My travel itinerary involved visiting cold locations for hiking and camping, as well as exploring urban areas in the scorching summer heat. I had to pack everything in a single bag, so it took me days of researching and planning.
Here is my complete packing list, which all fits perfectly in my 35-L Cotopaxi Del Dia backpack:
Hiking clothes
1 fleece jacket
1 down jacket
1 rain jacket
1 merino wool long-sleeved shirt
1 merino wool short-sleeved shirt
1 trek pants
1 trek leggings
Lounge and sleepwear
Undergarments and smaller clothing items
Footwear
Other travel essentials
I like how the Cotopaxi backpack allows me to easily see everything inside its pockets and compartments when I unzip it and lay it on the floor. It would have been a lot harder to pack and unpack had I brought a single-layer backpack.
Merino is always a minimalist backpacker's best friend. I wore the short-sleeved Merino shirt on warmer hikes while I wore the long-sleeved one on colder hikes. I was able to wear them for 3-4 days in a row without any odor developing. I just used a fabric spray and let them air at night when I changed into my sleepwear.
I interchanged between these trek pants and trek leggings, opting for the pants during shorter hikes and while traveling between countries, and wearing the leggings for longer treks and in colder conditions.
I brought along a fleece jacket that I recall using only for extra warmth while sleeping at Songkul and Sirota yurt camps. My down jacket provided me with enough warmth while just lounging in the campsites or during horse riding. The rain jacket proved to be very useful when it started raining on the first day of the Alakul hike.
These Merrel sandals were perfect for hours of walking in the city and were an essential item to avoid slipping in the muddy campsites. I also liked the color and design which went well with my city clothes. I only used these shoes during my whole trip to Uzbekistan.
I would manage fine without bringing slides as I was always barefoot inside most homes. Moreover, many hostels already provide indoor slippers.
I used two big packing cubes for the hiking clothes and jackets and one small packing cube for the small items and undergarments. My toiletries, first aid, and makeup were in 3 separate mini bags. The remaining travel essentials were stored inside the backpack's mini compartments.
I carried a small coss-body bag containing my airport essentials - passport, cash, credit and debit cards, mobile phone, power bank, selfie stick, Kindle, foldable water bottle, and a few snacks. This also served as my main bag when touring the cities.
I also used a refillable travel pillow to pack all my lighter city clothes, and it proved to be a smart travel hack!
City clothes
3 loose tops
1 cotton shirt
1 wide-leg pants
1 jumpsuit
1 head scarf
1 long scarf
My backpack weighed about 9kg and 2kg for the travel pillow. I did not want to carry all of these when transferring between cities so I always left my backpack in the hostel.
In Almaty, I paid a small fee so I could store my backpack in the hostel that I would be checking in after the 2-day tours in the lakes and canyons.
In Karakol, I left my backpack in the hostel and just carried a daypack for my 3-day trek in Alakul. I returned and claimed it before going back to Bishkek.
In a 20-L Eddie Bauer foldable day-pack, I was able to fit the following: a rain jacket, a down jacket, a pair of base thermal wear, a pair of socks and underwear, a foldable water bottle, a water filter, a power bank, and a few trail food and snacks.
I used a carabiner to hang my sandals outside the bag. I forgot to bring a rain cover, which would have not only protected my stuff from getting wet but also concealed the untidy appearance of the bag. Tip: In the absence of a rain cover, just place your gadgets and clothes inside a garbage bag. Bring a Ziploc bag for waterproofing your mobile phone and gadgets.
After checking out in Tashkent, I stored my backpack at the luggage storage, which allowed me to easily travel between the other cities. I used the same daypack which fit all my city clothes, a bag of toiletries, and a make-up bag. I returned to the hotel to claim my backpack just in time before boarding my return flight.
On my return flight, I mistakenly decided to check in my backpack since it was free and part of the ticket I paid for. Following a layover in New Delhi and upon reaching Bangkok, I realized that the hip belt support and rain cover were no longer in the backpack.
IndiGo Airlines failed to find them, and despite weeks of correspondence with their customer support, they only provided me with a travel voucher worth 1500 INR. My travel insurance agreed to give me P3,000 after submitting a lot of documents.
Thankfully, another reason why I highly recommend Cotopaxi as the top choice for a travel backpack is that when I informed them about the incident, they immediately sent me a replacement for the lost parts at no cost!
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