I’m leaving for my around the world trip in a month! If nothing changes, the current plan is to hop on a plane to Latvia on July 17th. Unbelievable how fast time flies! I wanted to share what I have learned from taking three weekend trips in preparation for the big trip.

Since my previous post (I know, it has been way too long!) I have taken three weekend trips for dancing and I used to opportunity for them to be my test trips for my big trip. The first one was a flight to San Diego and going back on a small commuter plane. The second trip was a road trip to Fresno and third was also a flight to Los Angeles.

Before each trip I weighed my bags and I went from 30.6lbs in my first trip to 27.3lbs to 26.7 pounds in the third trip. At least the trajectory looks good! 30 vs 26 pounds actually does feel quite different. 26.7 pounds is almost comfortable. Will try really hard to keep that weight or less for around the world trip, though most likely it will increase a bit. I’m thinking the amount of stuff needed for a 3 month trip is exactly the same as for one week trip which is a bit more than a weekend trip. 

 My Farpoint 55 backpack is still great! The 40L main pack and 15L day pack (that can be zipped onto the bigger pack) combo works great! Here are some more thoughts and experiences.
– The main pack fits comfortably in the overhead bins even on a small commuter airplane (2+2 seats in a row), the day pack (with laptop, kindle, etc.) goes under seat in front. 
– The main pack has a great shape (that is almost perfectly rectangular on all sides like a suitcase) for doing luggage tetris in a trunk of a car. 
– I still like the day pack. Great for lugging a laptop and dance shoes around town all day long or going for a day hike with water and food. It could have been divided in more compartments, as sometimes finding stuff at the bottom takes a while, but I guess that would add to the weight of the pack. 
– I like the size of packs. Because they are not too big I can have them with me at all times. For example I don’t have to put them in the luggage compartment of a bus or at the back of airport shuttle thus being able to be on my way faster.

The hardest (and the most heaviest) part about packing are toiletries. Over time I have managed to bring less and less (by closely paying attention what I don’t end up using) but I still have ways to go. Here are some successes and failures.
– http://www.humangear.com/gotoob/ is not that great. I tried to put a facial mask in there, then shampoo, but still not great. The problem is that its hard to squeeze anything out of it. It probably is good only for liquids. Plus for my long hair the small size bottle fits enough conditioner only for a single time.
– On the other hand http://www.humangear.com/gotubb/ is great. I use it to store earrings. (I found this and above in wallgreens).
 – I put mousturizing cream in smaller round refillable containers. Took me awhile to figure out where to find ones that don’t break right away. Eventually was able to find them in a japanese store (Daiso Californiahttps://plus.google.com/103737903161721399159/about?gl=us&hl=en by an Asian make-up artists recommendation at Macy’s. These definitely feel higher quality than the ones I have bought (and crushed) before at Walgreens.
 – A tiny refillable roll-on perfume bottle is a life saver! (Like the one here http://www.daisojapan.com/p-7797-perfume-atomizer-roll-on-type-7ml-12pks.aspx). 7ml is more than enough, plus I don’t have to take the heavy, fancy glass container perfumes usually come in.

You guys probably won’t understand why I have such trouble with toiletries, but hey, I’m a girl and want to feel like one when I’m traveling! 🙂 Plus I’m going home to Latvia and will be traveling around Europe. If I won’t look decent (by Latvian standards) my mom will make fun of me and say that I have become americanized. 🙂

Packing shoes definitely will be the hardest part. I think I have pared it down to 5 pairs of shoes. Here it goes.

First pair will be comfortable, waterproof hiking/walking shoes. It was very hard to find actual hiking shoes that don’t look like ones. The winners are Ahnu Montara in black [http://www.rei.com/product/829296/ahnu-montara-ii-waterproof-hiking-shoes-womens]. First I scoured online for a look that I like and then went to a store to try them on. For the Ahnu Montara’s I had to actually try two different sizes of the same shoe, the second pair fit much better than the first. I just took them for a short hike to break them in and they feel great. I’m glad I chose actual hiking shoes (instead of walking shoes, the second choice was Keen Toyab [http://www.rei.com/product/799795/keen-toyah-shoes-womens]) because of traction. It was very useful going up hill on sand dunes in San Francisco (Fort Funston). 

2nd pair of shoes will be good comfortable flip flops with good arch-support, this time leather Chacos. 

3rd pair would have been my Jinga dance sneakers [http://www.jingashop.com/] but they are so worn out 🙁 I wanted to order new ones but my size is sold out. I sent email the company itself and one Canadian distributor, but haven’t gotten response from either. I have so many west coast swing dancers wearing and swearing by Toms that I decided to try them out. I got classic Toms in black (not the most fun, but it is the most practical color) [http://www.toms.com/womens/shoes/classics/black-canvas-classics-shoes/s]. Almost as good as Jingas; they are slick on wood, tile and concrete floors. However on carpet jingas are still better. The reason for this pair of shoes is for the all unplanned opportunities of dancing! 🙂

4th pair will be salsa shoes. ‘nough said. 🙂

5th pair will be ballet flats. They don’t take much space and it is a compromise for not taking west coast swing shoes. 

I will not bring heels and I will follow the old travel advice “bring half as much stuff and twice as much money” and will buy heels on the road if I will really feel need for them (I might in Europe!) All the girls are dressed so classy there! And for Latvia, I think I have some left in a closet at my parents place. 🙂 

I love my high-tech Scottevest Hoodie! [http://www.scottevest.com/v3_store/Chloe-Hoodie.shtml] So great for traveling! Super warm (even warm enough for the cold and windy San Francisco summer nights). Pockets are huge and numerous and I can stuff them with various things – chocolate bar, boarding pass, sandwich. Also very convenient for carrying around kindle and take it out in a pinch and put it back on a plane, on airporter, on train. Another advantage is that I don’t need to bring a purse when going out for dinner, everything needed (and not needed) fits in the pockets of this hoodie. 

Will definitely bring a pen and a notebook. Invaluable on planes when taking off and landing and we are not allowed to use electronics. Or when batteries die..

Kindle Paperwhite is awesome. I’m glad I bought the 3G version. So much less friction to buy a new book or get a sample of a book. I didn’t think that it would be the case for me but e-ink screen is indeed easier on eyes. 

So here I am. A month left till departure, not much time left for planning, but on the other hand less up-front planning allows for more flexibility later! (Though I still should take care of any visas, travel insurance and immunizations).

June 17, 2013 @ home in San Francsico