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Nice summary, but this looks like a writeup of somebody doing this the first time. There's lots of room for improvement. First off, there's way too much plann

Nice summary, but this looks like a writeup of somebody doing this the first time. There's lots of room for improvement. First off, there's way too much planning going on beforehand. Having done several of these trips, my pre-planning now involves booking a single flight and letting things work themselves out from there. Dates on the calendar are really really bad to have, since they force you to move faster or slower than you want to. Avoid them at all costs. And, of course, he overpacked. 90 liters is way too big. 40 liters is probably still too big, but at least realistic. You want to be able to fit your full pack on your lap on a crowded chicken bus without drawing angry looks from the locals. One complete change of clothes is plenty. Most of the stuff you think you need, you don't. Beyond that, there's a lot of good stuff here. Sounds like he had a fun trip.

orofino 13y ago
I feel like for most beginners, 40L is the least they'll want to take, calling it too big is disingenuous I think. My wife and I both had 40L packs, the size was good, at then end perhaps we could have gone smaller, but not much below 35L each. At the start, 40L was really tough and I think for someone doing this for the first time, 40-50L is ideal. The focus on bag size can be almost fetishistic for some long term travelers. Those who travel with two shirts, one pair of pants, and a laptop are going too far in the opposite direction in my opinion. I don't want to spend all my time doing laundry or smelling awful.
jblok 13y ago
Agreed. Take as little as possible and if you really feel you need something, you can buy it locally (often for much cheaper). It makes you realise how few things you need in life, and how much crap you end up buying back home.
- lifeformed 13y ago
  What do you do with the local things you buy? I'm assuming you don't keep accumulating them after moving to another country. Is it easy to resell them?
  - jblok 13y ago
    Well ideally, you'd buy it because it's something you can't live without, so you'd bring it with you, and leave some extra space in your bag for such things, or jettison something which you deem less valuable.
  - smackfu 13y ago
    Generally it's cheap junk. Like if you are cold, buy a cheap sweatshirt for $5 or $10. When it gets annoying to carry it, and you haven't worn it lately, leave it behind. If it gets stolen from the laundry, who cares. This is in contrast to buying a $100 Patagonia super-awesome lightweight shell, that is certainly better than that cheap sweatshirt, but that you need to treat as a prized possession and carry everywhere.
tomsaffell 13y ago
Agree on minimizing pre-planning, and that 90L seems quite big. 40L is probably a good size for basic ho(s)teling gear. Personally, I prefer to travel with 65L, so I can add: light tent, sleep pad, sleeping bag, micro stove, 1 pan, water sterilizer. This obviously allows me to include hiking trips within my travelling, but it also allows something even more valuable: when you want to hitch hike from place A to place B, and there's not much in between, you don't have to ask 'can we make it in one day?', you just say 'if we dont make it, then we'll make camp, and start again the next day'. Removing the 'must know where I'm sleeping' constraint is tremendously valuable and liberating to me (as is true for removing most big constraints).
- nanidin 13y ago
  I definitely agree with you on potentially bringing a bigger pack. I just got back from about a year in Asia and 46L was more than enough... until I went trekking in Nepal. Then I had to get creative with lashing a daypack to the back of my bag to get extra space.
maccman 13y ago
Alex here from the post. I absolutely agree with both your points now - when I do it again I'll change those. However for the first time, a round the world flight was great. It gave me a taste of each country, and then on the second time I'm planning on going back to my favorite and really immersing myself in them.
- reustle 13y ago
  I just wanted to thank you Alex. About 8 months ago I started freelancing full time (after doing it part time off and on) and traveling. I moved to FL, TX, AR and some places in between. I have a 1-way flight to Europe in 4 days and don't know when I'll be back or what exactly I'll be doing there. These actions are very much inspired by this blog post and your "Traveling, Writing and Programming" post. Thanks! http://old.alexmaccaw.com//posts/traveling_writing_programming http://old.alexmaccaw.com//posts/traveling_writing_programmi...
  - wahnfrieden 13y ago
    Is t it illegal to freelance in many countries without special visas?
    - GFischer 13y ago
      Probably yes, but you won't get caught (at least over here). I fear what will happen as data collection gets better, I know the local IRS is cross-examining data to catch the usual evasors (lawyers, dentists and others that regularly under-report their earnings, though to be fair the local taxes are abusive). They look at sports club affiliations - "how can you afford such a posh sports club on your paltry income"?, luxury buys (golf clubs are a giveaway), etc..
    - reustle 13y ago
      I'm sure there are ways to do it legally. I only work for US based companies. I'll let my accountant handle it.
      - 13y ago
jvrossb 13y ago
Agreed about the pre-planning. Organized a 50 day trip through Europe once, had every flight and hostel booked for all 50 days + got a rail pass, then ended up having to reshuffle things around 20 days in once we realized we had way overplanned, wanted to leave the city we were in several days before we had planned, and really preferred to figure things out as we went along.
smackfu 13y ago
There's probably some dude out there who read this comment and thinks you are dumb for planning even the first flight. And that carrying any luggage is a waste, you should only need what you can carry in your pockets. And that dude is completely confident that his way is the best way and all others are wrong. To each their own.
s_baby 13y ago
>And, of course, he overpacked. 90 liters is way too big. 40 liters is probably still too big, but at least realistic. There's a sub-reddit dedicated to "ultralight" camping. Most of the knowledge applies to traveling in general. It seems 15lb is the sweet spot if you plan on doing a lot of walking. http://www.reddit.com/r/ultralight http://www.reddit.com/r/ultralight
theorique 13y ago
And, of course, he overpacked. 90 liters is way too big. 40 liters is probably still too big, but at least realistic. 26L is possible!

