Me-go: Around-the-World

Packing

   

Phase I

  

Phase II
Cameras   I carried a Canon s60 5MP digital camera with a 28-80 optical zoom, 3 batteries and their charger, (1) 32 MB CF card and (2) 512 MB CF cards.   I’m carrying a Nikon D70s digital SLR as my main camera. My main lens is a Nikon 18-200mm DX VR, with a 20mm lens as a backup and two batteries. My backup camera is the Canon s60 from Phase I, although it has a smudge on the sensor that I can’t get rid of. It’s good for macro and movies. I also added an addition 512mb card for a total of (1) 32 MB CF card and (3) 512 MB CF cards. I usually have 1-2 disposable cameras along for cartwheel photos only.
Computing   Against my better judgment I am bringing my Apple iBook which I love dearly. It’s a little old and not quite as fast as it used to be but running Adobe Creative Suite is a big undertaking. It has a CD/DVD drive that burns CDs which will serve to back up my photos.   My iBook lives! And even better, during Phase II a friend gave me his old battery so now I am mobile too. Sadly, my iBook still only has a 20gig drive so I bought a portable hard drive in Korea that accepts all memory cards directly. This allows me to backup all of my photos to the drive as well as burn CDs to send home.
Music   My 2nd generation iPod is coming along to keep me company during long bus rides. I switched out the beautiful white headphones that match my iPod and iBook with cheap black ones in the hope that it will be less of an obvious target for theft.

  My chubby iPod tagged along again, this time with a new, 3rd party battery that I installed before I left. 20 hours, baby!
Backpack   I’ve retired my trusty 4700 cu.
backpack for a smaller 3100 cu. pack from REI. Because I should be in warm climates for the most part I haven’t packed a sleeping bag, boots or sweaters which take up a lot of room.

   Same old backpack, but somehow it’s heavier… winter clothes make packing no fun.
Shoes   pair Chacos sandals, 1 pair Keen walking shoes.   The Chacos weren’t good all-day shoes and now I’m floating in my Keen sandals and mid-height hiking boots.
Clothes  
  • 1 sleeveless fleece
  • 1 longsleeve button down shirt 1 longsleeve T-shirt
  • 1 shortsleeve T-shirt
  • 2 short sleevebutton down shirts
  • 1 skirt
  • 1 pair of pants
  • 6 pairs of underwear
  • 3 pairs of socks
  
  • 1 sleeveless fleece
  • 1 longsleeve button down shirt 1 longsleeve T-shirt
  • 3 shortsleeve T-shirt
  • 1 short sleevebutton down shirts
  • 1 pair of shorts
  • 1 pair of pants
  • 6 pairs of underwear
  • 4 pairs of socks
Medicine   I only needed an updated Typhoid shot (they only last 3 years!) as I’ve gotten most of my shots for my trip to Peru 3 years ago. I am taking a small amount of malaria medication to start me out when I get to an affected region. I did not like the side effects of Lariam the last time I took it so I’m sticking to Doxycycline this time around. I am also taking some Cipro, a strong antibiotic, just in case. My biggest medicine purchase is 17 packs of Mircette (birth control) which I take instead of the typical 12 packs (aka, I skip the placebo week). Squat toilets are no place for menstration! I am allergic to the strangest things, like perfume or other foul-smelling things, chemicals and plastics for which I am bringing an antihistamine. Rounding out the list are a few over- the-counter drugs like Pepto Bismol and Aleve.

  Typhoid again (pills this time), Cipro just in case, Doxy for malaria, a combination of Mircette and a new brand that my doc had free smaples of… and the usual over the counter stuff.