1. Go slow.

In fact, if you’re up for the full travel experience, find a way to live somewhere rather than just stay in traveller’s accommodation. This could be flatting, couchsurfing, staying with a local family, or volunteer-for-bed work like WWOOFing. Almost without exception, the most remarkable experiences I have had involved one of the above.

Even if “going native” isn’t your style and you’d prefer a more straightforward travel experience, going slow is important. Every move requires time to organise, as well as a certain amount of stress. The longer you stay in one place, the higher the proportion of experience time to logistics time.

2. Find people living locally.

This is the other benefit that comes from living somewhere other than tourist accommodation. The locals can tell you what’s really going on – from politics to where the good gigs are in town. Milk connections with friends, or even friends of friends.

3. Learn the language.

If you are in a country for a while, see if there is a local language school that you can attend for a week or two when you set out. This is another way to find people living locally – not just through developing language ability, but through meeting other foreigners who are sticking around for a while.

4. Pack light.

If you are backpacking, you need to carry everything you’ve got. And the more you’ve got, the harder it is to move around. Look at the stuff you’re thinking of carrying and eliminate everything that you don’t consider absolutely essential.

Here is my list of absolutely essential things for hot-country travel:

  • Indian-style clothes. Comfy, loose and cotton, covering as much skin as possible – dress to protect from sun, insects and local conservative clothing codes.
  • A belt pouch to hold your essentials under your clothes. However, if you’re travelling through super-dodgy zones (e.g. places in Peru, Columbia, India), there are thieves who happily circumvent this security system. For these places, I’ve heard the following works well : sew a pocket in the inside of your trousers, well below belt level, and put your stuff in there.
  • A shoulder bag that zips up securely, and a wallet that goes inside it. Money for day-to-day stuff goes in here. Reaching into that hidden belt-pouch under your pants isn’t a good look when you’re buying coffee. And your day-to-day money shouldn’t be in the same place that your passport, credit card, and emergency wad of cash are. Advantages of a shoulder bag: You don’t take it off, the way you do with a daypack. You can hold it across the front of your body in high-security situations like public transport or crowded places. It makes you feel less like a tourist gimp.
  • An emergency wad of cash, and photocopies of your essential documents, somewhere that isn’t your belt-pouch or your shoulder bag. Scanning all your essential documents before you leave and emailing them to yourself and your emergency contact is a good idea as well.
  • Broad-spectrum antimicrobial cream and strapping tape.
  • If you’re going anywhere with malaria – prescribed doxycycline tablets (these also double as antibiotics for anything bacterial). And a mosquito net that you can hang from the ceiling. Actually, bring the net if you’re going anywhere tropical that’s out in the wops.
  • A notebook. I found this was the fastest way to learn a language – write down any new word or phrase as you learn it. In the end, it becomes better than a dictionary because it has the language you’re using from day to day.
  • Little, lightweight gifties for people you meet. It feels very good to be able to give something back when you have received kindness. I took watercolour card and paints, and handed out pictures; these are also good because they prevent any weirdness that comes from gifts of money or other things with a price tag.
  • A down jacket. Seriously. It becomes a pillow, a blanket for transport with brutal aircon, and emergency warmth if you end up somewhere cold.
  • Tampons. They aren’t always available when you need them.
  • An outfit that still makes you feel pretty, even if you haven’t bathed or slept for more than 48 hours.
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