After years of living as a nomad and traveler, I learned some things that for me have become obvious, but which perhaps are not like that for everyone.
At the beginning I started with a backpack full of travel guides and maps, to not get lost and to have as much information as possible on how to behave in various situations and in various places.
Over time I have perfected a bit of things, learned how to best deal with some everyday situations that arise while exploring new countries and abandoned almost everything that weighed down my luggage , especially using the smartphone, thanks to which you can easily find all the info you need by connecting to the internet or by downloading some useful travel apps.
I share some of the best tips I can give you … I learned them all the hard way! 🙂
1 – Be flexible when planning a trip.
Schedule the departure and the return, book the first two nights in a hotel or hostel or airbnb, but the rest of your journey try to create it while you are around!
Programs often change because you meet someone who has been in a fantastic place and who highly recommends to visit it, or because the bus has broken down and the delay change the rest of the holiday, or because you find yourself so well in a place that you don’t want to leave and you opt to spend a good part of the adventure without moving, or because it happens to know someone interesting and decide together to go somewhere …
Be flexible and enjoy what happens!
2 – Don’t expect anything!
Creating expectations about a place or a travel experience is always the worst that can be done.
Have you ever heard of the “Paris Syndrome”? Someone ended up by going to the psychologist because they dreamed so much about what it would have been like to be in Paris and visit it that when they experienced what the French capital actually is, different from the image in their mind that they had built themselves, they had such an intense shock that they’ve been destabilized quite a lot.
I don’t believe, I hope, that you will get such extreme pathology, but it is good to remember that if you don’t have too many illusions there will be no problem in accepting everything that happens more easily.
Again … enjoy what happens!
3 – Always carry a backpack with you!
A backpack of about 20 liters is the one for you during an adventure around the world. Put the camera, your laptop, battery charger and the various accessories inside it, which is better not to leave in the suitcase or the main backpack that you will probably have to board on the plane or in some means of transport.
The backpack is more practical and safer than a bag as some bad guys will hardly be able to tear you off, which can happen more easily with a shoulder strap.
Use it during your daily excursions, always put in a bottle of water that can always be useful to avoid dehydrating in hot and humid countries and a roll of toilet paper.
When you are traveling by plane put inside the backpack a change of clothes and a toothbrush, in case your suitcase does not arrive at your destination with you!
4 – Try to be sure of what you are going to pay.
Before getting on a taxi or some other means of transport always ask how much the ride will cost, in case they don’t use a taximeter (which anyway can always be tampered with …). If you are in a country where you bargain on everything, always set the price with the driver before you leave, or you may get some unpleasant surprises on arrival.
Prices for food are usually printed on the menu or on the wall , if you do not know how much it costs you can ask, but generally you don’t get cheated on the cost of eating.
In places that don’t apply fixed prices always try to negotiate. Start from a figure close to half of what they asked for, and then arrive at something reasonable set up with the seller. Often the prices they apply to the locals are different from what we pay when traveling in their country. Try to understand how much what you are interested in can really cost, asking those who live there or the staff of your hotel or guest house and always compare the prices of other retailers.
In other countries that apply fixed prices pay attention to hidden costs, such as taxes to add or various services. Generally there are not many problems in this case.
5 – Get organized with your documents
Take a picture of your passport with your smartphone on the page with your personal details and the one with the entry visa and save it in memory. Also make a photocopy and put it in your wallet … it can always be useful.
Prepare some passport photos if you are traveling to countries that require entry visas, often you will need one or two pics, depending on the location, even in this case better to prepare a photocopy of the passport to present.
Try to avoid to go around with the passport but keep it safe in the hotel room and use another method of recognition like to present the id card or the driving license plus a photocopy of the document that allows you to go abroad … check that the country you visit doesn’t require to always have your passport with you, in this case bring it with you …!
6 – Split your belongings.
Do not put everything together in the wallet (or purse / suitcase / backpack) the cash, credit cards and documents you have, in case you lose it or someone steal it you won’t have lost everything and you will still have a way of having money withdrawing at an ATM without remaining broke in a distant country.