orofino 13y ago

I feel like for most beginners, 40L is the least they'll want to take, calling it too big is disingenuous I think. My wife and I both had 40L packs, the size was good, at then end perhaps we could have gone smaller, but not much below 35L each. At the start, 40L was really tough and I think for someone doing this for the first time, 40-50L is ideal. The focus on bag size can be almost fetishistic for some long term travelers. Those who travel with two shirts, one pair of pants, and a laptop are going too far in the opposite direction in my opinion. I don't want to spend all my time doing laundry or smelling awful.

jblok 13y ago

Agreed. Take as little as possible and if you really feel you need something, you can buy it locally (often for much cheaper). It makes you realise how few things you need in life, and how much crap you end up buying back home.

lifeformed 13y ago
What do you do with the local things you buy? I'm assuming you don't keep accumulating them after moving to another country. Is it easy to resell them?
- jblok 13y ago
  Well ideally, you'd buy it because it's something you can't live without, so you'd bring it with you, and leave some extra space in your bag for such things, or jettison something which you deem less valuable.
- smackfu 13y ago
  Generally it's cheap junk. Like if you are cold, buy a cheap sweatshirt for $5 or $10. When it gets annoying to carry it, and you haven't worn it lately, leave it behind. If it gets stolen from the laundry, who cares. This is in contrast to buying a $100 Patagonia super-awesome lightweight shell, that is certainly better than that cheap sweatshirt, but that you need to treat as a prized possession and carry everywhere.

tomsaffell 13y ago

Agree on minimizing pre-planning, and that 90L seems quite big. 40L is probably a good size for basic ho(s)teling gear. Personally, I prefer to travel with 65L, so I can add: light tent, sleep pad, sleeping bag, micro stove, 1 pan, water sterilizer. This obviously allows me to include hiking trips within my travelling, but it also allows something even more valuable: when you want to hitch hike from place A to place B, and there's not much in between, you don't have to ask 'can we make it in one day?', you just say 'if we dont make it, then we'll make camp, and start again the next day'. Removing the 'must know where I'm sleeping' constraint is tremendously valuable and liberating to me (as is true for removing most big constraints).

nanidin 13y ago
I definitely agree with you on potentially bringing a bigger pack. I just got back from about a year in Asia and 46L was more than enough... until I went trekking in Nepal. Then I had to get creative with lashing a daypack to the back of my bag to get extra space.

maccman 13y ago

Alex here from the post. I absolutely agree with both your points now - when I do it again I'll change those. However for the first time, a round the world flight was great. It gave me a taste of each country, and then on the second time I'm planning on going back to my favorite and really immersing myself in them.

reustle 13y ago
I just wanted to thank you Alex. About 8 months ago I started freelancing full time (after doing it part time off and on) and traveling. I moved to FL, TX, AR and some places in between. I have a 1-way flight to Europe in 4 days and don't know when I'll be back or what exactly I'll be doing there. These actions are very much inspired by this blog post and your "Traveling, Writing and Programming" post. Thanks! http://old.alexmaccaw.com//posts/traveling_writing_programming http://old.alexmaccaw.com//posts/traveling_writing_programmi...
- wahnfrieden 13y ago
  Is t it illegal to freelance in many countries without special visas?
  - GFischer 13y ago
    Probably yes, but you won't get caught (at least over here). I fear what will happen as data collection gets better, I know the local IRS is cross-examining data to catch the usual evasors (lawyers, dentists and others that regularly under-report their earnings, though to be fair the local taxes are abusive). They look at sports club affiliations - "how can you afford such a posh sports club on your paltry income"?, luxury buys (golf clubs are a giveaway), etc..
  - reustle 13y ago
    I'm sure there are ways to do it legally. I only work for US based companies. I'll let my accountant handle it.
    - 13y ago

jvrossb 13y ago

Agreed about the pre-planning. Organized a 50 day trip through Europe once, had every flight and hostel booked for all 50 days + got a rail pass, then ended up having to reshuffle things around 20 days in once we realized we had way overplanned, wanted to leave the city we were in several days before we had planned, and really preferred to figure things out as we went along.

smackfu 13y ago

There's probably some dude out there who read this comment and thinks you are dumb for planning even the first flight. And that carrying any luggage is a waste, you should only need what you can carry in your pockets. And that dude is completely confident that his way is the best way and all others are wrong. To each their own.

s_baby 13y ago

>And, of course, he overpacked. 90 liters is way too big. 40 liters is probably still too big, but at least realistic. There's a sub-reddit dedicated to "ultralight" camping. Most of the knowledge applies to traveling in general. It seems 15lb is the sweet spot if you plan on doing a lot of walking. http://www.reddit.com/r/ultralight http://www.reddit.com/r/ultralight

theorique 13y ago

And, of course, he overpacked. 90 liters is way too big. 40 liters is probably still too big, but at least realistic. 26L is possible!