We have been asked a few times recently what our travel essentials are. I assume that the answer people are looking for is what we carry in our bags. The sharp Opinel knife that we cannot live without, the all-important toilet roll, what brand of sleeping bag we use, what backpacks are the best for compartmentalising your things, maybe a special waterproof mascara for water rafting or the best travel insurance to get. The question is also digging around for who might sponsor you. Perhaps Nikon, Moleskin or Timberland.
There has been a growing trend of voyeuristic excitement for peaking into what our mothers told us was impolite to do. Do not look into a lady's bag, never open without asking and someone's purse is their private business. This former taboo is now willingly broken by you, me and him/her. Everyone is happy to provide their fascinating packing list, somehow being able to pack a suitcase or backpack properly makes us experts. Competitions are available for the best photo of what is in your bag. Instagram it now! Who can lay out all their possessions prettily, at just the right angle, with perfect colour combination, maybe a flower or two, to capture that shot just right. A photo that will inspire wanderlust purely by looking at the contents, a hint of a destination. A tropical island, the Arctic or Disneyland. Or it is for us to compare? To nudge us into thinking we need those gorgeous hand sewn Capri sandals too, or that red one-piece swimsuit would look great on me after my new tan and maybe we do need those special Osprey packing cases for our clothes. These photos are the new "buy-me" guides, personally curated by anyone willing to divulge.
I am not immune. I have to admit that I am just as guilty of indulging in these photos of thrown-up bag contents, laid out just so. But packing for a one year journey overland is not the same as packing for a two-week stint in the Bahamas. My bag is not glamorous. There are no stunning sandals that will last a year of walking through the mud and you can bring your favourite Marc Jacobs sunglasses with you, if by experience, you are willing to sit on them a dozen or so times, drop them in the river once and perhaps crush them under your bicycle wheel too.
What we are all accustomed to is personal. What we need is personal, but I guarantee you it will change over time. You do not need me to tell you that you should get your prescription drugs in order, but maybe you prefer Paw Paw Ointment to Tiger Balm and Aspirin to Ibuprofen. You do not need me to tell you to pack trekking shoes that are not brand new, so that you don't begin your trip burdened with blisters or that maybe a waterproof bag will come in handy. Some people prefer the Kindle, some people will never give up the smell of a book bound from actual paper. You can figure it out yourself.
After a year on the road, you learn that if something is essential, you can either, buy it on the road, substitute it, or learn to live without it. (With the exception of prescription pills). I was proud of my frugality, of living in the same outfit for weeks on end, admiring my small backpack and my "skills" as a newly minted "light" packer. But when we arrived in Bangkok, the first real city with mammoth malls, I succumbed. I could not help but fly like a bee to honey to those familiar brands. Everything I had learnt to live without went out the window and I knew I needed those new sandals for the beach we were headed to. Quiksilver, indie-vibe, brown creamy leather with colourful stripes if you want to know. Guilty as charged. I bought them.
Did I need them? Kind of. My replacement flip flops for my ripped-up Havaianas from home were a pair of $2 Chinese pink panda slippers that were now falling apart and the soles of my leather sandals had actually split into several layers from all the rain and mud. So yes, I could justify buying a new pair of sandals and a new pair of Havaianas from the Terminal 21 mall in Sukhumvit. But let's be honest, I wanted our 12 days on the beach in Thailand to be slightly more elegant than what we had done so far. There would be other tourists for the first time, people dressed up in their Gypset best and I conjured up images in my head of summers spent on Formentera and Ibiza.
Why the pressure? After months of not caring, of believing I had converted to the "simple" life, suddenly I was falling back into the familiar consumerism I thought I had left behind and all it took was the image of other "fashionable" people, a nice beach, a promise of cocktails and a massive shopping mall at walking distance.
What are we truly looking for when we travel? And above all what are we looking for when we travel long term? If it is a two-week stint, perhaps we want to relax, look good doing nothing and make sure we go home with a glowing tan. Perhaps we are looking for a holiday fling, or focused on acquiring a new skill, diving, surfing, snowboarding. Perhaps we want to learn everything about Burmese temples, Persian art or Albanian castles. But over a long period of time, things change. Our objectives switch gears.
What I want to experience is how the rest of the world lives, to put our own lives into perspective. Our own "essentials" into perspective. To learn what others have to teach us simply by looking, listening and being curious. By trying things you never would have tried at home, by stepping out of your comfort zone and by looking at some habits you may disagree with from another angle. To stay open to new experiences and accepting or at least questioning difficult issues instead of outright rejecting them. Travel has a lot to teach us about the world, about its people and about ourselves.
So if you ask us what our travel essentials are, it is not a specialised backpack, a cool gadget you can buy online or a super non-slip, water-proof, rock-climbing-compatible sandal. The only true travel essential is HEART. And you need a lot of it.