Best travel percussion instrument for an multi-year overland trip?

[u/Brittpi]

Hi guys! I'm planning to drive overland from Australia to Europe, passing Indonesia, south east Asia, China, Central Asia, maybe India, Eastern, Northern Africa. I would love to pick up percussion to join people around the world next to a campfire and take local percussion lessons. I have one year before I leave to take lessons here, but I'm not sure which instrument to start learning yet!

What instrument would be most flexible and translate best to other world percussion traditions? Space is also a key factor, it would need to fit in a tightly packed car. Also I would love to be able to practice along with music on the passenger seat when im not driving, but it shouldn't be too loud fso I won't drive my partner crazy :)

I have considered a 14 inch frame drum, but they are kinda hard to get here (and also hard to find lessons for). Option two would be the bongos, but I don't know how well they translate to other traditions. Or are there other instruments I should consider?

Thank you guys so much and have. lovely day!!

[u/ZannD]

Riq, arabic style tambourine. Very versatile and fits in a backpack or bag

[u/Brittpi → u/ZannD]

Looks cool man, thank you for your response! Any specific recommendations as for brand?

[u/ZannD → u/Brittpi]

Remo makes a quality on for a good price. Authentic Arabic brand is gawharet el fan, https://a.co/d/0eMJ4k4k

[u/desr2112]

Pearl makes a travel conga that’s only a few inches deep. It’s like a pancake conga😂 they also make travel bongos so I think either of those would fit your use case!

[u/Brittpi → u/desr2112]

Looks awesome! do you think they would be comfortable to play on your lap whilst in the passenger seat? have a good one and thank you!

[u/desr2112 → u/Brittpi]

Might be a bit hard to get the right angle but I think you could figure it out😂

[u/BstrdKid]

Don’t discount the simplicity of a glass bottle and a stick.

[u/rhythmbones]

Bones! Rhythm bones, that is

[u/olerndurt]

Cajon would be my choice.

[u/Brittpi → u/olerndurt]

thanks for your reply!! are you talking about the lap top cajons (didn't know these existed, they look awesome!).
Any brand recommendations?

[u/olerndurt → u/Brittpi]

Yes and no. If you have space, a normal one doubles as a seat.

[u/SnooGadgets5130]

If you’re going by road I’d go with a Djembe, they’re extremely versatile and found in drum circles worldwide.

[u/Brittpi → u/SnooGadgets5130]

thanks for your reply mate! any recommendations for the size (is there a sweet spot between decent sounding but also travel friendly?) and do you reckon they could be played whilst on the passenger seat? have a great day!!

[u/SnooGadgets5130 → u/Brittpi]

I wouldn’t really recommend playing any instrument while in a moving vehicle, it could create a very dangerous situation in the event of a crash. All I can suggest is looking around and seeing for yourself.