From a couple different cellphones and SIM cards to various day bags which help her blend in as a local, writer Lara Dunston shares her gear with us.
I actually don’t use a backpack everyday, as I try not to stand out as a traveler and prefer to be mistaken for a local.
The Bags
I use a Samsonite Sahora Upright Spinner which I’ve had for 3.5 years and it’s absolutely brilliant although looking a bit battered now, as my husband, travel photographer Terence Carter, and I have been traveling constantly since January 2006, so time for an upgrade I think.
I carry a Borealis backpack by The North Face in my Samsonite so if we’re doing a trek or heading into the backcountry for a while, I whip that out and we’ll store the Samsonites with the bulk of our gear at a hotel.
For day-to-day travel around towns and cities, I carry a huge leather shoulder bag.
I’ve never found the perfect bag so I’m working with a renowned Italian family of leather-makers to create a bag that looks stylish but is also strong and super-practical with lots of pockets and inserts for all those essentials professional travelers carry with them.
So, what goes inside?
13-Inch Widescreen MacBook
I have just upgraded and the new girl is gorgeous! My last one served me well for 3 years, so it was sad to say goodbye but she was never quite the same after falling from the top of a cupboard in a hotel room in Chiang Mai.
I never travel anywhere without my laptop – I do absolutely everything on it: writing books and stories, checking email, organizing my photos, maintaining my blog, doing our accounts.
It goes absolutely everywhere with me – it even came trekking through the hill tribe villages in Thailand.
And this one is even lighter! (I also carry a bunch of USBs and portable drives for backing up data: see Terry’s post on that process.)
Motorola MOTORAZR
I carry several cell phones – one for my main number in Dubai, one for Australia (only because phones are locked there), and one which we use to pop in a local SIM card, which we’ll buy if we’re working in a place for a few weeks or longer.
We find using local SIMs to be the cheapest and easiest way to make calls by far and locals prefer to call people back on local numbers so it makes research easier.
We have quite a collection of SIMs now! I have a couple of Nokia phones but my favorite is the Motorola MOTORAZR.
iPod
I have an i-Pod mainly for recording audio interviews, but also for listening to music from my i-Tunes library (my CD collection is stored on the laptop, of course), and learning languages.
At the moment I’m using Earworms by Berlitz to improve my Italian, and it’s just brilliant – it truly is as revolutionary as they say!
Point-and-Shoot Camera
My compact camera of choice is a Canon G10 PowerShot. Terry has quite a collection of pro-Nikons of course, and I get the hand-me-downs when he upgrades, but I find myself using a compact more because I’m so busy taking notes and my photos are memory shots mainly.
I also like to have something I can sneak into restaurants! The Canon is fantastic in low-light and the picture quality is brilliant.
My only complaint is that the LCD screen cracked in the time between the guy in the store packed it away and I unpacked it at the hotel, and they wouldn’t replace it. The screen really needed to come with a protection panel.
Notebooks and Journals
I don’t go anywhere without a few notebooks. I don’t use Moleskins. I’ve used them before and tried several different types but they always fall apart. They’re not made for our kind of traveling.
I wish they were because they look so good, but they simply don’t do the job for me.
I’m probably one of the few travel writers who’ll admit that. I opt for spiral bound, pocket-size notebooks with recycled paper and recycled cardboard or plastic covers, and when I find something I like, I’ll get half a dozen.
The last lot I bought in Italy, the ones before in Amsterdam but at the moment I’m using some I picked up from a supermarket in Australia and they’re fabulous.
Spiral bound is essential because I staple business cards, receipts, tickets, tags and even serviettes with the relevant notes or review, so when the editor comes back to me to check a number, I have all the info together.
About Lara Dunston
Australian travel writer Lara Dunston has been ‘based’ in the United Arab Emirates since 1998.
Although she and husband, photographer/co-author Terence Carter, have actually been traveling the world constantly since January 2006, bouncing across the planet from one assignment to another; the closest thing they have to a ‘home’ is their storage unit in Dubai.
