ok, so i'm back in los angeles, specifically korea town and i have to say that out of all the places i've been this has got to be the most dangerous place!

i'm just moaning here....
but i miss not needing a car
i miss fantastic public transportation
and i miss cheap good street vendor food

but i'm born and raised in los angeles (just not the ghetto ktown area) so i should be adjusted soon.

You know I avoided all locks that required keys too.  I went combo locks as much as possible, keys are too easy to lose.

You know, I agree with the sharpie.  I actually brought one with me, but I thought maybe my list was getting too long.  Actually, not just a sharpie, have a pen on you at all times.  You never know when you will need one.  I bought this great little ball point pen in Taiwan for 33 cents.  It was about the length of my pinkie so it fit perfectly in my pocket at all times.  It was totally a life saver.

As for the combo lock, I ended up using my laptop combo lock if I needed something like that.  But then again, I don't drink much so I didn't experience trying to fumble around with the combo after a night of partying.  =)

Thanks for the ideas, I should update my list.

Hope this is still helpful to any other potential backpackers out there.

i'm lazy and don't like to do too much research while i'm on the road.  i just choose the ones with high ratings on hostelworld

I Didn't mean to be a downer.  Thailand and Japan are really fun.  It's just that so many people talk about it, sometimes you don't get the real deal, you know what i mean?  If you like Japanese culture and food, you'll have a blast.  Japan has quite a bit of weird things you can see.  Thailand can indeed be that party place.  It is great for 1st time backpackers I think.  It's cheap and there's something for everyone.  Tons of entertainment, be it the party scene, to thai boxing, to culture.  You'll have fun at these places for sure.  I did.

I went to Japan and Thailand.  They're both fun, but very hyped up.  I guess it depends on what you're expecting and what you plan on doing.  Mostly what I heard about Japan was the locals were soooooooo friendly and helpful and the cities were sparkling clean. Well, there's no such thing as a perfect society.  I thought the locals were polite.  The cities were clean but not sparkling (for that you need to go to Singapore).  Thailand is fun, but you need to get used to people trying to rip you off.  That's just how things are.  =)  That's my take.

Oh yeah, people in China are rude!  But that's China.  I take it you're Asian America from your name.... they'll think you're one of them and thus will be quite rude.

Vhan, are you American?  If so you do not need to get a visa for Japan or Thailand unless you plan to stay there for a loooooong time.
If you're going to be around around Japan make sure you get a Japan Rail pass first, it will save you so much money.

I'm so jealous of Mongolia..... I didn't get a chance to go!  It looks AMAZING!  Make sure you can get clean water!  I would love to try wrestling against some of those Mongolian wrestlers... but I refuse to wear that outfit (probably for everyone else's benefit).

Yes I do.  It's a trade off to buy travel clothes.  They're expensive but it's easier to manage them when you're trekking around.  I don't wash my pants every day unless I've been off in the jungle or something.  When I do wash I either do it by hand in the sink, just take it in the shower with me and scrub, or if I'm lucky use a laundry machine.  My pants dry quickly; usually by 4 hours they're dry.  If not they'll be dry in the morning even in humid weather.  My pants even dried during a typhoon in Taipei.  I left it over night through the storm but it was ready to go in the morning.

It helps a lot to wring it well and then roll it up in a towel and stomp on the towel.

So yes, if you need to wash it, do so, hang dry it and in the morning it's ready. 

What do I wear why I wait for it to dry?  My board shorts.

There's plenty of way to backpack, but that's how I do it.  I've been happy.  My other pants have become dead weight I guess.

As for travel clothes being more expensive than your backpack.... well, not quite.  They also don't make you look rich.  The locals think I look like a bum mainly, and I wasn't let in nice places like in macu, or they were reluctant to let me in nice lounges in other cities.  So, maybe they don't know how much I spent on my travel pants, but they were more than the jeans of that douche bag they let in.  =)  They dry faster too!

It sucks trying to update your iPod while traveling if you don't have your own laptop and there's no iTunes on the hostel computer.
I blogged about how to manage your iPod while traveling.
http://vagabondvince.blogspot.com/2008/12/tips-and-tricks-traveling-with-ipod.html

You don't need to go to my link, all the info you need is below.
Solution:
I highly recommend using Floola. This is an iTunes alternative that you can actually run from your iPod. That means you can just drag and drop Floola into your iPod as an external HD to install it; then connect the iPod to any computer and run it from your iPod. No installation on the computer required! Floola also runs on Windows, Mac, and Linux (Win98 to Vista, Mac OS X 10.3.9 and newer, and Linux you'll need GTK 2). I keep a copy of every OS version on my iPod so I can just manage it from ANY kinda of computer. Most people will not need the linux version. Get the windows version if you're a mac user just because most computers you'll come across at internet cafes and hostels will be windows.

It's free!!!!

get it at http://www.floola.com

hope this helps people out there

Cotton t-shirts are ok, I wore some I bought while traveling, but my wool shirts just feel so much better and lighter.  Cotton's ok as long as you can wash them.  Washing isn't a problem as I saw either lots of washing machines or hostels offering washing service (which i hate).  The problem is drying them.  Nobody uses driers!  Some people I met even said American are so wasteful, they use driers when they could just hang dry them.  I dunno about you, but I don't know how the locals walk around in soggy jeans.  =)

I finally got around to blogging on my travel gear so I thought I'd share it here.  This is exactly what I am using as I am currently backpacking south east asia.  I've also included a few more expensive items that I would have gotten if I had the money.  =)

It doesn't always follow Greg's list but I've been happy with it.  I hate washing clothes so I bought clothes that didn't need to be washed as often.

http://vagabondvince.blogspot.com/2008/11/travel-gear.html

Hope this might be helpful to some potential backpackers out there.

i have travel undies.  look, they'll still smell, but they're still good enough. plus if you had wash them they dry very quickly.  let's leave it at that.  less washing is awesome.  but like i said in another post, in SE asia just put on some board shorts and go commando.  no washing of undies.

good point by greg.  i didn't follow that philosophy but i've been happy with my shirts so far.

an employee at your favorite store REI told me he would just buy shirts in SE asia where he went.  then he'd ship his old stuff home.  it worked out really well for him and you can get shirts for about $2-$3 in places like cambodia.

Vhan,

My experience at REI is mixed.  Some people there are super friendly and helpful.  Some totally understand backpacking.  Others are just jerks.  Overall though, who cares what they say, that's why you have this forum.

Greg,

I've been backpacking East Asia and South East Asia.  you can check out my blog at http://vagabondvince.blogspot.com to see where i've been.  i'm way behind on my blog though.  i'll eventually get around to my gear and my packing.

i have 2 pants.... 1 too many actually since i'm in SE Asia, but they fit well.  They're made by columbia and mountain hardware.  i have only a super thin jacket... more for typhoons than anything else.  i have 2 wool shirts, 5 wool socks, 3 travel undies, and swimming trunks i use as shorts.  they dry fast and i can go commando to save on the washing (tmi ... i know).

no cotton.  no cotton.  no cotton.  no cotton.

that's all you need to know in my opinion.  i have no cotton clothes except for crap i buy.
stick with wool. nylon, or polyester.  they dry fast and work great in places like SE Asia where the humidity will make your cotton feel like a sponge.  they also don't stink as quickly

Greg,

How in the world did you dive for that cheap?  I just learned how to scuba dive in Phuket and it's not cheap at all.