In response to some questions I have received, here is a list of what we travel with.

Previously we traveled with a backpack and day pack each.
This trip we have managed to compress everything into ONE big backpack and 2 small day packs. Pretty good seeing as we gained an extra person!

That being said there are several items we simply cannot live without (in no order of importance):

*  Silk sleep sheet - we simply could not live without these. They are amazing when you are sleeping in a dodgy guesthouse (silk is virtually impenetrable to bedbugs), perfect to throw over you if the fan is a bit too cool, great for those guesthouses that you need to provide your own sheets for etc etc.. the uses are limitless! As we have Gypsy with us now, we have upgraded to 1 double sheet, and 1 single sheet. So it can either be her vs us, or mum and bub vs dad. Either way, we are all safe and clean!

* Sleeping bag - Ours are Denali Pod 200 - a tiny tiny 800 gram sleeping bag and it has been amazing. I know, a sleeping bag in Asia?!?! But seriously, you NEED it!! Asia can be really hot, but it can also be really really cold. Not to mention those bus trips where the AC is turned up to arctic!!

* Camera - We used to have an Olympus waterproof camera but have now upgraded to a Canon G12. Having a good camera that suits your needs goes without explanation. We also travel with an underwater housing for it and a spare battery.

* Thongs - The ultimate travel foot wear. AKA Jandles, Sandles, slippers, flip-flops...

* A computer - Cliche as it is, we know "flash-packer" and all, having a computer has been AMAZING! We started out without one and bought a cheap little ASUS in Malaysia and have not looked back. For space, as well as weight, we have a Macbook Air. Most places in the world these days have wi-fi, including Asia. The computer has been amazing to: book flights, research next destinations, write emails, blog, keep track of your money, internet bank securely, make bookings, backup photos, watch movies, listen to music, skype family and friends for free, and a million other reasons. Even in places with no wi-fi it certainly has not been dead-weight. If you are only going for a short time, an ipad or tablet, and some spare sd cards for your camera could also work well. 

* Refillable water bottle - There are water refill "stations" all over Asia and having your own bottle is a great way to reduce costs (refills are practically free) as well as to reduce your plastic footprint. It has many other practical purposes such as to make instant soup in, drink tea, use as a hot water bottle, use as weights after a few months of excessive eating etc etc..

* A sarong - Another cliche but extremely practical. Throw it over you on a cold bus, hang it up on a dorm bed for privacy, use it as a towel, use it as a dress/skirt, bathe in it when bathing in public rivers etc with locals, use it as a scarf, wrap it around your head to protect you from the sun, use as a mosquito screen, use it as a baby change mat, use it to cover up when breastfeeding in public etc etc

* A notebook - Essential to keep track of your money, write notes, get new friends' contact details, let bub draw, take note of bub's new milestones etc etc..

* Medical kit - Obviously it's pretty important to have a medical kit but if you travel like we do, make sure it has atleast a basic anti-biotic, malarone(anti-malarial), bandaids, panadol and emergency supplies enough to suffice you for a couple days in case you are that far away from a hospital. There isn't much in our medical kit we haven't used at least once. 

* Laundry powder (in a 500 ml water bottle) and scrubbing brush - Washing machines are really hard to come by and getting people to do your laundry for you can cost you a small fortune. And sometimes things go missing or get damaged. Handwashing yourself is pretty easy and quick, not to mention cheap! We also have an elastic clothes line which has been pretty handy.

* Wash nets - Wash nets are the perfect way to keep your backpack organised. We have 1 each. 1 for Roh's clothes, 1 for Rob's clothes, 1 for Gypsy's clothes, and 1 for our underwear and misc objects. It makes packing SO much easier, makes finding things SO much easier, the nets can double up as pillows or cushions, can be used as a barrier to stop bubs from rolling off the bed during naps, and the net also allows the clothes to breathe so your bag doesn't end up stinking. 

* Toiletries - You can buy everything you need on the road. We only travel with the bare essentials - soap, tooth brushes etc, moisturiser, sunscreen, insect repellant, razor, nail clippers etc. 

Other miscellaneous items and baby specific items we have:

We are big fans of cloth nappies and were hoping to be able to travel with them aswell. We took them to Japan with us, and found that, even though we had access to a washing machine daily, because cloth nappies can’t be put through a dryer, that having to wait for them to dry before we could move on, by which time we had a heap of wet and soiled nappies again, just wasn’t practical…

Also, in most of Asia washing is done by hand (even if you  give your washing to a hotel to do, about half the time it is done by hand), so using cloth was even less practical. So unfortunately we left our cloth nappies with nana and have learnt to embrace disposables.. 

Knowing we were travelling to Sri Lanka first I did some research and learnt that nappies were not only expensive, but also hard to come by, so we decided to bring as many with us as we could. We ended up filling an entire Coles blue cold bag!!! And I’m glad we did. Whilst they are easier to find than I expected, unless you buy from big supermarkets (Food city or Santosa) in cities, you can only by them in packs of 4 and more times than not, they won’t have the size you need anyway!

So, as annoying as it is to have to travel with an extra bag just for nappies, we try to keep it as full as we can. Wipes are even more expensive (AUD$7 for a pack of 80!) and hard to come by so definitely bring some from home!

As for brands, Pampers are virtually everywhere. In fact, the word for nappy in SriLanka and in Malaysia is simply “pampers.” Talk about brand power.

We have found that the pampers here are not only really expensive but actually not that great quality..  Whereas the cheap Taiwan imported nappies we have only found at Food City on occasion, are actually really good quality! Go figure!

Another thing to keep in mind is that sizes really change. Gypsy was in crawlers or smalls in Australia, and is now suddenly in large! The mediums just were too small. So it may be best to buy a 4 pack first to check the size before spending a small fortune on a 38 pack.

As for other countries, in Fiji we found nappies to not only be really expensive, but unless you bought the expensive, good quality ones, they were terrible and constantly leaked! We found it easier to just let her go nudie in a pair of swimmers for most of the day, and just rinse them out as needed. 

The quality and variety of nappies available in Japan is amazing! It’s even easy to find biodegradable of semi-biodegradable nappies too!

In Malaysia nappies were maybe a fraction cheaper than in Australia but also of a pretty good quality.

My advice:

No matter how long you are going for, do some googling and find out about nappies in your destination. 

If you are travelling to Sri Lanka for only a couple of weeks, and carrying an extra bag won’t bother you too much, then I would suggest bringing your own. And your own wipes too. If you are travelling for longer, maybe bring a supply with you to fall back on, or for night time use while you experiment with what is available locally.

As for change facilities… Quite simply, they don’t exist. In Japan you can find baby change rooms, and in larger shopping malls in Malaysia and even Colombo you can as well. But apart from that, no… 

We go by the adage, “do as the locals do” , so in Australia or Japan we sought change-rooms. And here in Asia, we simply change Gypsy wherever we are, whether it be on a moving bus, or a restaurant floor. If you can remember to bring a little change mat with you it’s obviously a little more hygienic. We have also become quite adept at changing her on the other’s lap, and also while she is standing. (Infant beds on airplanes are super handy as well!)

In Asia, a child is the most important part of any community so no one will blink an eye at you changing them (or nursing) wherever it is necessary to do so. Strangers will even offer to dispose of the nappy for you! It might take a while to get used to at first, but it really is such a beautiful and natural way to raise a child.