Here I go again

A small part of the packing for 2 months in the UK - cat not included

Just about a year after the last packing photo, here I go again: 

• piling up stuff, wrangling gear lists; 

• trying to figure out likely weather; 

• working out how many combinations of clothing and layers can get me through an unseasonably warm UK summer into autumn, through hiking and socialising; 

• getting on and off public transport - so the bags have to be small (no lovely Indian porters and kind locals to take pity on an elderly tourist on this trip). 

Himalayas: the wrap

Remember this photo? What was useful? What should I not have
bothered with?

Six months after coming back from the Himalayas - time for a quick review of how that huge pile of packing worked over a long trip.

Most useful item?

I'd like to say it was the Vegemite. The tube lasted me the whole trip and when times were tough, a smear of brown salty yeast by-product on toast hit the spot. But I could have got by without it.

Without doubt, I couldn't have got by without the Exped inflatable extra-light mattress. I only spent one night in a tent - but right from the first night in a Lhasa hotel, through the whole of Ladakh, and into Dharamsala - the guest house mattresses are solid boards. The only way I (and my mate Glenys later on) got a decent night's sleep was to put the Exped on top of the mattress. 
My Kathmandu thermos mug gets an honourable mention.