one day very soon I'll need to pack my life into it and set off into the unknown.

I think the green colors are finally growing on me.


NEXT UP: PAIN AND SUFFERING

Many thanks to my wonderfully generous family members for those fabulous Christmas gifts. Perhaps my (natural) holiday high will last long enough to soften the blow of the many needle jabs I'll receive today.

Yes, friends, it's time for my travel vaccinations! First I have a consultation with a doctor to determine which shots I'll need, and then it's go time. I may need to return a few more times for follow-up doses of certain vaccines.

I'll be busy reminding myself that the stab wounds feel much better than the diseases that they're protecting me against. Hurray for the miracles of modern science!

Look for the full vaccination report soon. Until then, keep living up the final days of 2011 — and tell me, what are your travel must-haves?

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My RTW Itinerary... and a Game-Changing Video

I'm finding that whenever I write about struggling with a particular decision, it frees my mind and helps me realize what I really want to do.

The day after I wrote about my itinerary indecision, I was doing something mundane — putting away dishes, maybe, or blow-drying my hair — when I thought, "I want to start my trip with a month in New Zealand. Yup, I'll do that."

Done!

I look forward to visiting Thailand a few months into my trip, but I couldn't get super-excited about starting there.

I've wanted to explore New Zealand for quite a while — I'm a huge, nerdy fan of the Lord of the Rings movies, which were filmed there — and I want to make sure I have plenty of time and money to enjoy it properly. Plus, February is one of the country's warmest months!

Here's my new rough itinerary (very rough from July on), which is completely subject to change at any time:

February

• New Zealand

March

• Australia

April

• Thailand (and particularly Chiang Mai for Songkran)

May/June

• Laos
• Vietnam
• Cambodia
• Possibly back to Thailand

July

• Portland, Oregon (World Domination Summit)
• Iceland

August—??

• I had planned on South America... but Iceland has changed everything

I wrote a bit about my post-World Domination Summit plans and then immediately deleted it all when I saw this video of Iceland — particularly the :59 mark.



From the photographer, who shot this video in June 2011:

"Iceland is a landscape photographer's paradise and playground, and should be number one on every photographer's must-visit list. Iceland during the Midnight Sun is in sort of a permanent state of sunset. The sun never fully sets and travels horizontally across the horizon throughout the night, as can be seen in the opening shot and at the :51 second mark in the video.

"During the Arctic summer, sunset was at midnight and sunrise was at 3 a.m. The Arctic summer sun provided 24 hours a day of light, with as much as 6 hours daily of "golden light." Once the sun had set it wouldn't even get dark enough for the stars to come out, and they don't start to reappear until August.

"My advice to everyone out there, photographer or not, is simple... You MUST visit Iceland sometime during your lifetime. You will never regret it."

Done.

Where to go from Iceland? Norway, Sweden and Denmark? Ireland, Scotland and England? Down to South America?

I have no idea. I'll figure it out eventually.

My heart is bursting with joy and excitement after watching that video. It brought tears to my eyes. I can't even begin to imagine all the mind-blowingly beautiful landscapes I'll find myself surrounded by in the next year.

I'm feeling very, very lucky right now, and incredibly happy to be alive.

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Choosing My Backpack... and a Change of Plans

Edit: Read this post to learn about the backpack I ultimately chose for my RTW trip!

Over the past several days, I've realized part of why I've had trouble making big decisions about my round-the-world trip: I've been thinking more about what I "should" do rather than what I really want to do.

Don't get me wrong — there's no one sitting here telling me what to do. The "shoulds" are all in my head:

• I should start out in Southeast Asia because it's inexpensive and everyone I've talked to loves it.
• I should go straight to Chiang Mai because I know people who live there and that will help me adjust to being away from home.
• I should see which backpacks most travel bloggers use and find one that's similar.

There's nothing wrong with any of those ideas... except for the fact that I realized I actually want to do things a bit differently. So I've come up with a new itinerary — one that I'm really, really excited about — and I will not be going to Thailand (or even Southeast Asia) first. I'll write more about my revised plans later this week.

My travel experiences so far have been limited to short vacations that included full suitcases, hotel rooms and all the comforts I'd enjoy at home. I'd be lost without all the advice I've gleaned from many wonderful travel bloggers about how to live out of a backpack for months at a time.

And when it came to choosing the backpack itself, I studied the features of various bloggers' packs and kept them in mind. Then I decided it was OK to choose something a little different.

