When I stay in a place longer than a couple of nights my stuff tends to take on a mind of its own and slowly creep across the floor of the room. Usually it also finds itself strewn across tabletops, other dorm beds and some of it has even set up a temporary home in the bathroom.

I have way too much stuff with me on this short one month trip and even more crap awaits me in Beijing. Something has gone terribly wrong with my packing and I’m not going to make the same mistake on future trips.

My Chinese travel buddy has a tiny backpack that’s not even full and she’s even carting a huge laptop around with her! I have learned a few packing lessons on this trip and have some advice that hopefully I will actually listen to next time I pack.

‘Just in case’ doesn’t usually happen - I’ve discovered that carting a sleeping bag around the world ‘just in case’ I need it really doesn’t work for me. Same goes for dressy shoes. If I need any of these things ‘just in case’ type things while I’m travelling, I can always attempt to buy or borrow them.

Take only things I know I’ll wear - I’ve learned not to take things I’ve never worn in my life because I think the mood will finally strike me when I hit the road. It won’t. I can’t stand the heat and have a couple of lightweight tank tops that I love, they fold up super small and I can buy them in China so I think I’ll stock up on a few more. I know I like them, I know I wear them, and they’re great for hot places. I’m not that concerned if my fashion sense seems to be a bit repetitive… I’m going to stick with what works for me.

Most places have sinks and soap - If a place doesn’t have a washing machine, at the very least they should have a sink and some clothes washing soap. In China all of the places I’ve stayed have let my travel buddy have some soap for free. Doing a quick load of sink laundry every few days means that cutting down on clothes is possible. It doesn’t take too long and if you have lightweight things, washing done in the morning will be dry before the next day.

All those super small travel sized things add up - Buying things in travel sizes is great. Buying 20 things in travel sizes is not.

The post office is my friend - I will be heading to Sydney during the winter in 2009 and really can’t be bothered going on a shopping spree once I arrive (I hate shopping). I have friends there and plan to send a few of my winter-y type clothes over to be reunited at a later date. It’s cheaper than buying all new stuff and it saves me having to carry jeans and other heavy clothes around boiling hot Asia.

If I have a big backpack I will fill it up - I already have my backpack and I’m not about to head out and buy another one. Instead, I’m going to attempt to put my smaller add-on backpack on the inside of the big one, rather than the outside. I put my laptop and camera in my small bag and it means that when I get on a plane, bus or anytime I might be separated from my big bag, I can grab the smaller one and not have to worry about it. Aiming to have space to put it inside my big bag will really force me to pack well.

I will never be free from art supplies - This is a hard one for me. When I left Canada in 2001 I had a slew of art supplies with me that I proceeded to take around the world with me twice and use about three times in total. I finally rid myself of them when I left London only to buy some more when I found a cheap art store in Beijing. Now I am lumbered with them again hoping that, one day, I actually use them. I guess art supplies are my weakness and I should accept that. I just wish they weren’t so heavy and bulky.

I’m ready to become a super light packer! I’ve seen the benefits and I want in. Dreading having to carry my backpack around really limits me and I want the freedom that comes with packing light. I have even more crap back at my apartment in Beijing and I can’t wait to get back and purge it from my life!

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I’m sitting here in my new apartment in Beijing and am happy to report that I managed to travel for three and a half months without having anything stolen. Yay! What did I do to prevent theft of my electronic goodies? Absolutely nothing!

I have to admit that I wasn’t the most responsible person when it came to looking after my precious laptop. I started off mainly in single rooms and would tuck it out of the way or stash it under my pillow but that’s it. Then when I started staying in more dorms I just did the same thing. I don’t even own any luggage locks! I guess the attitude I’ve taken all along is that I don’t want to be paranoid about my computer and I don’t want to worry about it or to have it become a burden. I bought it used, it wasn’t that expensive, and I would be annoyed if I had to buy a new one but it wouldn’t be the end of the world.

