So What Does One Pack for a Month in Southeast Asia?

Erik and I agreed we want to have maximum flexibility in our itinerary and we both want to be prepared to go off the beaten (tourist) path if this seems the right thing to do.  The solution?  Backpacking, of course.

I laid everything out last night on our dining room table.

Thats' my new Osprey backpack in the left back corner.  It features lightweight construction and a zipper detachable daypack for those times we may simply be doing a day or overnight trip; a very sensible feature!

A huge part of yesterday was spent in updating my iPhone with Mike's assistance for my new road warrior persona.  I now have an updated iTunes collection that includes my favorite Playlists; Skype; Google Translate (which is amazing!) and have tested my ability to blog post directly from my iPhone.

Perhaps most importantly, we downloaded Kindle for iPhone and I made my first selections: Frommer's Guide to Southeast Asia; Dennis Graver's Fourth Edition of "Scuba Diving" and a GoodReads-recommended book on the diversity that is modern Thailand from an insider's perspective, Rattawut Lapcharoensap's book "Sightseeing Stories."

This strategy should help offset the weight of my beloved Yankee, Men's Health and Vanity Fair Magazines I'm bringing for the gazillion hour air rides to NYC, Tokyo and finally, Bangkok, and allow me something to gift to Erik upon his arrival.  I'm suspecting he may be hunkering for some "homey news" of this variety?

I'm also bringing a stripped down version of Lonely Planet's "Southeast Asia on a shoestring" (now featuring Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, only) and Phra Peter Pannapadipo's "Phra Farang", the story of an Englishman who becomes a Thai Monk.

Aside from reading materials, the other items I deemed "mission critical" that one can see in the photo: mosquito netting for me and Erik, "just in case" (another gift I intend to present upon my arrival); lightweight rope; an assortment of plastic bags; a water container; earplugs; a prescription of Cippro (in case of digestive issues arising); handy Tide cleaners for use in the sink and laundromat; antibacterial hand soap; SPF 40 lip balm; DEET anti-mosquite spray; (2) tubes of 100 SPF sun lotion; tissue and Wet Ones; an assortment of Band-Aids; a travel notebook; earplugs for swimming; a pillbox; an assortment of plug adaptors; a lightweight frisbee; an LL Bean rain jacket and an inexpensive new wallet that will hold my passport, cash and a few credit cards.

Did I miss anything?  Oh yea!  My clothes are already packed in the backpack and feature a trendy new wardrobe of very light, "wicking" clothes mostly from REI.

In weight, I just checked, and this all adds up to roughly 30 pounds.  Not bad, eh?