But let's start at the beginning of my backpack search, shall we?

My mom's boyfriend, Don, recently sold a bunch of his climbing and camping gear to Second Ascent, a new-and-used outdoor retailer in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle. Guess who ended up with $250 worth of store credit at her disposal? Merry Christmas to me!

Thank you, Don and Mom, for that ridiculously generous and helpful gift.

I headed to Second Ascent last week to begin perusing backpacks, and quickly found myself stumped in front of a wall filled with options.

Hmm. Yes. Well.

An employee named Lucky noticed my helplessness and swooped in to assist. I first told him what I was generally looking for in a pack:

• Size: 55L or smaller so I won't overpack and then die from the weight and bulk.
• Durability: Must be able to withstand a year of being carried, dragged, shoved and flung across the world.
• Comfort: Must feel like a tender embrace from an old friend. Or something like that.

Lucky jumped into action, grabbing packs that were designed specifically for women and adjusting them for me to try on. I tried on a few duds that were instantly uncomfortable with nothing but paper stuffed in them, so I knew they'd only be worse when filled with, oh, my entire life.

Then I tried on the Gregory Jade 50 and was pleasantly surprised by its comfort level.

Lucky played photographer as well. What a patient man.

Lucky loaded this 50L bag with more than 20 lbs. of weight and I trekked around the store to find that it was still very comfortable. With all the straps adjusted, it fit my body like a glove. The waist belt had two large zippered pockets, which I loved, and the main pack featured top and side access. The material seemed a bit light to me in terms of durability, but Lucky assured me it was one of Second Ascent's most popular packs.

I was pretty sure this was my winner.

Then Lucky busted out the Deuter ACT Lite 45+10 SL.

Also comfortable. Also green.

Wow — this one was even more comfortable than the Jade 50 with the same amount of weight!

The waist belt only had one zippered pocket, as you can see above, but it was quite large and easily fit my new Canon S95 camera. The main pack was accessible by the top (drawstring) and bottom (zipper), and the bottom portion featured an internal zipper to separate it from the rest of the pack — good for storing dirty laundry, shoes and God knows what else. The material seemed more durable to me than the Jade 50, but I'm no expert there. And the collar at the top of the pack can expand up to 10 liters, providing 55L of storage overall.

I tried on a few more packs that didn't hold a candle to either the Jade 50 or the ACT Lite 45+10 SL, and then put both on hold so I could do some online research at home.

I went back and forth between the two for days. Both packs earned rave reviews from multiple online sources, so I figured the decision was down to my personal preference. Each pack had pros and cons:

Gregory Jade 50

• Had a side-access zipper that the other pack didn't have — many travel bloggers I follow prefer side-zip/full-zip packs over top-access packs.
• Could hold 50L without having to use an expandable portion — I started worrying that anything smaller than 50L would be too small.
• Looked a little prettier — I wouldn't choose either of these green packs based on color alone, but this color was the more attractive of the two.

Deuter ACT Lite 45+10 SL

• Felt more comfortable and compact than the Jade 50.
• Could expand up to 55L if necessary, and I really wanted to pack light anyway and be able to take the pack on planes as a carry-on as often as possible.
• Seemed more durable, and many online reviewers specifically raved about the quality of Deuter packs.
• Did not have a side-access zip, but that would be one fewer access point for me to worry about in terms of unwanted visitors.

In the end, I went with my gut.

I bought the Deuter ACT Lite 45+10 SL. I know I won't regret going with the more comfortable pack, and I don't think I'll regret going with the smaller pack. The last thing I want is to go on this great adventure and then feel dragged down by stuff. I knew that if I got a larger pack, I'd be tempted to fill it to capacity.

One of the things that held me back from choosing this pack immediately was the lack of side access. It seemed to be a big deal to other travel bloggers when they chose their packs, so wouldn't I want that, too? Ah, well. The bottom of this pack has quite a large opening in addition to the top opening, so I hope I'll be able to access most everything in it with no problem. Other factors, like comfort, size and durability, were just more important to me.

So that was my complete backpack-buying adventure. I'm so glad I had the Second Ascent store credit not only because it paid for the pack with some money left over, but because I might have driven myself nuts looking at packs from a multitude of online and brick-and-mortar outdoor retailers. I'm satisfied once I find one or two things that meet my criteria — it freaks me out to have too many options.

What will I do with the leftover store credit, you ask?

Well, I'll be needing a daypack...

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