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

In 3 months I will be gone for 3 months on vacation/sabbatical/mini-retirement. At this point my mind is occupied with excitement of how awesome its going to be; a bit of fear, what if it is dangerous to travel alone as a female; wondering whether and how the trip it going to change me; figuring out how can I make it so that it is not lost time career-wise, but instead is an investment in my career; and tons of questions about practical matters. For example…

Backpack vs suitcase?
I just love my ZUCA suitcase. It looks cool, I can sit on it, my stuff inside it is well organized into pouches, its lightweight, its carry-on size. I have taken it to many weekend trips and several 2-3 week long trips to Europe. However ZUCA is a suitcase and it has wheels. For long term travel a backpack sounds more appropriate because the terrain I can take it on is way more versatile. Suitcase with wheels requires a decent road. Though I will be mostly traveling in developed countries (Western Europe, Japan, Singapore), so this is a wash. A bigger argument for backpack is that with a backpack I am more likely to blend-in whereas with a suitcase I will definitely look like a tourist. Let me tell you, it feels quite awkward to arrive at a social dance night in a club with a suitcase or a huge backpack and looking like an out of place tourist. I imagine I will be going social dancing quite a bit on this trip and it definitely could happen that I just have arrived at a city late in the evening and head straight to a club. So backpack it is. 

Size of backpack?
I want to travel light and I have been quite successful at it in the past. I routinely bring less stuff for weekend dance events than guys. When people see me having just a backpack I have had questions like “Where is your suitcase?”. My big 65L backpacking backpack is way too big. My 20L Osprey bicycling backpack is way too small. My big-ish laptop backpack could be right about the right size, though its’ shape is awkward. It gets too fat in width and is thus sometimes hard to stuff in the overhead bins on airplanes. Also it has side pockets that awkwardly stick out and  make me bump into things. 

On the internet the consensus seems that 30L backpack is a good size for long term super light weight travel. That might be too much of a stretch. I love my Osprey packs and probably will get another Osprey. They have Wayport and Farpoint series. The Farpoint 55L packs looks pretty good. It is 40L main pack + 15L day pack. After reading this review I’m sold [http://www.answeringoliver.com/2012/01/my-rtw-backpack-round-two-osprey.html]. Will check out REI soon and get it so that I can try it out on upcoming weekend trips!

What to pack?
I will be mostly in places with warm weather. Yey for that! One of my constraints is that I will be attending dance events so will have to bring something nice too. What color wardrobe should I bring? I like bright colors, but dark/black is more practical. Maybe I should go with brown-ish so that I can match it with occasional yellow. Shoes? Light hiking/walking shoes + reef super comfy flip-flops? What about jeans? All the travel blogs say not to bring those because they are bulky, heavy and it takes long for them to dry. 

Here are some great links describing packing for long trips:
http://eurosatemydollars.com/trip-planning/packing-and-gear/
http://away-together.com/2010/05/31/essential-gear-for-long-term-travel/
http://www.answeringoliver.com/2012/02/my-rtw-packing-list.html
http://www.25dollartravel.com/mmblog/2011/04/long-term-travel-packing-list/
http://yourenotfromaroundhere.com/blog/rtw-travel-packing-list/

I long time ago I read about Scottvest, the ultimate travel clothing with pockets. I think I finally have a reason to get one. I’m a sucker for well designed gear (if you can’t tell from my love for the ZUCA bag already).

Nexus 7 vs Kindle?

I will be reading a lot (super super excited about this part!). I already have a Nexus 7 and I like reading on it. In addition I really really like reading pdfs on it and be able to highlight and make notes. Finally I have found a way to read scientific articles without printing them out. Another aspect, Nexus 7 is more versatile in that I can read both Google Play books and Kindle books. I don’t have a kindle, but I hear battery life for it is phenomenal. I’m not going backpacking in wilderness for 3 months, but still.. which brings me to the next question.

Solar power?

Since I will be bringing electronics (laptop, smartphone, tablet/kindle) is there any reasonable portable way to charge them using solar power? I have seen some backpacks with solar panels. I think this topic will need quite a research. 


All in all I’m super excited for the trip! Its going to be amazing! Well, sure, it probably will have plenty its downs too, but I’m excited to be stretched outside of my comfort zone. I think it can be summarized with this image:
http://blog.unstash.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/where-the-magic-happens.jpg

Can’t wait to see what magic awaits me!


April 19, 2013 @ home in San Francisco

Have you heard of the term mini-retirement? I believe it was coined by Tim Ferriss, or at least become popular after he published his book 4 Hour Work Week. The idea is that one should not wait to travel or do stuff you love when you are old and retired, but instead do several mini-retirements of 1 to 6 months throughout your life. The concept is quite similar to a sabbatical.

This is exactly what I’m planning to do. 

In June it will have been 3 years since I graduated from college and started working. Seems my life has been going in multiples of three (3 years in middle school, high school, college each), so this seems a good time to change things up. Also my project at work has a natural finish line. So it seems that starting mid July it would be a good time to take time off for 3 months.

A lot of people probably will want to know how I am doing (I know my parents definitely will), so looks like writing something up and posting pictures regularly will be inevitable.  So I thought I might as well start now and share thoughts of preparing for the trip. 

Why am I doing this trip? As far as I remember myself I have been fascinated by travel and always have valued freedom and flexibility. So probably to anyone who knows me it is not a big surprise that I’m embarking on something like this.

At first I thought that I will hear a lot of resistance and people will tell me that it is a dumb idea to pause my job and travel for 3 months. So I asked tons of people for opinions. Somebody at Google said that nobody will notice if I leave for 3 months. He was right. I have a friend at Google who took 3 months off and I didn’t even notice. Once I started looking for people who have done it before, it turns out there is a bunch and it is not that crazy idea after all. Another person at Google said his only regret about taking 3 months off was that he didn’t do it sooner in his career. 

I talked with my manager, he was supportive of the idea. In fact, he had done a similar thing, he took 2 months off in his career. Also there is no issue with H1B visa renewal, HR is fine with it, and not a single person has told me it is a dumb idea. So now in fact, I don’t have any excuses left and now I have no choice but to do it. That’s a bit scary!

Where am I going to go? There are so many places I want to visit and spend considerable time there, but for starters: Latvia, France (for west coast swing dance camp), Georgia to visit Shorena and Japan.

There are things I want to do: learn/review foreign languages, dance, visit friends, read books, perhaps take an online course and become more comfortable with writing.

I’m sure this trip is not going to be just about seeing places but also about seeing friends, getting out of my comfort zone and growing in various ways. 

Next up:
 – Figuring out the dance events I would like to attend.
 – Figuring out who I definitely want to visit.
 – Pros/cons about buying airline tickets with cash vs airline miles/points.
 – Use this as an excuse to declutter my room/closet so that I can sublet it while I’m away.
 – Decide should I travel with suitcase (my awesome zuca bag) vs a backpack and its size.

March 13, 2013 @ home in San Francisco