Sunday, August 12, 2007

(Pseudo) Backpacker Essentials



Cacnipa Island, Palawan, PH-- A few months back my friend Quentin (who scoffs at anything touristy, takes pleasure at making me take a 3 hour rollercoaster/jeepney ride crammed with eggs, fish, vegetables and laughed everytime i hit my head on the roof, and "discovered" the most beautiful island 2 hours off puerto princessa..merci!) took me on a surprise trip to Palawan (note, I only knew we were going to the last frontier when I saw the signboard above the check-in counter at the airport). On one of our random nights, we came up with a backpacker essentials list, him being the real backpacker, me being well, the pseudo backpacker. Here are the items we came up with:

-flash light
-towel
-candle
-knife
-anti-mosquito lotion
-first aid kit
-medicine (for headache, indigestion)
-a good book (when you finish you can exchange the book with the ones in your guesthouse)
-sunscreen
-dark chocolate (for times when you feel like throwing up on the car/bus/boat/plane ride or when you can't identify the food in front of you but you just have to eat something)
-ipod
-camera
-LESS clothes (working on it)
-baby powder (don't ask)
-jacket
-all-in-one beauty products (e.g. shampoo+conditioner+body wash, moisturizer with spf, cheek and lip tint)
-trusty Lonely Planet
-the following email address...sorry girls, can't disclose this
-journal (moleskin journals make great travel companions)

Every time I take a trip I check the list and make sure I've covered everything. Are ya proud, Q? We all have our own must-haves and essentials when we heed the call of our itchy feet in search of great adventure. Help us pack well for our South America trip by telling us...WHAT'S IN YOUR BACKPACK?

16 comments:

risa said...

love's drooling aside, here's what i would add ;)
1) cams - digi and lomo!
2) assorted chargers (phone,cam,ipod)
3) a good friend to carry some of #2
4) agua
5) hair dryer (which is why we can
never become full-fledged backpackers)
6) gum
7) sunglasses
8) thick socks! (note to deets: not tube socks)
9) good friends to split the cosmetics load with
10) wallet with divider (i always end up mixing my peso coins with other currencies)

sparklemind said...

where's the hand sanitizer /alcohol ?

Anonymous said...

hey guerrero your list looks so short especially when i remember how you kept us up at night in saigon while you were packing. :P

hey reese, finally i solved my blogspot problem!

justine said...

hey jordan!!! how's my favourite vietnamese hehe! i've since learned my lesson haha. what did you bring to cambodia?

Joy said...

Justine, why didn't you mention your eyelash curler and cheverlus? haha! oh, and love is right, you forgot to mention the most important thing-- your passport!;-)

justine said...

hey joy! eyelash curler is in the picture hehe. of course,passport is essential. sparklemind, in lieu of alcohol/hand sanitizer which may get thrown out on the plane,perhaps we can do wet tissue? reese, chargers are a good suggestion. anything else?

deets said...

Just bring the cherva.....and you're all set.

Oh, btw, justine you forgot something in your list...something we bought at the "chemist" in cambodia....bwahahahaha

hey love, when are you visiting me here in outer space (neptune) !?! oh and I agree with you, patikim naman justine!!! hahaha

justine said...

for the uninitiated, "cherva" = chutzpah/charm/guts/spunk/shameless flirting

yes deets, our uh, medicine (along with the bags you and Joy brought to Cambodge) is a must. deets and love, I will email you guys with your respective email addresses so you can meet up sometime.

Anything else girls?

risa said...

jordy! justine also forgot the 13 tank tops that were part of the all-night packing spectacle in saigon.
love, kaya nga pseudo eh!non-negotiable yan. pano pa kaya pag RTW na year-long?
nice definition there, teets. chutzpah!

*cheverlu: girly accessories

Anonymous said...

you should also bring:

1. Adaptors (otherwise, you might not be able to use your chargers and hair dryer)

2. atm/credit cards

3. travel pillow

4. hat

5. photocopies of passport, visas, travel insurance, credit cards...and

6. Meeeh (how i wish i could fit in your backpack ats!?! hahaha ;p)

alice said...

Hmmm. I think i managed to bring the following to Cambodia:

1. moolah
2. bargaining powers for the shopping spree
3. a book i've been taking so long to finish
4. patience for the long trip (I could've brought more though!)
5. attitude - but i think cherva covers that too! :)

alice said...

alice a.k.a jordy. in case anyone is asking, "who is alice?!" (sorry default yung name e)

visit my blog too :)

justine said...

alice??? hahahaha that name does not suit you dear. what's your blog so we can visit!

hey dutchie!! good to hear from you! i like the hat advice..perfect cover up for bad hair days when you just can't be bothered to blow dry;)

Anonymous said...

deets...chemist??? bwahahahahahahahah

;o)

Anonymous said...

Bravo, what words..., an excellent idea

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