Most useful items picked up along the wayRain poncho in Vietnam ($1.25). I bought one while I was in Hue around the same time as major flooding due to non-stop rains. Everyone wears these huge sheets of thick plastic with hoods that cover you, your bags, and your bike. The more expensive model has a clear section at the front so your motorbike headlight shines through.
Sarongs/Kangas ($3-$4). These are large rectangular sheets of cotton that are perfect as beach towels. The materials are always fun and colorful; the kanga I bought in Kenya also included a "fortune" written in Swahili. A sarong/kanga can also be used as a dress, skirt, and privacy curtain in youth hostel dorms.
BagsJansport Syncline 38 backpack, capacity 2,350 cubic inches ($68 from Campmor). It was the perfect size, easy to carry, and very durable.
Small backpack ($8 in Vietnam). Great for day trips and as an overflow bag I could wear in front.
Small camera bag ($6 in China). Unfashionable but also unpickpocketable.
2 Granite Gear packing cubes (1 large, 1 small). Fantastic for keeping my clothes compact and organized.
2 Granite Gear organizer bags
Small dry bag for storing electronic items
Money belt
Clothes4 short-sleeve shirts, 2 shorts, 2 long pants, windbreaker, rain poncho, 2 long sleeve shirts, fleece top, swimsuit, baseball cap, Teva sandals, hiking boots ($75 from EMS), 3 pair of thick socks, 5 liner socks, boxer shorts, 5 pair underwear, 2 bras
I found that I felt more comfortable wearing pants everywhere since most places are fairly conservative. Just about all of the clothes were made from synthetic materials (Coolmax, etc.) which meant they dried quickly after washing and were durable. During the trip I replaced my hiking boot inserts (Superfeet) and hiking socks.
Most of the time I was in warm places so I packed few warm clothes. I sent home a too-bulky fleece vest and too-hot pair of hiking pants in Vietnam -- a week before traveling to Sapa in the mountains where it was freezing! In Sapa and to hike Mount Kinabalu I bought two pairs of gloves which I later gave away. In Turkey I picked up a track suit for warmth... also subsequently ditched.
ElectronicsDigital camera (Sony DSC-P150). I had the resolution set to 5 megapixels, each photo was roughly 2 MB. The camera was fairly reliable except for in places with high humidity. In humid conditions sometimes the lens would not open when I turned the camera on.
Memory cards (about 2 gigabytes total). When I ran out of memory one of the biggest challenges was burning the photos onto CD-ROMs. I'm not sure yet whether I succeeded in saving all of my pictures. Internet cafes were amazingly reliable for online access but much harder to depend on for photo burning.
Palm Zire 21. Wonderful for keeping track of my finances while on the road (Pocket Quicken $35 from Landware) and having my address book and other saved information handy. The calculator function is also useful. Mostly the Palm was reliable but in hot weather the touch screen did not work. Very inconvenient in Egypt.
Camera accessories: Extra camera battery, camera charger, blank CD/DVD-ROMs. The blank media were not necessary; any internet cafe with CD burning capabilities can provide blank CDs (700 MB) and most cannot handle DVDs (4.7 GB). Usually I paid $1 per CD-ROM and $1/hour for internet access.
iPod shuffle. A lifesaver on long bus rides and in places where I wanted to tune out people who were hassling me (e.g. arriving at bus stations in Asia) -- I just started singing aloud and the taxi drivers ran away.
USB charger. This worked perfectly to recharge both my iPod shuffle and the Palm.
Adapter kit ($30 from Brookstone)
ToiletriesQuick-dry towel, sunscreen, tampons, extended-wear contact lenses, small contact solution, nail clipper, Woolite, toilet paper, hand cream, shampoo, conditioner, comb, toothbrushes, toothpaste, floss, lip balm, nail file, insect repellent, wet wipes
First Aid KitBand-aids, iodine, Zithromax, Diamox, Imodium, Cipro, Lariam (anti-Malarial), Aleve, ibuprofen, ace bandage, antibiotic ointment, thermometer, Tums, Pepto Bismol (Plus 7 immunizations: typhoid, yellow fever, Japanese encephalitis, polio, meningitis, hepatitis, tetanus)
Other
2 water bottles. One from Nalgene has lasted for years and never leaked. A second, new bottle (Eddie Bauer from Target, $5) leaked.
Water filter. Unnecessary. In Asia you can use boiled water to make tea, everywhere else bottled water is readily available and much more convenient than filtering/purifying.
Sunglasses, glasses, and glasses case
Books: pocket world atlas, guidebook, reading book, Point It (indispensable in China)
Bandanna, journal, pens, earplugs and eyeshade (key for overnight trips), Swiss Army knife ($36 including a corkscrew and can opener), luggage lock, Coolmax sleep sack, US stamps to give as gifts, multivitamins
2 ATM cards (Commerce gave better rates than Citibank), 4 credit cards (rarely used)
I'm spending a few days in this small town (finally) which is an hour south of Guilin and also known as "backpacker central." Unfortunately the large number of tourists has made some of the locals less-than-honest... This is the first place where I have felt that people might be trying to take advantage of me. The seemingly friendly greeting "Hello Hello" is always followed by a sales pitch ("Water," "Cold Drink," "Look In"). I guess I expected that all over the country and got used to the Chinese people being genuinely friendly for the most part.
