Packing for a 3 month sojourn in Nusa Tenggara

So peeps, guess what's in the bag for my next backpacking trip to Indonesia?

All this:

A long time ago I worked out that you needed exactly the same amount of stuff for a one week trip as a 3 month trip, particularly when it comes to clothes. You've just got to wash them regularly, you know, like you do back home. It's hardly rocket science. And if you get bored with your clothes, just buy something new. Easy!!

Firstly, my bag for this trip will be a 30L Osprey backpack. This was what I used for a 3 week Javan adventure back in 2010 (when I didn't bring a laptop), and it's been my go to cabin bag for most of my other trips - the ones where I travel with real luggage, like ski gear. I love this pack for its lightness (780g), its comfort, and its size. It's just small enough to not be too uncomfortable squeezed between your legs on a long bus trip, and it's just big enough to accommodate my laptop in the water reservoir pocket for easy access through security checkpoints.

If you followed my 7kg challenge from 2014 you'll know that I ended up deciding to purchase and bring a 40L backpack on my 2 month trip through Java, because I was bringing camping gear and needed the extra room for gear and food. Since I won't be camping on this trip, and I've purchased some nifty new gadgets recently, I've managed to cut down on gear and weight, yet will be keeping most of the functionality.

So, no camping planned, but I'm bringing some basics that pack up small and give me some options should I get caught short. It goes without saying that I'm bringing a mosquito net because malaria is still present in the east. I'm also packing an emergency bivvy, a sleeping mat and a silk sleep sheet.

I don't go anywhere without a sleep sheet. It not only protects me from some dodgy mattresses and blankets, silk deters bedbugs (not been bitten yet), it's an extra layer to keep me warm and it can also be used as a sarong at a pinch. My old silk sleeping sheet expired, after 20 odd years of use and considerable attempts at repairing tears, then got repurposed as a dress.

The sleeping mat will double as a protective sheath for my laptop, so it won't be unused. Popped in to a lightweight dry sack, it's my version of a multifunction laptop bag.

No cooking gear on this trip, but I am going to bring my water bladder and Steripen, and try to avoid purchasing bottled water. Mainly to avoid the environmental consequences of all that plastic.

Hat. Never leave home without a hat. Old Australian saying, ignore at your peril! Works well in hot steamy Indonesia too. While I'm on headgear: an LED headtorch takes up little room, and doesn't drain your iPhone battery.

Laptop, Kindle, spare hard drive. Cables and cords and adaptors. I've rejigged my setup for travel to use more space on my laptop thus only requiring one hard drive for backups. That drops 250g immediately.

plus a few cables

Mask and snorkel. Yep, I'm going to do a little undersea exploring, maybe even go scuba diving. Bringing my own snorkelling gear gives me the freedom to not need to look for hire places.

Clothes: 3 undies, 2 bras, 2 socks, 2 trousers, one long sleeved shirt, one woollen thermal, 2 polo shirts, one singlet, one pair of trail runners. And maybe that silk dress….

Travel towel and minimal toiletries: toothbrush, toothpaste, tweezers, cake shampoo, insect repellant and sunscreen. I use copious amounts of conditioner whenever I wash my hair (which isn't very frequently) so it makes more sense to buy product only when I need it. The reason I bring toothpaste is because I get small tubes from my dentist every 6 months which are perfect for travel.

Camera and 2 lenses, battery charger and spare batteries. I'll be bringing the Sony A7R, which is mirrorless and much smaller and lighter than my old SLR. And a new tripod setup.

Remember on my last trip I thought I might not bring both trekking poles with me on my next trip? Well after reading lots of stuff in books and online I've come to appreciate that using 2 poles is more energy efficient and comfortable than using just one. So I'm bringing both, and will be learning to walk with 2 sticks. Then I discovered a nifty little attachment that links together your trekking poles and one tent pole to create a camera tripod. So I can leave the big heavy tripod at home, and just use this wee gadget. That saves a whole kilogram! More multi-functionality.

Full post on this coming up....

So I shoved everything, including camera gear, very haphazardly into my bag and it fits with the absolute minimum of effort. All up it'll weigh a bit less than 8kg.

Last trip I had about 11kg of gear and still managed to get my gear on as carryon. Air Asia allows you a 7kg carryon, PLUS a laptop bag or purse, so I shouldn't have any problem aceing this 7kg challenge.

Now in case you were wondering, I'm already packed for Japan...

2016 here I come!