If you’re not quite as laid back (er, irresponsible) as me with your electronics then there are a few things you can do to keep things secure:

• Dorm lockers - Lots of hostels these days have lockers in their dorm rooms. Most times you have to bring your own lock but sometimes they’ll give you a key for an existing lock. These are great for stashing everything or even just the important things.
• Hostel safes - Many hostels also have safes behind their reception desks that probably started out as being for passports and wallets but have grown in size with the whole flashpacking trend. Instead of a safe, many have big metal cabinets you can leave your valuables in when you go out. Be aware though that staff can get surly if you’re always asking them to take things out and put them in loads of time seach day.
• Luggage locks/pack safe - If your hostel doesn’t have any extra security then you can take matters into your own hands and keep your pack locked. If you want to make sure your entire pack doesn’t go walkabout then pick up a Pacsafe (one of those mesh things that go around your bag). I didn’t see anyone with one of those things and personally I think they’re lame but if you’re really worried then I’m sure they act as a deterant.
• Keep things out of sight - I think many backpacker thieves are opportunists and if you leave a nice, shiny laptop out on a table in your dorm it’s probably less likely to be there when you get back.
• Stay in single rooms - Single rooms aren’t 100% secure by any means but not having 10 people wandering in and out of your room at any given time is probably an advantage.
• Carry it on your back - If you really want to keep your stuff safe then having it with you at all times is an option. Unless you fall into a lake, or leave it on the bus… etc etc. The advantage of this is being able to do some work if you stumble onto a Starbucks.

Maybe another reason I was pretty slack in the laptop security department is that I guarded my hard drive with my life. Anytime I went out I would put it in a little pouch in my purse. The purse is one of those over the shoulder bad boys that I never take off so there’s no way I’d put it down or have someone steal it from me. I’m not sure what would have happened if I managed to spill a pint of beer all down myself (which, miraculously I didn’t) but that setup ended up working well for me. I had the piece of mind of knowing that all of my important files and photos were hanging safely in a bag next to my right ass cheek.

So my advice is do whatever makes you feel comfortable but I will also say that worrying about your stuff all the time will become old fast. Bring an old laptop that doesn’t cost the world, back everything up as much as possible, take some precautions, and think happy thoughts and your laptop and other electronic essentials will hopefully stay with you for your entire trip.

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I’ve just finished swimming with whale sharks so I’m in a good mood but I’m sure writing this post and thinking of the hassle I’ll have to endure will kill the buzz. The whale shark thing was pretty damn cool, by the way.

Ok, on to the buzz kill. I think my power cord has shat itself. It might be my UK/Philippines adaptor but I can’t check it because I left my big bag with all of my other electronics back in Manila. I’ll be able to test that tomorrow so fingers crossed, that’s all it is. Although, that said, I’m not sure how I’ll get a UK to anywhere adaptor outside of the UK so it could be just as annoying a problem.

If it is my power cord then I’m not really sure what to do. I’ve seen some on eBay but I’m due to leave Manila in less than 10 days and I don’t think I’ll be able to get it here in time. I’ll be cruising the local computer shops tomorrow but I have my doubts. Plus I don’t even know if I can use a Philippines/US cord on a UK computer. Anyone know?

The main reason this is immensely annoying besides the obvious hassle is because I had decided to spend the next week before I leave in Manila with my sweet, precious, free wifi to work on my sites before heading to Bangladesh. That would have given me lots of time to get things sorted out and my new site finished.

I think I have enough juice left in my other battery to transfer everything over to my hard drive but I’m not totally sure of that. If I don’t then I’m in trouble.

Anyone have any suggestions?

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I hadn’t really thought at all about backing up any of my computers until my desktop started showing me a screen that I think might be related to the blue screen of death. To this day I still haven’t got a clue what was wrong with it except that it decided not to work for three days and was eventually miraculously cured after I gave it a rest for a day.

I had a few years worth of photos, all of my websites, and plenty of other goodies on there so I have to admit that having dodgy screens show up mae me a bit nervous and I suddenly started rethinking my lack of a backup system.

Around the same time I stumbled onto this post about travel gadgets that mentioned the Seagate Free Agent GO (an plenty of other nerdy goodies). It was exactly what I wasn’t looking for but should have been and I ordered one of the 160 gig bad boys. I was going to go with an 80 gig one because my websites really don’t take up much space at all. But then I figured I could load the sucker up with music and will also need some serious space for all those wonder photos I’m bound to take so decided to go the whole hog.

