Long Term One Bag Travel Packing List (For Two People)

Tanya's Clothing – Everything Out

Contents

This is an old post. This is everything we took with us back in November 2011.  Click here for our updated packing list

Below is a list of everything we have taken with us on our long term one bag trip. We have done our best to keep it simple, have minimal “stuff” but still be extremely comfortable and to stay under the airlines rules of weight and size of carry-on luggage. At the end of this post is a video of how we fit everything in to our carry-on bags.

We have added a few links in the list if you would like to see more info and perhaps buy similar to what we have through amazon.

Store All – This will eventually be our toiletries bag but is currently a store all general purpose bag.
The current contents of the toiletries / store-all bag are:

2 soap balls
travel clothesline – ours is similar to this one.
solid shampoo bar
solid conditioner bar
elastic exercise strap
2 solid suncream sticks – they are solid so that we can have them with us as carry on luggage on the plane.
box of tampons
1 plastic container stuffed with ear plugs. The container is from a hair dye kit and originally contained plastic gloves.
2 spare ziplock bags
2 door stops or wedges – to help keep people out when we are inside sleeping.
a small compass – not as necessary now that we have an iPhone that has a built in compass.
2 plastic Light my Fire sporks – brilliant invention, even has a bit of knife action.
2 children's headlamps. We're using children's ones as they're smaller and cheaper but are actually just about as bright as an adult headlamp.
1 rollon tropical strength insect repellent
2 small bottles of anti-bacterial hand stuff
1 box of clindamycin (antibiotics)
1 Frontier emergency carbon water filter

Electronics bits bag:
The electronics bits bag currently contains:

1 mini-ziplock bag
2 16GB flash drives
1 2GB flash drive containing the Ubuntu installer in case we have to replace Andrew's laptop
1 mini-8GB flash drive
1 iphone 4 sim pin
1 mini dv80 camera
1 clip for the mini dv80
2 sets of Apple headphones which include a mic
1 iphone usb cable
1 headphone splitter
1 usb power plug charger (we may leave this behind)
1 mini screw driver for tightening glasses
1 small pen
1 mini-wifi router so we can turn a LAN connection into our own wifi network for our laptops and iphone
1 usb cable for the sony cybershot camera
1 iphone 4
1 small camera tripod
luggage scales
two plug power board with cord so we can plug both laptops into a single outlet if necessary

Things we still need to add to the electronics bits bag:
Malaysian travel adaptor. We did own a big universal adaptor but got rid of it as it was a bit bulky. Instead we'll be buying individual adaptors along the way as they are only a few dollars.
Gaffer tape

Very basic firstaid kit.
You can easily add to this in most countries so there generally isn't a great need to lug everything from home. Plus it's probably cheaper to buy it there.
Very basic first aid kit contents are:

band aids that are big enough to cut to various shapes
sachets of medi-swabs, itch relief cream, antiseptic cream and iodine.
mini sewing kit
tube of anti-septic cream
tube of voltarin
mini mirror
little kit containing gloves, gauze bandage and tape
2 regular band aids
little bag containing muscle relaxants, antihystimenes, sleeping pills and anti-diaherea and pain killers
5 toothpicks
mini bottle of betadine (antiseptic)
mini floss
mini tiger balm
another mini antibacterial hand stuff
Things we still need to add to the very basic first aid kit:
A pair of scissors as we cant take them on in carry on.

Things that we are also taking:


2 collapsable 1 litre water bottles (about a quarter gallon)
2 elastic bands to keep them rolled up when not in use
1 medium pacsafe backpack mesh. We may acquire a second one. Otherwise we have to keep both laptops in the one bag.
Business cards that contain our email addresses and website URL. Perfect for handing out to interested and interesting people.
2 travel towels. each in a zip lock bag.
2 inflatable neck rests, 2 eye masks and Tanya's handbag.
The contents of a woman's handbag is apparently a closely guarded secret so you'll have to use your imagination there.

A bag of bags:
The bag of bags contains:

Stuff sack which we use for dirty clothes
Small packable backpack – that packs up into itself. This is our day pack.
4 A4 ziplock bags
1 bum bag (fanny pack)
1 small waterproof bag
1 A4 waterproof bag

What clothes and shoes is Tanya taking?
Tanya's Clothing – Everything Out
Tanya's bag contains:

5 tops – 3 polo shirts. 2 going out tops. All cover the shoulders. Nothing low cut or revealing.
2 pairs of black North Face pants that roll up to become 3/4 leg shorts and also look fairly decent teaching English.
1 pair of 3/4 pants
1 pair board shorts
1 pair ice breaker thermal leggings
1 black tanktop
1 stetchy black dress to wear to wear to communal bathrooms etc
1 Columbia titanium sweet peak hoodie jacket
1 sports bra
2 new bras (if you are bigger than a size B cup I recommend you bring more bras than what you think you may need!)
2 old bras for swimming (big boobs in string bikini tops in countries that prefer women to be covered should be avoided at all cost)
1 pair bikini bottoms
1 bather tanktop (will be worn over an old bra)
8 pairs of knickers (1 for each day plus one)
1 pair teva sandles
1 pair thongs/flip flops
1 pair solid Teva walking/trekking shoes
2 pairs of calve length socks
2 pairs ankle socks
1 reversible hat
1 thin scarf that can be used as a head covering in temples etc and also to provide protection from the sun.

