Packing Advice
An Advertising Feature
Every backpacker has seen someone tottering beneath a backpack three times her size, with second smaller bag on her front. Although even the cheerful cheap flights have a baggage allowance of 23kg, it’s worth realising that 23kg is a lot to carry around for any period of time.
As with everything in life, there are extremes. My boyfriend set off on our 6 month trip with one pair of shorts & no trousers. I can tell you that the “I’m wearing a sarong while those shorts dry” look is more Baldrick than Beckham, even on someone you love dearly.
So much depends on the place you’re going & the type of traveller you are. I asked one of those over-burdened girls what was in her bag; put simply, she & her friend were out to party. For her, a hair-dryer, hair straightener, make-up, four dresses, & several pairs of shoes were important. I, on the other hand, am “Mrs Back Up Plan”, & had to be stopped from stuffing my bag with spares for everything I considered essential. It’s good to feel prepared, but so much can be bought on the road, & a heavy pack is a pain in the – back, mostly.
Here are some of the things we should have left at home:
Solar charger: we carried this handy gadget through 20 countries & never needed it. If you are volunteering in a remote village with limited electricity, no doubt this will be a godsend. If not, there are plenty of electrical points, even on Indian trains!
Travel towel: this lightweight, quick drying fabric may well use the latest modern fibre technology, but most places we stayed in provided towels. When they didn’t, those multi-faceted sarongs did the job & actually dried quicker.
Travel washing line: we had a funky twisted line with suckers on each end. The idea is that you don’t need pegs as your clothes fit into the twists, & you can stick it up anywhere. Call it user error, but ours fell down on the three or four occasions we did use it. Besides which, a length of string with some strong clips works as a make-shift clothesline & much, much more.
On the subject of laundry, look for an old fashioned bar of laundry soap instead of concentrated travel wash. It’s lighter & less likely to leak.
Books: My biggest weakness. I hate having nothing to read & I love buying local fiction. But a guidebook (we had two), one paperback (each) & a wedge of notepaper is enough! Travellers swap finished paperbacks on the road. You’ve no need for extra novels, crossword puzzle compendiums, nor a whole sudoku book. Weigh them if you need convincing. Remember also that an i-player will store audio books as well as music.
Food: There will always be times when, for some reason, you can’t get food, so it is worth keeping a rolling supply of nuts & snack bars. But you don’t have to bring it all from home. Confession time: I carried a whole jar of marmite, some tea bags & hot chocolate sachets that we never ever used…
In summary, only you know what kind of journey you will make, but ask yourself; do I really need this? How many times will I actually use it? Do I already have something (eg a piece of string) there that will do the job?
