It's in the Bag!

I'm literally sitting here wondering what to do next. We have one more load of laundry to do before we can do our "final" packing. I say that in quotes because I'm pretty sure that we'll need to take some stuff out. I just read an article about "What to pack" for an extended trip (thanks Dag!) and well I think we've over packed. Yikes! I'm actually a pretty light packer (for a girl) but I still have no idea how to pack for a trip like this. What I've learned so far is you can pretty much live with the clothes on your back with a few necessities and buy the rest on the way. But honestly that freaks me out!!

Anyway, I've got it down to 3 pairs of khakis (capris so they're kinda cute too!), 3 sundresses (casual but I could wear out), a few tanks/t-shirts, some shorts, a sweater, 1 pair of jeans, 3 pairs of shoes (including running because I do plan on working out!), bathing suit, and my toiletries. Seriously our toiletries and meds take up the most room!

We did a bit of research on the type of luggage to buy. We basically decided that we wanted a suitcase with wheels but could also be used as a backpack if needed. We've heard that's the best way to go since you can't always wheel luggage. We ended up going with the Eagle Creek Switchback 25. There are other brands that are pretty good too like Osprey, Northface, and Swiss Army Victorinox but we just liked the Eagle Creek better. We also went back and forth on finding a bag that we didn't have to check in but honestly I just don't think we could have gone smaller. We'll see how it goes during the trip....

Another great find was this LL Bean toiletry bag that Darsh found (we got the medium size). It's pretty cheap and extremely functional with tons of compartments. I'm seriously amazed at all the stuff I can fit in here....much better than my "fancy" makeup bags....although those are fun in a different way! :)

My favorite stores for the trip were:

• REI - We bought a ton of stuff here like mosquito repellent (with DEET), toiletry containers, quick-dry towels, compression bags (for our dirty clothes), luggage tags, locks, and probably a ton of other stuff....
• Luggage Pros - We bought our luggage here on sale for $25o instead of $330!
• Distant Lands - I LOVE this place! They are located in Pasadena for you CA peeps but they also have a great online store. Seriously they have the most knowledgeable staff. We spent over an hour here talking about bags, our trip, what we needed etc.

That's it for now. Off to do laundry so I can do my "final" packing!!

OMG!!!!

Wow! I can't believe we leave in less than a week! I feel like we have it together but yet still so much to do. People have been asking me how you plan for a trip like this. Honestly I still don't have the perfect answer. I know most people that do extended trips like this do things kinda on the fly....booking hotels when you get there or a couple days ahead. Honestly I'm trying to do that....but I think that stresses me out even more!!!! As much as I'd like to say I'm totally spontaneous and carefree, I plan everything. I think it's a curse!

That said, I've pretty much booked hotels for most of Asia. We're moving around a lot in Asia so I didn't want to have to deal with finding accommodations at the last second. I've also heard that places get booked in Europe because everyone vacations there during the summer so I've booked a few of the bigger cities as well. All in all I'm trying to have some structure with the trip but not too much structure....if that makes any sense....

After the trip I'll definitely share what worked and what didn't but for most of my planning thus far this is what I used:

• Lonely Planet - These are my favorite travel guides. I just feel like they give a wider range of options than Fodor's or Frommer's. I've also used the Eyewitness Travel Guides in the past.
• TripAdvisor - Seriously this is my new best friend!
• Expedia - They've got some really great deals
• STA Travel - Ashley in the Westwood office is the bomb!
• Hostel World

There are a ton of sites that you can use and I'll probably come across others along the way. Seriously I don't know how people did this pre-internet days....