Kindness of Strangers

Last night, I had my first dream about the trip. I’m not sure what prompted it, but it didn’t seem to portend anything very good.  In the dream we are in Indonesia, and have somehow managed to find ourselves deep in the jungle, in the middle of a military coup. Needing to evacuate further into the tropical tangle of vines and creepy bugs, we are prodded to pack a prescribed list of clothing as quickly as possible. I am frantically trying to decide what to pack, and can’t seem to locate my backpack. With the soldiers fast approaching, clothes spilling from my arms, I yell at Maikael, “I knew we never should have come on this trip!”

I’m not sure if this dream reflects a fear of being trapped in the midst of a potentially volatile situation, or my impending anxiety about packing for this trip.

One of the most common question we hear regarding the planning process is, “What are you going to pack?” The simple answer is:  I have no clue.  Packing philosophies seem to differ vastly between travelers. Some people swear by jeans; others say they are the single worst item to pack. Some books encourage men to pack one pair of shorts, which will double as swimming trunks and walking shorts. Others say sandles are the only type of shoe you need, which I’m still trying to figure out. Everyone seems to be in agreement that you should never bring a hairdryer, but I’m bringing mine anyways. My grand compromise is that I’ll leave the straightening iron at home.

I’ve been looking to two of my favorite RTW travel sites for guidance. Susan and Grace at Thirteen Months have an entire section of their website dedicated to what they packed. I am fascinated by their specificity and love of the Ex-Officio brand. The Lost Girls’ packing list seems to fly in the face of conventional RTW packing wisdom, for they include such items as “dressy tanks,” dance tights, dresses, and 12 pair of underwear. They are from New York, though, and, as a consequence of their beefed up packing list, look very chic in most of their pictures. But the general consensus, even amongst The Lost Girls, is that less is more.

If the anxiety about what to pack wasn’t enough, figuring out what to pack it in is even worse. I have no doubt that the fact that I couldn’t locate my backpack in the dream is a deep manifestation of this fear. The big debate is: wheeled backpack or traditional backpack? You would think this would be an easy decision, but I’ve spent hours pondering the matter. Wheels are heavy and will inevitably suck as I slog through day three on the Milford Track. But most of our time will be spent away from hiking trails, in which case wheels are very convenient.  One must also consider issues of weight and carry-on requirements, which the airlines have recently clamped down on. Sometimes I feel as if I am living, breathing GRE logic problem.