What clothing and shoes is Andrew taking?
Andrew's Clothing – Everything Out
Andrew's clothes. These are:

1 shoulder bag / man bag
1 Isobar thin but warm thermal jumper / jersey / sweater
5 tops –  2 polo shirts. 3 t-shirts. Nothing in red or has racey pictures on the front.
1 wide brimmed hat
1 adjustable black belt that can be worn with everything
2 pairs regular length socks
2 pairs ankle socks
1 below the knee shorts
1 pair of thermal leggings
7 pairs of dark coloured trunk underwear that can double as swimmers in a pinch (also for Tanya)
2 pairs grey travel pants (with no cargo pockets so that they can be worn out at night and I do not look like a tourist)
1 board shorts
1 pair teva sandals
1 pair havaianas thongs / flip flops

Our cheap, small and light laptops:
Laptops and Laptop Bag

Tanya has a 12″ HP Tablet Laptop. Andrew has a 13″ Asus Laptop.  They each have a very padded and mostly waterproof sleeve.

For the flight at least they will be carried in a supermarket freezer bag typically used to transfort cold food and drink. The bags are padded, pretty much waterproof and only cost $2.65 from Coles supermarket.

We've got the laptops in their own bag for the moment as you're allowed to have a laptop bag in addition to your main carry on bag so they don't count against the carry on weight limit of 7kg.

Things not pictured:

2 stuff sacks to keep our shoes and sandals in
2 compression bags for our clothing
1 Sony Cybershot that was used to take all of these pictures

 

And here it all is packed away.
There's still plenty of room left in the Tatonka bags if we get to Kuala Lumpur and decide to ditch the freezer bag.
All Packed Away in our Tatonka Bags
Other things to buy when we arrive:

1 multitool
2 tooth brushes and tooth paste
1 pair walking/hiking shoes for Andrew for trekking and when we start to get into colder climates
Moisturizer
Sleep sheets or material to make them

If you're wondering what magic was involved to pack all of the above into those little bags then hopefully this video will explain.

We hope this has been useful, if not a little entertaining 🙂

This is an old post. Click here for our updated packing list

19 thoughts on “Long Term One Bag Travel Packing List (For Two People)

  1. Very slick presentation Tanya. Hope I get to put your ideas into practise real soon.

    For Cam: Try boiling them first!!!

  2. Loved the packing list. My husband and I are Peace Corps Volunteers are are going to be traveling the area soon since our service is ending. One of the hardest parts of traveling for me is trying to decide what to leave and take. I’m glad that most of the things I was thinking about taking are included, and now I don’t feel so guilty packing 2 pairs of shoes! I noticed on a follow up entry “I’m so glad we bought these shoes!” you bought similar Keen sandals with the toe covering that I have. Have those been suitable for temples? I ask because in our Lonely Planet it advises “closed toed shoes” for temples so I was hoping those qualified as “close toed” enough despite the holes where my feet are visible.

    1. Hi Krystal, Thanks for reading 🙂 You’ll be interested to know that we have a new packing list post coming out soon. The stuff we carry has changed over the last 8 months or so… stay tuned!

      As for shoes and temples, most temples ask you to take your shoes off before entering them. Well, this is the case with Buddhist temples in Thailand, Cambodia, Loas… and other parts of the world.

      Most locals where thongs / flip flops everywhere, so I would not worry about closed in shoes unless you are hiking.

      Stay tuned for the next packing list post!

    1. Hi, I am unsure if the rules and regulations for carry on luggage on airplanes say anything about needles. We always carry one with us with some thread. I like to be prepared. In reality, all places we have been to sell needles and thread so it is not like we need to being it with us anyway.

    1. We got them from a camping store in Australia. They were the medium size but I am sure different brands have different sizes. I recommend you pick one up at the store and just try them out for size packing the amount of clothing you would be thinking of taking in it. Good luck 🙂

  3. Hi Tanya,

    I just wanted to check with you that those tatonka bags pass the dimension specifications for carry on luggage for airlines before I go out and get one?

    Have you had any issues with airlines not allowing you to get your bag on board?

    Many Thanks

    1. Hi Daniel. Thanks for reading and contacting us. We took our bags to the air asia check-in chick at the Perth airport, and she approved them without a second glance. We had no problems with them when we did leave Perth for Kuala Lumpur. They aren’t the most comfortable bags to be wearing as backpacks, but, they are awesome when it is raining. They are also very compact. Have fun choosing your bag!

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