With only a mere fortnight or less until the New Year, it's time to sum up the past and look forward to the future. Well that's the way I run anyway…

Aside from one tiny adaptor screw and a new set of skis, I've done all my shopping for gadgets and doodads needed to get me through my next 12 months of adventures. Which are going to be many and varied.

I've 5 weeks until I jet off to Japan for a whole month of skiing. 20 days on Hokkaido, 10 days in Honshu. I've a new ski jacket and pants which I bought in NZ in September and I'll just be taking my powder skis along, so I may manage to get away with just the one bag like last trip. There's no mad train travel involved, so minimal luggage isn't an absolute necessity. Just gotta stay within the baggage limits….

Lambie won't be joining me next year, as I have a new travel mascot. You shall be introduced soon enough...

I've a windsurfing friend house sitting whilst I'm away. He'll have chooks to look after this time as well as the garden. I don't think it's going to be a struggle..

I return late February, in time to drop the passport in to the Indonesian embassy for a 2 month visa, then I'll be jetting off again mid March to go backpacking in Nusa Tenggara. That's the string of islands east of Bali right through to Timor. Aside from a smattering of tourists who take a week or so travelling in Flores from one end of the island to the other, and a few luxury dive resorts, the vast majority of tourism in this area is based around Labuan Bajo and the Komodo region, and Lombok and the Gilis, close to Bali. Since I'm planning on spending an entire 3 months in the region ( I'll be extending my visa in country) I expect I'll be relying on my Indonesian language skills to get by. Even in Java I met few foreigners, so I'm not at all concerned that I'm likely to be the only foreigner most places I go.

As usual, I've been carefully considering what to pack for the trip. I'll be doing lots of walking again, but camping is unlikely, so I've less stuff to put in the bag. Which means just bringing the 33L backpack and well and truly making the 7 kilo baggage limit for carryon. I've also got a lighter camera and have a very nifty lightweight tripod setup which I'll share once that pesky little adaptor screw turns up in the mail.

I return to Australia mid June, and will have 2 weeks to do some cooking and dehydrating and organising meal plans, before I fly out to New Zealand at the end of June. I'll be based in Wanaka again for the full ski season, whilst I train to be a ski instructor. For this, I need new skis.

Currently I am skiing on fairly wide twin tip rockered skis. These make skiing most conditions rather easy, but getting a good edge on piste requires a lot more work, particularly on the ankles, because they just aren't made to do carving on groomed runs. But when you are planning to be a ski instructor, you spend most of your time on piste, and you have to be a competent carver. So proper performance skis for groomers are needed. If I have time I'll go shopping for them in Tokyo, otherwise I'll need to purchase them in NZ. The positive though, is I left my other skis in NZ at Sonja's place, so I won't be needing to carry 2 sets of skis from Australia. I'm not going to bring my powder skis as I probably won't go heliskiing or touring. Just getting the qualifications will be my focus.

Once I'm through that, which should be late September, I'll be flying back to Perth, packaging up food parcels, and then embarking on my end to end Bibbulman Track trek. I've been fine tuning gear for that trip too, purchasing even lighter gear to get my base weight down to around 5kgs. Of course I'll share all that sooner to the time I set out.

That will bring me to December. No concrete plans but I think I'll just set up the camper up at Coronation Beach and go windsurfing!!

I've acquired some great house sitters, through word of mouth, who are very happy to do a long sit as they have local jobs and no plans to go elsewhere. They are both very much into gardening, so they'll also be doing a few garden chores for me whilst I'm away, like cutting down dead trees and branches, and planting fruit trees. I'm not yet ready to relinquish my house and garden to the randomness of tenants, and my ongoing costs on the house are not high anyway. It's nice to have that luxury.

I'm still planning on converting the garage into a self contained granny flat, but that's likely to take a little longer to come to fruition. Particularly since my builder has headed back up to Gnaraloo for Xmas with his partner!

So that's my year planned: windsurfing, skiing, backpacking, skiing, bushwalking, windsurfing. It's gonna be a lot of time outdoors!! Man I'm gonna be so fit!!

Right now I'm trialling recipes that I can make on the trail or on rest days in trail towns along the Bibbulman route. I have been bombarding my Facebook feed with numerous baking, cooking and other food preparation attempts, though I won't be taking papaya ice-cream on the trail, more's the pity. But it is an excellent way to preserve it when you have too many ripening papayas at once. And the dragon fruit have started flowering!!

Not long till Japan, better do a bit more work on those core muscles……..arrrghh!

