10 days left... what to pack?

With the seemingly endless list of resources available for packing - you'll never actually find the "magic" list that works for everyone. One thing that correlates all of these lists, however, is to pack light.

How light is light? A funny, yet disgusting suggestion made by Charley Boorman in "Long Way Round" was to use one pair of underwear four times. Once forwards, then inside-out, then backwards, and then backwards and inside out... this would give enough time for the "skid marks to dry". This translates to 16 consecutive days of not washing 4 pairs of undies! Blech! So maybe I won't be going to that extreme... I think I can handle carrying an extra pound of undies around.

Of course, there are those essentials that you can only buy here that you won't be able to find there. An old colleague of mine suggested I bring all the drugs that I need from Canada, because many similar looking pills disguised as painkillers may be placebos. It might be a lot of speculation, but I figure that I won't take my chances with that. Its a good thing to bring Imodium or Pepto Bismol, as there is a good chance I might encounter traveler's diarrhea. My doctor prescribed Ciprofloxacin to treat more severe cases of the runs, but hopefully I won't need to use it. Oh, I can't forget to mention the need for Malaria pills in countries where the disease is an endemic (such as Laos and Cambodia). Apparently the brand of Malaria pills I bought (Mefloquine) can cause hallucinations, among other side effects... lets hope I don't freak out in the middle of the trip.

There are some cool things that I've been finding at Mountain Equipment Co-op that would be ridiculously awesome to have, but I probably wouldn't end up using anyways... items such as:
- Mosquito Head Net
- Headlamp
- Water Filter
- GPS
- Scrambled, freeze-dried eggs

The list goes on...

I suppose the most important thing to bring is your brain. Really... traveling with even the slightest bit of insight will serve you the best, regardless of what equipment you're using.