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Gadgets You Backpack Around the World With?
ryrw writes "I'm planning to spend a year backpacking around the world and the hardest question I have to answer is: What technology do I take with me? Aside from the obvious (digital camera, ipod, et. al.) what technological devices would you you take? Specifically, I wonder if I should bring my nice and shiny MacBook Pro. I can think of lots of uses for it (offloading pix, updating weblog, email, etc.), but I'm worried it will be lost or stolen along the way. Does anyone have experience with travel while toting technology?"
Taking a notebook entirely depends on where you are travelling to. If you are travelling in the Europe, US or Australia, then you can happily chug your notebook with you. On the other hand, if you are travelling to Asia, it would depend entirely on your destination. The same goes for parts of Africa and South America.
:)
Now, you mentioned backpacking - so I am assuming that you do not particularly plan on staying at a hotel. A lot of backpackers stay in hostels, the Y and so on. If the latter is the case, you cannot leave your stuff in the hotel-room and go look around. So, carrying a notebook becomes a liability that needs to be taken care of constantly.
As someone who's travelled a lot, I usually do not carry my laptop around if I am backpacking across the world. Most parts of the world have Internet-cafes or similar places where you can check your mail, offload your pictures etc. And lugging that extra weight (light as it may be) is still a pain. What happens if you get caught in the rain, or if you decide to get drunk in a totally random place? You can't always be worried about your backpack and doing so is likely to give a big hint to folks that there is something worth stealing in your backpack.
Secondly, you will also need to get power adapters for various locations (Europe uses a different plug design and have different voltage/frequency setting than the US, and parts of Asia are a mixed bunch - in some countries, the plug is different but the voltage is the same as US or Europe and vice versa).
If you really feel the urge to be in touch, get a PDA with wireless features and carry that around. If you can check your email from a wireless access point, then your PDA would work as well as your shiny MacBook. And you can also ensure that it's always on you all the time.
The other accessory that I would take would be a nice, cheap, light tripod - look at some of the cheap, ultralight Amvona ones on eBay. They are very light and are totally worth it. And oh, carry a flashlight and a Swiss army knife. Both always come in useful. Also, get a good travel watch - I do a lot of outdoor stuff and I have a good Casio Pathfinder. It is absolutely worth it - it has a digital compass, a thermometer, a barometer, an altimeter and a slew of other features. Granted, you may not always use every feature, but at some point of time or the other, you will use at least one of the features. I have the PAG70-1V, and absolutely love it.
And finally, a good, light backpack (preferably one with a camelbag that's always got at least some water in it), good cargo-pants, good shoes and a light jacket go a long way towards making your life less miserable. Goodluck!
You dont really know when you will be surrounded by stone age natives planning to include you in their dinner plans. I have it in high authority that if you could show you control fire, they might mistake you for God. Since you are not bound by the prohibition against "impersonating a deity" unlike the protocol droids of the C3 series .... Dont leave home without a cigarette lighter.
sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
nobody gives a fuck about Apple outside the US...
You won't come home with it. Someone will stab you in the head and take it.
Typical PC user. Always contradicting themselves.
I tease.
Dude. Decaff. Seriously.
Having travelled extensively, including around-the-world, with technology. My best piece of advice is to purchase at least one Pacsafe mesh bag and ALWAYS use it when storing your gear in your room. Lock it to something that cannot be removed from the room.
In all my travels the only thing I had stolen was one of those small space pens that can write upside down. Given that it was stolen from my bag in a locked room, I'm certain that if I hadn't had Pacsafe I would have been missing MUCH more...
WH
Do yourself a favor and leave the electronics at home. What an opportunity this will be! You'll be in interesting places, meeting new people ... why filter the experience through an assortment of electronic nonsense. You'll have plenty of time to carry that crap around during your entire career when you get home.
This might be your last opportunity to live relatively low-tech. Embrace it.
Make sure you pack a towel. (and GPS!)
I'm leaving for the Bahamas in 18 hours or so, and I'm taking my iPod for one reason - digital photo backup. I have a little widget that plugs into my iPod Photo and my Canon 20D and sucks the pictures out. I can then erase the flash card, and keep going. I stored 5000 pics on it while in Scotland. It was great! No laptop required.
Tiller's Rule: Never use a word in written form that you've only heard and never read. You will end up looking foolish.
I say if you're gonna be packing everything with you on your back everywhere, you've got to keep light. I read that even mp3 players are a bad idea, because every ounce (or kilohectare, for you metric lovers) counts when you're going any real distance with a pack on your back. I combine the mp3 player with the phone (but it doesn't do me any good, because my wife wants me to leave the phone at home with her).
I went on a 15-mile hike with the Scouts a few weeks ago, and I felt every pound I had on me. One of the leaders even told about how he dumps excess water if he knows there's a stream a mile ahead.
So I guess it's up to you. If you feel like you can take it, go on a 15-mile hike with everything you think you want to take. After 15 miles, you'll know what is worth hauling around and what's worth leaving. That's what worked for me. After that 15 miler I got a different pack, changed what I ate, changed how much water I carried (and how I carried it), and bought some new boots.
Test-drive your pack. It's worth it!
I cried real tears when Li Mu Bai died.
I am posting this from Val's Hostel in Dangriga, Belize using my Nokia 770.
It's a pocket-sized "Internet Tablet" - WiFi and bluetooth with what I believe is the best screen on any pocket computer available.