Merry Christmas everyone, and I hope your 2016 is going to be as fun as mine looks to be.

Equipment review - lessons learnt from a trip through Java

So I'm home after 2 months backpacking in Java. I've come back to balmy weather, not too hot, not too cold, for the first week of winter. After hot, sweaty Java it's nice to be comfortable again.

I went to a lot of trouble picking and choosing just what to bring on my recent trip. You'll find the links to what I packed by clicking on the headings below.

So how did I go? Did I make the right decisions? Bring too much or too little? Did products perform as expected?

Electronics

Bringing the laptop was a great decision. Along with the iPhone, an Indonesian SIM card and a data package, I've had access to the internet via WiFi or the mobile hotspot on the phone pretty well everywhere. I've been able to import and edit my photos, and publish them, write and publish blog posts, watch movies, use the digital guidebooks and Indonesian language dictionaries I've installed, surf the internet, use google maps and google translate when needed, and of course keep my Facebook status up to date!! I've been able to do my internet banking on my own computer, not one in an internet cafe, and reply to emails in a timely manner. The laptop takes up little room and isn't heavy, and has meant I haven't had to search for internet cafes, which these days are much more difficult to find now that everyone has mobile internet access. I know a few years ago I couldn't see a reason to bring a computer on the road, now that the situation has changed, it's almost a necessity.

I can also Skype mum, only her freaking computer is so old and lame that Skypeing seems to bugger up all her computer settings. Never fear mum, I'm buying you an iPad for your birthday, enough is enough!!

One issue I had was that my smartphone runs out of juice in less than 6 hours if I am using it to take photos and navigate in a strange city, even if I hardly update my Facebook status all day! This means using it as my only camera on a day trip isn't actually viable. I had planned to bring a spare battery, which would also be able to power my other electronics, but decided to leave it behind due to weight. First thing I did when I got home was buy a small power bank just for the phone that can easily fit in a pocket for those day trips, and will give me that piece of mind I'm lacking at the moment. Having to put the phone in airport mode to save power gets a bit tedious after a while.

Having mobile internet access has been great. It's awesome to have the hotspot on the phone, but the internet data packages in Indonesia stink. If I purchase a pack from the national provider which has the best coverage, you purchase 12GB of data, but 11GB has to be used between midnight and 9am! This can work OK if I edit during the day and then upload photos early in the morning...

Yes there's WiFi, but choosing your accommodation based on whether there is WiFi available really reduces your choices, and inevitably increases your accommodation costs as well. Those places where I had WiFi it wasn't that reliable anyway, so the mobile cellular hotspot was by far more convenient. In total I spent just over $32 on internet, including purchasing a SIM card and all my phone calls and texting, great value for money.

I've learnt at my expense that purchasing cheap electronic gadgets on eBay is a really bad idea. Cheap card readers that corrupt your camera card, USB cords that turn off your computer.... Lesson learnt: buy quality electronics from reputable sources.

Bringing two portable hard drives and maintaining exactly the same redundancy, backup and photo editing workflow as I do at home worked really well. In the end I got sick of deleting older Lightroom catalogues from my Dropbox folder and just purchased 100Gb. It means I can be a lot more flexible with what I store in the Cloud on future trips.

Camera

Bringing the dSLR camera and tripod was always a given, and I'm glad I did. Restricting my lens choice to a 10-22mm wide angle and 50mm prime has affected my photography options, but in a good way. I've had to think about my compositions a lot more, not just stand there with a telephoto and zoom it into a composition I'm happy with. I've particularly enjoyed spending time using the neutral density filters taking delayed exposure shots, although it has sometimes pissed me off to find no photographs I am happy with after making so much effort to reach a place to take the shots. I console myself with understanding that I have still had the experience, I've learnt what doesn't work (and maybe that will help me find what does work), and that just because I don't have a good photo to show for it, doesn't make the experience any less.

I'm not very happy with my 50mm prime though. Almost all my shots with it are very soft and out of focus. I think it has a limited focal length and I've been expecting more out of it than it can deliver. So I'm still working on what lenses are right for travel.

Getting absorbed in photography can be incredibly destructive. There have been times when I have negated an experience simply because all my photos didn't work out. Yes I could go back again and try again, and committed photographers do just that. I'm yet to work out a balance between travel for the experience, and goals related to my photography. There have been times when I've thought that the photography gets in the way of the experience, and other times when it has totally enriched it.

