RTW Tips: clothes
People say the best time to pack is after you get home from a trip. That's when you know what was most useful, what you didn't use much, and what you wish you had. This is the second in a series of RTW Tips about what to pack.
Clothes
I took the advice I'd read online and in RTW travel books to heart, and took basically half the clothes I thought I would need, emphasizing versatility in everything I brought. My pants were casual, but could also be worn to a nice restaurant. My shorts could also be used as swim trunks, and my long-sleeve shirt didn't "look" like one so I could wear it on the street and not feel self-conscious. I also read that I shouldn't bring jeans, since they're far too heavy, dry slowly, and too hot. So I didn't. Here's what I started out with.
- 6 pairs of socks (3 black, 3 grey/brown hiking)
- 5 pairs of underwear (2 cotton, 3 quick drying)
- 1 pair of dark blue pinstripe cotton pants
- 1 pair of light linen pants
- 1 pair cargo shorts (quick dry)
- 1 XL T-shirt (for sleeping only)
- 1 short sleeve button down shirt
- 1 polo shirt
- 1 long sleeve shirt (quick dry)
For the most part, I put all of my clothes to good use, and if I were to go on another 4 month trip with just a small-ish backpack and messenger bag, this is what I would take. The only article of clothing I craved was... jeans. I think what travel guidebooks don't take into account is that most of the world wears jeans, and you sort of stick out if you're also not in jeans. I didn't buy jeans until my very last month in Melbourne, but I did buy some more stylish pants in Sao Paulo, along with a regular T-shirt and pair of board shorts in Rio to fit in (read more about that here). And in the end, I'm glad I was able to pick up clothes along the way, since you're more likely to buy things that are fashionable according to local standards vs. looking like a foreigner.
The key to fitting all of this in a 40L backpack is to use a drybag. I love these. As their name implies, they do keep things dry; I took a small one for my camera and other electronics, which came in handy when I went under the waterfall at Iguazu Falls. But they also help you squeeze out as much air as you can to compress your clothes. In Cape Town, I picked up a third Sea to Summit dry bag, but this one was a special "e-vac" model which lets you squeeze out air even after you close the bag, through a membrane on the bottom. A drybag is great; this feature makes it even better.
