Ultralight Traveling in Azerbaijan

Just this for a week.  And if you can pack for a week, you can pack for a month

Once you accept it, traveling light is extremely easy to do.  No matter if you're in the US, or backpacking around the world, or hopping on and off mushrutkas in Azerbaijan-if you accept the ultralight traveling mentality you can do it anywhere.  The basic assumption of this style of travel travel is that you will enjoy your journey more by having less stuff to weigh you down, both literally and mentally.

So, for my trip south, I experimented with some ultralight travel, choosing to limit myself to a gym bag that normally is used to hold a pair of shoes and a workout shirt and shorts.  It was liberating to have a bag smaller than Glendene's purse, let alone her backpack.  Hurriedly hopping on and off mushrutkas and buses was a breeze, and I was able to easily traipse through the various cities we visited unencumbered by a heavy load.

Keep in mind the following when preparing for an Ultralight Trip:

1) You will do laundry.  I did laundry twice, once by hand and once in a machine.

2) To get rid of weight: buy and borrow.  I purchased 2 mini-soaps (total: 80 gepik) and borrowed shampoo and telephone chargers.

Here's my list for a week of travel that included hiking in the Talyish mountains, swimming in hot springs, and partying till 4 in the morning in Baku.  We were in very conservative areas and more progressive areas, and we hung out with Azeris and Americans.

Gotta Stay Fly:
Jeans
3 shirts
1 undershirt
3 pairs of underwear
2 pairs of socks
1 pair of shorts, for swimming and working out
sunglasses
sneakers

Of these items, I wore my jeans, a shirt, a pair of socks and underwear, and my sneakers on departure (so I only had 2 shirts, 2 pairs of underwear, etc in my packed bag)

So Fresh, So Clean:
toothbrush/toothpaste
floss
razor/blades
deodorant
travel sized lotion from a hotel
travel towel
mosquito repellant that plugs into the wall
earplugs
lip balm

Bring Da Ruckus:
iPod touch/charge/headphones
camera/extra battery
notebook (with two ripped out crossword puzzles-great idea!)
pen
kindle
2 phones (one for psn)
wallet
keys

Bag:
Nike gym bag

This worked out very very well for the week and will probably serve as the skeleton for my sojourn through SE Asia in 2013-though with some different clothes.  I'm glad I brought the iPod Touch instead of the iPad, I didn't need the screen real estate of the iPad-the iPod served me fine for my internet needs.  The mosquito repellant was a little bulky but a godsend.  I hardly had any bites throughout this trip, and Glendene would wake up covered if we weren't sleeping in the same room.

Traveling in-country is nice, people are cool with sharing toiletries and everyone has extra bedding.  The next time I won't even bring my kindle, I picked up a book at the first stop and didn't open the kindle once.  I also won't bring my razor.  I usually shave about once a week in country, maybe twice, and it would be simpler to just buy a disposable for about 50 gepik.  I do need to add a scrubby cloth to this list, which I ended up purchasing midway through and really is a necessary item.

I purchased water throughout the way, and would fill empty water bottles at volunteers' houses.  In the very beginning I also purchased a manat worth of almonds, which gave me a much needed something to munch on throughout the trip while waiting on mushrutkas.

My upcoming trip to Turkey will be decidedly much less minimal, but more glamorous.