Packing for a Month in East and Central Asia

Season: Spring, April - May

Temperatures: Ranged from 0 to high 20s degree celsius

For this trip, I was carrying more as I travelled with both my laptop and my mirrorless camera. It definitely added to the weight but was well worth it. I also felt safe and comfortable bringing my camera around in the countries that I visited. I also required quite a bit of winter clothing given that we were visiting Mongolia in Spring, where temperatures could go to sub zero with snow. In contrast, the temperatures in Beijing and Kazakhstan also reached the high 20s.

Everything I carried with me!

Bags

·       1 x 24 inch luggage

·       1 x 26L backpack

·       1 x Uniqlo pouch

·       Stuffable bags: Duffel, decathlon foldable 20 Lbackpack, 15L osprey waterbag

This bag combination was chosen keeping in mind that I wanted to bring tech with me, including my laptop and camera for this trip. I wanted my main luggage to be large enough if I wanted to shift some tech in for storage and safekeeping when I did shorter day trips, which a smaller luggage would not have allowed for.

I decided to bring a suitcase instead of a backpack given the typical style of travel in China - local tourists typically use luggages and you do not see many backpacks around - I decided to follow suit so as not to stick out. In general, I had no issue moving around with a luggage. Other than perhaps having to carry my luggage up flights of stairs from the train station in China, but this was more easily resolved by staying in accommodation near the airport express. I was also able to leave my luggage at hotels and take a smaller bag out for the 2 day trips.

Continue to review whether I need both the foldable backpack + the waterbag. For most trips I carry the waterbag out, and I did not end up using the foldable backpack for the duration of the trip. But the backpack could come in handy if needed for longer day trips that require a lot of walking or hiking as the waterbag tends to put the weight all on one side.  + it may be hard to find such foldable backpacks while travelling overseas (was unable to find one when in China and asked a friend to bring it up during the Mongolia leg)

Regular clothing

·       4 x tops: 3 x drifit / breathable short sleeve shirts, 1 x Uniqlo ¾ sleeve shirt

·       5 x pants: 2 x Uniqlo jeggings, 1 x zip off hiking pants, 1 x tights, 1 x decathlon slacks (spare, can double up for sleeping)

·       2 sets of PJs: 2 cotton shirts (can double up to be worn outside), 1 x cotton pants, 1 x exercise shorts

·       8 x pairs of socks: 1 x merino wool hiking socks, 2 x decathlon wool socks, 3 x short ankle socks, 2 x long socks for normal travel

·       3 x regular bra and 2 x sports bra

·       12 x underwear

·       1 x gortex waterproof outer

·       1 x fleece jacket

·       1 x buff

Cold weather clothing

·       2 long sleeve shirts (1 normal and 1 fleece)

·       2 regular merino wool base layer tops

·       1 thicker merino wool base layer top (used for as a sleeping layer)

·       2 regular merino wool base layer bottom —> in future cases would bring an extra (maybe Uniqlo heattech) for sleeping

·       1 down jacket

·       1 thick pair of Peter Storm hiking pants

·       1 x thick pair of wool socks for sleeping

·       Beanie

·       Gloves

·       Scarf

Shoes

·       1 x hiking boots

·       1 x decathlon sandals

Necessities

·       Toiletry bag: Bar bath soap, shampoo, toothbrush, toothpaste, face wash, moisturiser, sunblock, mosquito repellant, nail clippers, extra hair ties, comb, eyebrow pencil

·       Content lenses

·       Medication: Fever meds, cough meds, stomach meds

·       Period items: Menstrual cup, pads, tampons

·       Food stash: 6 x energy bars

Valuables

·      2 x folders with passport copy and insurance details

·      2 x air tag

·       Wallet

·       Phone

·       2 x portable charger

·       Wires bag

·       Laptop with charger

·       Gopro + mini tripod (for astro shots)

·       Mirrorless camera + extra battery and SD card

·       Journal + 2 pens

·       Kobo reader

Misc

·       1 x swimming costume

·       1 x cap

·       2 x sunglasses (although I kept using only the scratched up decath one, the spare did get shared with someone else for one of our reels haha)

·       1 x decathlon towel

Misc 2

·       1 x thermoflask (doubled up as water bottle)

·       1 x headlamp + extra batteries

·       1 x watch (not used lol)

·       1 x umbrella (not used in this trip, but may have needed in Almaty if I went out on certain days)

·       1 x thermoflask

·       2 x spare lock

·       2 x carabiner

·       Water purification tablets - Aquatabs (have not had to use on my trips but since I have it I carry as a backup)

·       Inflatable neck pillow from decathlon

·       Eyemask + earplugs

·       5 x laundry detergent sheets (not used on this trip, powder was generally provided with the machinese used in hotels and hostels, and we bought a pack of powder in Mongolia for use in the airbnbs)

·       Extra plastic bags and ziplog bags

Post Trip Review

Extra useful items: Thermoflask!! for cold nights

Learnings:

• Always bring a thermometer

• Have some drowsy medicines in your stash (I previously left out all drowsy medicines as I assumed I would generally need to be alert while solo travelling, but realise having drowsy medication can help with getting much needed rest).

• Bring MORE of each medication: on this trip, I very quickly ran out of paracetamol, lozenges and cough suppressants. My packing mindset was to bring enough to tide me over to get to the next pharmacy, but once you fall sick you run through medication very quickly and it can be challenging to go to pharmacies and find the same types of medication in other regions given language and brand differences (although still possible). So to make life easier, just bring more medications than just one sleeve of each.

• Always carry some pipagao satchets (and for me some milo 3 in 1 satchets)