And then a few days before the end of my trip I flooded my camera! I wasn't devastated, I just accepted the inevitable and took the last few wildlife shots with the iPhone. Remember I went to NZ one year with just the iPhone and took some great shots with it, so I wasn't completely lost without a camera.

Because of my self imposed weight restriction for this trip - OK the airline imposed it but I decided not to use check in luggage - I used a much smaller lighter ballhead on the tripod. It's unfortunately a screw on attachment to the camera, which has been a total pain in the arse, and it's not the quality of my Markins ballhead that is much easier to position and has a slide in plate attachment. The Gitzo ballhead does the job for 500g less weight, but at the cost of ease of use. It's also possible that the heavier ballhead would have made my tripod more stable and prevented it from toppling over and dunking my camera.

The new camera harness worked well, certainly more snug fitting and less bulky than the previous harness system, but I think it's too big for me. Being quite short in the torso I'm at the extremes of the straps, and think it could be slightly more comfortable with a smaller sized backplate. I'm going to modify it and see how I go.

Camping gear

As it turned out I didn't do as much mountain climbing and trekking and camping as I'd originally planned. Lots of reasons for this - the weather, poor logistical choices, timing and prices - but the camping I did do was totally worth it. Sure it rained all night on both my camping trips, but besides that inconvenience, both experiences were otherwise exhilarating. Those few hours in the afternoon in the sun on Teletubbies Hill were just magical.

However, bringing a hammock to camp at altitude was a bad idea. Not only are you limited in your choice of campsite - there need to be two structures of appropriate distance apart to erect it from - you are limited in your orientation as well. If the wind or rain come in from an inconvenient angle you can't just reorient the hammock. Also, I need a little more than a space blanket and sleeping bag to keep warm at altitude.

Whether next time I'd bring a tent or just hire one when needed, I'm undecided. The latter seems like a smarter option yet am inclined towards maybe having an emergency bivvy or tarp, as I'm pretty keen to spend time out in nature on my trips. It really does change the dynamic when you go the rental option, because it usually means hiring a guide as well. I really enjoyed being self sufficient and ending up camping with local hikers, also self sufficient, rather than being on a "tour".

The sleeping bag was a great buy. Not only is the outside water repellant, it's warm, light and packs down to almost nothing. I've used it a few times in hotel rooms when I've been cold as well, as it unzips from a cocoon to a duvet easily.

My cookstove is fantastic. Small and compact without any excess gadgets, it's a perfect piece of camping equipment. I had a little trouble finding fuel initially, but now I know to just go to a paint shop, I'm cooking! It's been a godsend to cook up some hot noodles and a coffee after a cold night in the hammock. And having it in Baluran meant I didn't go hungry there either. The lightweight bamboo cutlery set given me for Christmas by my lovely neighbours has also been well used, and well appreciated. The chopsticks are perfect for stirring and eating noodles, it's a present I'll cherish for a long time.

This is the first trip I've brought trekking poles. I've always used a stick or such when I've gone trekking, so packing lightweight collapsible poles for use when needed has been a good decision and they've been well used. I feel much more comfortable doing descents now I have poles, having had a few nasty falls in the past...But I probably don't need both pairs, next time I'll just pack one.

Backpack

The new 44L backpack is an improved design on my smaller one and has been wonderfully comfortable to wear, especially when fully loaded on treks. But I felt it was just a bit too big for day to day travel - if I wasn't carrying the camping gear the smaller 33L would be my choice.

In the end I used absolutely everything I brought with me, except for one thing.

My Pstyle.

I just squatted!!

The final chapter and the beginning of my Javan adventure

Travel days are never my idea of a good time, are they anyone's? My journey to get to my destination is almost always a drawn out affair because it involves the schlepp to Perth before even getting anywhere interesting. This time I drove down Thursday afternoon and stayed over at my mate Naomi's place. We decided to continue the pre trip funny faces that we started maybe two years ago so here's this year's shot.

Friday I picked up my Indonesian visa in the morning, had a coffee with a Wanaka friend Asako, lunched at my good friend Jane's house then drove out to the airport to pick up Pauline and Jack who are housesitting. Since they sold their little campervan Matilda they are car less, and since I know Pauline and Jack from them being couchsurfers at my house a few years ago, I'm letting them use the car in my absence. So after a good old chat back at the place they are staying in Perth, and a slapup Chinese meal (East Vic Park has a pretty impressive restaurant strip) they drove me to the airport and I found a spot to lay my weary head for a few hours kip. Actually I found a great little bench behind some massage chairs that I could lie down completely on and get some quite decent shuteye. My vest stuffed with clothes makes an awesome pillow....

