Packing

Oh I used to be such a good packer!!! It was so easy, back in the day. Then I started cruising, or worse, started travelling to diverse locations -- some hot, some cold, some rainy; all on the same trip. And of course when I go back to Pamplona I have to look nice, so there's a problem right there!

This India trip is different. First of all, it is going to be hot hot hot, so I don't need a bunch of stuff for cold weather. And Indians are so colorful, everything goes with everything! And clothes are so cheap there, I can buy whatever I want. Therefore, I have packed 3 bottoms and 5 tops. Amazing! Still, there is the huge problem of the electronics.

Charger for the phone, charger for the iPod Touch, charger for the camera. Plugs for the chargers, and converters. Cable to attach the Touch to a computer. Plug that fits the airplane seat in case it has two holes instead of one for my headset.

There are no fewer than six books loaded onto my Touch. I LOVE it!! I don't need to turn on a light in order to read, and I don't need to carry a ton of books. What a great little toy! My headphones have a microphone, and I've downloaded Skype, so I can use it to call people even tho it's not an iPhone. Genius. Worse - I can buy episodes of the shows I am addicted to for only $1.99, so I won't miss anything. That is pathetic, I know.

So, back to packing: we have decided to travel with backpacks, on the advice of many friends who have travelled in India. Even though I have so few clothes, I have so much other crap that the pack weighs 20 lbs and has very little room for purchases! All soft items are in oversized ziplock baggies with all the air squeezed out, and I'm only bringing two pairs of shoes, so I need to see if there's anything I can jettison. A lot of hard stuff like hand sanitizer, sunscreen, bug spray, and aforementioned electronics -- they take up a lot of room! Yes, of course I know I can buy all that over there, but then I'd still need to have space to pack it when we move from town to town.

Wish me luck. What a fabulous adventure ahead!