Fuji XE-1. Amazing.

Would love an X100 as well but wanted a zoom lens for the first time in my life.

I use http://draftin.com which is awesome. But I also use vim as that is my editor of choice and where I feel most comfortable on a computer at. There are great plugins out there for doing things like the other writing programs do as well.

Typed just launched and is cheap for a few more days: http://realmacsoftware.com/typed I haven't tried it but it looks great.

Wow, was out camping with no internet and look what I missed. Any invites left?

A comfortable backpack is of the first order of business. The smaller the better as that will keep you from carrying too much stuff. Something under 50L would be a good size.

I grew up in Bozeman Montana so always recommend Dana Design backpacks which you can get used on ebay for the price of a new one. Dana Designs were handmade in the USA and are legendary in the wilderness backpacking world - they work perfect for the travels you are doing. The company is now called Mystery Ranch and these are equally awesome backpacks that will last the rest of your life. Arc'teryx is also great and there are great deals on ebay for this stuff which will last forever and be better than a brand new one for REI, etc.

I would take as little and as cheap of a computer as you can. The main reason is that it's less to worry about. I lived for five years in india/south east asia/china backpacking and doing client work and used an 3 year old laptop (8 year old in the end) the whole time. It was a Mac so worked fine and I would have been thrilled to have someone steel it or to have it damaged, needless to say i didn't worry about it in the hotel room when i was out.

Thailand has a reputation of having your bags riffled through when put in the luggage compartments of busses so keep your valuables with you, again a smaller bag facilitates this.

Remember you can buy anything you will need over there and then bring it home with you. Thailand has a long history of paper making so get a journal in Thailand when you get there. Try out the local toiletries, they are cheap and there are many herbal varieties which are amazing.

You can buy all sorts of clothes or have tailored anything you would like for a few dollars. The clothes are fantastic so bring no clothes and get a new wardrobe when you arrive, for a few dollars, and then you'll look like a seasoned backpacker and not a new arrival. Not to mention the clothes made there are much better suited for the climate then what you can get here. And then you can bring them home to enjoy when you return.

I always carry a MSR miniworks water filter with me when i travel so that I don't have buy hundreds of bottles of water which create a lot of plastic waste for countries that have much bigger problems then recylcing. MSR miniworks filters are amazing, clean everything including particle contaminents and make it easy to stay hydrated cause you can just pump some tap water anytime you like. Generally i would just buy a few bottled waters for the bottle and then refill these a couple of times a day and always carry water with me. I'm sure over the years i've saved thousands by doing this as well...

Basically i really advocate finding stuff in country. It's a lot of fun and you get to bring home some neet stuff instead of coming with all you need and bringing the same stuff home. Less is more. Going out and finding the necessities for living allows you to immerse yourself in the country immediatly and brings your connection to the place in focus faster.

As to working for clients the ~12 hour time difference is something to get used to and warn clients about before hand because there is a long delay in getting email replies as they send one in the morning right after you go to bed, then you reply right after they go to bead, so it's almost 24 hours sometimes. It's just something to prep your clients for before hand so there is no surprise the first time it happens.

Generally there is internet everywhere and i'm sure now it's all pervasive.

Have fun, it's becomes a way of life and years end up slipping by.

k.