Kelty Coyote 4900
Kelty Rain Cover: for when it rains
Kelty Pack Duffel: for checking the main pack into the airport
Pacsafe 85L Webbing Lock: locks my main pack when I’m out and about
Combo Lock: for locking my pack up when hostels have lockers
Adidas Packsack
Eagle Creek Toiletry Bag: Holds all my bathroom stuff
Universal Sink Stopper: for washing laundry in the sink
Rick Steve’s Clothesline: for drying laundry
Assorted Compressed Drybags
Jagbag: these things are made of 100% silk which makes them super durable, stink proof, and
REI 15degree Down Mummy Sleeping Bag
Outdoor Research Bivy Sack
Thermarest Prolite 3 Sleep Pad
Inflatable Next Pillow
Passport Holder
Enough clothes for a week

Marmot Precip Rain Jacket
Born Shoes: Walking shoes and doubles as going out shoes
Flip Flops: for showers
Chaco Sandals: Hiking sandals recommended by everyone I’ve talked to.

North Face Recon
Rain cover
Dell XPS1330 Laptop 2.0GHZ, 320GB HD, 2.5GB RAM, GeForce 8500M + power adapter = 4lbs can’t beat that.
160+120 GB Harddrive
2×2GB, 1×4GB, 1×512MB CF Cards
2×2GB SD Cards
6xMiniDV Tapes

Lens Kit Cleaner
Extra Batteries
Travel Power Strips
Universal power adapter

Canon 350D + Tamron 17-50 f2.8 Lens Attached
Canon 50mm f1.8
Sigma 10-20mm f4-5.6 HSM
Canon 70-300mm f3.5-5.6 USM IS
Canon 430EX Speedlite
Canon SD800IS
Canon HV20
Slik Sprint Pro

My daypack will be will be a North Face Recon which fits all my electronics so I can take it with me in places where I cannot lock it up. It too compresses to a small size. It has water bladder compartment which also fits my laptop pretty well. It wasn’t very comfortable when I first got it but it has since then been broken in and fits me quite well.

Anytime you use a Visa and Mastercard credit card there are foreign transaction fees involved. Usually Visa and Mastercard charge the bank or whomever issued your card 3% of the transaction. On top of that, the credit card issuer also tacts on another 2-3% of their own. Which means by the time we see the charge it is already increased to 5-6%. That is a lot of money to throw away each time you use your card. Luckily I found that CapitalOne not only does not charge foreign transaction fees, but they also eat the 3% that Visa and Mastercard charges.

Another fee that I will most likely face is the notorious and annoying ATM charge. This varies from bank to bank, however there are some banks out that allow a certain number of free cross-bank ATM transactions before they start charge. Even more interesting is that I’ve heard there are banks that don’t charge ATM fees at all. Definitely a plus when traveling. I plan on using my HSBC ATM card for most of Europe and hopefully find another bank that allows a set number of free ATM transactions for the rest of the time.

I scheduled a dental cleaning appointment which is covered under my delta dental account. However any uncovered or co-pay procedures I am able to use my HSA account money to cover my half of the expenses. Well I didn’t have any cavities and cosmetic procedures are not covered.

I then moved on to vaccinations. I scheduled an appointment for travel vaccinations. Upon arrival I met my doctor who asked where I was going. I started verbally listing all my destinations starting with Ireland then working my way through Europe and by the time I got North Africa, I noticed that he had stopped taking notes. He looked up at me as if I was joking. I assured him that I was not and in fact had many more.

After listing off all the places I was recommended to have the following vaccinations: Polio, Hepatitis A/B, MMR (Measles, Mumps, Rubella), Tdap (Tetanus Diphtheria), and Typhoid. I guess I won’t be fully covered for hepB as the vaccine consists of three separate shots with separations of one and six months a part; meaning I will only be getting the first two shots. I would have another appointment a month from then to get my second HepB shot and to pick up Malaria and general antibiotics.

To my surprise all this was fully covered by insurance meaning I did not need to use my account money towards. So now I need to find further expenses that will eat up my account. I guess I will be taking a trip to CVS to load up on medical supplies or scheduling extra wellness medical procedures.