MY TRAVEL ESSENTIALS: WHAT'S IN MY CARRY ON

“Did you ever notice that the first piece of luggage on the carousel never belongs to anyone?”  -  Erma Bombeck

I always have a backpack with me, I like to keep my hands free but carry a few bits and bobs around.
Luckily I also have a variety of high quality backpacks to choose from depending on where my travels are taking me and for how long.

The 12 things you will always find in my bag are the following:

• Travel wallet, with my passport lodged deep in of course, I might even have some currency along with maps and notes, I always try to have USD100,00 as back up just incase something goes wrong for whatever reason
  
• Camera.. in this case it's a Canon 7D with 24mm f/2.8 STM lens
• A back up phone.. My SA number is always active wherever I am, I need it for banking more than anything.
• Earphones, my standard Apple ones do the trick just well, no need to get any fancy expensive stuff.. yet
• Hudsalva!.. I do not want to arrive anywhere with chapped lips
• Notebook and pen.. so I can note stuff down, you know?
• My fully charged laptop with charger and external hard hard-drive.. sometimes you just have to resort to your own entertainment or I might want to edit some pics while up in the air
• GUM!, always have gum, you don't want to be greeting your loved ones at the airport with breath from a different continent.. get with the program
• A damp cloth and my Old Spice deodrant stick  so you can wipe those pits down and apply some freshness  
• Wallet
• Warm top, preferably a hoodie
• Silk sleeping bag.. I bought this amazingly slim yet warm sleeping bag in Vietnam, It has turned out to be one of my best travel purchases ever and it goes with me on each major trip. When those stingy airhostess's collect the blanket.. well I'm sorted 

Bonus item is my travel pillow, I actually have two, one is in Cape Town and the other right now is somewhere in Sweden

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