Asako and I doing more funny faces

Early Saturday morning I checked in without any problems at all. No-one even bothered to look at my carryon, so once I was through immigration I took the electronics out of my pockets and packed them in my bag, along with a few things out of the vest. 7kg challenge totally successful.

The flight to Bali was uneventful. I found an empty 3 seats and got a little more sleep, but it's such a short flight to Bali (we only took 3 hours) that it's not a lot of rest. Immigration was a breeze, and without checked in luggage I was out in the humid Bali weather before I knew it. Next step to find the domestic terminal.

Currently, the domestic terminal is actually part of the new International terminal at Bali. I was under the impression that there was a bit of a walk involved, but in fact I could have just walked through a connecting door and not gone outside, turned right then gone back inside again. For anyone reading this, there's a door over to the right after the customs area with a man sitting on a chair in front of it, presumably to check you have the domestic boarding pass for your onward flight. I'm not sure whether I would have avoided paying the departure tax if I'd used this door (or whether they would have let me use it), but it was a bit annoying having to do the security screen an extra 2 times. Anyway, even with the extra walk around, I had heaps of time before my ongoing flight to grab some breakfast and an Indonesian SIM card for my phone. You see I'd already done a web checkin and printed my boarding pass before I left Naomi's place Friday morning. Gotta love technology. And yes, I just took my bag on as cabin luggage, no questions asked.

With the one hour time difference, I arrived in Jakarta just after 10:30 am, packed away the vest and clothes and walked outside into the even more fetid heat of Jakarta to take a Damri bus to Cilegon. My couchsurfing host lives in this small town about 2-3 hours west of Jakarta, so I had still more travel ahead. At the bus terminal I was met by my host Bayu, and his friend Ary, who is visiting from Jakarta, along with another friend Agus, visiting from Bogor. Bayu is a chemical engineer, working at a nearby petrochemical factory, whilst Heri works is an airplane engineer, and Agus a fisheries scientist. Agus is looking to get a scholarship to study at Wollongong Uni, I told him I could give him some contacts if he's successful. (You Wollongong peeps, take note).

The boys speak pretty good English and are great hosts. We go out for dinner (fried duck with rice and sambal) then go to the Cilegon Mall ( a rather unassuming little place which Bayu's friends from the big smoke tease him about) to catch an adventure movie, Raid 2. This is an Indonesian franchise, no English subtitles, which follows a predictable formula of good guy vs the bad guys, with lots of gratuitous violence and an impressive car chase scene, somewhat farcical given the typical chaos of Jakarta's traffic. The film was pretty easy to follow, even with a language barrier.

I retire to bed exhausted, but the boys party on for a few hours, and we are joined in the morning by 2 new friends. One is Steve, who has come out to Cilegon for a couchsurfing meetup, and the other is from Serang. A third friend also arrives and after breakfast we farewell Agus and Heri, and set off ourselves on 3 motorbikes for Banten Lama. What seems like it will be a leisurely day of sightseeing turns into a 12 hour marathon, and by the end of it we are all totally exhausted.

That's next.

The seven kilo challenge - penultimate chapter

The final chapter will of course be written after I've fronted up at the airport terminal, but for now, we have the penultimate chapter.

What's changed? Well a little trip to Perth saw me buying a few more outdoor clothes, including updating my capris to a lighter and more snug fitting pair. Since I've lost a considerable amount of weight in the last few years it becomes quite uncomfortable continuously hitching up a swimming waistline in tropical heat when carrying a backpack. My new capris are stretchy, which means although they may be a little tight in a couple of spots they are still extremely comfy. I'm glad to say that I'm so much more comfortable in my body these days that a couple of bulges no longer see me purchasing the next size up.

And whilst I was buying new clothes, a couple of new shirts in purples and reds have ended up in the mix. Nice to get away from boring beige and khaki.

You may remember in the last post I mentioned I had a space problem. Once I had packed all my gear in the backpack, it became patently obvious that it wasn't all going to fit. Just because I've a solution to the carryon limit, it doesn't mean I'll be walking around Java with a padded vest on. The clothes and the vest will be in the backpack, along with a full water bladder, plus food when I'm camping.

It just doesn't all fit into a 33L backpack. Not once the water bladder is filled and some extra food thrown in.

What to do?

