{"id":952,"date":"2019-04-26T17:45:05","date_gmt":"2019-04-26T17:45:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tomgeraghty.co.uk\/?p=952"},"modified":"2020-09-16T15:27:59","modified_gmt":"2020-09-16T15:27:59","slug":"10-travel-tips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tomgeraghty.co.uk\/index.php\/10-travel-tips\/","title":{"rendered":"10 travel tips you might not read elsewhere."},"content":{"rendered":"

May partner and I have been on the road for around 9 months now, travelling around Europe and South East Asia, and I\u2019ve learned a few things about myself, the world, and how to travel. Some things are obvious, like how important it is to have decent travel insurance, buying local pay-as-you-go sim cards instead of racking up a big roaming bill, and setting some sort of spending budget…<\/span><\/p>\n

However, here are ten tips (and a few bonus ones) that you might not read on the average travel blog.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Vietnamese lizard<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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  1. Everything breaks<\/strong>, so get good at fixing stuff, and learn to sew. Pack superglue, electrical tape, and a small sewing kit, and you can fix just about anything. I\u2019ve repaired shoes, shorts, sleeping bags, watches, sunglasses, bags and cameras over the past few months.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n
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    Repair on a sleeping bag.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Sugru is also a great resource, but each pouch has to be used immediately once it\u2019s opened, so take some, but use it as a last resort. And seriously, learn some basic sewing skills, like darning socks, sewing on buttons, or repairing rips and tears.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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    Halfway up to Annapurna base camp<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>\n
  2. A good\u00a0first aid kit<\/strong> is crucial. Stock up on antiseptic, plasters, bandages, bite cream, water purifying tabs, tweezers and anything else you might need personally. I even took some emergency tooth filling repair stuff, and I used it. You can also use superglue to patch up wounds, but be careful as it can get very hot when it dries, and the standard stuff sets stiff so it\u2019s not good for cuts over skin that moves, like the soles of your feet.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>\n
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    Kathmandu, Nepal<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Zinc oxide tape is great to prevent blisters and secure bandages. Electrical tape serves as a superb fix for a wound dressing if you\u2019re going to get it wet. I cut my toes fairly badly while cliff jumping (whilst climbing up, not jumping down) and used bandages and electrical tape for a couple of weeks to keep it bandaged while in the sea.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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    Cliff jumping in Vietnam<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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    Kayaking and paddle boarding in Vietnam<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Also stock up medicine when possible. Painkillers aren\u2019t always available and you can go through them quicker than you\u2019d expect. Take with you antihistamines, sleeping pills, anti-diarrhoea and rehydration salts. If you can, get some antibiotics like amoxicillin for general wound or tooth infections, and metronidazole for stomach bugs\u00a0 and amoebic nasties.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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    Our trekking guides, Santosh and Puskar<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    If you find yourself somewhere like Nepal where you can get antibiotics over the counter, buy some. Buy more than you think you need (but not so many that you\u2019ll be thrown in jail for smuggling prescription drugs). If you get an infection and you\u2019re in deepest Cambodia, you really don\u2019t want to leave it until you can find a reliable doctor.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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    Walking in the Himalayas<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Buy hand sanitiser when you can find it cheaply, because it gets expensive when you\u2019re remote. You\u2019ll probably acclimatise to the local stomach bugs eventually, but using hand sanitiser regularly will reduce the likelihood of getting a bad one. I wasn\u2019t careful enough in our first week in Kathmandu, and after vomiting in the street, and a very tense taxi ride, rather regretted it.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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    Pub Street, Siem Reap, Cambodia<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>\n
  3. Get a decent knife<\/strong> and learn how to use it and look after it properly. Buy one that locks open so that you don\u2019t cut your fingers off when closing it. Keep it sharp using a decent stone or steel. Sharpening a blunted knife is really difficult, but keeping a knife sharp just takes a bit of discipline. I carried around a stone in my bag for 8 months just for this purpose. You\u2019ll use your knife for everything from preparing food, repairing clothes, and cutting hair!<\/span><\/span>\n

