Mera Peak Packing: The Misses

To follow up on my last post about the things that proved indispensable on the trek, here are the things that I regret bringing and a few things that I wished I had.

1. Quick Dry Towel
   
   All towels are equal, but some are more equal than others. Sigh.
   
   Nick brought his REI camp towel on the trek...but I did not. I packed a super thin cotton towel from India since this is what I wanted for the rest of our round the world trip.
   
   I love these Indian towels because they dry in 10 mins in the sun, are really absorbent for their size, take up less room than Nick's travel towel and are big enough to wrap all the way around me. I have used my favourite towel on countless camping trips and international trips over the years and it has served me very well.
   
   This trek is the first time I found myself wishing I had a camp towel.
   
   

Mera Peak Packing: The Hits!

Every time I travel -- heck, every time I go on a picnic -- I end up finding something I'd do differently the next time around. Our Nepal trek was no different. After 18 days on the trail, we learned a thing or two about what worked and what didn't. So let's begin with the success stories...

Mammut Aconcagua Fleece

Mammut Aconcagua fleece hoodie

We spent the majority of our our trek above 4, 000m. So when you stop moving, when you start going downhill, or when the sun goes behind a cloud, you get cold very quickly. I feel like we were constantly taking layers on/off. The Mammut Aconcagua fleece hoodie I bought just before this trip really shone in these variable conditions.

This is the single most useful and versatile item I packed. I wore it every single day! Appearances can be deceiving; it may look like a pretty basic hoodie, but it has some key design features that make it so perfect.

The iPad as a laptop replacement: The Misses

This is a follow-up to my last post about the add-ons that make the iPad a viable laptop replacement. Although it does so many things well, there are still times when you need a computer.

For me, the biggest stumbling blocks are,

1. Photo Backup
2. Blogging
3. Web Forms

The iPad as a laptop replacement: The Hits!

When Nick got me an iPad 2 for my birthday three years ago, I was obviously, super excited! But I didn't think I really needed one and I never imagined that I'd use it for anything more than browsing the internet or reading eBooks.

Boy was I ever wrong!

Within 6 months, it was 95% iPad and 5% desktop/laptop. The Acer is now peacefully living out the rest of his days in my parents' home as a backup hard drive. I do still need a computer at times (especially now that I have started blogging), but I'm pretty close to being completely laptop/desktop free!

Looks like a mini laptop, eh?

There are a few add-ons that have made the iPad a more viable laptop replacement. As well as some limitations that still force me to use a proper computer. I'll go over the successes in this post and cover the limitations in my next one.

Good Add-Ons	Still Missing
Bluetooth Keyboard	Photo Backup (from iPad to USB key)
PDF Expert	Full-featured blogging
iPhoto and Skitch	Ability to upload documents on web forms
Pages

Flashback to Lijiang: The Misses

To balance out my last post about all the things we loved about Lijiang, I wanted to share some of the disappointments and a few of our screw ups as well. This is a normal part of travel, of course. But hopefully our "oops" moments will help others make better decisions. So here are a few things that didn't go exactly as planned...

Flashback to Lijiang: The Hits!

Lijiang has a bit of a bad rap for being crowded, expensive and overly commercialized. All of which is totally true. But that doesn't mean it can't be a whole lot of fun as well!

Nick and I spent 4 days in Lijiang last year after the earthquake in Shangri-La delayed our Tiger Leaping Gorge trek. It may have been more time than we had planned, but we had a wonderful time and felt it was a great start to our adventures in China.

Mu's Residence in Lijiang Old Town

It helped that we were there at the start of the low season (such as it is). So while the crowds were large at times, they were not impossible to navigate. But we were also able to avoid some of the tourist traps and really enjoy ourselves. Here's how were able to make the most of our extended stay in Lijiang...