Wednesday, August 21, 2013

My backpacking blog - Preparation.


Backpacking blog 2013 



In June 2013 I decided to have a small trip away for 7 weeks. All I did was book a return flight to Bangkok and my first 3 nights accommodation. I had no specific plans and no real idea where I was going to end up. 

I’m going to write a series of blogs about my travels starting off with this one, all about the preparation you should do before you leave. 

Hopefully I can answer a few of your questions that I tried to get answered before I went away and couldn’t.

Everything is my view, my experience and could be completely different from what you or others have experienced. I went with a completely fresh view on ‘backpacking’ and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Preparation Blog

I’ve never backpacked before so was a bit of a step in to a new culture and way of traveling. I usually have a nice hard bodied suitcase with wheels and a plush hotel waiting at the end of my flight.

I booked a return flight to Bangkok and my first 3 nights accommodation. I went to a travel agent to do this to get some ideas and tap their brains for tips etc. I went to a big chain called STA travel. The flight was the same price as going direct to the airline so was a no brainer to book it in a shop.

The staff in the travel agency have all travelled themselves and gave me a bit of an insight in to a few things, quite helpful and interesting.

Backpack - I researched online and saw a few different types of bags. I asked around what would be the best to get and dually ordered a Berghaus 65L bag. There are lots of cheap backpacks on Amazon and other websites for around £20-£30 but the ones I saw out in Asia seemed to be falling apart. Your bag is going to take a bit of hammer so I thought best going with a trusted brand and it cost around £70. 

There are huge bags available but you really don’t need that much when you’re going away.

  • THINGS TO TAKE

The best advice I can give you that I didn’t have before I went is to buy a neck pillow! You know the type, they help you sleep on buses and planes and filled with beanbag balls. This was utterly invaluable and it took me until my 5th week to find one when I was out in Vietnam. Buy one, buy one NOW. With the buses, planes, trains, boats and other methods of transport you go on, it’s a godsend.

You don’t need that many clothes. Everywhere you go you can have your clothes washed really cheaply, my washing usually cost about £2 and I did it everywhere I went. Don’t fret about that. Take a few pairs of underwear, light weight loose fitting t-shirts if you’re traveling to Asia due to the humidity, you won’t want anything fitted.

I took a decent pair of flip flops which I wore 90% of the time, day and night. I did have a pair of TOMS but they got destroyed in the rain, devastated. Also some trainers for when you’re traveling, trekking, riding elephants... ones you don’t mind getting destroyed obviously.

I wrote down lots of things when I was away, lots of little tips to bring the best, most useful things away with you. Here are a few of those tips.

Mosquito repellant - The best I ended up buying was a gel/cream type which I bought from Boots in Thailand. I did take aerosol bug spray but it just gassed out anywhere I sprayed it. Go for a liquid or gel that you can rub in to your skin and cover your ankles especially. 

Bag dividers - These were given to my before I went and worked a treat. They are basically cotton zip bags which separate your clothes, toiletries, books, everything in your backpack. This way, when you need something you don’t have to empty out your whole bag.

Small hand luggage bag - I took quite a small bag as my carry on luggage. I wished I had got a slightly bigger one. You end up going on day trips, even 2-3 night trips and need a bag big enough to fit in quite a bit of overnight stuff, towels, clothes etc. You might go on treks or excursions where you need to have a solid small bag with you, a woman’s purse or a drawstring sports bag won’t cut it.

And the rest....

You don’t need any ‘dressy up’ clothes. Everyone is very casual and just in the same few changes of clothes all the time. You can buy tons of t-shirts and vests really cheap wherever you go. I did take 5 pairs of decent boxers though, they were a nice comfort to have!

I took my iPhone with me. It is unlocked and I bought sim cards really easily in Thailand and also Vietnam. I had a Thai sim in my phone before I’d even left the airport when I landed. I used it a lot for research when I was there and out and about. Most places do have wifi though, actually nearly ALL places have wifi in Thailand. I never felt threaten that it’d be stolen or snatched, even the monks in Thailand have smartphones now. You can make phonecalls home and video calls home over wifi really cheap and often free. Gives your family a bit of piece of mind!

I bought some lonely planet books off eBay to take. Stupidly I didn’t look at what editions they were and some were 10 years out of date and completely useless! Having an up to date book will help you greatly with public transport and how to get around places, plus all the trips you need to look out for. You can get a book for each country but you can also get ones which cover a whole region in a little bit less detail, I would buy one of those. They’re great to have on you and can save you money too.

You need a passport photo to go to a Laos and Vietnamese visa. I had them done out in Thailand in a photoshop for about £1.50, beats paying £5 in one of those photo booths.

On the subject of visas, I didn’t really look in to this at all. You only get a 30 day pass to stay in Thailand when you land there. With my return flight 50 days later I HAD to go in and out of Thailand or you incur big fines. Nobody told me this when I booked the flight, it was only when I checked in at Manchester airport. Apparently... when you land in Thailand and hand over your passport and landing card, they can ask for proof of when you’re leaving the country if your return flight is over 30 days away. I don’t know how much they enforce this but again it’s something to think about.

To get in to Laos you can just turn up and you need American $35 and a passport photo. I changed some money and took $100 out with me beforehand. 

Vietnam is a little different. To get in to Vietnam you either need to get a visa from an embassy or if you fly in to one of their airports, you can apply online for a pre-approved visa that you collect at the airport. I paid around $21 online and then another $45 at Hanoi airport for a 30 day visa. Best doing your research on this before you go.

Ear plugs - to drown out snorers in hostels and get some peace.
Travel plug adapter - for your phone of course.
Padlock - for your hostel locker, most don’t provide them.
Notepad and pen - to document your journey! So glad I did this.

Wet wipes - It can be pretty dirty on some of the trips and in the public lavatories.
Money belt - Yes they can look stupid and be awkward, but you do hear stories of people having money and phones stolen on overnight trains and buses, also pickpocketing if you’re really unlucky in major cities. Could be the best £5 you’ve ever spent.

Money.

This is a very important part. I took 2 debit cards, 2 credit cards, some £’s and $’s. I was very prepared and I’m glad I was. While I was in Asia my bank cards got stopped 3 times and one swallowed up by a greedy ATM. I managed to sort everything out but it wasn’t easy. 
I saw lots of people with just one means of funding and quite a lot had problems. 
You need to prepare for the eventuality of a card being stolen/lost/swallowed/stopped. I’d recommend 3 means of getting money at least. I know this isn’t possible for some people but there are always debit cards, prepaid visa/mastercards, cash, travelers cheques and credit cards. It’s always handy to have American $ for your visas and always a fallback to exchange if you have any problems with a card.

I’ve probably missed a few things off but the main things are all in this blog. 

In the end you can buy so much of what you need out in Asia, it’s not a backwards place anymore. Just make sure you get the essentials in place like you money and medication. 

It is great to plan out parts of your travels before you go and also keep an open mind. You will meet lots of fascinating people and most will either be going to the same places as you, have already been to the places you’re going, or inspire you to go to places you never thought you would go.

Enjoy your travels!