I was given some great ideas and was glad I
had a friend at an expedition company who gave
me the kit list they give the kids because it
had some handy stuff on it. I also discovered
other great things while on my travels.
Rubber door wedges.
Purchase a rubber door wedge. When you are staying
somewhere that doesnt instill confidence in security
Jam the door wedges under any doors to your hut,
room etc. This makes it a little harder for someone
to open the door from the outside. In the event
of a fire they would still force the door but anyone
trying to sneak in would find it harder and make
more noise. |
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Sink Plugs. You would
be amazed how many places you can stop
in that dont have sink plugs. In Indonesia
I found they were normal size in South
America they were caravan sink size (the
smaller rubber type) |
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Keyrings.. The point
is instead of advertsing the content
of your bag as being worth stealing with
padlocks everywhere use those ring things
to secure sets of zips together. It makes
your bags harder to simply zip open without
being an advertisement of wealth. Use
any old keyring and maybe collect some
on your travels. |
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Keyring Torch - Maglite. Light
your way. Make sure you can see where
you are going and also alert others to
where you are. Those tiny maglight ones
have a cord and can be attached to your
moneysack, bumbag, belt, daypack, whatever
you are carrying that is handy. |
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Money Belts & Bags. I
carried a money bag under my clothes
in South America whilst travelling with
a bum bag around my waist. Who cares
that bumbags Waist bags, whatever you
want to call them) are supposed to be
sad and untrendy you want your hands
free. Backpack, daypack and a waist bag
are the best three bags for any traveller.
If you god forbid get mugged hand over
your bumbag with todays money in it but
keep the money belt hidden. Hopefully
that will be enough and your passport,
tickets and travellers cheques are still
safe. |
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Be smart. Be safe. At
home most of us wouldnt walk around city
streets late at night alone. So why do
it abroad. If you are out in the evening
keep to main lit and well populated areas.
If your accommodation is out of the way
get a Taxi! |
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Plastic Bags. Those
ziplock bags you can buy in 20's or so
in the supermarket. Great for dirty washing,
wet swimwear, things that you want to
keep clean etc. Just have a few in your
side pocket. |
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Wet Wipes. Huggies
will do fine. They get stains out, can
be used to wipe things clean, help to
refresh you and baby ones have mild antiseptic
qualities while still being gentle enough
not to irritate your skin. 100 & 1
uses for a baby wet wipe! |
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Hair bobbles & bands If
you have long hair take lots ! You might
invest in a box of 20 or 30 bands from
boots or just take a few nice ones and
buy more on the way but they tend to
get lost really easily so I was glad
I had packed a pack of 40! |
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Home Luxuries. Sounds
daft but those little luxuries from home
that will make you smile when you feel
a million miles from the safety of home
are amazing. On that day when you arrive
somewhere new and feel anxcious a cup
of Typhoo with toast with marmite on
for me just made me feel stronger somehow.
Its probably terribly british to do that
but for me it helped me battle that anxiety
of being so far away in a place I didn't
know.So whatever it is think of packing
just a few small home comforts. Here
was my little list.
- Tea Bags (you wont get PG tips
in Peru, ziplocked into plastic bag)
- Marmite
- Liquorice allsorts in mini bags
(they just dont do them abroad)
You might also want to add in a small
teddy bear from home or your favourite
pillow case maybe which can aslo double
up as a linen bag. |
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Take lots of reading material.
Include a really nice childhood book
maybe that you know you love. I took
'The Never Ending Story' and read it
twice before leaving it for a fellow
traveller. Also include a Lonely Planet
to your country of destimation and actually
read the information pages. |
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