Show me the money - getting the travel budget together

Best ever op shop bargain: my 60 Degrees North jacket
sourced from the Reykjavik Red Cross shop,
being modelled on the Icelandic island of Videy

Heading overseas for months is an expensive business, even if one is a) retired with a pension, and b) going to inexpensive India. 

We worked out that our daily travel budget should be $85/day.

No-one has actually been upfront enough to ask this question yet, but an obvious query is:

How can you afford to do this?

Picking a pack - how will I carry my gear?

My new Osprey Kyte, 33 L
of useful pack.

Goldilocks had it easy. Choosing a bowl of porridge for one meal or a bed for a single night means a bad choice only lasts a short time.

But I'm trying to make a decision about which bags will carry my gear across the Himalayas for months. What I choose will affect how I live, where I can fly, whether I'll keep my gear secure, and whether I'll suffer a bad back in this trip. 

These are the factors that I have to think about. Some airlines we have booked only allow 20kg maximum checked luggage so I've got to get the best value out of cabin luggage. My packing list is getting longer and longer and longer - I've realised I can't carry on my back all the bits and pieces I need for the simple nomads' life we have planned.

Taking the leap - here's our plan

Nepal, Tibet, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh. Kathmandu, to Lhasa, to Mount Kailash, to Leh, to Dharamsala.

That's where we are headed at the end of July 2017: the Himalayas.