We were happy to spend some time at home during the holidays in part because it gave us a chance to reevaluate what was in our packs and change some things up.

This post will focus on Della’s pack. See our previous posts about packing to learn what she brought before.

Della’s bag was significantly heavier than Eric’s which always irked her. She realized that she was carrying more clothing than he was. She ultimately decided to drop several of her long sleeved items with the assumption that it would be warmer in Asia on the second part of the trip. She also dropped one of her underwear (turns out it is easy to wash in the sink as you go), but added a pair of socks (expecting sweaty feet with her new waterproof shoes), dropped one of her tank tops thinking that it was unnecessary even though it will be hot (many places in Asia require covered shoulders anyway). She also had to go on a quest for new shoes, which was not fun… But she ultimately decided on a pair of waterproof New Balance.

Della carries an Osprey Ariel 65 L pack with three sections.

Without further ado, this is what is now in Della’s pack!

In the bottom section:

1. Our first aid kit which includes: a variety of pills for gas, diarrhea, allergy, stuffy noses, and pain. We also have special antibiotics for really bad food poisoning or diarrhea prescribed from a travel clinic before we left. We have Band-Aids, moleskin, and other bandages. We have a thermometer, and various creams and ointments: antifungal, antibacterial, etc. We also carry several pills for relief of the common cold. This all fits in a bag which we found at the thrift store!
   
   

   Pills. We used daily/weekly pill boxes for sorting.

   

   Bandages and creams

   

   Mostly cold and pain medication

   

   All packed up!
2. Della carries extra batteries and a charger for her camera. In addition, she has an extra memory card and a screen cleaner.
   
   

   Battery charger has a little black bag. Box is for storing batteries.

   

   Packed in a small bag
3. Campsuds and a drain plug for doing laundry in sinks on the road.
   
   

   Camp soap and plug

   

   Packed up in a nice bag that Ex-Officio underwear came in
4. Medication for malaria
   

   Della’s portion of Malaria pills – Doxycycline

5. Extra spices for any cooking we do on the road. These were mostly purchased while abroad in Africa during the self-drive safari.
   
6. Water sandals
   
   

   Water sandals

   

   packed in a ziplock
7. Some extra books for pleasure reading (much fewer than were carried on the first half of the trip!)
   

   Everything that goes in the bottom of the pack!

In the middle section:

1. 6 pairs of socks (1 smartwool hiking, 2 lightweight, 3 ankle from the dollar store), 5 pairs of underwear (2 special Ex-Officio travel underwear, 1 cotton, 2 polyester blend), 4 bras (only 3 pictured) (1 normal, 1 sports bra that can double as a swim suit top, 2 stretchy comfortable bras that are relatively quick dry). All stored in a medium Eagle Creek packing cube.
   
   

   Socks and underwear

   

   packing in a softsided packing cube
2. Sarong, towel, turbi-twist – stored in a zipper bag from Target
   
   

   Travel towel, Turbi-Twist, Sarong

   

   Packed away
3. Swimsuits – one bikini bottom, one athletic top, one swimsuit shorts – stored in a zip lock
   
   

   Swimming suits – minus one sports bra

   

   packed away
4. Sleeping sheet, extra laundry bags (from dollar store), extra straps/belts – stored in a zip lock
   
   

   Sleeping sheet, belts, laundry bag

   

   Close up of laundry bag

   

   Packed up
5. Pajamas – one tank, one shorts, one pair of socks (all lightweight) – stored in a small Eagle Creek packing cube
   
   

   Warm weather pjs

   

   It packs up small!
6. Cold Weather Gear – one Marmot rain jacket, one Mountain Hardwear jacket, leggings and long sleeve midlayer from target, a lightweight fleece from Sam’s Club. Hat, gloves, heavy socks (in a stuff sack) – stored in a large Eagle Creek packing cube
   
   

   Two coats and underlayers as well as a well-worn fleece

   

   All packed away!
7. General Clothing – 2 long pants, 1 zip off (Sierra Trading Post), both quick dry. Two shorts, one longer, one shorter (thrift store). 3 merino wool t-shirts (all from online). 3 tank tops, 2 with built in bras, one cotton, one Ex-Officio, one polyester. One Ex-Officio travel dress. All stored in a large Eagle Creek packing cube.
   
   

   pants

   

   dress

   

   shirts

   

   packed up!
8. Zip bag with important documents.
   
9. Plugs: 1 all-purpose plug adaptor, 2 mini power strips (one with 2 USB connections), extra USB charging cable. All stored in a random old zipper bag that was packaging for a set of sheets.
   
10. Toiletry kit for everyday use: Comb, foldable brush, 2 toothbrushes, toothpaste, floss (not pictured), soap bar, shampoo bar, extra conditioner, chapsticks, tweezers, nail clippers, small swiss army knife, nail polish, extra hair tie, deodorant (not pictured) – All stored in a toiletry kit from Sierra Trading Post
    
11. On the outside of the bag – new purple shower shoes/slippers
    
    

    Everything for the middle part of the pack!

In the top section:

1. Bag covers: 1 for rain, 1 for checking on the airplane
   
   

   Bag on the left wraps the pack for flight. The cover on the right is for rain

   
2. Extra wet wipes
3. Extra tea
4. Extra poncho
5. Sun hat (until it gets into the day bag)
6. Extra rubber bands and zip lock bags- always useful on the road!
   
7. 1 of the 2 tupperware containers (until it moves to the day bag)
   
   

   Everything that goes in the top

In the day bag:

1. General Use: Poncho, sun hat, extra toilet paper, sunglasses, extra feminine products, headphones, extra water bottle bag, extra rags, tissues, eye cover, pain medicine, wet wipes, 1 of three bandanas.
   
   

   
2. Electronic bag: Nexus 7 Tablet, Tablet keyboard, USB connector, extra mini hard drives, power plug, carrying bag for tablet, stylus, and travel sim card for phone – Stored in a wet bag from Target
   
   

   
3. Notebook and pencil – Stored in a bag found at thrift store
   
4. Water bottles – 1 Nalgene, 1 foldable (dollar store)
   
5. Extra zip lock bags

Purse:

1. Wallet
2. Camera/mini tripod
3. Phone
4. Chapstick
5. Extra tissues, wet wipes, pain meds, feminine products
6. Compass
7. pen

There you have it! Everything that goes in Della’s pack! In all, the large pack weighs 29 lbs… So, not light, but lighter than it was before and much more manageable! She has the day bag in addition which adds a couple of pounds, though this varies depending on the books she is carrying as well as how many full water bottles she has!