What I am packing for my 2nd trip around the world.

I leave for my second trip around the world on July 1, 2014 and I’m ready to go. One of the questions I am frequently asked is “What do you pack for a trip around the world?” and always leave people in shock with the very little that I travel with. I have shared what I travel with on two separate occasions:

• What I’m packing for my trip around the world. 
• 15 months on the road & this is what’s in my backpack!

If you have read those you are going to see that not much has changed. Even though they are almost the same I am sharing with everyone what I am traveling with again because I love reading packing list (assume others do too) and hopefully this can help anyone currently planning a trip around the world.  I apologize in advance for the crappy lighting in the photos. No matter what I did to the lights in my room this is how they would turn out.  So here is a list of everything I will be traveling with this time around.

-CLOTHES & FOOTWEAR-

• 11 – short sleeve regular/quick dry shirts (I know it seems like a lot, but it’s not.)
• 1 – long sleeve Under Armour shirt (I’ll be visiting many more high altitude places this time around.)
• 3 – shorts (1 of them are my sleeping shorts)
• 2 – swim trunks (Yes I need two.)
• 8 – underwear (6 of them are Under Armour and 2 of them are Adventure Underwear, they’re great.)
• 6 – pair of socks (You will go through these quickly & buy tons on the road.)
• 1 – pair of Bluffs Works slacks (The more I wear these the more I love them.)
• 1 – pair of jeans (No one should leave home without a pair of jeans.)
• 1 – pair of sandals
• 1 – pair of hiking shoes (I love my SCARPA – Men’s Mojito GORE-TEX® Shoe.)

-TOILETRIES-

Once again I don’t think I need to list what you see here. These are your basic everyday use toiletries and a few others in case they are needed. You know what you need and don’t need so pack accordingly. I don’t plan on flying much this time around so went ahead and purchased regular size sunscreen and toothpaste instead of the travel size. Everything else is small enough to be carried on so if I need to get rid of the toothpaste and sunscreen I will be fine. Always remember that unless you are spending a lot of time in remote areas of Earth you will be able to find just about anything you need on the road. Oh & yes bring lots of condoms because honestly it’s very awkward as a tourist purchasing them on the road. The looks you will get purchasing condoms in a conservative country is priceless.

-ELECTRONICS-

• 1 – 13″ Mac Book Pro (If I didn’t blog & take tons of photos I’d travel with a tablet.)
• 2 – external hard drives (500GB & 1TB)
• 1 – universal adapter (You will need this.)
• 1 – electric trimmer (I hate shaving… so yes I travel with an electric trimmer.)
• 1 – iPod Touch 5th Generation (I’m excited to travel with a mobile device this time around.)
• 1 – Canon Rebel T3i (I’ve upgraded from a point & shoot.)
• 2 – lens (Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II & Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5)
• 4 – chargers (laptop, DSLR, iPod and electric trimmer)

-MISCELLANEOUS-

• 2 – Passports (I have dual citizenship. USA & Mexico Passport go with me everywhere I go.)
• 2 – glasess (I am blind as hell with out my glasses so I brought 2 pair incase the one broke.)
• 2 – locks (Be sure to get the wire type.)
• 1 – journal (I’m giving the Travelary Journal, because it’s made for travelers.)
• 1 – notebook (This is my scratch notebook. Use it to write down random things, plans, etc.)
• 1 – DSLR tripod (No it’s not a sex toy, but a Gorrilapod.)
• 1 – travel towel (Even though I hate this thing I know I will use it more often than not.)
• 1 – glue stick (I use this a lot to glue stubs and tickets into my journal.)
• 1 – set of Moo business cards (I’m fancy like that.)
• 1 – set of cleaning tools for my DLSR (I hope I have better luck this time with my camera.)
• 3 – basic mountain climbing clips (It’s always nice to hang things off your backpack if needed.)
• 1 – dry sack (Use it to put all my chargers in.)
• 1 – bottle opener (Sometimes you can’t find one.)
• 1 – SD card reader (My Mac no longer reads my SD card so must use this to upload photos.)
• 1 – 16GB memory stick (Sometimes you just need to be able to transfer things quickly.)

-ORGANIZATION ITEMS-

• 3 – packing cubes (one for shirts, one for underwear/socks and one for swim/night wear.)
• 1 – toiletry bag (I’ve had this Coach bag for years and it’s just the right size.)
• 1 – small bag (I use this for my small electronics and all the wires.)

-IT ALL FITS LIKE THIS-

My backpack is a Deuter ACT Lite 40L + 10L Pack and I absolutely love it. It is small enough to be carry on at 40L, but if I need to extend it to 50L I can. This backpack has been through everything and it survived my first 2 year trip around the world so should be fine this time around too. My day pack is a PACSAFE – Venturesafe™ 15L GII Anti-Theft Daypack. This day pack is nice, but is going to be new for me on the road and know it’s going to take some time getting used to.

The biggest changes this time around are going to be traveling with a DSLR and an iPod. Traveling with a DSLR now means that I will have to explore with my day pack on me majority of the time. I know I am going to miss traveling with a point and shot because it would fit in my pants/shorts pocket and would never need a day pack. When I needed a day pack I would use a small string bag I had. The other change is going to be traveling with an iPod Touch. On my previous trip I did not have an iPod or any type of mobile device. I love my iPod and thanks to it I can go days without needing to use my laptop for anything. I’ll be honest though I am most excited about traveling with an iPod Touch because I can share pictures on my Instagram account. I just wrote a post about a look back at my first year on Instagram and how I’ve become addicted to it and even have my own rules…lol. It’s going to be a struggle for me to take pictures between my iPod and my DSLR, but I’m excited to share my adventure on Instagram.

That’s basically it… isn’t it amazing to see how little you actually need to survive in this world? I know everything I listed above may look like a lot, but in reality it’s not much. I make sure I travel as light as possible and carry on only. If you have trouble packing light I’d highly recommend you check out my friend Ali’s eBook Packing Made Simple: a simple guide to packing light. I know once I am on the road I will do what I did before and every few weeks go through everything I am traveling with and get rid of what I am not using. You don’t realize how every single item makes a difference until you have to carry it all on your back. My biggest tip for anyone setting off for any type of trip is to TRAVEL LIGHT and BRING JEANS. You will thank me & yourself later for doing so. I’m happy that in the end everything I am traveling with fits into two bags.

Did I miss anything? Should I leave something behind? What are your thoughts on what I am traveling with?