I've come across a number of people in my day who've expressed their deep and utter hatred for the packing process. "Ugh, I have to PACK!" they say, as if they're facing the impending doom of pain and frustration. I've never been in this camp. Generally packing takes me somewhere around 20 minutes, and I've got it down to a process that's both neat and organized so I finish with a suitcase that's tidy and easy to manage for the duration of my trip.
Today, however, I experienced packer's hell.
Consider for a minute the details of my trip...
| The Mission | A three-month round-the-world trip |
| The Destinations | Detroit, Zurich, Geneva, Budapest, Istanbul, Antalya, Cappadoccia, Ankara, Rangoon, Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Krabi, Detroit |
| The Activity Set | Snowboarding in the French and Swiss Alps Salsa dancing and restaurant hopping in Istanbul Spelunking in the caves of Cappadoccia Professional networking in Rangoon Gem sourcing in Bangkok Rock Climbing in Chiang Mai and Krabi |
| The Expected Climates | Sub-freezing snow-encrusted mountains Temperate Mediterranean coastline Moist, underground caves in wintry mountain ranges Hot, humid rainforest Sunny, summer beach |
| The Clutch | It's all gotta fit in one "airline check-able" bag that weighs less than 18 kgs, and I've gotta be able to carry it when I travel otherwise. |
Oh joy!
I made piles. Lots and lots of piles:
- What do I need to snowboard? Snowboard, boarding boots, snow pants, ski jacket, fleece, under-layer, hat, gloves, scarf, goggles... Now, what can I eliminate? err... I guess I'll rent the board and boots.
- What do I need to climb? Rope, harness, climbing shoes, draws, climbing pants, approach shoes, sunblock, hat, tank... Now, what can I eliminate? Maybe I can make my climbing pants also be my non-climbing pants. Oooh... that'll be a fashion statement.
- How about exploring Istanbul? Salsa dance shoes, sexy mama dress... Never mind. My vanity isn't worth the weight.
- What about professional networking in Rangoon? Nice, airy, shoulder-covering clothes that don't wrinkle after being in a bag for a month and a half. Yeah... those exist.
How is it that none of these activities have gear that cross-pollinates?! Oh wait! I need my camera for all of it.
I ended up with a bag. But it's big. Too big. It weighs the full 18 kg-limit, and although I can walk with it on my back, it hurts after two minutes. This isn't going to work.
The Plan: Get myself to Zurich, and through the snowboarding portion of my world extravaganza. Then pause, repack, and ship half my crap home.
4 comments:
Might email you for some packing tips! Oh, I like the table by the way ... how very b-school of you ;)
The "spreadsheet" table, I mean.
Miss you Steph! Waiting for more pics. Just took my first surf lesson yesterday in Salulita, MX and thought of you. You would live it!
Awesome! I like the climbing = non-climbing pants idea, especially. When you return you can start a sustainably sourced, fair-trade, fair-labor company that designs super cute outfits that cover the shoulders but can snap off into a sexy mama dress or be transformed into climbing pants, but don't wrinkle after 2 months in a backpack... Have fun!!!
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