Top Ten Travel Facts

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We read so many 'hints and tips' before we left and I can honestly say half of them are common sense and the rest are a waste of time. Because of these useless tips I took with me a door wedge to apparently keep a door shut, pegs for a washing line and Laura took a travel hair drier. Here's, hopefully, a better list of things to take and things to do: -

1. Take a penknife - It will be by far the most useful thing on the trip. When the hostel doesn't have a tin opener and no one offers their teeth to open a beer, a trust worthy Swiss Army knife will be your best friend.

2. Pack all your stuff into separate bags - Probably the best advice I was given. By packing your shirts, shorts, boxers etc... into separate plastic bags it makes it much easier to find what you are looking for when everyone is asleep. Its also easier to pack and unpack everything when you need to.

3. Take a head torch - Where your eyes go, the light goes. It might seem simple but having two hands instead of one can make life a lot easier. It also means that you'll avoid trying to hold the torch in your mouth, often causing unavoidable drool.

4. Plan out your trip (a bit) - Personally, putting a bit of pen to paper and jotting down where we want to be at what time has stopped us from getting stuck in one place too long, no matter how good it may be. Its easy to get lured in by the beauty of a place, but there are so many more to go and see. By seeing the time you have helps, 9 months has gone fast!

5. Don't get rushed into buying something - It caught us out a few times, in particular hiring a campervan for New Zealand. We got all these emails telling us that they were in great demand and our van was the last in the shop. Wait until you get there and save a lot of money, which we would have loved to have spent on something else. Its all sales tactics!!

6. Look around for a deal - No matter what it is; a flight, a bus, a coat etc... there will, pretty much always, be another that does the same thing cheaper. It might take a bit more time but its worth it for the money you can save. Flying is sometimes cheaper than busing around, especially in South America.

7. Take a couple of Visa/Debit/Credit cards - Keep one in your main bag, one in your day bag and one in your wallet just in case anything gets stolen. I'm with HSBC 'the worlds local bank', and haven't seen any at all!

8. Get on a scooter - Every mothers nightmare but the best way to see a country in South East Asia. It takes 2 seconds to learn how to ride one and costs usually less than $5 a day, just start off somewhere quiet. Ho Chi Minh is not the place.

9. Write a blog! - An absolute pain in the arse to do but worth every second of the effort after. I hated writing half of them but wouldn't remember half the stuff if I hadn't written them, all the hilarious moments and the nightmare days.

10. Don't go to places where you think you should go - Everyone is different and so is everyone's opinion on a city/village/beach. We've taken on board what everyone has said to us but listen to the stories they tell you, assess what kind of person they are and make the 'I'd like to go there' decision after having a read about it. We wasted so much time a the start of our trip in cities people said were awesome. It took us 2 months, maybe more to figure out we aren't city people and get bored of them after 2 minutes.

11. Hair bobbles - A multi purpose elastic band useful for both tying up hair and closing a pack of biscuits.

12. Don't waste all your money on beer - You can get drunk at home but you can't see Ankor Watt at home. Your long saved, hard earned money vanishes so quick when you drink! But saying that, there nothing better than a beer at the end of a trek!

13. You need 1 pair of jeans - Laura took 3 and has worn 1. They weigh a ton and most places are too warm to wear them.

14. Don't be put off a place because its 'Touristy' - They are touristy because they are usually some of the most amazing and stunning places/things ever.

15. Talk to EVERYONE - You will meet some of the best people whilst travelling around the world and the locals are incredible too. Saying 'Hello' to almost everyone can help you out so much at a later point, you just don't know it then!

Not quite 10 but hopefully useful. Enjoy!

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