What have you used creatively along your travels?

• Using your frisbee as your dinner plate?
• How to best shave outdoors?
• Using a compression sack to pack more?

Over the past few months we have had several people ask about travel advice.

The tricks of the trade that you can only learn on the road while backpacking for an extended amount of time.

Share your travel secrets and to inspire others.  Email us with your travel tip today!

Tell us who you are and share your travel advice.

We will publish a list of backpacking tips soon!

Whether going away for a week or traveling the world for a few years, it saves precious packing space.

The Tech 2 in 1’s

The Amazon Kindle is by far both Justin and my favorite 2 in 1 item.  The Kindle offers a traveler up to 1,500 books on one easy to use electronic device.  The only negative is that the Kindle must be charged, although it has a great battery life even on a 14 hour flight.  Oh, and in our case, the problem we experience is that their are 2 of us and we own one Kindle.

The universal adaptor is great for a backpacker planning travel to multiple countries.  Different regions of the world have different electric outlets.  Why bring more than one adaptor when you can have them all in one?  It’s really that simple.  Every country in the world is represented by the Universal Adaptor.

The Sporty 2 in 1’s

Pack an Ultimate Frisbee Disc and a dinner plate all in one.  No joke!  We love to play ultimate, and toss around the frisbee whenever we get the chance.  I had no idea we could create so many quick picnic meals through our ultimate frisbee doubling as a plate.  I love the versatility our disc gives us while traveling.

Be logical while packing.

We wanted Insect Repellent for our outdoor adventures.  We also like to have duct tape, just in case.  Instead of bringing a bulky, heavy roll of duct tape, we took about 5 feet of tape and wrapped it around the insect repellant bottle.  Only one customs officer (out of dozens of airport security) along our journeys has second guessed our insect repellant and did a sniff check.  Be creative, their are countless ways to reduce the bulk of what you pack.

The Fashion 2 in 1’s

A new travel craze is the Zip-off Pants.  Why pack both pants and shorts?  Have both at the same time!  Initially, I was against the zip-off pants because the original versions would zip-off at my knee, leaving me with long, impractical shorts.  It wasn’t until I tried on a more recent edition of the zip-off pants by The North Face that I fell in love.  My pants are durable, with great pockets, even one my passport fits securely into.  When I zip off the bottoms, I am left with cute shorts that allow refreshing sunshine kiss my legs.

Who doesn’t love the Classic Bandana?  The bandana is your friend especially when it comes to travel.  It can be anything; your hat, a first aid sling, a dish rag, a flag, the possibilities are endless.  The bandana is a ‘must-pack’ travel item.

Notice my zip-off pants and bandana on St. Patrick’s Day in Sydney.

The Bathroom 2 in 1’s

Speaking of bandana, I have actually used a bandana as a shower towel.  When I first read about doing this it sounded absurd.  I tried it out and realized it works if you are willing to wring out the bandana multiple times while drying off.  Departing from a location in the morning after showering?  Instead of a wet towel, the bandana I dried off with is still wet.  I just tie the bandana to the outside of my backpack and it dries within 15 minutes to an hour depending upon the humidity level.  Once it’s dry, I zip it in my backpack!

Did you know that shampoo makes great laundry soap?  Oh, it’s true.  When washing clothing in the sink, don’t bring extra detergent.  Shampoo is a natural, gentle way to hand wash laundry items before hanging them to dry.  My favorite was a lavender rosemary shampoo that I found in New Zealand.  My clothing had a beautiful fresh scent.

I found this rainbow of clothing hanging in Riomaggiore, Italy.

Washing laundry and hanging it to dry feels natural after a few months.  The simple ways of life on the road are refreshing.  This always surprises me.

Two in one items are a wonderful packing secret, but the best packing advice will always be, don’t bring it.  Go without it and pack less.  Be a much happier traveler with a lighter load.

1. The longer one travels, the more one adapts to the culture of travel. In this culture, staying in one place for longer than several weeks is odd, washing ones clothes in a sink is common place, and being unemployed is chic and enviable.
2. Although a traveler “fits” amongst fellow travelers and backpackers, a traveler grows accustom to feeling like a foreigner or stranger in each new country or city. This feeling eventually becomes a normal part of a travelers schema and her/she quickly grows a new identity such as “globe trotting backpacker” or “nomadic beer tester”. While developing a new identity, a traveler always carries with them, perhaps unconsciously, the idea that there is a place in the world where they are not a “foreigner”. A place where they understand the cultural rules and norms. A place where they are not an oddity and where locals do not take their picture as they walk down the street. Problematically, when a traveler returns “home” they often discover that the culture and friends they left behind continued to function in a predictable manner: friends and family members continued going to work, having children, getting married, starting new jobs, graduating from college, etc. The traveler often feels out of sorts as they begin to understand how much traveling has changed the way they think, act, and relate to the world around them.
3. In many cultures, the realities that allow a traveler to spend an extended time period bouncing around the globe, are not admirable or envious when they return home. Thus, being unemployed and not having a home make a traveler feel free and adventurous on the road while at home these very concepts make a traveler appear or feel like a loser or a bum.
4. At least in many Western Countries, traveling abroad is often cheaper than living at home. Thus the traveler who wandered around Asia for $25-$45 a day (living like a king) is forcefully reminded that being a millionaire in Singapore does not exactly help when trying to rent an apartment, pay a cell phone bill, or shop for groceries.

How to Adjust to Culture Shock at Home

To begin with, simply try to relax. Remember that although you may not feel “at home” you do actually understand the spoken and unspoken rules of your home culture. This of course, does not mean that you need to stop doing your laundry in the sink, but at least you will understand when your friends look at you funny.