Lara has had scores of articles published, everywhere from National Geographic Traveler to USA Today, and has authored and updated over 40 guidebooks (most with Terry) for Rough Guides, Footprint, DK, and Lonely Planet among other publishers.
Lara and Terry have four books coming out in the next few months on Calabria, Northern Italy, Cyprus, and the Italian Lakes. They are currently in Australia writing books. Lara reflects upon the stuff she finds cool (and not so cool) about travel, the travel media, and travel industry at Cool Travel Guide.
About the Author
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7 Comments... join the discussion!
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This is so fascinating… I am endlessly concerned about the gear aspect when I travel, and I too have a huge problem trying to find decent, light travel bags that I always hope will fit everything from my bigger camera to my mac air, and all of the gadgets that accompany it… while still being magically light. Haven’t found it either. And, yes, backpacks are not really all that practical either, just cos I’m a tourist, I don’t need to look like I’m 21 and out on my first big adventure. I’ve also had the same problem with Moleskins and I love that Lara is fessing up about it too… I had this whole ‘it must be me’ going on with it, cos they are lovely to write in, but they are simply too chunky and they do fall apart and putting items in them is fine if you want to put four or five things in, but filling them in the way that you might with a spiral notebook, just doesn’t cut it.
Fascinating stuff.
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Hi Julie – thanks! I’m going to have to check out that bag of yours…
Hi Sandy – I’m so glad I’m not the only one with the problem with Moleskins. I’ve tried them a number of times because so many writers say they love them but each time they fall apart. Now I wouldn’t mind having a go and designing one of those…
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Thanks for sharing! I have the same computer, love it! I miss my 12″ powerbook but it was time: ) I also love Canon and have both the EOS Rebel and a small power shot….the smaller one is easier for everyday.
Thanks as always, I love reading about you and I wanted to say that is a great picture of you!
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Hi Sara – totally relate – parting with the 12 inch is like parting with my own flesh and blood. And thanks for the kind words – very sweet of you! – the pic was taken at one of my favorite waterside sheesha cafes in Dubai (on the Deira side). I’m puffing on some strawberry sheesha (narghile/waterpipe/hubbly bubbly) – I’m not a smoker at all, but I do like to indulge in an aromatic inhale of apple, strawberry or grape sheesha every now and again.
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lara is a constant inspiration! wonderful to see her featured here
anne
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Oh god, how many cases I used to go through when they were thrown around in the early days of the emerging Arab emirates. One a trip would be a good guess.
I now use an Atlantic wheels for clothes etc. and an Antler wheel-on as cabin baggage, containing my Canon 5D + other equipment, and Acer netbook, pocket book to read on long flights, make-up (Prescriptives), Imodium (In case i get d…….) from the airline food (remember those poor Japanese!) plus a swimming costume, pareu and sun-block ) in case of delays in a tropical climate- Air India please own up!
I used to include a mini-bottle of scotch, but since the Glasgow episode, this has been taken from me. In Singapore recently, I was made to drink it neat by security in the transit terminal (I did). The Antler also carries something I NEVER leave home without ie. a small airline pillow for a good sleep anywhere I find myself.
I use spiral notebooks (like Laura) yellow, if I can find them, and I don`t carry a cell-phones: I don`t even have a mobile at home-base (London) as I HATE them.
I pack an Italian leather-bag hand-bag which packs flat on top of my clothes for a little elegance, as well as a double-stitched fabric shoulder bag ( tailor-made following a mugging in Havana) for daily sorties, in `strange cities`.
If I need to carry `stuff`, I have a smallish Samsonite backpack which is still good
after 10 years use.I am nearly finished a travel memoir of 35 years on the road as a freelance photojournalist/ travel writer working out of the Middle East and East Africa ( 12 guides/books under my belt + masses of articles/photos).
My new book about my adventures – Travels with my Hat – will be published in 2010.
http://christinebosborne.blogspot.com
Thank you.
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