* 2 changes of quick dry clothes. We wore one set during the day, showered at night and washed that set and changed into the clean set for dinner and then wore them the next day. A ‘set’ was everything: underwear, socks, pants, shirt. IIRC, we did have 2 shorts and 1 long pants for cold days / evenings. If it didn’t dry overnight, we’d hang it off our packs the next day. The long parts were the classic ‘travel pants’ – light synthetic material. Windproof, fast drying. Khaki/brown color that almost but not quite fits with every occaision. Not too dorky looking, though I don’t think we’ve worn them since
* fleece jacket. Bulky but compressible and quite light for the warmth. Handy at night and first thing in the morning.
* waterproof jacket. Essential in England! Worth spending the extra $$s for a good one. The most expensive item in our packs by far.
* tiny shampoo bottle (we shared it and refilled as opportunity presented itself), toothbrush each, travel brush (light plastic foldup), sunscreen, aspirin/equivalent for headaches & minor aches
* sunglasses
* sun hat?? (not sure…)
* wool beanie (hat)
* ‘walking shoes’ – I think we may have had thongs/flip flops for a while but discarded them
* 1 small 35mm camera (modern electronic cameras are much smaller/better!)
* misc odds and ends (e.g. bandanna for me, girl stuff for SO)
* guide book / maps
* reading book

We were ruthless about not picking up extra stuff along the way – leaving maps & books at B&Bs for the next person, or 1/2 tube of toothpaste, or 1/2 box of bandaids.

We’d both traveled light before, 1 large-ish backpack each in the 12kg range, but this was a whole new level for us — and by and large we loved it! We met new people every day — so they didn’t know we’d worn the same clothes for days already. We did swap out some clothes along the way (e.g. buy a t-shirt, discard one we were sick of!). Having less stuff meant less time packing and unpacking and searching and managing stuff.

We still take carry-on only, even with a 9yo kid along now, for whatever trip we do (often 2-4 weeks at a time). For those, I generally use what I call the ‘rule of 5′. I pack enough clothes for 5 days without laundry. E.g. 5 undies, 5 socks, 3 t-shirts, 2 long-sleeve shirts, 1 pair shorts, 1 pair jeans/long pants – and I wear one of those 5. And then warm gear depending on the climate. And now I usually have a laptop along which is heavy .

Less is more!

@Rick@NatureEscapes, I agree with you on that, but for me, as a tall Swede, it might be troublesome to find some clothes that will fit me in Asia?

What problems, we have!

We add hand luggage on to that: some books and laptops for the flight.

One thing I do is to take clothes with me that dry fast, that means that I can wash them up quickly if needed and can skip some other instead.

In Sweden we have a washing powder (Y3) for wool, that comes in very small, thin portion bags and are especially fast and efficient in rather cool water, which makes it ideal for washing while traveling.