Well at some point I plan to walk the Bibbulmun Track, from Perth to Albany, and I was already aware that the 33L was too small for the job. The 55L backpack that I took around SE Asia in 2008/2009 is a good size, but too big for carryon and the harness sucks. It's too big for my short torso meaning I am continuously hoisting it up to get comfortable. The small/medium harness on the Ospreys, however, is perfectly sized for me.

So I bought a 44L Osprey Talon. I'm starting to think I have more money than sense, and definitely far too many backpacks and travel bags littering the nether regions of my cupboards and underbed spaces. Is there an Imelda Marcos equivalent for backpacks??

The 44L is larger, has an aluminium internal frame, and is heavier than the 33L. By 400g. Ouch! So it's now touch and go whether I can fit under the 7kg limit. But at least everything fits in easily with room to spare.

Here's a pic with the backpack loaded with everything except my empty vest - yep all electronics, clothes and camping gear. The camera is never in the backpack so I haven't included it. As you can see there's lots of room.

So.... I'm basically packed. The vest has been packed with clothes, the backpack packed with it's 6kg of gear and I'm just over by 100g.

I'm under the impression Air Asia don't even weigh the carry on baggage, and even if they do, I'm not expecting a few hundred grams to be a problem.

So there you have it.

Stay tuned for the results...

Stuff those scales - seven kilo challenge Part 4

Clothes, toiletries, towel.

I don't take a lot of clothing. I'm not very girly and prefer practicality and comfort over style, especially when I travel. If I'm planning on climbing a couple of thousand metres vertically I don't want anything unnecessary in the backpack. Clothes that won't stink after a few hot sweaty days on the trail mean I've pretty well converted to merino tops and high tech pants, with a silk skirt thrown in because it weighs next to nothing. I usually travel with a sarong, but since I'm going to Java, I'll just buy one there.

One item of clothing I've found absolutely necessary is a warm jacket. Icy aircon on buses, summits over 2000mASL, wet windy weather, and we aren't even out of the tropics! My jacket may well spend a lot of time stuffed into the top of my pack, but the times when it's chilly I've been eternally grateful for its presence.

This time I'm taking a padded vest instead of my usual fleece jacket. It will keep my core just as warm, but it doubles as my "get out of jail free" card. Or rather, my seven kilo challenge winning card!

Introducing the Stuffa vest, a cannily designed padded vest that has pockets for storing lots of stuff so you can wear your luggage and beat the weight limit. I chose this vest over some other vests and jackets designed for the same job. It isn't the cheapest option, but I wanted something that was useful beyond just getting me through the airport. The fact that I can substitute out my jacket for the vest, and it looks fine to wear when filled up, means I don't have to look even more like a dorky tourist than I already do. My only gripe is that it weighs more than my fleece jacket, as it isn't filled with down. That would definitely be an improvement on it's current design.

empty vest

The vest really does look OK fully loaded, which for me is a travel towel, sleep sheet, 2 pairs of socks,  knickers,  bikini, 3 shirts, one pair of trousers and some miscellaneous stuff like cables and camera filters. I'll be wearing another shirt and trousers, plus knickers and bra, socks and hiking boots. I can buy plastic sandals or flip-flops in Java at any market, and a sun hat.

loaded vest

I've a natty solution to the fact that my arms just might get a little cold on summits with only a thin long sleeved shirt covering them. Rather than have to pack a full fleece or thermals, I remembered that I have some sleeves that I use for cycling. High tech, light, perfect.

In the pockets of my trousers I'll carry my purse and passport, the hard drives with their cables, my iPhone and the Kindle.

Finally: toiletries. Please, if you don't like getting personal, skip this paragraph. I'm not very girly. No cosmetics, no hairdryers or eyelash curlers, but definitely a pair of tweezers. I carry a toothbrush, 30+SPF face sunscreen, a small tube of toothpaste, deodorant, a hair comb now my hair is longer, a face washer and Diva cup. I usually buy shampoo when I get there but I'm taking some solid shampoo from Lush on this trip - big shout out to Lauren at Never Ending Footsteps for that recommendation. Because I'm the depilating kind I don't need a razor, preferring to pay for a waxing in a salon as it's much cheaper than back home. The Diva cup is a cinch to use, as there's always water on hand in your cubicle to wash it out, but menopause would be even better. I'm also taking a Pstyle, so I can pee standing up. And a tube of heavy duty DEET. There's still malaria in Ujung Kulon National Park. Weight of all the above: 420g

So, where does that get me?

