My favorite things: North Face Napali 50 backpack

Most travelers I know galavant around the world using a backpack.  I’ve met a few that prefer using a suitcase, but I personally think that is nuts and ridiculously inconvenient.  Also, using a suitcase in places like Egypt can just be one big hassle.  You don’t want to end up chasing your tampon case around a baggage carousel like my friend did, do you?

Before going to Egypt, I invested in a medium-sized backpack that I’ve used many times since.  I went for the North Face Napali 50, and it’s one tough mother*&^$%# that hasn’t let me down.  It’s the same size as a carry-on roller suitcase, so if you want to carry it on your flight, you’re golden.  Also, it doesn’t have 25 pockets for you to forget where you put, say, that tampon case.  It only has 2 internal pockets (one regular pocket, and one good for holding your passport and a few documents) and 2 outer stretchy pockets good for holding water bottles and whatnot.  

But the most awesome thing about it is the access - it has a roll-down top, full zippered access around the bottom, and a zippered side panel that all give access to the main compartment.  You can easily find your junk no matter where you crammed it.  

It has a few other nifty features - an internal sleeve for a hydration bladder, a mesh compression panel that neatly stows away on the front of the pack, and a nicely padded hip belt complete with 2 mesh zipper pockets.

Amazon doesn’t currently carry this backpack, but Backcountry.com does, and it’s on sale! Check it out here.

If you are an Amazon whore, though (I certainly am), they have a number of similar backpacks available for women...

           

...and for men.  Ok, these are a little smaller, but men don't usually pack as much crap as women, anyway.

           

If you don’t have a backpack like this, it’s about time you invested in one.  I’ve used it for traveling, camping, and even on weekend trips in place of my usual carry-on suitcase.  Do it!

Why you should never take a suitcase to Egypt

Two friends and I took off to Egypt back in 2010 for a quick 10-day trip, and all three of us managed to pack light enough to go carry-on only.  Lynette and Steve had standard carry-on suitcases, and I had a backpack the size of a carry-on suitcase.

I chose to take a backpack solely because I simply prefer the ease of carrying it hands-free when roaming from place to place in a foreign country.  But I realized it had other advantages as soon as we stepped foot outside the Cairo airport.

We were visiting friends that live in Cairo, and they had sent a driver to pick us up. As the driver pulled up to the curb, a hawker appeared out of thin air, grabbed both Lynette’s and Steve’s suitcases in a flash, and had them tucked inside the van with his hand out to demand baksheesh before any of us could blink.  I mean, the driver had barely stepped foot outside the van before the “helper” had accomplished all this.  

But with my backpack securely on my shoulders and fastened and clipped in all manner of places around my middle, this guy wasn’t going to get my backpack into the van unless he picked me up with it.  And considering I probably outweighed this man by a good 20-30 pounds, he surely knew he wasn’t going to be able to pull a fast one on me (and my luggage).  

After a few days in Cairo catching up with our friends, the three of us took a flight to Aswan in the southern part of the country.  We checked in at the domestic terminal in Cairo, again, all of us going carry-on only.  But as we started walking away from the ticketing desk, the airline agent suddenly called us back.  He had decided that Steve and Lynette had to check their suitcases.  Despite protests and serious flaws in his logic as to why they had to all of a sudden be checked, Lynette and Steve had no choice but to check their bags.  

The agent never even so much as glanced at the pack on my back.

Dude, where's my suitcase?

Thankfully, the suitcases were on the luggage belt when we arrived in Aswan.  But so were Lynette’s toiletries... and car keys... and other random items that had fallen out because someone had opened her suitcase and didn’t properly close it.  Nothing was missing - much to her relief, of course - but that was simply yet another reason that I was glad to have a backpack instead of a roller bag.  

And outside the Aswan airport, yet another hawker hustled over to place the suitcases in the trunk of our taxi.  And once again, my backpack stayed securely strapped to my body.  

So you’re going to Egypt?  Go backpack.

Screw checking a bag

There aren’t many things in life I truly hate.  They pretty much boil down to spiders, shopping for yogurt in Alabama, and checking a bag on an airplane.  I will over-analyze my packing strategy for days and send my blood pressure up to epic levels in order to keep from having to check a bag.  I’ve traveled for weeks at a time with nothing but a carry-on sized suitcase or backpack and a purse. Carrying a bunch of crap around is so, so, SO overrated.  

Now, given the fact that I’m a girl and I’m rather partial to things like funky shoes, jewelry, and my hair dryer, my packing list is probably a bit more involved than most dudes’ packing lists.  But I still manage to fit all I need into the overhead bin and under the seat in front of me.  Here’s my basic list for any trip:

Clothing 

• 3 outfits for regular daily wear.  That’s it.  Three shirts and three pairs of pants or shorts/skirts/kilts/whatever is plenty.  Trust me.

Shoes 

• 2-3 pairs.  And 3 pairs is pushing it. I have huge feet, and my shoes take up a lot of room.

