Top 5 Essential Backpack Items

Hello Wonderful People!

Any backpacker will know that their backpack is their most trusty companion when on the road. You pretty much become a tortoise and carry all your worldly belongings on your back. Yes, I may have cursed my stupid, heavy backpack countless times while trekking through the sweaty streets searching for hostels or transport. But I always apologised to it afterwards, as I really would have had to throw myself in a river of my own tears, if I'd ever lost my trusty companion. Packing a backpack is a true art form, especially if you are travelling to places that have extremely different weather conditions (hello Asian beaches and skiing in New Zealand). Planning ahead is essential when packing, so follow some of my tried and tested tips and hopefully you and your backpack will have a harmonious life together on the road.

 

 

Pack-a-mac

No this is not a joke, I am being deadly serious. When I was packing, my dad suggested I take my pack-a-mac with me. I looked at him as if he was a raving mad donkey, laughed and confidently told him I was not going to need a pack-a-mac. Haha woe is me, oh what a fool I was. Fast forward 5 weeks later and I'm getting ready for a night out in Nha Trang, Vietnam. I need to go and get some cash out, but oh my lordy it is raining like I've never seen before. The streets were flooded within 5 mins & the water came up past your ankles. I turn around to ask my friend how we're going to stay dry in this tropical down-pour, and to my jealous horror, she is stood there in a yellow pack-a-mac. I was gutted. Moral of the story - listen to your parents, they are always right (and take a pack-a-mac obvs, you never know when you'll need it).

Plastic Bags

A friend recommended this to me before I went, and it was great advice! Split you clothes up into types: tops, underwear, skirts/shorts etc. Then bag them up in their individual types. and keep a spare bag for dirty washing. This makes packing and unpacking super easy, as the bags pile up easily inside your backpack. It's also great for keeping your clothes organised and it's really easy to find what clothes you're after. You can also save yourself some embarrassment in a mixed dorm room, as all your underwear/ dirty clothes will be kept nice and tidy in a plastic bag. So you won't have a nightmare situation of unpacking your bag with your knick-knacks flying all over the show.

 

First Aid Kit

This doesn't have to be an all singing all dancing solution to every medical emergency kinda thing. A few plasters, paracetamol, mozzy spray, diarrhoea tablets, after sun and anti-histamines should do the trick. All of these will come in handy at some point, I can put my life on it. Even if you don't need it, there will be someone who does, so help a brother out and always be prepared! Plus you're mum will be happy in the knowledge you've got some basic medication with you. There's nothing like a worrying mother constantly texting you, just to check you have got malaria/ the poops/ cholera/ are dead.

 

Padlock

Loads of hostels have some kind of lockers, so it's a great idea to bring a padlock with you. While hostels are a great place to meet people, you don't actually know anything about them, so it's always best to keep your valuables locked away safely. Just don't lose the key - that could be a right disaster.

 

The Essentials

This may seem a tad vague - but bare with me. Your backpack will be with you pretty much all the time. You'll be moving on every couple of days and could end up walking for ages with it on your back. So only pack the essentials. While I was packing, there were so many things I put in thinking 'this might come in handy.' These things never got used and I ended up chucking a fair few things along the way to make my backpack lighter. Don't take loads of cosmetics, don't take a huge hair dryer and straighteners (travel size will be fine) and don't take an outfit for every occasion. I packed a few maxi dresses just in case we went somewhere sophisticated. Sophistication and backpacking don't mix, so they were a waste of space. If you can't think of more than 3 ways to use something, don't pack it - you'll only regret it later.

Ta ta!