Sometimes, in that last minute stress of packing and trying not to forget crucial things such as plane tickets, other stuff just flies straight out of your mind, even the most mundane, obvious things! So these are my ten things I wish I’d remembered / known about / been reminded about *before* I left the UK!
1 - Pack the stuff you need in obvious and easy to access places
I think this is probably the most obvious one, yet sometimes you forget what exactly is going to be needed. On my stopover in Hong Kong I didn’t want to unpack my whole rucksack searching for things, I was only there for three days and I had better things to do! Therefore, I couldn’t find either my razor, or my ipod cable. The latter, I managed without, but if it hadn’t been for the complimentary razor from the hotel, I could have ended up looking like a yeti. Not good. (Exaggeration, but man it was hot! Shaving = IMPORTANT!)
2 - Double and triple check you have things that aren’t quite ‘crucial’ – but may as well be
Following on from above, when I got to Australia, I found my razor. I *sdidn’t* however, find my ipod cable. I distinctly remember a conversation on the morning of my flight, with my little sister.
Me; I did pack an ipod cable, right? (before proceeding to give away my spare)
Louise (sister); Yeah, definitely! I remember you putting it in there last night.
BIG MISTAKE. If you’re like me and you like to listen to your ipod a *lot*, then double and triple check. YOURSELF. Do not trust younger siblings, they are quite obviously useless.
Fortunately I've manage to borrow one from someone I know,but he's leaving tonight so I need to now find someone else who will lend me one. Doh.
3 - Do not take socks if you are going to a hot country (unless its really cold at the time)
I do exclude fluffy bedtime socks from this. I brought two pairs with me and I’m loving them lots. However, bog standard socks are really NOT needed for the average traveller! I brought enough pairs with me to last me a lifetime, or so it seems – I’m gonna be throwing most of them away, due to living in pumps and flipflops! If you’re planning on going hiking, or activities which may require you to wear trainers or boots then socks are excusable, but really – you only need one pair.
4 - Change up your money BEFORE you go (or in your arrival airport)
Before I left, I changed up my money for Hong Kong, and a small amount of money for Australia – my reasoning being that I didn’t want to carry that much cash around with me! However when I got to Aus, that small amount I’d changed up disappeared really quickly, and I’d forgotten to change any at the airport. None of the money exchanging counters in Sydney (and believe me there are LOADS) will change up money direct from your card, so you’re stuck with two options – wait for money to be transferred from the UK to an Aus bank account, which takes the best part of a week (and this is if you’re opening one) OR use cashpoints to withdraw your money, incurring a charge. Now surprisingly enough, cashpoints that will work with UK cards and few and far between here, and it took me the best part of an afternoon to find one that would work. Lesson learnt. Money changing = BEFORE YOU GO.
5 - Hunt for free wifi - internet abroad is expensive!
Internet is readily available absolutely everywhere now, or so it seems. In Hong Kong I walked past a million little internet cafes, all ready to charge you for their use. My hotel had internet, hostels have internet. Christ, even Mcdonalds provides internet. And there is the key, because internet in Mcdonalds is normally FREE. Its not always convenient, and its not very fast, but its free. And that makes it worth it! In the two hostels I’ve been in here in Aus, one charged $8 for 2 hrs online and the other charges $7.50. Its pricy, therefore I’ve taken to wandering over to Mcdonalds when I just want to check my emails (its not too far away, they never are)
6 - If you’re ordering things you need off the internet, do it well in advance
This idiot here got paid 6 days before I left the country. And instead of ordering one very crucial item (contact lenses) the day I got paid, I forgot about them, and left it until 4 days before. A Saturday, meaning they wouldn’t have even been dispatched til the Monday, *if I was lucky*. Guaranteed next day delivery, guaranteed before 12 delivery, these things don’t mean sh*t when you’re leaving the country because something will inevitably happen to delay your post, in my case – SNOW. Therefore, make sure you order things well before you leave, or you’ll end up having to have a family member forward on your post for you.
7 - Print CVs before you leave
This one only applies if you’re planning on working in one of the countries you’re travelling to. A lot of people coming to Australia have a working holiday visa and therefore intend on working at some point during their stay. This point is all relative, because if you’re coming in January and not planning on working til September, you probably don’t want to lug CVs around with you for 9 months. If you’re like me, and planning on working before you do the main travelling bit, print your CVs off and take them with you! Printing, like internet, is expensive. The cheapest I’ve found is $0.30 per page, and although it doesn’t sound like a lot, when you want to print off 20 CVs and go around handing them out, you’ve just spent $6 – thats a meal.
8 - Do not be a hoarder
This one is particularly hypocritical of me, because I hoard beyond belief. I am a bad hoarder, as anyone who saw my bedroom pre-travelling would know. However, when backpacking, and having to carry said backpack, you really don’t want to be keeping things you’re most likely not going to use or where. E.g., in my backpack I currently have a giant fluffy scarf and a pair of ugg boots, both which I wore on the plane to keep comfy. Am I going to wear or use these again? Not lkely. Have I thrown them away yet? NO. And although they don’t weigh a lot, when you’re lifting that beast of a rucksack onto your back (no wait, thats just mine), you’ll appreciate that little bit less weight you’ve got because you’ve thrown these pointless items away. And hopefully, before I move hostels and have to lift my own rucksack again, I’ll take my own advice.
9 - Keep a bottle (or two)
Once again, another ridiculously simple thing which just indicates common sense. Obviously I don’t have a lot of this. For the past week I’ve been buying bottle upon bottle of water, and throwing them away. Today I realised that my hostel offers free water in the cafe, and you can use that to fill up a bottle. Much nicer than the $2.50 (MINIMUM! Or so it seems) per bottle cost here. Obviously if you’re going to a country where the water is not always safe, I don’t recommend just filling up a bottle wherever, but a bottle always comes in handy nevertheless – you don’t know when you might find a nice safe running tap!
And finally, 10 - Which is not so much a helpful comment, but a personal dig at myself. When buying books, do not go to a ridiculously expensive book store just because your friend works there, even if she gets you discount! Go to a second hand book store, where you’ll find the same book you bought last week for half the price, and get really annoyed. Argh. But yes – I do recommend hunting down charity shops or second hand book stores if you want to buy books, as I did see a book I bought last week for $18 (and that was with discount, it was meant to be $25!!!) for $9 today. And yeah, it was a bit scruffy, but a book is a book.
(a post from me with no pictures?! wtf?! don't worry, normal service will resume next post)
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