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The Backpacking Experience: Traveling is My Life

In the rain in Viet Nam

In the past eleven months I have been involved in a drive by water-gun rampage over Songkran in Thailand, dodged bulls in Pamplona in Spain, hiked through the mountains of Vietnam, walked through the Vatican in Italy, seen the Mona Lisa in France, looked out over the alps in Switzerland and sung loudly with the locals in English bars. I’m now writing from a typical Scottish pub on Burns night, one of the biggest nights of the year in this part of the world. I have been to sixteen countries and over one hundred cities as a backpacker, including the majority of Western Europe, and next begin a similar trip in Eastern Europe that will last me at least until the middle of the year. My name is Francis Nicholls-Wunder, I am twenty-two years old and for as long as I care to remember I have lived out of a backpack.

The Essential Backpacker’s Backpack

The very first thing you need to think about, after biting the bullet and throwing it all in for a few months backpacking abroad, is the object that gave backpacking its name, the mighty backpack. Whatever you do, do NOT take this decision lightly! Backpacks come in all shapes and sizes, all colors and prices, and your destination and the type of trip you are planning should heavily influence the bag that you get.

My personal experience, which has covered the majority of countries in Western Europe over the past six months, has shown me that there are very few instances where a bag with wheels isn’t the better option. The occasional struggle up a couple of flights of stairs is well worth the ease of flying around the city streets with some wheels taking all the punishments rather than your back. As long as you keep an eye out for potholes and bumpy cobbled streets in some of the smaller cities, a sturdy bag with wheels should last you an entire circuit of Europe.

If you want to be safe there are now several wheeled bags available that will unzip to a backpack as well. They are never as comfortable and practical as bags designed solely to be carried on your back but are more than adequate for small distances of stairs and uneven roads that you might encounter.

If you intend to spend a lot of time in the countryside of Europe, where roads are less even, if they exist at all, then perhaps a classic, shoulder-straining backpack is just what the doctor ordered. If you decide to pick this option make sure try the bag out in the store! You are going to spend hour after hour walking around with this huge weight attached to your shoulders and you need to make sure you can lift it comfortably, spreading the weight over your body and not concentrating it on one arm or the other or, even worse, your lower back.

Most backpacks now come with multiple and hidden pockets. These can be great for keeping the clean from the filthy, the food from the clothes and the valuable from the hands of others. Keep in mind you will need to get a padlock for every set of zips you need to keep safe, not to mention many hostel lockers. And if you have a padlock with a key you might want to keep a spare in a different spot, either with a friend, at reception or even just in a different pocket on a different piece of clothing. No matter how careful you are, the longer your travel the more likely you are to lose things and if you lose the only key that will grant you access to everything you own then you can be in quite a bit of trouble.

Well traveled and still looking good

You can find good quality backpacks in stores across the country. Specialist camping and outdoor stores will often have a wider range and be able to give you more detailed information about the bag you are looking at. Once again, always keep in mind the size and shape of the backpack for purposes of both fitting it on transport and in lockers as well as making sure you can carry it comfortably. Buying backpacks over the Internet is a bit more risky. Buying from the big name Internet sites is relatively safe and secure but you can’t physically see, touch and try on the bag until it is sent out to you. Unless the money saved through an online purchase is quite substantial I would recommend paying the extra few dollars to be able to actually inspect and lift the bag before you buy it.

The backpack makes the backpacker; it will be the most important thing in your life while you travel so make sure you pick the right one.

Handy Backpacking Equipment

There are a few small items that can be added to your backpack that will come in endlessly handy while travelling through Europe, or anywhere in the world for that matter. A backpack isn’t just a vehicle for your clothing, toiletries and travel documents, it is the collection of the only things you will have unlimited access to for the entirety of your trip.

Rope and D-clips: A small amount of sturdy rope and or some D-clips can come in handy in all sorts of situations, be it securing your luggage during transport, attaching jackets or blankets to your bag, securing valuables to your person on strenuous ventures or even as simple as hanging up your laundry.

Toilet paper and paper towel: A spare roll of toilet paper or paper towel has a lot more uses than the obvious. Spills and accidents, maybe not even your fault, can be easily remedied with some absorbent paper thus avoiding some uncomfortable and difficult situations. Dirty hands, a runny nose and a sweaty brow can all be solved by having a bit of toilet paper handy.

Water: It seems obvious but you really should always carry at least a small bottle of water with you. You never know when something will delay your travels and you may have no access to drinking water, be it because you don’t have access to your funds, the shops are closed or perhaps there are simply no sources available. That said, water is heavy so you only need enough to tide you over, a tap is usually close by in Europe.

Map or guide book: Whenever possible try to get a hold of a detailed map before you arrive in a city. Tourist information centres can sometimes be surprisingly hard to find and often have limited open hours, so you cannot rely on them when you arrive at a city with no idea of your bearings. There is nothing worse than finding yourself arriving at a station and having no idea which direction your accommodation is in.

Time telling device: Be it a watch, a phone or an MP3 player it is essential to have some accurate way of telling the time while on the move. In different parts of Europe at different times of the year the sun will go down either extremely early or extremely late, you cannot trust your senses in guessing the time of day, particularly if you are suffering from any jetlag. One of the most costly mistakes of backpackers is to miss a checkout time, miss a tour or worst of all miss a flight…especially if it is because of something as trivial as not being aware of the time.

Waterproof clothes: Depending on what time of the year you are going and where you plan to visit, your waterproof clothing could be anything from a lightweight poncho to a full-fledged ski jacket. Regardless of when you plan to travel weather can always be unpredictable and you should never travel without at least some protection in case of a large downfall. Bear in mind this protection may be needed not only for yourself but also for any vulnerable parts of your luggage.

Pen and paper: Be it phone numbers, email addresses, street addresses, websites, reference and booking numbers, transport timetables, etc., there is always a need for pen and paper, and it certainly isn’t a heavy thing to have to carry around. Even if you have access to a laptop or other electrical writing device, there are occasions where you will find yourself without a power source and out of battery and, for simply jotting down a quick note, using pen and paper is much easier.

Sometimes it is the smallest addition to your baggage that can be the biggest help on your trip. Pay attention to the fellow backpackers you meet–different people have different ways of dealing with common backpacker problems and you can pick up all sorts of handy tips in the hostel common room. A few handy extras in your bag can save you time, money and lot of worry and discomfort.

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You can read about Francis’s adventures backpacking through Europe, and get some invaluable advice, by reading his blog at StudentsInEurope.com.