I think I paid about 70 quid online and it was delivered in a few days. It’s saved my life since coming home because I forgot to buy a UK to Canada plug adaptor for my laptop. I’ve been able to copy all my files to the hard drive, including the install files for Photoshop, and have pretty much been working on my parent’s laptop as though it were my own. This will work in net cafes too and that’s where I think the thing is really useful. Sure, backing stuff up is great but being able to plug and play anywhere has so far been really handy.

I’m still a bit nervous because all of my photos are on the drive and nowhere else. I read lots of really good reviews but a couple that said the drive shat itself on them. If that happens and I lose my photos I won’t be impressed so I guess I’d better back up the back up!

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Well I’m off home to Niagara in a week and then three weeks later I’ll be booting around the Philippines with no real plans or destination. Neato.

I’m being good and not leaving my packing until the day before, for once in my life. The bags aren’t packed quite yet, but I’ve sold all my stuff, given most of the rest away, have two bin bags of clothes to donate, and have organised all my electronics gear. I think I’ll do the final pack on Sunday if my inevitable hangover doesn’t try to kill me.

My electronics have me a bit worried because I seem to have a lot of wires appearing from everywhere. Sure, the laptop is the obvious thing but what’s with the zillions of power cords? Nobody told me about the maze of wires I’d be carting around the world with me! Oh well, all part of the fun. If I get bored I can tangle myself up in them and see how fast I can escape.

I’ve snapped a photo of what I think is all the flashpackery gear I’ll be taking with me. It sort of seems scary when it’s laid out on a table but the camera and laptop pack nicely away into the big brown bag at the back and the rest of it will be stored away in my big backpack’s nooks and crannies so I think it’ll be manageable.

So all up here’s what I’ll be taking:

• 12.1″ Laptop
• Laptop protector sleeve
• Mouse
• Earphones (I’ll be buying a small mic at some point as well to Skype)
• 4 gig memory stick that I can’t find the cord for and will surely lose very early on
• Digital SLR
• Kick ass (but heavy) camera lens and another crappy small lens plus spare memory card, a filter and lens hood
• Small camera that fits in my pocket for snaps of drunken tomfoolery and hijinks
• Seagate portable hard drive (160 gigs I think)
• Approximately a kilometer of wires

The funny thing is, I don’t know a damn thing about photography and I’ve got all this flashy kit. I’m a pretty terrible photographer, actually. I’ll have lots of time on my hands though and an interest in it so hopefully I’ll improve. That is if I don’t spill beer on it or lose it in the first week which is a big fear.

It seems like a lot of stuff. If my bag weighs too much I might have to cut down on clothes and do my entire trip topless.

Bring it on! I’m getting excited now.

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I’m officially a hard core nerd. I currently own two laptops and a desktop computer… that is far too many for a normal person. I’ve got a really old Sony that has been collecting dust since I bought my desktop back in May 2006. The Sony is really sluggish and is pretty big and heavy so carting that thing around the world was never really an option.

So I’ve been on the hunt lately for a more portable laptop and finally found my match! I just bought myself a super small 12.1″ IBM Thinkpad X41. It’s only 1.2kg, 1.6Mhz Intel Centrino, 1GB Ram, 40GB hard drive, wiFi, external CD drive, and 5 hours worth of battery. I’ve never liked widescreen laptops and can’t stand glossy screens and this computer has neither of those dubious improvements so that was a selling point as well. The red thing is my passport, the blue thing is a Swiss Army knife and I put my SLR camera to the right to give an idea of the laptop’s size. It weighs about the same as my camera and lens which I think is pretty amazing.

I bought it used off a totally non-dodgy guy who was getting an upgrade for work and I feel good about the purchase. I got it for £275 as well which is well below what I was willing to spend. I saw it on eBay for over £400 so I think I got a bargain. I was originally going to buy something either brand new or really flashy but I would have been paranoid about it all the time. It would suck if my laptop ever gets stolen but if it does it’s not the end of the world really because I haven’t spent that much on it. I just need to remember to keep everything backed up! It’s not super sexy either which might keep thieves away. IBMs seem to be pretty rugged as well so that’s another advantage.

It’ll take awhile to get used to using a laptop again, especially one with such a small screen when compared to my desktop. I’ll be keeping my desktop right up until I leave and am hoping to sell it to my housemate to cover the cost of the laptop. I’ll be heading up to Scotland for 10 days in October though and will be taking my new baby laptop up for a dry run and will report back on how I find using it.

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