travel (non)essentials

Forget about what you should take away when you set off on your travels, think about what you really want and can't live without! Below is a list of all the things that I will be taking with me that probably could be left behind in the name of extra space (and less weight)!

• ipod: This one probably will make most peoples essential lists; and probably doesn't really take up enough room to warrant being left behind... its the iPod Classic (80GB). Bought for the bargain price of £140 from Ebuyer the iPod is going to provide me with entertainment on all those LONG journeys en route to all the places that we're going to visit. It'll hold music, video, games, podcasts, audio books and photos (if you activate the hard disc drive mode through itunes - it stores full quality copies of the photos). It'll take a bit of filling but thats what the next 12 months are for!
• NDS: Probably a less popular travel choice here (little bit geeky...) but the Nintendo DS is another gadget that I'll be taking along on my travels. As well as playing LOADS of excellent games it can also surf the web - allowing me to hopefully access my blog for a bit of impromptu updating on a tiny almost useless touch screen keyboard - when I can find free wifi access!
• Clippers: A little bit more obscure... I'll be taking along my wireless hair clippers - good for shaving my head and my face and therefore preventing any hairy-hippy-traveller-itis from occurring - maybe I can make a bit of money cutting peoples hair as well!!
• Sketch pad: I'm sh!t at art but having a few months 'off' regular life its inevitable that there will be LONG periods of time which will need to be filled between exciting (and expensive) activities. So I thought why shouldn't I take up drawing... I used to enjoy it when I was young so maybe I'll find my calling in life and sell a picture for a few million quid!

That wraps up the extra little items I'll be taking along to help make my trip go smoothly... probably unnecessary but they won't be being left behind; unless anyone can give me a good reason to?!