The Aeronauts and Smart Alec Travel to the Philippines

[papids2000]

Just got back from a trip to the Philippines with the Aeronaut and the Smart Alec as our only bags
we took along. I was actually able to stow the Smart Alec in the Aeronaut I carried so we only had to carry one bag through security. This was much more relaxed and the bags still fit in all the
overhead bins except on one of the Philippine domestic flights.

The Smart Alec became our only daypack for daily trips. When we travelled to Palaui Island I used an Osprey rain cover for the Smart Alec as it was raining that day and also the ocean spray from the waves that hit the boat made sure we all were wet. I also used the Bihn Packing Cube Backpack on the inside of the Smart Alec to pack all the cameras and phones and everything stayed completely dry.

We used the backpack method on the Aeronauts when walking through the airports and then stowed the straps when boarding the plane so it was easy stowing in the overhead bins compared to oversized carryon bags I observed other passengers trying to stow.












At the airport waiting.



At the Engano Lighthouse on Palaui Island




In the background the Two Sisters Islands.



Our guide and a brief history of the lighthouse.




Our transportation to the Island.

[Shiva]

lovely lovely pictures..and the Two Sisters Islands look amazing.
Your first picture of the Smart Alec--the bungee cords in front are white...Flash?! but it did look good though!
the Osprey rain cover: what size did you get? I have a Smart Alec too--and so wish it had an integrated rain cover...that is still my wish list for TB...

[FlightRisk]

way cool pictures!

[Maria]

What an adventure! The pictures are beautiful - a place I would love to visit too.

Great job on the bags. Mind sharing your packing list and how long you were away? :)

[papids2000]

lovely lovely pictures..and the Two Sisters Islands look amazing.
Your first picture of the Smart Alec--the bungee cords in front are white...Flash?! but it did look good though!
the Osprey rain cover: what size did you get? I have a Smart Alec too--and so wish it had an integrated rain cover...that is still my wish list for TB...

Yes the reflective bungee cords turned white from the flash on the camera. The Osprey rain cover is a size small and can be purchased from Osprey.

[papids2000]

What an adventure! The pictures are beautiful - a place I would love to visit too.

Great job on the bags. Mind sharing your packing list and how long you were away? :)

We were gone for 17 days. Even with all that was packed we still did not have to use the two end pockets except for small items. I even brought along 2 pairs of shoes but they were packed inside the main compartment. Since it is always hot in the Philippines very light weight clothing was packed keeping the volume and weight to a minimum. We did not bring any laptops but did bring cameras, and 2 phones so even gadgets were kept to a minimum. The clothes I brought were nylon or polyester and were fast drying and lightweight.

[Maria]

Thanks papids2000! That is impressive, 2 1/2 weeks of adventure travel (well, my version of adventure travel that is!) with an aeronaut each. I always find it's the gadgets' extras - powder cord, battery chargers etc, that take up weight and space. Plus personal items / supplies too.

[Frank II]

Maria....to lessen weight and space, why not look into a light weight multi-charger. Here's an article I wrote about a few of them.

Gear Review: Brigade of the Light*Chargers - OBOW Blog - One-bag, carry-on, light travel tips, techniques, and gear

I now travel with a Fueltank Duo because it can charge two gadgets at once even on a long flight where I may not be able to plug it in.

[Just]

Thank you Frank II! I've been looking all over for something to replace the behemothly heavy charging cables for my digital camera and via your recommendation just ordered a Lenmar PPUClip!

[Maria]

Thank you Frank II. Looks intriguing!

I should have clarified - the weight of my external bounce flash (even if small), rechargeable battery pack for said flash - are part of that weight, etc. Those pieces add up and if I am taking my camera (of course!) - I like to take the flash too.

Still, I manage to get two weeks worth of clothing and such under 13 pounds...and am aiming to get it even lighter. I could toss it all into a plastic bag to save weight. (The horror, the horror!) But I want to travel in style and be organized! ;)

All hope of lighter travel is gone if I happen to travel with my cat - well, he needs his own Aeronaut as I bring so much for him. He'll have to wait for another order to be placed....

[papids2000]

Thanks papids2000! That is impressive, 2 1/2 weeks of adventure travel (well, my version of adventure travel that is!) with an aeronaut each. I always find it's the gadgets' extras - powder cord, battery chargers etc, that take up weight and space. Plus personal items / supplies too.

