Resistant Flashpacker

I thought that by not carrying a laptop and cell phone, it meant that I wasn’t a flashpacker (a backpacker carrying lots of flashy electronics). However, as my pile of “stuff” that I’ll be bringing to India grows, I see that I’m carrying more flashy equipment than I anticipated. This is particularly disturbing when I realize that I don’t plan to bring clothes with me (buying what I need when I arrive in Bangalore instead). How am I going to adequately pack and protect everything in two carry-on bags if I don’t have clothes to cushion them?

Not sure I can answer that right now.

In any case, the items that are of most concern to me include the new camcorder I purchased two days ago to capture the trip on video and my digital camera. The digital camera is not as small as many digital cameras but I’m attached to it because it has various lenses including a wide angle and telephoto. I’m convinced that I’ll regret not having the ability to capture shots of the Taj Mahal with the wide angle or intimate portraits of the locals with the telephoto, so the camera and lenses come with me.

I used to carry this much equipment ages ago when I had a 35mm camera body and a ridiculous amount of lenses that I carried in their own backpack. I remember lugging around what must have been 10-15 lbs of gear in Rome when it was 90 degrees in July. I promptly came back from that trip and went digital. While gear is definitely getting smaller, I fear my trend of carrying too much is creeping up on me again!

So I find myself a resistant flashpacker. I’m not as hard core as some who carry their laptop, cell phone or Blackberry, PDA and GPS, but not as lightweight as I would like to be.

Happy Travels!