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    Look after your knife.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>\n
  4. Eat local food<\/strong> whenever possible. Some of the most amazing food I’ve had travelling has been in the cheapest street stalls and markets. However, good local food isn’t always available. You’ll often find yourself forced to eat whatever is provided, and it might not be to your (or frankly, anyone’s) taste. Tabasco sauce can make all sorts of bland, weird, slightly off, or otherwise less-than-great food palatable. Take a little bottle of your your own with you, and even carry a few spices, salt, pepper, and sugar.<\/span><\/span>\n
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    Nepalese street food on the road to Pokhara.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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    Cambodian market food<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>\n
  5. Keep your hip flask topped up<\/strong>. I recommend whisky because it\u2019s drinkable by itself and goes well mixed with lots of stuff from coke to coffee, gin is pretty nice to carry around but good luck finding tonic in rural SE Asia. Cognac could work for you if you\u2019re an artist or something. Vodka if you\u2019re doing the whole serious alcoholic thing. When you get invited to an impromptu beach party, or a chillout on a porch, you’ll be pleased you’ve got your old faithful hip flask with you.<\/span><\/span>\n

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    Chilling in Lisbon<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>\n
  6. Buy a bunch of dry bags<\/strong> of different colours and sizes. You can almost never\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>have too many dry bags. They\u2019re really useful for simply keeping your kit organised and separated, so you\u2019re not hunting around for your socks every day or wondering where your favourite big-night-out T-shirt is. It also means that if your bag gets wet or something springs a leak inside, most of your stuff will be ok. I used a big red one to keep dirty washing in (red for danger, obvs), and also used various dry bags for trips to the beach, backpacking in the rain, or kayaking trips.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n

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    Unpacking along the Annapurna Trek<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>\n
  7. Be careful using squat toilets<\/strong>. In many parts of Asia, you\u2019ll come across squat toilets. Once you get used to them, they\u2019re actually pretty good, as long as they\u2019re kept reasonably clean. However, make sure you zip up your pockets if possible, or at least put your phone and wallet somewhere else when you’re using a squat toilet. If something falls out, you really don\u2019t want to be rummaging around down there, however fancy and expensive your phone is.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n

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    Riding around Koh Chang, Thailand.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>\n
  8. When travelling, if there are seatbelts, wear them<\/strong>. The same goes for helmets whilst riding motorbikes. It’s cool to be safe, kids. Driving standards outside Europe and the US are significantly lower, and in many places there\u2019s not even a requirement to pass a test in order to drive on public roads. Our coach from Kathmandu to Pokhara overturned after having to avoid a speeding car on the wrong side of the road who\u2019d miscalculated an overtake. We were fine, as was everyone in the coach apart from our Annapurna guide, who smacked his knee hard. We were lucky, but it could have been much worse.<\/span><\/span>\n
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    Everyone was fine, fortunately.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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  9. Wear synthetic underwear<\/strong>. Seriously. If you\u2019re walking a lot, or spending a lot of time in hot and humid conditions, you don\u2019t want to be wearing cotton underwear, because they absorb water and will at best be very uncomfortable, and worst cause such severe chafing that you can barely move, or it gets infected. Synthetic underwear doesn\u2019t absorb water, so it\u2019s way more comfortable, particularly for trekking and\/or humid weather. It’s also great for impromptu outdoors swimming, because your pants will dry quickly and frankly they’re also less transparent when wet than cotton pants…<\/span><\/span>\n
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    Swimming in cold water in El Bosque, Andalusia.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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    Snorkelling in Thailand.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>\n
  10. Go offline<\/strong>. Going off-grid can be a great experience, especially if it\u2019s for a decent amount of time. If you get a chance to get out into the wilderness, the mountains, or out to sea, then use that opportunity to go fully offline and away from the distractions of modern life. We went off-grid for about 12 days on our trek to Annapurna Base Camp, and it made an amazing experience even better.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n
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    Prayer flags at Annapurna base camp<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Although initially you might suffer from bad FOMO, or fear that your parents and friends might worry if they don\u2019t hear from you (by the way, you should probably tell people you\u2019re going offline lest they spark an international manhunt), after a few days you\u2019ll feel back in touch with the real world a little more, maybe feel a bit more calm, and able to be more present in the moment. You might even find that after a week or two of being off-grid, you really don\u2019t want to reconnect after all.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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    Taking the night train to Saigon<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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    Jade relaxing on a snorkelling trip in Thailand<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Finally, here’s a few bonus tips that didn’t quite make it to the top ten:<\/span><\/p>\n