As many of you know, in March 2019, I set off for a year long solo trip through South East Asia. My bag and my items have become my steady companions. They are my home and my comfort. I take good care of them, and use packing cubes to keep things organized and pack with care. I always kept my home very tidy, and I like to do the same with my bag. It’s a life-changing experience to live out of one bag for so long, especially coming from a culture where consumption is the rule. I love the concept that you can really carry everything you need right on your back. It’s truly freeing!
The backpack I use is the Osprey Porter 46, and I absolutely love it. I’ve had it for 7 years and have used it for all my longterm and short term trips since I bought it. For my day bag, I am using this that I got off Amazon. I really like the looks and it is quite sturdy, but I do wish it was a little bigger. I use this cross-body bag as my purse, but please see my blog post of How My Purse Was Stolen in Cambodia as I still am not totally sure about this bag in terms of safety.
I spent a long time working on my packing list. And now that I’ve been traveling for 5 months, I can honestly say I did a damn good job. I’ve used every single thing I brought multiple times, and I haven’t needed to buy anything (except restock) since I began traveling. I have gone on a few shorter trips in previous years (2 weeks – 3 months long), so I had some good experience with packing that helped me figure out what a year would look like. Actually, I pack nearly the same for a 3 week trip as I do for a 1 year long trip, but basically just add some more meds!
You can access the full list below through pdf download. Some of these items I would consider luxury, and not a complete necessity, so I have added a * to those items. Let me know if you have any thoughts or questions. And happy packing!
In Ubud, Bali, getting ready to go to the airport in Denpasar. Not pictured: my cross body bag