Divide everything between trouser or jacket and backpack pockets, remembering not to place anything of value in the most easily opened pockets of your bag on your shoulders, maybe wrap it all up in a sweater and put it in the inner part.
Important, if you can, have a couple of cards to withdraw money (like a credit card and a debit card) … in case one is lost or demagnetized you will always have the other one that you can continue to use. If you are in desperate situations use money delivery services like Western Union, which I found in any country and even in the smallest remote village. Remember that they charge quite high fees, so use this option in extreme cases.
7 – Travel light …
The more I travel, the more I try to take things out of my backpack and lighten it.
Don’t empty the wardrobe in your backpack or suitcase! Often you have the anxiety of not finding what we need in the country we are going to visit and you end up taking even the coffee maker with you from home.
In the warm countries a few light clothes will be enough for you, they can be washed and dried quickly. Often the accommodations have laundry facilities, or you will find some self-service washing machine shops around the city and wash your underwear in the sink if you are desperate. If your laundry does not dry quickly you can often find some dryers, in extreme cases use the hair dryer and for wet shoes fill them with sheets of newspaper that help absorb water.
Traveling light is obviously more comfortable, a backpack or a heavy suitcase that does not close is really a problem when you move from place to place and often the cost of the flight is less (usually under 15kg / 20kg the prices of the flights are different), especially if you travel only with hand luggage.
Think of what is really useful, make yourself a list a few days before leaving and bring only the indispensable with you.
8 – Small survival kit.
Organize a bag with what I believe can be useful while you are on the road:
- Padlock: this is essential!
If you stay in hostels you will usually have lockers to store laptops, cameras and some documents that you can lock with, always use your own padlock! Not the one of the hostel, as the latter is less secure. Also in the case of these cabinets do not trust too much if they are made of wood and can be moved, the rear panel can be easily opened and some attackers can get their hands on your belongings.
You can also use the padlock to close the suitcase and backpack, of course it is not total security, but it can still be used. - Torch.
A small flashlight can always be useful, especially if you are on an adventure in places that do not have electricity. - Sewing thread.
Sometimes you have to fix a hole in your pants! - Tape.
Sometime you can need it for temporary repairs. - Clothesline and clothespins.
If you happen to have something wet and need to hang it up somewhere to dry - Swiss knife.
It can be useful. Remember not to put it in your hand luggage when you get on a plane.
9 – Eat where the locals eat.
If you see a restaurant or a kiosk full of locals eating it is certainly a place to go and enjoy good food.
Pay attention to the fact that the tastes of the people of the country in which you are traveling may be different from those of your own, especially pay attention to spices and spicy dishes and obviously avoid unclean places.
In some countries where hygiene is poor, do not eat or drink what came in contact with unboiled water. So avoid ice in drinks and everything that is raw served without peel. Even ice creams, popsicles and various frozen products are not advisable as they can be defrosted during the transport and then put back into the fridge by the shopkeeper: as the experts warn, food frozen more than one time is dangerous.
10 – Don’t be discouraged by the language.
I always recommend learning at least to say “hello” and “thank you” in the language of the host country.
Don’t be afraid to interact with the locals even if you don’t master their idiom, a smile always helps.
In deciding where to travel, never let yourself be discouraged from the fact that your language is not spoken there, in the end it is not difficult to make yourself understood to find where to eat and where to sleep. A hotelier knows for sure that you are looking for a place to sleep and in a restaurant they know that you want to eat something.
If you don’t know what to eat and the menu is in some unknown language, watch what people around you are enjoying and when someone will come to ask you what you want to order point with your finger the dish that you think you might like, with education and a smile of course! Or try some local dishes at random, if you’re brave enough! For sure it’s all edible.
To know how much it costs what you want to buy, use the calculator on your mobile, point what you want to take home and show the screen with the numeric keypad to the seller, for sure it will understand you!
Last and perhaps most important tip:
Don’t collect destinations,
but bring home experiences!
