Leading up to this adventure of mine the most difficult decisions involved what to bring. Having oodles of friends who have backpacked before I got tons of advice before hand. However, just as every person on this Earth is unique, everyone has a different packing style. It's always intriguing to see what fellow travellers deem important enough to take up what precious space we have.
Luxury items are one things I don't understand why people pack. Mostly the female population is guilty of this as I'm talking about blow dryers, hair-straighteners, and make-up. Here these girls are, staying at some of the cheapest accomodation, eating the cheapest food, and yet they still feel the need to put on this facade of wealth and beauty. Why? I don't get it. I am a tad guilty of this as I have eye liner and mascara but those items are so small they take up minimal space in my bag. I've seen some large make-up bags and I just can't help but think how much space they take up. Plus almost every guy I've ever talked to prefers the natural look, why not give it a try?
On the same subject, I have seen so many fancy/club clothes. When I packed, it never even occured to me that I might need clothes for a night on the town. I have acquired some 'fancy' clothes, but I kid you not I have gone out wearing Lulu Lemon pants, a sports bra, and a bunnyhug and still had a phenominal time. I'm all for practicality, I'll wear those clothes everywhere, whereas a dress wouldn't do me much good while camping.
I've also seen travellers as minimalist as possible. I have met people who have sold everything they have except for what they can fit into their single backpack. I like to think that I could do that, but that little voice in my head says 'Pff who are you kidding'.
The worst are the 'just in case' items I have/bought. I burnt once while I was in Panama, went out and bought some aloe vera gel and haven't burnt since. I would get rid of it but, knowing my luck, I would burn again. This sort of applies to my First-Aid kit as well. It has come in handy more than once but I could have also just gone to the store and bought the things I needed. The endless debate of keep or ditch.
Personally, I know I have too much stuff. I somehow acquired 4 bags, something that got pointed out to me in Surfer's Paradise. Now, 1 of these bags is my food bag and if I didn't have that I would be golden. What these people didn't realize was that if I really wanted to I could have packed everything except my food into 1 bag. The only thing is that would take a series amount of Tetrising that I just don't want to do every 3 or 4 days. I'm of the mind that if I cannot carry all my belongings by myself, then I don't need it. Needless to say, I've gotten some pretty entertaining looks from shuttle drivers when I tell them I don't need a hand with my things.
It's also interesting to see how people pack. I've noticed the roll and stuff wherever there's space is quite common. I tried that in Bocas and the 2 weeks I did it drove me insane. That's probably due more to the fact that I'm an anally organized person and having things shoved haphazardly into my bag just didn't cut it for me. In come my Aunt and Uncle to the rescue with Packing Cubes they purchased in Miami. I'd been told by a friend that they are a game changer and that my friends is an understatement. There was a room full of people drooling over how clean and organized my bag looked in Townsville. Never again will I travel without these magic cubes, it's like having a dresser inside my backpack. The things that make backpackers happy :P.a
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