Well it's been really tough, because I've added another filter to my camera gear, and am packing lightweight trekking poles and a water bladder, all extra weight that pushes me over the line. But with filling the vest and trousers I should get by, as long as they don't include my camera bag in the included weight. If so I'm stuffed! The Air Asia site definitely says one main bag weighing 7kg AND a handbag or laptop bag.

Totals at this point:

Backpack packed: 7kg

Camera bag loaded: 2.5kg

Vest loaded: 2.7kg (including vest)

Trousers loaded: 1kg (not including trousers)

The Seven Kg Challenge appears to be done and dusted!!

Only there's another little problem called space............

The computer and other gadgets - Seven Kilo Challenge Part Three

This trip will be my first ever backpacking trip in which I take along a laptop. A few years ago I wouldn't have even contemplated lugging around such a heavy and valuable piece of equipment, but times have changed. Not only have laptops become lighter and cheaper, but Wi-Fi is everywhere. This equates to easier internet access than having to compete for a computer at an internet cafe. My smartphone with an Indonesian SIM and data package will work as a mobile modem and give me internet access almost anywhere, at least in the bigger towns and hopefully in smaller ones as well.

I've also streamlined my photography workflow.  I import photos from my camera into Lightroom, sort and edit them, then create a folder for publishing on my chosen photo website. This can all be done on my computer anywhere, and only when I wish to use the Lightroom plugin to upload the pictures onto my Picasa photo site do I need to access the internet. Indonesia has very cheap data rates between midnight and 8am so those photos can be happily uploading whilst I'm sleeping.

Coming travelling with me is my Macbook Air, now more a middle-aged boyfriend than a sexy new love affair. These days he's got a double chin, namely a couple of external hard drives.

One of the downsides to the MBA is a miserly 2 USB slots. With one slot taken up with a CF card reader there's only one other slot available for a hard drive. I have a 256GB SSD and it's almost full, so all my photos are stored on an external drive, plus I need a second drive for backup. Enter this little dude, soon on its way to me from Korea via Japan - the smallest most compact USB hub I could find. Problem solved.

I bought a beautiful laptop bag a couple of years ago which is made from some high tech foam and protects my computer from serious trauma. But it's a little heavy and too bulky which prevents me from slipping it into the sleeve in my backpack. So I made up a handy little bag from a postpak bubble envelope and some velcro fastenings. Works a treat!

MBA 1360g in home made postpak case, hard drives 424g in their case, including cables.

AC chargers are a nightmare. Reducing the number of transformers and power cables required can save a huge amount of weight. My MBA charger has a little plug which slides in to the transformer. This plug also fits my new camera battery charger. My external drives are USB powered, as is my phone and Kindle. I can therefore use USB cables, much lighter than power cords, to charge all my devices from my laptop. Damn pity there seems to be a different plug for each different device. MBA charger 201g,  Kindle 351g, iPhone 181g, plug adaptor for Indonesia 38g. These all include their respective USB cables.

To cut down on bulk I recently heard about the Griffin USB mini cable kit. These little beauties are very short, so no tangled cables. Plus they sync data, which many cheaper cables don't do. I've found a supplier in Perth so will be purchasing a set when I go down to the big smoke in a couple of weeks.

I could probably pick up a USB wall charger in a store in Indonesia at little cost should I need it.

All this paraphernalia adds up to 2623g. I haven't included the weights of the USB hub or Griffin cables as yet. Add that to the 3kg already accounted for,  throw in the tripod and 50mm camera lens (1189g) and we are at 6812g. We've almost hit the weight limit, and I'm yet to pack my clothes and toiletries.

No, I'm not going nude trekking, or living in one set of clothes for 2 months. I'm taking a couple of changes of clothes, and some cold weather gear - the trek to Semeru is said to be the coldest place in Java with overnight temperatures well below freezing. And it's all got to fit in carryon.

That's where the trickery comes in. You'll have to read the next post for that!

The Seven Kilo Challenge Part 2

After working out a rough itinerary of where I'm planning to go in Java, I got together all the gear I wanted to take. You see I plan to go trekking, climb a few volcanos, and do some camping, so I won't just be staying in guesthouses the whole time.

My last trip to Java there were a few times when I was limited by my lack of outdoor equipment, this time I want to be more prepared. But it all has to meet the 7kg challenge.

So: what's on the list?

Sleeping bag, hammock, sleep sheet, cook set and stove, sleeping mat, mosquito net.

