You didn't say what your SLR is, or your budget.
I shoot Nikons for my heavy-duty stuff, but I have a couple of digicams that I use when I'm just knocking around. The best (that I own) is a Canon Pro1, which has an 8MP chip and a 7x 2.4-3.5 zoom. It's like a tiny SLR -- a little awkward to carry in a briefcase or a pocket, because the lens sticks out, but it takes good pictures and is way, way easier to carry than a big SLR (and you can carry it slung over your shoulder but under your sportcoat, if you're trying to be unobtrusive.) There are a number of other cameras just like it, and Digital Camera Review has long lists of them complete with reviews. If you're primarily traveling, rather than primarily making photographs, I'd go with a smaller one. I've shlepped SLRs and associated equipment all over the place, and it gets to be a serious pain. Remember that if you're going to be serious about the photography, and take the SLR, you'll probably need a several lenses, a laptop, sensor-cleaning equipment, several memory cards, maybe a Whibal card, a case to carry it all, etc., and after all of that, you're going to have to constantly keep track of it, because of it's value. With a really good point-and-shoot, shooting good-quality jpgs, you might get along very well with one small camera and a couple of 2-meg memory cards...that'd probably cover you for 800 shots or so. And if that turns out to be not quite enough, you could buy another memory card wherever you're at.
But in the end, I guess, it all really comes down to your intention...
JC