Hi
I'm thinking of going away for 6 months next year to Thailand, Malaysia, Australia and New Zealand. Planning on staying in hostel dorm rooms, I was wondering how I'd go about ensuring the safety of my backpack. I'll be travelling alone, and I don't particularly fancy lugging my backpack around with me everywhere I go (example - to the beach for the day or going out for a few beers at night)
I'm sure some of the more developed places have lockers and such? But what about the not-so-developed places? Any advice would be great!
Steve
Reply to this There's only a real need to worry about items such as laptops, digital cameras and your passport/cash/credit cards.
If you have a laptop it'd be worth buying some form of chainlock or mesh system to put around your pack, otherwise they're a little excessive.
You'll probably take most things that are valuable around in your daypack - camera, mp3 player etc.
Normally hostels are fine for leaving stuff in as long as you don't make your valuables an obvious target.
When you do go to beaches - find a friend from the hostel to go with you - saves a lot of hassle trying to keep an eye on your stuff.
Reply to this In most of South East Asia you'll be in guesthouse rooms rather than dorms - so as long as you secure your room, and trust the staff things will be fine. I personally have a pacsafe wire mesh that I use to secure my pack when I leave valuables in it, travel overnight on trains etc - but for most situations my golden rule is - do not make yourself a target.
Reply to this Thanks for the advice guys that's great. One more thing: if I'm solely staying in hostels in hot countries, do I need a fancy sleeping bag or can I just use a good sleep sheet?
Reply to this Go for a sleep sheet, unless you're prone to beingcold easily. If you travel to mountain areas the guesthouses usually supply blankets...
I use a large sarong as a sleep sheet.
Reply to this Ah, so I shouldn't need a sleeping bag at all? I didn't think I would do, but the guy at my local outdoor store was adamant I needed one as well as a sleep sheet, for about £50...
Reply to this You will need a sleeping bag in New Zealand outside of the summer months, and also in some areas of Australia. (Although usually they give the option to rent bedding if it is not automatically provided and you don't have it.)
If you do think you'd need one - I would buy it on leaving Australia before arriving in NZ - it'd save a fair bit of hassle with packing.
I took my sleeping bag - rarely used it, then managed to lose it from the back of my rucksack before arriving in New Zealand - so had to buy one anyway...
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