1. Prepare for Culture Shock: Recognize that re-entry will be difficult and that you cannot simply pick up your life where you left off. If possible, start the job hunt before you return home or consider aligning your return home with the start of a seasonal job. For example, line up a gig working the snow season in Colorado, or the the Cruise Ship season in Alaska. This will give you some time to adjust to “home” culture without the pressures of thinking that you need to go borrow money from the local land shark to buy your next meal.
2. Starting Over Money: Don’t spend every last dollar traveling. Set aside a “starting over” fund (at least $1,000 but probably more) and don’t touch it until you get home. This will make it easier to get established and will relieve some of the pressure while you start a new life.  Having the security deposit and first month of rent for your new apartment is helpful for return.
3. Expect People Not to Care: This is not mean, it is just reality. Your friends and family will be glad to see you and happy that you are not roaming the streets of Istanbul penniless and alone. However, while you were off playing amateur anthropologist, “finding yourself”, or trying to out drink your new Aussie friends under the table, they were going to work, going to school and living their chosen lives. As a result, they will be more or less the same and you will be different. What is more, although they care about you and will be polite, they really do not care how much fun you had hitch hiking your way around Malaysia or mashing potatoes with a spoon in some ill equipped hostel kitchen. They won’t understand and you need to okay with that and stop telling travel stories.
4. Plan Your New Life: Why did you go traveling in the first place? Did you hate your job and needed to see what else the world offered? Did you love your job and took a well deserved sabbatical? Perhaps you just graduated from college and took a gap year before starting your career. Whatever made you want to go see the world in the first place focus on those memories and make the necessary changes as you begin to create a “new old” life for yourself. Perhaps this means aggressively pursuing a career change or going back to school to retool your skills. Whatever this means for you, formulate a plan before you return home so you don’t wake up six months after re-entry angry with fact that you picked up the same crappy life that you had before you left.

Re-entry Culture Shock is a part of traveling the world. If you find yourself feeling lonely and missing the world, go stay at a local hostel for a few nights and get to know the traveling occupants. If that does not help, you can always put off the re-entry problems, apply for a work visa, grab your backpack and hit the road again.

Hostels, by their very nature, create a temporary community. When you’re sharing a bedroom, cooking next to your bunk mates and jostling in line for the showers, you tend to meet people. (As the hostel market continues to evolve, this may be more true when staying at a small independent hostel than when staying in a large high rise corporate hostel.) At a good hostel, whether or not a functional temporary community evolves or not is often the result of chance.

• - What type of personalities are present?
• - What are the language barriers?
• - Are most guests staying for 1 night, or are many guest staying for 3 or more nights?
• - Does the hostel have a lounge space present that lacks a television?

This revolving set of factors can combine to influence whether or not guest go out drinking together, spend time playing a board game, and/or participate in authentic cultural exchange. A good hostel provides a clean, functional space and allows the community to fend for itself. For many travelers, a good hostel takes care of their immediate needs and, for $25 a night, that is enough.

Many individuals move around the globe as solo travelers. Often, these independent explorers have left a life filled with friends and community interaction to chase their dreams around the globe. For many, staying at a hostel that facilitates community instead of leaving it up to chance makes all the difference.

How to Spot a Great Hostel

A great hostel facilitates the creation of a temporary community amongst the ever changing cast of budget travelers who walk through the door.  Here is how they do it.

1. Institutional Memory: The manager of a great hostel understands their job and their clientele because they have worked at the hostel for at least 6 months. Many hostels hire broke backpackers to clean bathrooms and make up beds. This is not a problem if the manager is actively involved with running the hostel. Problematically, many hostels also hire wandering travelers (age: 28-45) to manage the hostel. These long time wanders stay for 3 months and move on. Their 3 month tenure is consumed by learning how to do their job and they tend to see, out of necessity, each traveler as a widget instead of a person. They do not have time to facilitate community.
2. Community Oriented Rules: A great hostel separates the TV from the lounge. Some great hostels eliminate the TV all together, while others offer a separate TV room. A great hostel will also discourage laptop users from congregating in the lounge area. A bunch of backpackers working on their Facebook profiles does not present a very inviting environment for arriving guests.
3. Events: A great hostel plans activities (or provides activities) that facilitate community. This can be as simple as having free access to a pool table or as complex as planning a BBQ night. What matters is that the hostel demonstrates that community is a priority.
4. Active Staff: A staff that actively interacts with the guests between check-in and check-out plays a significant role in facilitating community. A staff that learns the names of their guests, is available to answer questions, and is a presence in the public areas (kitchen, lounge etc.) facilitate a sense of belonging. They can take on the role of the “host” introducing guests to each other, and sharing their knowledge of the local area. An active staff cannot be overrated.

Spotting a great hostel in a guide book or online is difficult as most hostel advertisements or recommendations read more like a new car buying guide (here is the list of features sir) than accommodation information. Also, a community oriented hostel experience is not always desired. After a long day of planes, buses, and trains, I sometimes want to check into a corporate hostel where I don’t need to talk to anybody. I don’t want to hear about the Friday night BBQ and I don’t even want to look at the board games. Cranky travel sickness and introverted techie syndrome aside, great hostels do exists and are worth finding.

Learn to look for the right things and you will purchase not just a bunk for the night, but a community experience.

**I was finally inspired to put these thought on paper by my very positive experiences at the Ivory Towers Lodge (Fox Glacier New Zealand) and The Bug (Nelson, New Zealand).

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