Technology
iPad. 64gb iPad with 3G and wifi. The iPad was a generous gift from a well wisher ahead of the trip. 3G wasn't enabled, as the iPad hadn't officially been launched in Singapore before the trip, and i had not been able to get a microsim in time. The wifi was very useful in free spots en route. Useful apps included map, translator, scrabble app was excellent. Prior to the trip Robert and I had downloaded ibooks, podcasts from the BBC and various other sources, including comedy, science, reflection and general fiction. I had tried but failed to download dvds to the iPad. I had bought all the right software, but assume that i was voiding digital rights, and the film refused to safe to the ipad.
top-top is to take a screen shot using the ipad of key maps (hold the on-off and home button together) and then this can be referred to easily when wifi is dodgy or unavailable.
iPhone 3gs, 32gb OS3. Useful for blogs, maps, currency converter app, camera, ipod, video.
iPod (my son - obviously not needed if you have splitter for ipad and iphone to listen to audio together)
Nikon d80 DSLR (3 years old, but very reliable)
Sony Handycam, TRV80e (10 years old, but still working) - in hindsight not really needed as the iphone video is of pretty decent quality for capturing quick motion items. Other travellers had more state-of-the-art handycams, and were able to edit on the train. With an Iphone 4, you will not need any other video camera.
Charger for Sony and Nikon, two chargers for iphone, ipad etc
Liftrons charger for gadgets (see power below)
Adaptor for power points (used all the time)
Squash ball to use in place of plug in the sinks (never used)
Wifi access
Most hotels had some form of wifi, and mostly free. We found the best free access was at Starbucks in Beijing and Moscow, though other cafes en route also had some access. Mainland Europe was a drag as many hotspots charge, and without an account we were unable to logon. Starbucks in Paris charged quite a few euros, which was a shame.
Communications
Skype worked well on iPhone and iPad from free access spots. On the train there was Edge and 3G coverage, but it proved to be quite expensive, even for short SMS and for blogging. One month of train and europe travel with occasional usage easily cost US$400. Would be worth exploring getting prepaid sims in Beijing, Moscow, and Europe. Most of the time I had data turned off intentionally, but in theory could have surfed pretty much all the way.
Power
Hotels were good charging points, our multiple adaptor was great, although having a "doubler" would have helped.
The Beijing-Moscow train had a round two pin socket, but the supply was intermittent. Best gadget of trip was the Lifetrons power charger, available on singapore airlines in flight sales. Once charged provided good juice to fully charge two iPods and an iPad. It comes with a million cables for connecting to different gadgets, however we only used two. One to connect to the Iphone charger (usb) and one to connect to the iPhone/iPad/iPod.
Books
downloaded audio books and e-books
Beijing City Guide (Lonely Planet) - detachable map was excellent
Moscow City Guide (Lonely Planet) - detachable map was excellent
Trans Siberian Handbook (Bryn Thomas) - excellent, bought on Ebay for $15
Trans Siberian Guide (Lonely Planet) not as good as Bryn Thomas.
Bundle of fiction and non-fiction. My son traded books to read on the train with fellow passengers - so have this in mind as well.
Economist - latest editions, also passed along the carriage to other travelers
Food and Drink (best selection)
two in one instant coffee (very useful)
tea (bought in Beijing)
honey (Manuka)
nutella
peanut butter
oreos (good for trading)
ritz crackers
Great Wall Wine (bought in Carrefour China)
orange powder
instant noodles
en route, fruit, peaches in jars (Erlian station), smoked fish (Baikal), beer, champinsky, biscuits, great local bread