As well as reading Slashdot I use it for viewing and uploading photos from my bluetooth cam-phone, playing Freeciv, reading ebooks, VoIP...
If you're going off the beaten track the meamo-mapper program will interface with a BT GPS and show you where you are.
The newer N800 has a camera and FM radio built in.
Carrying a laptop when backpacking is a major headache but my 770 does most of what a laptop would and lives in a pouch on my belt.
Take half the clothes and twice the money. (I have tried this and it really works)
Oh you were wondering about gadgets. I haven't seen anyone mention packing a decked out SWISS ARMY KNIFE --- that can save your life. As for myself, I have one with a little magnifying glass, the logic being that if my plane crashes and I end up on a desert island I can start a fire. Yea, I'm that geeky, never mind the fact that planes NEVER safely land on deserted islands in the middle of the pacific. ::sigh:: a man can dream...
Also be sure to bring a pack of IMMODIUM, now this WILL save your life, or at least prevent your insides from completely liquefying after you sample that oh-so delicious looking street food (you know, those little bbqed mystery meats ALWAYS look sooooo good until you try to digest them)
Also make a photocopy of your passport and keep it in a hidden place,that can save your ass.
Now, I'm Canadian eh, so I'm one of those patriotic freaks who sews a Canadian flag on my pack, I'm sure it will come in handy one of these days because hey, everyone loves Canadians! So far it has only worked to strike up conversations with cute random women while stranded in the international terminal :)
Also bring extra memory and batteries for your cam, and don't be one of those dorks who brings the telescoping lens and then regrets it later after they have been trekking around ruins in the jungle in 100% humidity. Trust me, if you want a good photo, buy one. There is nothing sillier than visiting to some ancient monument trying to savor the moment and seeing 100 people all setting up their tri-pods because they figure THEY are better photographers than the pros. I guess I just don't get it.
Final advice, don't wear a watch or flashy jewelry; you wouldn't want to entice a pickpocket would you?
Well I guess that about covers everything, and don't forget to buy travel insurance!
Pack what you think you'll need, and then leave 1/2 of it at home. No one ever gets on the road and wishes they brought /more/ stuff with them.
Forget the laptop. On my first extended backpacking trip through Western Europe, I took a laptop with me and shipped it home within two weeks. It wasn't worth the hassle.
Doing laundry on the road is expensive and can be a major hassle. Get used to being dirtier than you are at home.
A sleeping bag isn't as important as I thought it was going to be, but I was still glad I carried it. Most hostels provide (or require you to use their) linens.
A small shoulder bag or backpack is a good idea. Something to carry your camera, lunch, book, etc. while you're out and about during the day.
Don't pack a year's worth of supplies. Take sample-sized products (shampoo, soap, etc.) with you to start out, and then replace what you need as you go.
Buy the largest travel towel you can find. They're the ones which feel like thick felt, absorb crazy amounts of water, and dry out super fast. One of the best investments I ever made.
Take a padlock with you. Most places that provide lockers expect you to bring your own lock. A combination lock is better -- no key means one less thing you have to no lose.
Everyone has different ideas about security based on their own experiences. I happen to think the fancy cable/mesh things you can wrap around your backpack aren't worthwhile. They just make it look like you've got something worth stealing. A simple combination luggage lock on your backpack's main zipper compartment should be all you need. Of course, do whatever makes you comfortable.
Don't be the American guy who dresses up like Ranger Rick to walk around foreign cities. Having said that, I usually preferred to travel with only 1 pair of shoes so they have to be versatile. I usually wear my light Timberland walking boots. Sometimes I'll take my Vans with me too. I also carry flip-flops 'cause I have a thing about the floors of public showers.
A small flashlight for digging through your bag while everyone else in the room is sleeping. A cheap watch. A pocketknife. A few books. Don't worry about running out of books to read - books are a commodity and other travelers will always trade with you. Many hostels have a take one/leave one bookshelf.
The biggest piece of advice I can give you is something that took me a long time to learn. Forget about trying to take fancy pictures of every architectural marvel, work of art, and scenic panorama you find. Take some of those, sure, but what you'll want when it's all over is pictures of the people you met and spent time with. Trust me. I have thousands of pictures public sculptures, beautiful buildings, cityscapes, mountain ranges, etc. None of them are half as interesting as the group shot of everyone crowded onto the bed in the dirty hostel in Rome, or the girl who cooked you a birthday dinner in Seville, or the guys you played soccer with that one afternoon in Taxco. For some reason, it wasn't intuitive to me that the really good memories revolve around interesting people, not interesting things.
There's a thousand tips that people can and will give, but most of them you'll have to learn on your own. Have fun!
I have found there are just two ways to go.
It all comes down to livin' fast or dyin' slow. -REK, Jr.
Clearly this guy is doing something completely alien to what I do when I backpack.
From what he said, it sounds like he'll be "backpacking" like "backpacking around Europe." That is, rather than taking a suitcase, the backpack will be the suitcase. Everything you need for the trip in there. You seem to be thinking of backpack-camping. That is where your backpack is your only thing. All food and housing (as well as water or water purification) must be contained within. That doesn't seem to be what he is doing. I've done both, and you pack differently for each. And we took a videocamera and GPS with us on a 40 mile hike, though we traded them off for who carried what at any given time. Oh, and of course, the cell phone, even though it was only good for about 2 of the 40 miles. But you gotta call for the pickup at the end...
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