We did bring chargers for our phones ( one being an Iphone) and used the Iphone as our internet connection. Internet connections in the Philippines are bad anyway when travelling outside the larger cites so bringing a laptop or Ipad would useless anyway. The camera we brought to take the photos was a Panasonic Lumix FP8 (compact digital camera). I have two batteries for the camera both were charged up before we left so we left charger at home and both batteries were sufficient for the trip.

[Katy]

Wow, such beautiful pictures! It looks like you had a blast :)!

[gmanedit]

All hope of lighter travel is gone if I happen to travel with my cat - well, he needs his own Aeronaut as I bring so much for him. He'll have to wait for another order to be placed....

Tell us more. Where do you go? What means of transportation? What do you take for him? Is he a good traveler? (I road-tripped with a Siamese, and she would not shut up in the car.)

[Maria]

Gmanedit - He's so good in the car, I am lucky. Doesn't make a peep, unless he responds to your talking to him. He stays in his carrier, and takes a nap. Not stressed at all. I always have the carrier in a position where he can see me. Going to see my family locally is at least an hour by car. A month ago we made a lengthy road trip - and he was fine. He did get to come out of the carrier whenever we stopped and he actually goes back in when I ask him too. Here is a really bad picture of when we was checking out the scenery at a highway rest stop.

At this rest stop, my mother was walking back to the car on the passenger side and he was at that window looking for her, someone else drove up in a big truck parking along that side and they were walking around their vehicle as my mother was returning. Mika started to growl! Not the "I see a dog and I'm frightened" but his low grumbling "guard cat" growl. He was watching out for my mother and the strangers were too close to her - at least according to him!

I had Siamese cats all my life - complete characters and some were calm in the car while others let you know in their distinctive Siamese voice that they were not happy. It always helped if I or the dog was with them.

Here is my road trip packing list for my cat:
- cat carrier
- travel litter pan
- bag of litter (organic flushable kind)
- stainless steel scooper, Lysol wipes for such if necessary
- small dust pan and whisk (for litter that tends to fly all over the place!)
- round-about track with a built in scratching section so I don't have to lug around a scratching post, plus he enjoys playing with it
- various brushes (he likes to choose which one he wants me to use)
- bag of kibble (usually I put this into a double zipper top baggie)
- one of his water bowls (he's rather picky) plus a bottle of water for the road
- a towel, as sometimes he feels it's his blankie
- kitty chicken flavoured toothpaste and kitty tooth brush (forgot to include in photo)
- selection of toys
- crinkle tunnel that folds up (forgot to include in photo!)
- little packet of cat treats (also forgot to picture!)

See? He needs his own Aeronaut! (Should I have put this in the "not about bags" thread?)

[Katy]

Gmanedit - He's so good in the car, I am lucky. Doesn't make a peep, unless he responds to your talking to him. He stays in his carrier, and takes a nap. Not stressed at all. I always have the carrier in a position where he can see me. Going to see my family locally is at least an hour by car. A month ago we made a lengthy road trip - and he was fine. He did get to come out of the carrier whenever we stopped and he actually goes back in when I ask him too. Here is a really bad picture of when we was checking out the scenery at a highway rest stop.

At this rest stop, my mother was walking back to the car on the passenger side and he was at that window looking for her, someone else drove up in a big truck parking along that side and they were walking around their vehicle as my mother was returning. Mika started to growl! Not the "I see a dog and I'm frightened" but his low grumbling "guard cat" growl. He was watching out for my mother and the strangers were too close to her - at least according to him!

I had Siamese cats all my life - complete characters and some were calm in the car while others let you know in their distinctive Siamese voice that they were not happy. It always helped if I or the dog was with them.

Here is my road trip packing list for my cat:
- cat carrier
- travel litter pan
- bag of litter (organic flushable kind)
- stainless steel scooper, Lysol wipes for such if necessary
- small dust pan and whisk (for litter that tends to fly all over the place!)
- round-about track with a built in scratching section so I don't have to lug around a scratching post, plus he enjoys playing with it
- various brushes (he likes to choose which one he wants me to use)
- bag of kibble (usually I put this into a double zipper top baggie)
- one of his water bowls (he's rather picky) plus a bottle of water for the road
- a towel, as sometimes he feels it's his blankie
- kitty chicken flavoured toothpaste and kitty tooth brush (forgot to include in photo)
- selection of toys
- crinkle tunnel that folds up (forgot to include in photo!)
- little packet of cat treats (also forgot to picture!)

See? He needs his own Aeronaut! (Should I have put this in the "not about bags" thread?)

I demand that you bring him along when you visit Seattle :).