 | |
 |
|
A few tips on planning, packing, budgeting, getting around, culture shock, holiday romances and annoying travel companions. Some examples:
- Duct tape, sometimes known as gaffer tape, is a wonder of the modern world. For the traveller, the uses are countless! It quickly and neatly repairs everything and anything such as torn backpacks, tents and shoes. It can also be applied to feet to prevent blisters, and won't come off easily.
- Bring baby wipes. They can be used to replace toilet paper, napkins,paper towels, make-up remover, a sink, a bath or shower. Not just for you either.
- I always use film canisters when I travel to carry pills around-far less bulky and more waterproof than packets.
- Sealable plastic bags come in amazingly handy when backpacking. They're perfect for separating dirty and clean clothes, popping rain-soaked clothes into until they can be hung out to dry, a backpack full of damp clothes is not a good thing, and for storing muddy shoes so that your backpack interior is kept clean.
- Carry a fold-down bag. You'll often suddenly find yourself overloaded with unexpected purchases, gifts or acquisitions. This way you don't need to wreck your regular bag by overpacking it or have to buy a second bag. Mine folds down to about the size of a wallet.
- Safety pins! Use them as pegs to hang stuff from your pack, as substitutes for lost buttons, to pin a sarong around your bunk for privacy and to secure your sunhat in high winds. They also weigh practically nothing.
- There will always be a snorer in a dorm room or a party next door to your private room, so take earplugs. Even if you never use them it's nice to know they're there.
- Always, always keep toilet paper with you.
- If you really want to burn money, use your hotel's laundry service or minibar or make a phone call(particularly an international one) on your room phone. There's always a cheaper alternative just down the road.
- No matter how concerned you are about your son or daughter heading abroad, it's probably not a good idea to give them a credit card on your account.
- When your bags do go into limbo, you'll be much happier if you've got a change of underwear, a toothbrush and a clean shirt in your hand luggage. Bags are rarely lost forever but they often go astray when you have tight connections or transfers.
- On a bus, try to sit where you can see the luggage going on and off.
- The best way to deal with an overly chatty passenger in the next seat is to fall asleep, preferably with headphones and eye mask on. If someone sitting next to you adopts this tactic, it doesn't necessarily mean you talk too much.
- Pack a sarong, I've used it as a bag, a curtain, and a sunshade. I've worn it as a skirt(long or short), a scarf, a shawl and I've swum in it. sometimes it's a towel, sometimes it's a blanket. I could even tear into strips and use it as a bandage if I ever needed to. This is the one thing I take wherever I'm going.
- Prices are lower in the sticks-cities, especially capitals, sap your funds like nowhere else.
- Always book your first night's accommodation when you're flying into a new country. You'll be tired, lost and often arriving at night. You can get slowed down waiting for luggage, with customs or getting into town. You'll really appreciate not having to search for a room.
- Check if the countries you're travelling to require an international driving permit in addition to your domestic one.
- Swapping books with other travellers keeps your luggage down and at the same time exposes you to subjects you may not otherwise read. If you want to be really prepared, bring along a set of passport-sized photos. These are good for visa applications, police reports if you get anything stolen and other unforseen paperwork. You don't have to get new pictures every year, but think of how much of a pain it will be to find a place to get them done at 3am in Nepal.
- If you buy any exepensive items, keep the receipts. You may have to explain where that camera came from at an internal customs check or when you leave the country.
- Many airport arrival areas have hotel booking desks which not only know what rooms are available and where, but also have the best last-minute rates. Singapore and Hong Kong are two good examples where you'll get a much better room rate at the airport than you would by just turning up at the hotel.
- Take half as much stuff and twice the money.
- If it looks like you are going to get mobbed, ripped off or simply spooked by taxi touts as you leave the airport, walk around to the departures area and nab a taxi that someone has just arrived in. The atmosphere will be calmer and the driver more amenable to negotiation because he will be glad of a quick turnaround.
- Have your destination written down in the local lingo and use it to check and double-check you've got the right bus or train. When there's only one bus a day, this could avoid a big mistake.
- You don't have to be fluent in a language to speak it. Being able to say "yes", "no", "please" and "thank you" means you can speak the language - not much of it perhaps but enough to make a surprisingly big difference. It helps to be able to say "one beer please" as well.
- Always, always carry condoms. Aside from obvious reasons, different countries may have different sizes to what you're used to. If a friend is short of one you can earn a lifetime of free beer by being equipped. In emergencies, they can also add a layer of waterproofing to valuables when crossing rivers or caught in sudden storms.
- When setting your bag down, wrap the strap around the leg of your chair or your own leg if there's nothing else. This way you'll know if someone's trying to get into your things.
| |
|  |
|  |
|
|
 |
Western Australia. All rights reserved.
