Tips & Advice

The main considerations in packing are minimum weight and maximum comfort. A backpack is the best means of bringing your essentials, the size of which depends on how much you are going to lug around with you and your physical built. Style may have to be at the bottom of the list for desired features as this may not serve you any purpose while you are out in the wilderness.

Try to get a pack that you won’t need to check in at the airport to avoid wastage of time in alternately checking in and claiming your pack. Some features to consider in choosing a backpack are the panel loading, internal frame, padded hip belt, padded shoulder straps, sternum strap and contoured or padded back. Day packs, which travellers usually wear on their front, are ideal for storing important documents as this can be taken anywhere and are never out of sight of the owner.

Comfortable footwear is the single most important item in any backpacker’s equipment. All items of clothing should fit loosely enough to allow freedom of movement but should not present any danger in being tangled up along the trip. Cotton garments are suitable for warm, dry weather while wool gives protection from dampness and is quite essential during winter. Several light layers of clothing provide more warmth and is easier to carry than one heavy garment. Other essential clothing items include shirts (long and short sleeved), jeans, trousers, underwear, socks, walking shoes and waterproof jacket. Optional items that depend on the weather are shorts, long underwear, swimsuits, sports sandals, gloves and hat.

Travel necessities includes the toiletry organiser bag, sleeping sheet, travel towel, camera and film, first aid kit, sewing kit, Swiss army knife, money belt, luggage and locker locks, clothes line, sink stopper, laundry detergent, travel alarm clock, sunglasses, phrase book (a book of simple and commonly used local words), money, ATM card, travellers cheques, credit card, passport, driver’s license, ID and photocopies of important documents. There are other items that can be included in the list but need not be included if it can be readily bought in your place of destination. Only the traveller himself can determine if there are other items he cannot do without, but a little space left for some things to bring home is not a bad idea. Overnight equipments are a must for camping out.

Safety

A backpacker would need a whole lot of common sense and confidence as well as exercise a reasonable amount of caution, courtesy and alertness to counter most of the avoidable threats to personal and safety security. It helps to know of any possible problems that may be encountered in your place of destination so that appropriate precautionary actions can be taken. Common sense dictates that we should not leave our belongings in an unsecured place, more so on a foreign land, where we do not have the benefit of familiarity. The backpack of a backpacker contains literally everything he has thus outmost care should be taken to avoid its loss. Keep your valuables in your day pack.

Being aware of suspicious behaviour may save you from being a victim. Women travelling solo are best getting into train compartments with other women in it. It is quite alright to move if you feel uncomfortable in a certain place. Take all the necessary precautions that the situation dictates. If after all these, you still end up having a bad experience or two; don’t let it be a hindrance to your future travels.