Outerwear

• 1 rain jacket.  If you don’t bring this, you know it will rain - a lot.  Even if you’re going to the Atacama Desert, it will rain.
• One sweatshirt/long-sleeve t-shirt/coat/parka

Accessories 

• 1 scarf.  It will dress up your dirty hiking pants in a pinch.  Seriously.  Also, it can keep your neck warm.  Who knew?
• 1-2 pairs of cheap earrings.  I lose single earrings at the rate that most dryers eat single socks.  If I lose cheap jewelry, I won’t throw an epic fit.
• 1-2 cheap necklaces.  I don’t lose necklaces nearly as easily as earrings, but I still don’t want to lose or break something valuable.  If I leave my $6 necklace from Forever 21 in a hostel bathroom, I’ll be ok.

Other

• Laundry detergent, and plenty of it.  It takes up much less room than another pair of jeans.  Also, even if you’re going somewhere for just a couple of days, it will come in handy when you spill something on your clothes.  Because if you don’t pack the detergent, you know this will totally happen.
• A swimsuit.  You never know when you’ll come across a hot tub. 
• My funky sunscreen - because I’m white (I recommend wearing sunglasses if you look directly at me) and I’m allergic to most over-the-counter sunscreens.  Let me tell you, that combination is a whole barrel of fun.

That’s it.  Of course, filling out the rest of the list depends on the destination and the climate.  But the list above is where I start, and I stick to it.  No matter where I’m going - a quick weekend trip or a multi-week backpacking trip across another continent - using this basic list keeps me from having to pay stupid airline baggage fees, worrying about whether or not my bags will actually make it to my destination, and waiting for my bags for ages at baggage claim.  

If you want to go pseudo-minimalist on your next trip, I hope the information above is helpful.  Happy packing!

A stamp-happy country

India is all about some stamps.  Not the postage variety, not tramp stamps, but ink-on-paper stamps.  Apparently, it makes everything legitimate.  And for some odd reason, this completely fascinates me.  The best example I have of this is my domestic flight experience this past weekend where we flew from Delhi to Aurangabad.  I'll compare the domestic US flight experience with the domestic India flight experience:

1.  Online check-in

• US:  Got your boarding pass already?  Great - go straight to security so fewer people have to deal with you.
• India:  Got your boarding pass already?  *Golf clap*  You still have to come to the ticket counter because we have to stamp it.  If we don't stamp it, it's not a real boarding pass.

2.  Security checkpoint and carry-on items

• US:  Take your shoes off or we'll whisk you aside and strip search you.  Take your 3-oz liquids out of your luggage because we enjoy watching you get pissed off.  And now that we've looked at your luggage and a grainy image of your body, put your clothes back on and get out of our way.
• India:  We don't care to look carefully at your shoes or your bag of liquids.  Shoot, you can keep your giant bottle of water for all we care.  BUT - you have to put these paper tags on each piece of carry on luggage, and we have to stamp them when they come out of the x-ray machine.  If you don't have the tag with a stamp, you might be a terrorist.

3.  Boarding at the gate

• US:  You have a boarding pass with the right flight number?  Good.  Get out of my way and go sit in your seat.  And don't you dare put your jacket in the overhead bin.
•  India:  You have a boarding pass with the right flight number?  Ok, that's a start.  Wait - is it stamped...?  Oh, there it is, ok.  Now give me your ID - ok, the names match.  Let me check that boarding pass stamp one more time - ok, it's still there.  Now show me your luggage tags - do they have the Security Stamp of Approval?  Good.  But you still need another stamp.  Go over to this table so these nice people can halfheartedly hand-search your carry-ons and put yet another stamp on the luggage tags.  Great.  You may now wander all over the tarmac in the general direction of that plane over there.  Once you are done with your tour of the tarmac, please proceed to the bottom of the staircase leading up to the door of the plane so that yet one more person can check your boarding pass to make sure it's stamped.  You may now get on the plane and find your seat.

4.  Stopping at another city enroute to final destination (i.e., a direct flight, but not a non-stop flight)

• US:  Whatever.  Just stay on the plane and don't bother us.  Get up, go to the stinky pantry-sized bathroom, do anything you like except exit the aircraft.
• India:  You must wait for everyone getting off at this city to deplane.  Now you must stay in the general area of your seat until you confirm which carry-on items are yours because we have to put an "In Transit" sticker on each item.  No, you cannot use the bathroom until you have the official "In Transit" stickers on all your items.  Do not pass go.  Do not collect 200 rupees.  WAIT FOR THE STICKER GUY.

5.  Deplaning at destination

• US:  Whatever.  Just get out of here.
• India:  Wait!  You are not allowed off the aircraft until we check your boarding pass - again - and make sure that you have the appropriate stamp on it - again.  Ok, you're good to go.  You may exit the aircraft now.  

By the time we landed, I was in possession of one boarding pass stamp, 2 carry-on luggage security stamps (really, 4 stamps since I had 2 small bags), and one in-transit sticker. My boarding pass was checked 6 times.  I am SO legit!