DSLR camera with 2 lenses, batteries, cards, card reader, battery charger, filters, tripod, camera bag

Clothes, towel, toiletries, warm jacket/vest

Computer, 2 hard drives, charger, spare battery, cords

Phone, Kindle, GoPro, cords

Backpack and wet weather gear

First things first: Backpack. A heavy bag will chew up anything from 2-5 kg, especially those with wheels. Heavy duty backpacks can also weigh upwards of 2kg empty. I want to be mobile, and I don't want my bag to be weighing me down.

I have an Osprey Talon 33L backpack that I bought for my last trip to Java in 2010. It weighs a mere 820g, is exceedingly comfortable to wear and it performed really well over 3 weeks of walking and bouncing around on public transport. I had concerns back then that it wouldn't be tough enough, but it's not showing much in the way of wear, so it's my go to bag for this trip. I may end up purchasing a slightly larger volume bag for subsequent trips, but for 2 months, this one will do the job just fine.

Wet weather gear for me is a poncho. A cheap plastic poncho and a waterproof bag protector has worked well for me through lots of tropical deluges. I won't say I always remained dry, but I survived. Being wet isn't the end of the world, as long as there are dry clothes and warmth at the end of the day. I'm also an umbrella fan, but it's not always practical when you need both your hands to scramble around tree roots and such on some of the jungle climbs I've done. Poncho 49g, Raincover 79g.

Camping stuff has been a tough one, because I'm trying to work out what the absolute minimum I need if I wish to camp halfway up a mountain somewhere. Although it's easy to carry a couple of days of pre cooked meal packages - we did that in Sumatra - it's awesome to have a hot cup of tea or noodles when you've been up before dawn to see a sunrise at 2800mASL. So the cooker stays in. Weight 383kg with the penny stove. I will probably purchase a small gas canister and stove element at a camping store in Java.

Some of the treks I'll do will require guides, and so it's possible to hire camping gear. But I've found that some Indonesian guides can attempt to be amorous when you're a single girl travelling solo, so it helps to keep your options open. I love my Hennessy Hammock, and as long as there's trees or a few posts or big rocks, it's possible to have my own personal space. It's also lighter than most tents, gets me off the ground and the creepy crawlies, and is water and insect proof. I really wished I'd had it on my last trip for some clandestine bush camping. Weight 947g with snakeskin cover.

Keeping warm when trekking at altitude in the tropics is really important. With a sleeping mat and space blanket under me, and a sleeping bag and silk sleep sheet, I'm prepared for most temperature variations. I'm still unsure about bringing the sleeping mat as it's one item I may not need to use at all, given I'll need to hire a tent for those treks without trees and can hire a mat as well. I can probably survive a night here and there without padding - we did it sleeping on those bamboo platforms climbing Fansipan - and I think the space blanket will keep me warm in the hammock, so it's likely that I can take that out of the kit. That's 292g saved.

I've also decided to ditch the mosquito net now I'm not going east to Nusa Tenggara. Malaria isn't really an issue on Java.

Sleeping bag. My 25 year old Macpac down bag, weighing 1.2kg, has been forsaken for a new kid on the block. A Sea to Summit Micro II 850 loft down sleeping bag. This is a spring/summer bag, and a much better option as it has features that my Macpac bag doesn't. Like being able to put your feet out to cool down, and zipping out into a duvet. If I was to combine this bag with the Macpac in future trips, I'd have 4 season capability. It only weighs 550g and compresses into a teeny tiny package.

Sleep sheet 127g Space blanket 48g. So far we have 3kg on my back.

Next time we talk electronics.

The Seven Kilo Challenge Part 1

2 month trip. No checked in baggage, just a 7kg carryon luggage limit

You are allowed one piece of cabin baggage of up to 7kg and/or 1 laptop bag or 1 handbag onboard, each of which should not exceed the size dimensions.
Size Dimensions: Cabin baggage should not exceed dimensions of 56cm X 36cm X 23cm.

Weight: Cabin baggage must not weigh more than 7kg

Stuff I want to take with me:

DSLR camera and 2 lenses, some filters, battery charger, card reader, tripod

Laptop computer, charger, cables, external hard drives

Kindle, iPhone, cables

Clothes, raincoat, footwear, toiletries

Sleeping bag, sleeping mat, mosquito net, hammock, stove, cook set - yes I'm going camping!!

Can I do it??

You bet I can!!

Stay tuned to find out how....