Travelling Light with cameras

Just did a two week trip through Sweden and Switzerland, carrying a Nikon D40 body, 12-24 f4, 35 f1.8 and a 18-200 F3.5-5.6 (all Nikkor lenses). I hardly used the 12-24mm and the 35mm, shooting withth 18-200mm 90% of the time on Auto ISO and using the Vibration Reduction (VR) option on the lens to its fullest. Of course Gitzo Traveller tripod helped for those long exposures at night. My aim was to travel as light as I could. I left the laptop at home, opting for lots of SD cards, a Gepe card-holder, a portable hard-drive. All of this was carried in one of Pelican's protective cases (waterproof and crushproof). My photo gear was carried in a Think Tank Change-up, along with a Think Tank Digital Holster 10 (which my wife brought along when she joined me). Honestly, I could have left the wide-angle and 35mm at home, along with the Change-Up and gone with the Holster, Think Tank Pro Speed Belt and a few extra pouches. I was walking the streets most of the time and the versatility of the harness system would have suited me better. The Change-Up was used more to transport my gear from city to city, rather than as my shooting bag. I did not miss my D300 that much, except for changing AF-focussing options with ease (you have to access it via menus, rather than buttons, like the D300). Also I realised a carrying strap for the Gitzo would have proved useful. I fashioned one out one of the two Change-Up straps and managed that way, carrying my camera out and ready instead of the holster. This increases the probability of you actually taking photos, instead of just carrying it around with you. One niggle... I shot the D40 with Lowepro new camera straps. It was a pain to get the quick-release buckles out of the way at critical moments when lifting the camera to my eye. It made me miss critical moments when I really could have done without this hassle. I'll hang onto it temporarily, but will keep my eye open for an alternative that won't break the bank. All in all, as an experiment in travelling light with a D-SLR I was very happy and would even shed some more weight next time. I missed the laptop in terms of backing up, but knew that my cards were safe in the Pelican Case. Digital memory is cheap, so load up.